He grinned. “That’s better.” He headed out, grabbing a few tea sandwiches as he left, but paused in the doorway and turned back. “Miss Newton, I have a question for you.”

“Yes, sir?” My heart beat so hard I was afraid he could hear it. Would he ask about the train?

“Do you like bugs?”

That wasn’t the question I’d anticipated, but thanks to my discussion with Mrs. Talbot, I wasn’t taken aback. “I have yet to make fast friends with one.”

His lips twitched like he was fighting a smile. “Are you afraid of them?”

I looked him square in the eyes and said firmly, “No, not at all.” If he wanted to take that to mean I wasn’t afraid of him either, he was welcome to do so.

He nodded with satisfaction. “Good. Good.” Without another word he wandered off, again with that distracted air.

“What did you think of Lord Henry?” Mrs. Talbot asked, resuming her seat.

I wasn’t quite sure how to answer. “He seems too young to have three children, or children that old,” I said at last.

“They’re not his. He’s their guardian—their father’s younger brother. Their mother died when the youngest was born, and when their father died a year ago, Lord Henry moved into the home to look after them.”

I doubted a man responsible for three orphans would go about such risky business as banditry when he clearly had no need of funds. I must have been mistaken. There were probably dozens of men in the city with similar eyes. I was surprised to realize I felt slightly disappointed. If I had to be a governess, working for a bandit would make my life much more exciting. Now I supposed I had to hope for something like a madwoman in the attic, or perhaps a ghost.

Lord Henry returned a moment later. He sat in the chair next to Mrs. Talbot’s and said, “Now, Mrs. Talbot, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with Miss Newton alone.”

She hesitated, and he said, “We’re considering hiring her to chaperone Flora and Rollo. If you can’t trust her alone with me, how can we trust her to supervise the children?” He gave me the slightest smile and added, “I assure you, her virtue is safe from me. You may stand in the hall if you wish to observe us.” Mrs. Talbot reluctantly left the room, but she lurked in the hallway.

“Are you familiar with the sort of education that is customarily given to girls of my class?” he asked.

“Enough French to travel on the Continent, some drawing or painting, and enough music to perform for others?”