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And he liked to see her smile.
* * *
They went their separate ways,
dressing for the day, and he sought out William, and ensured that the boy ate his breakfast.
He also decided to give the governess the afternoon off.
‘We shall be together as a family today,’ he said to William.
William looked pleased in that way that he often did. A small smile to himself. And Briggs felt as if he was... As if he was actually doing better than his father. It bothered him that the feeling mattered. It bothered him that it existed inside him, this desire to best his old man. And yet it did. He had not been aware it was quite so strong until now.
* * *
They got in their carriage and made their way to Grosvenor Square. They had packed a picnic for the afternoon, and he found himself slightly bemused by the fact that Beatrice had found a way to get both he and William to willingly participate in something both had said they would not. She might belong to him, but she had done a fair amount of changing the way that he lived.
She was very small for a revolutionary, and yet, he could not help but think of her as one.
‘You are a warrior, Beatrice,’ he said.
She looked at him, her eyes glowing. ‘I am?’
‘Yes.’ He nodded. ‘If I had to ride into battle, I would want you by my side.’
The flush of pleasure on her face pleased him immensely. And he was so focused on it, that he looked away from William for just a moment, and when he looked back, he was gone.
‘William,’ he said, looking around, trying to scan the group of children that were running about the edge of the water.
He spotted him finally, holding his deck of cards, and speaking seriously to three other boys. Something inside Briggs went tight. And he sat back, poised to act.
He would not intervene. Not if he wasn’t needed. It was up to William to speak to other children if he wished to. And he ought to. It was a good thing. An expected thing.
But then one of the boys took hold of William’s box, and flung it to the ground. And after the box, the cards.
‘You’re weird,’ the other boy said. ‘No one cares about Rome.’
‘You’re addled,’ said another boy, and gave William a shove, and Briggs mobilised.
‘You better find your governess,’ he said, moving forward, and the boy looked up, his eyes going wide, and Briggs knew enough to know that the boy must have a father in the peerage, because he clearly identified Briggs as a man of great authority, his entire face going pale.
‘I... I...’
‘Is your governess about? Because she should seek to teach you manners, as you clearly have none.’
A woman came fluttering across the field. ‘I am very sorry,’ she said.
‘You will do well to tell this boy’s father when you give an account for his day, that he insulted the son of the Duke of Brigham. I will not allow for such a thing.’
‘Sorry, Your Grace,’ she said, ‘so terribly sorry.’
He bent down and picked up the box, and all the cards, dumping them back in rather carelessly. And then he thrust them into William’s hands. ‘Take these.’
William was silent, his countenance dimmed.
They went back to the blanket where Beatrice was standing, looking outraged.
She knelt down. ‘William,’ she said. ‘Are you all right?’
