“He’s so big!” she declared with a smile for Mr. and Mrs. Barton, for her butler was the husband of the housekeeper. Two kinder people she never could have met. “Good day to you both.”
They returned the greeting, though she was aware of how their gazes both shifted to the man behind her. Not that she could blame them. Lord Leighton was now their employer and they did not know him. They didn’t know they had nothing to fear.
“Lord Leighton, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Barton,” she said, turning toward Rhys. He was staring at Kenley, not the servants, and she could not read his expression. “My butler…though to be fair, Mr. Barton has always been far more than that. He is a man of all trades and I could not do without him. And Mrs. Barton, my housekeeper. They have very kindly watched your nephew during my absence.”
Rhys blinked, and it was as if he’d been brought back to reality. “Good day,” he mumbled. “Very pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“My lord,” Mr. Barton said, and Mrs. Barton curtseyed slightly as a greeting.
Which left only one final duty. She moved a little closer to Rhys and smiled, hoping she could encourage him when it came to the child. “And this is your nephew, my lord. Kenley Montgomery.”
Rhys’s hand flexed at his side and trembled as he gently reached toward Kenley. Kenley tracked it, but when Rhys was about to touch him, the baby cowered a little, putting his head into Pippa’s shoulder to look at his uncle shyly.
She laughed as she cuddled him a bit for comfort, but her smile fell as she saw Rhys’s forlorn expression. “He does not like me,” he said.
She shook her head. “He doesn’t know you. Most children are a bit shy of strangers, but I assure you that within the day he’ll likely warm to you. And then you will not be able to make him stop reaching for you.”
A flutter of a smile touched Rhys’s lips, but then it faded as he stared again at Kenley.
“You two must be tired from the long journey,” Mrs. Barton said, breaking the spell that had spun up around them and Kenley. “Come inside, won’t you? We have a lovely tea ready and the chambers are prepared if you need a rest.”
Pippa turned back to her servants and smiled. “That sounds divine. I cannot wait. I have dreamed of your raspberry tarts for weeks, Mrs. Barton. Please tell me they’re on the menu.”
“Made fresh this morning, just for you, Mrs. Montgomery,” Mrs. Barton said, and then gasped. “Or…should I…what might I…”
Pippa blushed. She knew the scandal about Erasmus’s multiple wives had circulated through all of Society. She’d never had any illusion otherwise. But now she had to face it, from two people she cared for, and it stung in a new way.
“Mrs. Montgomery is fine,” she said. “It is too difficult to think of another way to do this.”
“Very good,” Mrs. Barton said. “Would you like me to take the baby while you eat?”
“No,” Pippa said, and snuggled him closer. He’d begun to tug her curls and she had forgotten how much she loved that little habit of his. “I could not put him down for all the raspberry tarts in England!”
They entered the cottage, and she did her best not to look at Rhys. He was so accustomed to finer things—she almost didn’t want to know what he thought of her simple home. He said nothing, of course. He was too gentlemanly and simply followed them to the parlor where the tea was arranged.
They sat and she shifted Kenley to one knee as Mrs. Barton bustled to serve them.
“I swear, he has grown so much in such a short time,” Pippa breathed as she pinched his cheek lightly and elicited a giggle that warmed her heart. “Tell me everything he did while we were apart.”
Mrs. Barton recited all the things Kenley had done, including sitting up on his own.
“Oh, and I missed it!” Pippa declared with a frown.
“He’ll certainly do it again,” Mrs. Barton said with a laugh. “Is there anything else you might need?”
Pippa glanced at Rhys, but he was staring at his plate, seemingly in some other world. She frowned. “No, I think we’re fine. I know Kenley’s nap is soon, I promise I’ll surrender him when the time comes.”
Mrs. Barton laughed and slipped from the room, leaving Pippa alone with Rhys and Kenley. She picked at the tart she had been so excited about and watched him.
“You must have questions,” she said softly.
He lifted his gaze to her. “I hardly know where to start.”
She nodded. “It’s overwhelming, I’m sure. The idea of a baby is one thing, the reality something else entirely. Shall I tell you about him?”
“Please.”
“He is nine months old,” she began. “He was born in early December of last year. He’s been a very healthy child and seems to be growing at a normal rate. He likes birds a great deal and tracks them when he sees them.” She smiled. “Mr. Barton bought him the sweetest little wooden bird toy.”
“Mr. Barton,” Rhys said softly. “Not his father.”
She cleared her throat and gave Kenley a small piece of tart, which cause a drooling display of joy that lightened the mood. At least for her.
“His father never claimed him,” she said softly. “At least not in public.”
Rhys pushed back from the table with a screech of chair legs that made Kenley jolt in her arms. “I…I think I am overly tired. Perhaps I should rest before I consider these facts, before I decide what I should do. I…” He looked at her, looked at Kenley. “I am sorry, Phillipa.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he ignored her and stalked from the room. She stared after him, eyes stinging with tears for the obvious struggle he was having. What would it mean for Kenley? Rhys had always been decent and kind in the dealings she had with him, but she had watched men of title for many years. She knew that some flinched when they were made uncomfortable. Backed away.
And that could leave Kenley penniless and without important friends to protect him both from the more undefined dangers and the ones that were very real. His mother, for instance, had disappeared after murdering his father. What if she returned? What would it mean for him then?
She shivered as Mrs. Barton entered the room. “It’s time for Master Kenley to take his afternoon rest. Oh, I didn’t realize Lord Leighton had left you.”
Pippa pursed her lips. “I think Lord Leighton is slightly overwhelmed.”
“Don’t know how he couldn’t be, poor man. Nor you, ma’am. We have thought of you often and I hope that you are well through all this…turmoil.”
Pippa bent her head. “All the worst news reached you, I suppose.”
Mrs. Barton shrugged as she took Kenley. “I know better than to believe gossip spun up as fact. Forgive me for saying, but you look tired, yourself, Mrs. Montgomery. Perhaps you should follow Lord Leighton’s lead and rest yourself the remainder of the day.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Pippa said with a warm smile for the kind woman.
She kissed Kenley and watched as Mrs. Barton took him away for his nap. But the moment they were gone, she took three big bites of her much-desired tart for courage, set her napkin aside and got to her feet.