The Lady's Tutor Read Online Free PDF

to lie to you.”
    “Obviously, I must ask you, and because you have never lied to me
before, I do not believe you will now.”
    Phillip stared down at his shoes; finally, he mumbled, “He said
something.”
    “About you?”
    “No.”
    “About Richard?”
    He lifted his chin and stared over her head. “I don’t want to tell
you, Mother.”
    Elizabeth was suddenly filled with foreboding.
    Children, regardless of their age, repeated the same gossip as did
their parents. If she had overheard rumors concerning Edward’s extramarital
relationship, it was quite probable that her children had too.
    “Did Master Bernard say something about your father, Phillip?”
    He blinked, gaze still fixed over her head.
    Obviously, the blink meant yes.
    Why had she been such a complaisant wife? None of this need have
happened, not to her husband, not to her, and not to her children.
    “Phillip.”
    Her son gazed at her in mute appeal, well acquainted with that
particular tone of voice.
    Elizabeth’s heart ached for him.
    Save for the color of his hair, Phillip looked so like his father,
the same dark brown eyes and patrician nose . . . yet there was nothing at all
of Edward inside him.
    Elizabeth could not imagine Edward with a black eye. Not even at
Phillip’s age.
    She patted the sofa beside her. “I brought you something.”
    His dark brown eye regarded her warily. “What?”
    “A box of Cadbury chocolates.”
    Bribery achieved what all the mother’s love in the world could not
have accomplished. Phillip darted toward the basket sitting by her feet.
    “You shouldn’t reward violent behavior, Mother.”
    The reproving voice belonged to neither a boy nor a man, but
someone in between the two stages of life.
    Elizabeth turned to her elder son with unfeigned pleasure. “And
you should not allow your little brother to pick on boys who are twice his—”
    Her mouth dropped open in shock. “Richard!”
    He was pale and gaunt and nearly unrecognizable as the boy who had
daily hounded her between terms for a new safety bicycle. Even his hair,
midnight black like his father’s, was dull and lifeless.
    She stood up and reached for his forehead. “Richard, are you ill?”
    He suffered her touch. “I’m fine now.”
    “Why didn’t the dean contact me?”
    “It was nothing, Mother, just the sniffles.”
    “Are you eating properly?”
    “Mother.”
    “Would you like to come home for a rest?”
    He recoiled from her hand. “No.”
    “Would you like a box of toffees?” she asked tartly.
    A reluctant smile tugged at his lips. “I wouldn’t object to it,
no.”
    “Then come join us and we’ll feast. I had Cook prepare a picnic
basket.”
    Phillip had already invaded the basket and discovered inside the
hidden treasures. Solemnly, he handed the box of toffees to Richard.
    It was as if the two boys were sealing a pact.
    In between gulps of apple cider and bites of sliced roast beef,
rich Stilton cheese, pickled vegetables, and crumpets smothered with strawberry
jam, Richard bragged about his studies while Phillip bragged about his tricks
to escape studying. All too soon their time together was over.
    Elizabeth packed away the last of the plates and utensils into the
basket—the remaining food she folded into two napkins. “Richard, eat. Phillip,
no more fights. And now I do not care whose dignity I offend, I am claiming a
hug from each of you.”
    Phillip, as if all along he had been waiting for permission,
barreled into her and pressed his face into her midriff. “I love you, Mum.”
    Elizabeth was overcome by a fierce surge of protectiveness. ‘Mum’
had been Phillip’s special name for her ever since he had overheard a maid call
the queen “Queen Mum.”
    Richard towered over Elizabeth by five inches. He surprised her by
wrapping his arms about her and burying his face into her neck the way he had
when he was a toddler. Warm, moist breath tickled her skin. “Same for me, Mum.”
    Elizabeth breathed deeply of his