A Prince for Aunt Hetty Read Online Free PDF Page A

it. Their conversation until now had been somewhat limited and the party would be a good way to speak more with her.
    Mrs. Hayes stepped away from them, distracted by some loud thumping sounds coming from the floor above.
    Miss Masters spoke. “Thank you for this afternoon. I'm sure not even their father could have done more to entertain the children.”
    “I have to admit that I probably enjoyed it even more than they did.” He gave her a smile.
    “I could have guessed that.” There was a soft teasing in her voice that curled through his insides in an unsettling way.
    “I didn't get to play much as a child, so now that I'm a grown man, I think I can take some liberties.” He teased back.
    “My thoughts exactly,” she said. “Grown men and women should be able to afford some spirited fun now and again.”
    A beat passed between them. Their eyes held in something that might have been more than humor. But the sounds of the children reminded him where he was.
    “Until Saturday, then,” Rupert bowed slightly to Miss Masters. He kept his eyes on her face. “Mrs. Hayes,” he caught her attention, “thank you again for the kind offer of dinner. I look forward to seeing you and your lovely children again soon.”
    “We would all love that, Mr Henderson.”
    Rupert turned toward the door.
    “Good evening, Mr. Henderson,” Miss Masters said.
    “Good evening, Miss Masters.” The door shut behind him.
    As it closed, Rupert heard Mrs. Hayes call up the stairs. “I hope that my children are washing themselves for dinner and not playing !” Rupert smiled to himself. Being around spirited children was invigorating. And more than a little exhausting.
    He slowly wended his way home, stopping frequently to gaze at the fading winter light as it hit the tree branches. The woods were silent now, no shrieking or sounds of children playing. Not that he minded their noise. There was a kind of healing in it that replenished his spirit. In fact, after his dinner, Rupert thought he might just sit down and do some work. And he knew exactly what his subject would be.

Chapter Three
     
    H ETTY'S WEEK PASSED in happy merriment. In the mornings she aided her sister with lessons for the children, a duty Agatha had assumed while their governess was visiting her family. Then the afternoons were full of games and laughter.
    The weather began to worsen, keeping the children inside far more than their mother or father wished them to be. To help, Hetty tried to devise clever games to keep their minds and bodies occupied. They loved to play hide-and-seek, though the oldest, Vanessa, was the only one who could keep from laughing while she was hidden.
    Hetty knew that Agatha was glad of the respite her sister provided. Hetty loved her nieces and nephews, but she did not know exactly how her sister could stand upright at the end of each long day. Hetty fell exhausted into bed each night and slept like the dead until the noise of the children woke her again the next morning.
    One night, Hetty had even fallen asleep in Stephen and Vincent's bed while reading them one of the fairy tales they loved so well. She'd settled in, one boy tucked under each arm, and begun one of her favorites about a beautiful princess and a handsome prince. An hour later, she'd been shaken gently awake by Agatha, who had come to kiss her children good night and found her slumbering sister instead.
    And so the week went. Play during the day, sound slumber at night, and lots of laughter in between. Hetty enjoyed the freedom of it all. She loved her life in London and she had been happy to help arrange her eldest niece Isobel's recent wedding. But being a responsible adult had its burdens. Here with the children she could forget that she was now supposed to be on the downhill slope of life.
    On Saturday, this comfortable routine was interrupted by the preparations for the dinner and card party the Hayes' were hosting. Though Hetty could very happily have spent all of her visit