Ada & The Earl (The Woodhouse Series #1)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

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*Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland*

"Miss Carne?" A voice shook me out of my daydream and I turned to see little Mary Ross sitting next to me, waiting for me to continue with our lesson. I had been working as her teacher for a few days now and I was grateful for the opportunity. She was a sprightly little girl who had helped me go through the donations box to find some clothes during my first day and we wonderfully found a bag to store my belongings in, as well as giving me a tour of the abbey's facilities, including the room that would be mine.

I was required to provide the meals for Mary but everything was paid for by Archibald - whenever Mary ate, I joined her. Archibald spent time with his daughter once his ministerial duties ended in the evening, the two of them reading from the many books he had collected from his many missionary travels.

"Miss Carne, are you alright? You've been awfully distracted..."

"I'm fine. I just have a lot going on right now..." I shifted in my seat. "Please don't tell your father. I really need this job..."

Mary giggled and shook her head. "Let's stop working and share with me..."

I raised my eyebrows. "You are eight years old. I should not be sharing my problems with you and we also need to finish with your English class..." I gestured to the open book before us and she slammed it shut suddenly, almost trapping my fingers inside.

"Oh look, class is over!" She leaned towards me. "Now tell me! I happen to be a great listener."

I sighed. "I...found out some troubling news about someone I helped. I thought they were out of trouble when I left them but it turns out the trouble has followed them here..."

"So...what's the problem?" Mary asked and I tilted my head, playing with the pen in my hands.

"I don't know what to do..." I said. "I don't know where he is..."

"A he?" Mary teased and I rolled my eyes. "Well...Dunfermline is not very big. If he's still here, we'll find him."

"We?" I questioned and she nodded.

"Papa is the minister here. Everyone comes to the abbey to pray and so will he..." Mary pointed out.

I tilted my head. "You think I should help him?"

"How do you think it will make you feel if you didn't?"

For an eight-year-old, she was very intuitive and I sighed. "Well...he was pretty useless in the time we spent together. Absolutely hopeless. Granted, he knew how to forage and saved us from starving to death on our way here...."

"So?" Mary questioned, dragging the word out longer than need be.

She was convincing.

I knew what I had to do.

***

As Mary spent another evening reading with her father, I used the chance to head out and search for Louis.

The last time I had gone out at night, it had not ended well but I wasn't going to hang around and wait for another man to make a move.

Finding Louis wouldn't be hard - he would stick out like a sore thumb in this sea of Scots.