Chapter Three

I t had been a long and sleepless night. Sharing her bed with Elizabeth had proven to be the same as sharing a bed with any child—Elizabeth tossed, turned, kicked, sprawled, and generally claimed every square inch of the mattress while Philippa clung to the edge of the bed and prayed not to wake up with a broken rib.

So as she rose and saw to her morning toilette, then helped Elizabeth with hers, she determined that they would not be imprisoned in those rooms as Mrs. Baynard had suggested. It was Elizabeth's home, and she should be permitted to explore it at will, within reason. To that end, Philippa took Elizabeth downstairs for breakfast. She had not been expressly invited to do so, but she couldn't imagine that a friendly face at breakfast would be unwelcome, since Mr. Falconer had expressed how tired he was of dining alone.

As she marched Elizabeth into the breakfast room, the maid who had escorted her yesterday simply gaped at her. "Good morning, Sarah. Has Mr. Falconer broken his fast yet?"

The maid shook her head. "No, miss. Yes, miss. That is... he's only just gone in for his breakfast."

"Excellent. We are just in time," Philippa stated, and breezed past the stunned maid to usher Elizabeth into the breakfast room.

At the sideboard, Mr. Falconer turned his head and took them in with a cursory glance. "Good morning. I take it you have not yet had your morning meal?"

Philippa didn't answer. Instead, she prodded Elizabeth to step forward. "No, Uncle Devon. We'd be most pleased to join you if permitted."

Philippa could have burst with pride. They'd worked for an hour that morning on how to address her uncle. Elizabeth had no fear of him, but she was always fearful of speaking. It was as if the child was waiting to be kicked for her efforts. "Very good."

Mr. Falconer smiled. "Indeed, I should be most pleased to have your company, Elizabeth. And you, Miss Thomas."

*

Devon could not have been more thrilled with Elizabeth's progress. In less than twenty-four hours, Miss Thomas had coaxed more speech from Elizabeth than he'd been able to do in six months. And the girl didn't seem to be as fearful in her presence. Recalling the way Elizabeth had shrunk whenever Miss Hawley had stood next to her, he should have recognized then how wrong it all was.

"It is ever so much better not to eat alone."

Getting Elizabeth into her seat, Miss Thomas then fixed plates for them both before returning to the table. He noted that she looked tired. There were dark shadows beneath her eyes that had not been present even with rigors of travel the day before.

When they were all seated, he asked, "Are you well, Miss Thomas?"

"Quite well, sir. Thank you for asking."

"And you, Elizabeth?" he asked, turning his attention to his niece. "Are you well?"

"There are ghosts in my room," she answered.

Devon felt his eyebrows climbing upwards. "Ghosts?"

Elizabeth didn't elaborate, but simply nodded as she took a bite of her kippers.

"Miss Thomas, can you offer some insight into why this belief has suddenly occurred?"

"I don't think it has occurred suddenly, Mr. Falconer. I think it has been present for some time, but Elizabeth was reluctant to speak of it. She has been without a governess for a while, as I understand it. And in that time, most of her daily supervision was conducted by Mrs. Baynard. She would have been hesitant to tell her for obvious reasons, I should think."

There was no denying any of that. The staff had come with the house. And the house was, technically, Elizabeth's. He was simply steward of it until such time as she married. And of the staff that had come with the house, the one who was truly problematic was Mrs. Baynard. Her work could not be faulted, only her personality. "I see... Elizabeth, if you are frightened of anything, you must tell Miss Thomas or myself. But I can assure you that there are no such things as ghosts, and if there were, they certainly would not be at Peregrine Hall. If they were, Mrs. Baynard would likely have them polishing silver by now."

Elizabeth giggled, which was the response he had hoped for. Even then, he made a mental note to speak privately with Miss Thomas and determine who it was that might have been filling the child's head with such nonsense. He would not have her living in fear in her own home.