“No, before that. Have you family, miss? Parents? Brothers or sisters?”
“Mama,” she murmured. “In Woodlands Green.” A soft, prolonged snore followed, nearly drowned out by the relentless rain.
She hadn’t gone far from home to find employment, then—Woodlands Green wasn’t more than half an hour south. Ford knocked on the roof, barely pausing for the carriage to stop before throwing open the door.
Without waiting for the steps to be lowered, he lifted Jewel and jumped down.
She let out a little squeal. “What are you doing, Uncle Ford?”
“Lakefield isn’t far.” He balanced her on a hip. “We’re going to walk from here.”
“In the rain? Mama says not to get cold and wet. You could fall ill.” Her little forehead furrowed. “We could get measles.”
“Staying with Nurse Lydia could give you measles. Besides, it’s not cold. It’s summer.” Never mind that Jewel’s teeth were chattering. Surprised to find himself feeling protective, he held her closer. “Can you tell me Nurse Lydia’s surname?”
“Her what?”
“The part of her name that comes after Lydia.” Huge drops splotched his brown surcoat and dripped from the brim of his hat. He shifted the girl on his hip. “Like in your name, Chase comes after Jewel.”
She only cocked her small head, which was rapidly becoming soaked.
Taking a deep breath for patience, he tried again. “Your name is Jewel Chase. Nurse Lydia’s name is…?”
“Nurse Lydia. Two names, just like mine.”
He rolled his eyes heavenward before looking to his coachman. “Spalding, take the nursemaid to Woodlands Green and find her mother.” Woodlands Green was tiny—even without a surname, it probably wasn’t an onerous request. “And tell the woman to send for a physician, courtesy of the Earl of Greystone.” He set his niece on her feet. “Lady Jewel and I have decided to walk home in this fine weather.”
Jewel promptly slipped in the mud.
With a sigh, Ford picked her back up, wondering if things could get any worse.
FOUR
THE NEXT MORNING, Ford awoke with an elbow in his ribs.
“Hey!” Blinking blurred, itchy eyes, he pushed a little arm off him for what had to be the dozenth time. He was exhausted. Jewel had wiggled the entire night. When not nestled up against him, or half on top of him, she’d been attacking him with various limbs—she seemed to have at least eight of the things. Her tiny toenails had left scratches in the vicinity of his knees. “Lie still,” he growled, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes.
He heard a whimper and suppressed a groan. Not the tears again!
Tears were what had landed Jewel in his bed in the first place. He’d breathed a sigh of relief after tucking her in last night, only to find himself awakened by heartfelt sobs. Between her hiccups and gulps, he’d gathered that last night had been the first she’d ever spent away from her mother and father.
Ford couldn’t blame a little girl for missing her parents. But if he’d had any doubts he wasn’t ready for marriage and a family, they were gone by morning. Long gone.
His mind was made up: he was swearing off women. Even the agreeable ones were a headache.
When Jewel sniffled, he turned his head to see her heart-shaped face cradled on the pillow beside him, her rosy cheeks damp with tears. More tears threatened to spill from her emerald-green eyes.
He pushed a clump of her thick black hair aside and felt her forehead. No fever, for which he was tremendously thankful. Illness was the last thing either of them needed.
“Come now, Jewel. It’s morning, can you see?” He waved a hand toward the window, where yellow light shone through spaces between the crooked shutters. One more thing on his repair list.
At least the rain had stopped. So much for St. Swithin’s prophecy.
“We’ll have a nice day together, you’ll see.” One day. He could survive one more day. First, of course, he’d dash off a message to his brother, informing him Nurse Lydia had come down with the measles. Colin would send a replacement. Someone who knew Jewel. Someone who knew what to do.
Did you think I’d expect you to care for her on your own? Heaven forbid.
Ford realized his hands had fisted around the counterpane. He remembered Colin’s sneer, the dismissal in his face. His brother thought so little of him. Thought him too irresponsible to entrust with his precious daughter. What did he think Ford would do? Forget to feed the girl? Perform an experiment on her? He wasn’t an imbecile.
Meanwhile, his twin Kendra—also aged twenty-three—cared for two children of her own, every single day. Surely Ford could care for one measly child for a few short weeks. What did Kendra have that Ford didn’t have?
He’d hated the feeling of being dismissed by a brother he looked up to.
And blast him if he’d prove the scoundrel right!
No, he wouldn’t give Colin the satisfaction. He and Jewel would manage on their own. Somehow. It was only for a short time. If he was clever enough to invent a new type of watch, surely he could figure out how to handle his niece.
And next time, Colin would know better than to underestimate him.
With an ingratiating smile, he turned back to Jewel’s sad little face. “Come now, baby.”
“I’m not a baby.”
“Of course you’re not.” He hadn’t consciously used the endearment; it had simply slipped out of his mouth. “If you stop crying, I’ll give you a shilling.”
That did the trick. The tears ended, and she struggled to sit in his rumpled bed, apparently smarter than he’d given her credit for.
Thank goodness. A girl bright enough to be reasoned with. Never mind that his estate was in sad shape and he could ill afford to throw around bribes—he’d give Jewel his entire meager savings if it would ensure her cooperation.
He stared at the canopy above him, wondering when his blue bed-hangings had faded to gray. And if the old ropes
