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Sophia then walked onto the stage again, holding a sign that read, ‘NOW’.

“Oh, Your Grace, it’s so woeful. The lease on the building is going to expire. Whatever are we to do?” Emily said, now taking on the role of Clara. She put her arm across her forehead and looked as though she was going to collapse. Now Oliver entered the scene, with Duke right by his side. He puffed out his chest and held his chin high into the air. When he spoke, he made his voice boom. Clara stifled a giggle.

“Never fear, for the Duke of Clemont is here. My grandmother built St. Margaret’s to last, and I shall make sure to keep her promise. I will see to the…” Oliver paused, his head falling for a moment as he tried to remember the words. Emily leaned in and whispered them into his ear, after which Oliver adopted the confident posture again, “…extension of the lease and make repairs. I won’t let you down.”

“Oh, Your Grace, your grandmother would be proud,” Teddy said, this time hunching his shoulders and straining his voice, making himself sound older.

“We are all so grateful, Your Grace. You’ve really saved us. If there’s anything we can do to repay you, please let us know,” Emily, as Clara, said.

“You don’t have to do anything, Miss Sterling. The only thing I’m missing is a duchess,” Oliver, as Gerald said. The smile fell from Clara’s face, and her eyes widened. She looked across the room at Gerald. Around her, she heard tittered whispers. Oliver, undeterred, continued with the play. He turned towards the audience and raised his hand, pointing his finger. Duke turned with him, panting at his feet.

“Thankfully I have plenty of generous friends who are all willing to help St. Margaret’s. I shall host a gala and we shall raise more money than has ever been raised before! I know my friends won’t let me down,” he boomed.

It was hardly a subtle message, but then Agatha had never been known for that. Because the message was delivered via the mouths of charming children, nobody in the crowd seemed to take it in the wrong spirit. They laughed with delight and clapped. Agatha walked onto the stage and encouraged the children to bow.

Clara went to meet them as they exited the stage.

“Well children, that was a surprise. I had no idea you were rehearsing such a thing.”

“We rehearsed it when you were here,” Emily said, beaming. “Do you think I did well?”

“I think you all did excellently. For a moment it was as though I was watching myself.”

“I felt the same way,” Gerald said, emerging from the crowd. He had an easy smile on his face and nodded towards Oliver. “I think you made a fine Duke.”

Oliver beamed.

“Now, would you like to have something to eat, or would you like to meet some of the nice people who are going to help make St. Margaret’s even better than it is already?” Gerald asked.

To nobody’s surprise at all, the children chose food. Gerald chuckled as he led them away, although before all of them left, Sophia tugged at Clara’s dress. Clara bent down.

“You did very well, Sophia. I know that it must have been difficult for you. But you held the signs up nice and high so that everyone could see.”

Sophia smiled, then spoke in a whisper. “I brought something. I want them to see what our lives are like.”

She returned to the stage and brought back some of her drawings, handing them to Clara. Before Clara could say anything else, Sophia scampered away to join the other children. Clara rose and leafed through the drawings. They were all of scenes that Sophia had observed. The first scenes were before Gerald arrived. They showed Clara picking up toys, sitting and reading the children a story, or standing alone in the garden.

Then, she saw the arrival of Duke, the dog. She saw scenes of the children playing, of Duke stranded on the boat. There was Gerald, emerging from the water, and Clara standing nearby, gazing at him. Clara blushed, for she hadn’t believed that anyone had seen her reaction. As an artist, she should have known better.

There was something different about the drawings that contained the Duke, something different about her. She stood a little taller and seemed happier. Then, Clara reached the last picture, which was the drawing Sophia had made of them all together.

She and Gerald were standing together, surrounded by the children. They looked like the complete family, and something about it tugged at Clara’s heartstrings. Tears began to swell in her eyes. One even dripped onto the page, but she wiped it off quickly as she didn’t want to mar Sophia’s drawing with her sorrow.

It was a glimpse of a future that would never come to pass. The children would all move on. So would Gerald. In the end, she would be left standing there alone, melancholy, without anyone to keep her company.

Clara swallowed these feelings because there was no room for them at the gala. She needed to be charming, congenial, and fun.

Clara swept around the room, distributing Sophia’s pictures to show people how they spent their days. They were all enamored by the artwork, and impressed when Clara mentioned that she helped to nurture Sophia’s talent. It was her opinion that children should be given the space to flourish, and that’s what she hoped to achieve at St. Margaret’s. Children should not be condemned because of mistakes their parents made.

Thankfully, it seemed as though many people believed the same thing as her.

Gerald stood beside the children as they ate their food. He’d worn a persistent smile throughout the night, and it hadn’t always been forced. The performance had been charming, although it struck him that those days might be coming to an end. Clara was right, it would be awkward if he continued to visit St. Margaret’s after their arrangement ceased. It would only be pouring salt into the wounds if Clara retreated again.

However, he was determined to confess his feelings after the gala. There was no sense doing it beforehand. It wouldn’t have been fair to Clara, who had worked so hard on making this possible.

As Gerald moved around the room and spoke to the guests, he made sure to effusively praise Clara, telling them all that none of this would have been possible without her, and he meant every word.

The good mood of the crowd was contagious, and it was made even better by the addition of music. The merry tunes had people swaying and dancing. Gerald wanted to ask Clara to dance, but he could never seem to find her. At one moment he might see her gliding past, but then she would disappear behind another cluster of people.