A Nanny For Keeps

“No, thank you. I had some at Heaton House. I think I’ll go check on the girls now.”

“I’ll have breakfast ready around eight—that’s when they normally come down.”

“I’ll go up now, then. Thank you, Mrs. Biddle.”

“You’re welcome, dear.” The woman actually smiled at her and Georgia hoped they would have a good relationship.

She hurried up the back stairs to the girls’ room and opened the door as softly as she could, only to find the two little girls in their nightclothes, looking out their window that faced the street. “She’s not coming,” Lilly said.

“Oh, I’m sure she is. She’ll be here any minute now. If she wasn’t coming, Maid would have already been up here to tell us,” Polly said.

Lilly put her hands on her hips and glared at her sister. “Maid wouldn’t know yet!”

“Good morning, girls! Am I late?”

They turned to her with such relief on their faces, she wanted to rush to them and hug them. But she let them decide how they wanted to greet her.

For a moment they stood there just staring at her. Then Lilly grinned from ear to ear. “You came!”

“Of course I did. I told you I’d be here and I keep my word. We’d better get you both dressed for breakfast. Cook said it’d be ready soon. Show me your wardrobe and we’ll choose something for you to wear.”

They led her to their wardrobe and with their help she was able to find them something she hoped was suitable. The girls pulled out matching plaid dresses in different colors. Polly’s was in blue and green and Lilly’s was in pink and yellow. The skirts were a bit shorter than she thought they should be, just as the ones they’d worn to church had been, and Georgia feared everything in their wardrobe was a little outdated.

It appeared she would need to speak to their father about their clothing soon. She really did need to talk to Elizabeth and get her help on how children of the wealthy dressed. Her friend came from a rich family although she wasn’t part of that lifestyle any longer. But perhaps she would remember how she was treated as the child of wealthy parents.

She could also speak to Betsy about the styles for children now.

“Are we ready?” Georgia asked, after tying their hair up with ribbons that matched the dresses they had on.

“Yes!” they said in unison as they hurried out the door and to the stairs. As she followed her charges, they looked quite good to her, but she wasn’t sure if what they had on was appropriate for breakfast. Still, all she could do for now was hope that no one in the house had anything bad to say about how they were dressed.

There seemed to be a lot of whispering going on between the girls as they made their way to the breakfast room, but Georgia couldn’t make out what they were saying. She thought it sweet that they were so close, but of course they would be after losing their mother.

She followed them into the room and Mrs. Biddle brought in their breakfast as soon as they sat down at the table. The round table was just the right size for four to six people. It appeared to have had the leaves taken out and was nowhere near as large as the one in the dining room.

It was set for only three, and as Georgia had told Cook that she’d eaten already, she thought Sir Tyler would be coming.

But Mrs. Biddle took away the third place setting and asked, “Did you want coffee or tea now, Miss Marshall?”

“Oh, Sir Tyler doesn’t have his breakfast with the girls?”

“Oh, no. He has his in the dining room, but he’ll most likely look in on them before they’re through eating.”

He ate alone at that long table? Just him in that room? Georgia didn’t think she’d ever understand the ways of English gentry. “I’ll have some tea, then, please.”

Mrs. Biddle hurried to the kitchen and brought back a small pot that held at least two cups, then poured Georgia a cup and set the pot down beside it.

“Thank you,” Georgia said in example to the girls. She had no idea how they’d been trained, but she knew manners mattered. And just because someone was in service didn’t mean one shouldn’t show appreciation for what they did.

Georgia waited until the cook left the room and said, “I’ll say the blessing.” She waited until the girls bowed their heads and then she began, “Dear Lord, we thank You for this day and ask that You guide us through it. We ask You to bless this food and the cook who prepared it for us. Thank You for our many blessings. In Jesus’s name, amen.”

She smiled when both girls added their amen to hers. “What do you think you two would like to do today? Would you like to go to the bookstore so we can order you some books? Your papa would like me to start your lessons. Is there anything specific you’d like to learn more about?”

“I want to learn more about America because Mama lived here when she was young, too,” Polly said.

“Me, too,” Lilly said. “Let’s learn about ’merica!”

“Then that will go to the top of the list.”

Georgia had just taken a sip of tea when Lilly looked up and grinned at something behind her. She turned to see Sir Tyler leaning against the door frame just as Lilly said, “Papa!”

“Good morning, Papa! Miss Marshall did come, just as you and she said she would!” Polly said.

“Good morning. Of course she came.” He smiled at Georgia and something in her chest quickened as he pushed away from the door frame and came around and kissed each of his daughters on the top of the head. “You both look very nice today. Have you made any plans?”

“We’re just starting to,” Georgia said as he took a seat across from her and between his girls.

Mrs. Biddle must have heard his voice from the kitchen, for she hurried in with a cup of coffee for him, gave a small curtsy and left the room.

“We’re going to get some books to have lessons with, Papa,” Lilly said.

“Yes, on America,” Polly added.

“That’s good,” their papa said as he took a seat at the table. “Your mama would be happy that you’ll be learning about this country.”

They both nodded as they continued with their breakfast and Sir Tyler turned his attention to Georgia. “What else were you thinking of doing today?”

“Well, if it’s all right with you, I thought we’d go get the books we need and then perhaps we might call on Mrs. Heaton’s daughter, Rebecca, and her daughter, Jenny, for a bit if they’re home.”

“Oh, yes, please say it’s all right, Papa,” Polly said.

“Of course it is. Miss Marshall has my permission to plan your days just as Nanny did.”

“The old one or the new one that left? She didn’t plan much of anything,” Polly said.

“I’m sure Miss Marshall will come up with all kinds of things for you to do. She is a teacher, after all.”

That seemed to satisfy the girls for the moment, but Georgia knew she had much to learn about them before she could plan each day adequately.

“I’ve got a busy day ahead, so I’ll leave you to yours. I think it might be more enjoyable than mine. I’m still trying to find an office space.”

“You could come with us,” Lilly said a bit shyly.

Georgia waited for his answer. As far as she could tell, he worked a lot from home and his hours were his own. He could go with them, but she—

“Not today, dear. But you have fun and I’ll see you later.” Sir Tyler turned to Georgia. “And thank you again for coming to our aid, Miss Marshall. I appreciate it more than I can say.”

“You’re welcome.” She looked to see that the girls had finished their breakfast and couldn’t help being a little disappointed in their father’s response to his daughter’s plea. She really didn’t know what else to say as Sir Tyler took a last sip of his coffee then stood and left the room.