Elizabeth August - Truly, Madly, Deeply

Her gaze shifted to the housekeeper. The woman looked tired. “I’ll help Lucy with the dishes first.”

“That really isn’t necessary,” Lucy assured her.

“I want to,” Minerva insisted, and began gathering the plates.

Herding the children out of the kitchen, Judd glanced back at Minerva. There had been kindness in her voice when she’d spoken to Lucy. And her helpfulness was a refreshing change. The other applicants had strictly limited their activities to caring for the children. When offered a break, they had disappeared until summoned.

Or maybe Miss Brodwick was simply trying to make a good impression, his skeptical side suggested. Judging a woman’s true character took a sharp eye and a cynical mind. He’d learned that the hard way.

After helping Lucy with the dishes, Minerva stopped at the door of the playroom on her way to her room. Watching Judd with his children was like watching a totally different man than the one who was constantly confronting her. He was playful, gentle and loving. Suddenly aware that he was looking at her, she asked, “Who shall I start with for the first bath?”

“Henry,” Judd replied, handing his son to her. He was tempted to do the bathing himself, but forced himself to refrain. He needed to be assured that she could handle the job on her own when he wasn’t there.

Entering the large bathroom off the hall across from the children’s rooms, she turned to close the door only to find John there. “We always keep the door open. Henry can be a little rambunctious,” he said, with adult authority that reminded her of his father. “I’ll be here in the hall in case you need help.”

She saw the worried look on his face and smiled reassuringly. “I’ll be happy to leave the door open.”

As she proceeded with the bath, she was aware of John watching her every move. Judd also stopped for a moment to look in. He claimed he was on his way to get a toy from the girls’ room to keep Joan appeased. But she was certain he was checking on her.

“Finished,” she later said, letting out the water. Drying Henry, she then wrapped him in the towel and carried him to his room. John, she noticed, followed close behind. She playfully tickled Henry as she dressed him. But even his happy giggling did not cause John to relax his vigil.

Leaving Henry to play with his toys, she closed the security gate to his room and went to get the girls. “I’ll bathe them both at the same time,” she said, her back muscles beginning to tighten from John’s constant scrutiny.

Judd usually did them both together but he knew they could be a handful. Despite his decision to let her do the bathing on her own, he heard himself asking, “Do you want some help?”

“No. I can handle them.” She was tired and under other circumstances might have accepted assistance. But she was determined to prove to him that she was capable of doing her job. As she took each girl by the hand, she glanced at John who continued to tag along behind her. “I’ll run your bathwater when I’m done with Joan and Judy.”

He flushed and his shoulders straightened with dignity. “I can bathe myself.”

“I’ll just run the water,” she replied diplomatically.

“And I can dry and dress myself,” he added. His manner became very much like his father’s when Judd Graham was laying down his rules. “Then it’s reading time.” He looked to his father. “Will you be reading to us or should Minerva do that?”

“I’ll read tonight and tuck all of you in,” Judd replied.

Minerva saw the relief on the boy’s face and knew he was happy to have his self-appointed sentry duty ending with the bathing.

And she’d be happy to have a break from his watchful eye, she admitted, her back muscle twitching slightly as she bent to run the bath for the girls. Deciding that they should have privacy from their brother, she started to close the bathroom door before undressing them.

“Like I told you when you bathed Henry,” John said, stepping in the doorway to stop her. “We always keep the door open in case you need to yell for help.”

“I thought they should have some privacy,” she returned.

“I won’t watch. But I need the door open so I can hear if you need help,” he insisted.

Seeing the determined, protective expression on his face, she relented. “All right, I’ll leave the door open.”

As she bathed the girls, getting herself nearly as wet as them, Judd Graham paused by the bathroom door to check on her progress.

“I’d hate to be the boys who come around when you two start dating,” she told the girls in confidential tones and they giggled.

She was letting the water drain out and beginning to dry Judy when Judd returned. Retrieving the second towel, he began to dry Joan. Minerva found his closeness unsettling. When their shoulders accidently touched, currents of heat raced through her. Wrapping Judy in the towel, she quickly exited the bathroom.

I’m just overly tense from being constantly watched, she told herself, determined to ignore the disquieting effect the man had on her.

Finally the bathing was over and the children were excitedly choosing the books they wanted read to them. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Minerva headed to the kitchen, hoping there was still coffee in the pot. To her relief there was and she poured herself a cup.

“Would you like to join me for a piece of pie?” Lucy asked, coming out of her two-room apartment just off the kitchen.

“Sure,” Minerva agreed, glad to have some friendly adult company. As they sat down at the table with their pie and coffee, she again stretched her back.

“I suppose John watched you constantly,” Lucy said sympathetically. “He did the others. I suppose he could have been at least part of the reason they left so quickly.”

“He is very protective of his brother and sisters,” Minerva commented.

Lucy nodded. “With his mother gone, he’s appointed himself guardian over them. In all my life, I’ve never seen a more mature child.”

“Their mother’s leaving must have come as a shock.” Minerva knew she was prying but she reasoned that the more she knew about her charges, the better she could care for them.

Lucy sighed. “Ingrid Graham was one of those women who should never have had children. She just wasn’t cut out for motherhood. When Judd realized she couldn’t cope, he hired a nanny...even when there was only John. That seemed to help a bit, then she got pregnant with the triplets. She was always so concerned about her looks. I suppose I can’t blame her. She was beautiful and, for her, being beautiful was a lot of who she was. When she got huge with the triplets, she became depressed and she never really got over it. I thought when those tiny cute babies were born, she’d bond with them, but she never did.”

Minerva found herself thinking of her own situation. She’d felt close to her mother but not to her father. As hard as she’d tried to please him, she’d always felt as if she never truly had his approval. “It’s tough growing up with a parent you aren’t certain really likes you.”

Lucy nodded. “It was for the best that Ingrid left. Not that I don’t think those little ones need a mother but they need someone who’s not so selfish or self-centered, someone who loves them.” Lucy glanced toward the kitchen door. “We’d better drop this subject. Judd doesn’t like me talking about her.”

Minerva nodded and let her curiosity turn in another direction. “Have you worked for Mr. Graham a long time?”

“A long time,” Lucy confirmed. “Ten years. Ever since he moved into this house. He was twenty-six and already one of the busiest architects and contractors in the Atlanta area. He’s a self-made man. His parents died in a car crash the year he earned his architect’s degree. His dad had a small construction company. Judd took it over and worked his tail off making it into what it is today.”