A Nanny For Keeps

“I don’t know. Are they used to having time with you during the day? And how far is the office from here?”

“The office is on Third Avenue in Michael Heaton’s building. I usually see my daughters in the morning and check in on them at lunchtime. Then, of course, there is teatime, when Nanny brought them in. And I... Things have been different since their mother passed away and we don’t really have a schedule. I’ve been hoping you’d help with that.”

“I can try. And if the girls aren’t used to spending a lot of time with you during the day, I doubt that setting up your office a few blocks away will upset them too much. If you were needed, you’d be able to get home quickly. I suppose we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

He visibly relaxed and Georgia breathed a sigh of relief. Sir Tyler wasn’t angry with her. He seemed to be trying to find his way through the painful adjustment of raising his daughters without his wife. And as Georgia’s heart melted in compassion for the man, she prayed she’d be able to help him.

* * *

By the end of the first week, Georgia felt as if she might be able to handle the nanny position. The girls seemed to like her and they were well behaved—at least so far.

They were very close and whispered between themselves quite often, and they seemed to get along with each other exceptionally well. Of course, that was most likely due to the loss they shared. Her heart hurt for them each time she thought about how much they’d been through.

But she was still having a hard time adjusting with the way Sir Tyler parented. Evidently wealthy English parents didn’t spend quite as much time with their children as American ones did. Or maybe that wasn’t quite fair. It could be that the wealthy of both countries did things differently. Even among her friends in Ashland, not all of them had parents like hers.

Still, she knew Sir Tyler loved his girls. He’d made that very plain from the beginning. She could see it in his eyes when he watched them together. But he just didn’t seem to have any idea how to really interact with them.

She almost hated to leave them on Friday evening, but she’d promised Polly and Lilly that she’d be there early Monday morning and that seemed to satisfy them.

Georgia headed downstairs to let Sir Tyler know they were ready for him to listen to their prayers. It was something she’d begun to do each evening, hoping to give them a bit more time with him.

Mr. Tate was at the bottom of the stairs and must have been waiting for her, for he nodded and said, “Sir Tyler asked me to tell you he is in his study, Miss Marshall.”

“Thank you, Mr. Tate.” He led the way and Georgia was left to follow.

“Miss Marshall, Sir Tyler.”

“Please come in,” Sir Tyler said, getting up from his chair and motioning to a chair adjacent to his. “Would you like some tea before you leave?”

“No, thank you.”

Georgia took the seat as he turned to his butler. “Thank you, Tate. That will be all for now.”

He then sat back down. “I suppose my girls are ready for me to come up and hear their prayers.”

“They are. They were giggling with each other before I got out of the room.”

“I can’t tell you how that warms my heart. They’ve always gotten along well, but I haven’t heard many giggles lately—not until you came to us. I wanted to be sure and let you know how much I appreciate whatever it is you’ve done to bring that about.”

“Oh, I’m not sure I can take credit for that, Sir Tyler. I—”

The expression in Sir Tyler’s eyes when he shook his head and smiled at her had her heart skittering in her chest.

“Oh, I believe you can. At any rate, thank you.” He slipped his hand into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out an envelope. “This is your first week’s pay.”

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting to get paid so quickly. Thank you.” She took the envelope from him and their fingers brushed, making her catch her breath. She hoped he couldn’t tell how flustered she felt.

“You’re welcome.” He stood and so did she. “I suppose I’d best go listen to those prayers. They already pray for you, you know.”

“How sweet,” Georgia said as they walked out into the foyer. “I pray for them as well. I’ll see you all on Monday or at church on Sunday, I suppose.”

“You will. Have a good weekend, Miss Marshall.”

“You, too, Sir Tyler.”

He gave another smile and turned to the stairs while Mr. Tate showed her out.

“Good night, Miss Marshall,” the butler said.

“Good night, Mr. Tate.”

She heard the door shut behind her and hurried over to the steps of Heaton House. Happy as she was to have the weekend off, she felt a little guilty for leaving Sir Tyler and Mr. Tate.

Then she scolded herself. She wasn’t indispensable, after all! She heard the boarders in the parlor as soon as she opened the door and hurried inside to join them.

“Georgia! How nice it is to have you home for more than a few hours!” Julia exclaimed.

“Oh, it is!” Emily added.

“I’m glad to be here. I’ve missed evenings at Heaton House. What have you got planned for the weekend?”

“Your favorite meal, for one,” Mrs. Heaton said from behind her. “It’s good to know we have you for the whole weekend.”

“Mostly we’re going to enjoy spending time with you,” Julia said. “But remember, Matt and Millicent’s housewarming is next Saturday.”

“Oh! I’d forgotten about that. Are we going in together on a gift?”

“We were just talking about that. Mrs. Heaton suggested we get a brass bowl similar to what we got for the other couples. We can go down tomorrow morning and pick one out together, if you’d all like,” Julia said.

“Oh, I’d love to help.” And hopefully it would take her mind off of Sir Tyler and his daughters. The girls should be asleep by now, but what was he doing? She always wondered about that once she left. The first night, she’d stopped at the window of the upstairs hall that looked out on Mrs. Heaton’s garden. She’d seen a glow of lamplight on the courtyard next door and thought it must be coming from Sir Tyler’s study window.

And as she went up for the night with the others tonight, she was drawn to that window once more after the other girls went to their rooms. Sure enough, a splash of light shone on the yard. She hoped Sir Tyler was working, for the thought of him just sitting all by himself in his study late at night saddened her deeply.

Dear Lord, please help them to have a good weekend. I do feel so bad about leaving them. And yet the girls are asleep and Sir Tyler is doing whatever it is he does of an evening. I’m sure he has his own routine, and besides, it’s none of my business at all! I must stop thinking of him so much. Please help me to put him out of my mind and remember that my job is to see that his daughters are well taken care of in my charge. And that is all. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.

Chapter Five (#ulink_0693e6c9-45aa-5d6e-8333-9a0b71a917d3)

The weekend passed quite pleasantly for Georgia. She’d gone with Julia and Betsy to Macy’s to look for the brass bowl for Matt and Millicent on Saturday morning, and then the group went to the ice-cream parlor for sodas that evening after dinner. She did get to see Polly and Lilly the next day at church and they seemed as glad to see her as she was to see them, as they ran up to her as soon as the service was over.

She also remembered to broach the subject of their wardrobes to Sir Tyler once the girls ran off to talk to Jenny. “I did want to speak to you about something and I kept forgetting last week—”

“You aren’t going to give notice, are you?” he asked.

The concern in his eyes had her rushing to reassure him. “Oh, no! I’m sorry to have given you any cause to worry. No, it’s about the girls’ wardrobes. I think they might need some new things and—”

His laughter was a sound she hadn’t heard before and it warmed her heart to know she’d evidently relieved his mind.

“Their wardrobe? Of course. I’m glad you brought it to my attention. We’ll decide what to do tomorrow.”