Eleven

Lilly’s office

Four grueling hours later—late afternoon

One hand pressed to her forehead and an elbow resting on the desk, Lilly scored the examination for the third time.

She had not made a mistake.

Zander had passed.

Not only had he passed, he had excelled in every subject.

Only an imbecile would reject a candidate as academically qualified as he was.

How could a man not remember his name but could remember polynomial equations and caloric theory?

Fingertips pressed to her lips, Lilly relaxed against the chair back, her attention still focused on the examination papers.

Every instinct she possessed as a headmistress fairly screamed, “Retain him now!”

Zander would be an excellent asset to the children’s home—at least academically.

Nevertheless, she could not shake the uneasiness that his leaving—and he would leave, of that she had no doubt—would cause gross disruption to the school, the students, the staff, and yes, if she were perfectly honest…to her life.

He was that kind of man.

One who made an extreme impression on everyone he met.

Charles could not stop raving about Zander’s intellect, humor, and military knowledge.

Mrs. B was half in love with Zander and had taken to baking extravagant delicacies for him besides finding numerous excuses to chat with him throughout the day.

Even the part-time maids whispered behind their hands about the tall, rugged stranger with the arresting gray eye, and they, too, had feigned reasons to visit his chamber when he was still confined.

Now that he was not, the minxes arranged to accidentally run into him at every turn.

The shameless wantons .

If Lilly had an iota of common sense, she would send him packing.

Today.

But it seemed her levelheadedness had hied off to parts unknown and was not to be found.

Hadn’t she let him out of her chamber when she had vowed she would not?

What was more, she permitted him the use of several rooms in the house.

Pure idiocy.

Not so foolish that she had allowed him to interact with the children or teachers, however.

The staff believed Charles nursed an injured traveler.

That was all.

The truth of it was, Lilly enjoyed Zander’s company far more than she ought.

But if she hired him, how would she explain her decision to her fellow instructors?

Glancing at the exams one more time, she rose, then gathered the papers and slid them into a desk drawer.

Honestly, she had not considered he would pass the exams, let alone excel at them.

She had merely humored him, and now she was in a fine pickle. And though she had not promised to hire him if he passed, she would certainly seem churlish to refuse him the position.

Except she knew nothing about him.

Mouth turned down, and eyebrows pulled together, she ran a finger along the windowpane.

That was not precisely true.

She raised her head.

Lilly would write The University of Cambridge and make inquiries.

In the meanwhile, Zander could step in temporarily for Miss Sanders until Lilly either hired another viable candidate, or she verified he had told the truth.

He wanted the position.

Surely, that also meant he wanted to stay at Kelston Hall Children’s Home.

An involuntary smile bent her mouth and her heart, the silly, stupid thing, fluttered.

She wanted him here too, and that might prove disastrous.

Naturally, she would need Charles’s approval, but given the bond the men had already established, she would not be surprised if Charles did not perform a cartwheel or whoop with joy when she told him of her decision to employ Zander.

For the time being, in any event.

Lilly told herself hiring him was best for the children; and for the school too.

But the honest-to-God truth was, she did not want him to leave. She very much feared the stranger she had given her bed to might also have wiggled his way into her spinster’s heart.

What she ought to do and what she wanted to do with that unforeseen conundrum were two vastly different things.