Lucky's Lady (The Caversham Chronicles Book 4) by Sandy Raven Page B

couldn't quite put his finger on. Was it sadness?
    Lucky sipped from his glass. "You need not continue calling me captain. It's so formal, and I am, if anything, a casual man. I would be happy if you would both call me Lucky." His hope was to get closer to Mary. He knew after yesterday that she was keeping him at a distance, and he wanted closer.
    Mr. Watkins smiled and opened his eyes, replying first. "If that is what you wish, then that is what I shall do. Although, Mrs. Watkins is less likely to do so." He chuckled when she looked embarrassed. "She is so proper, my little wife. I think it was the influence of the nuns at the children's home, and the school she attended. We've been married now for just over six years and she has yet to call me by my Christian name, though I have requested she do so long ago."
    Interesting, Lucky thought once the shock subsided. He hoped his facial features didn't show his surprised reaction, and that his hosts didn't perceive it in a negative or condescending way if he did. He sipped his water again, to regain his bearings and tried to temper his reaction. He addressed Mrs. Watkins proud that his voice remained level. "You were raised in a children's home? Is that like an orphanage?"
    She blushed as she kept her gaze downcast at the glass she held. "Mr. Watkins and Father Douglas changed the name officially to, Mary Star of the Sea Home for Children. Almost all residents are over the age five, and we reside there until we are old enough to work or marry, then we move on to other housing arrangements. We all get basic education, some of the boys even go on to college.
    "And my husband knows all this as he was also raised there. He currently is on the Board for the Directors for the home, and changing the name of the place was the first thing he asked of the Bishop. And I cannot agree more. It is difficult enough going to live there as a scared child when you have lost your family. To learn that you will be placed up for adoption immediately upon arrival is a terrifying thing. Living away from our family took some getting used to early on, but the home was all my brother and I had." She ran a finger around the rim of her glass. "Our parents died when I was eight and my brother was ten. Of Yellow Fever. George and I were orphaned, so we went to live at the church."
    "Amazing," he replied, honestly impressed. "So how did you get your education?"
    "The church ran the home and the school as well. Both George and I received fine educations."
    "Mrs. Watkins' brother is a priest at our church here," Mr. Watkins added.
    Lucky already knew this from what he'd witnessed yesterday. "Wonderful. You must be proud of him." His mind swam with what he was learning about her. But it wasn't really just about Mary-Michael Watkins. This was about her entire self-made family. Her husband, her brother, her friends, and from what he witnessed on the walk over, a large part of the population.
    She nodded again, but this time she met his gaze and gave him a slight grin, revealing only the partial dimple in her left cheek. He supposed no one would ever notice it because it was such a tiny hint as to her true emotion. But he noticed. He did not want to forget a thing about this amazing young woman that he was coming to care for, not just lust after. "But I am equally as proud of Becky, Cadence, Melody-who is now known as Sister Elizabeth, and Andrew and Robert at work. You see, over the years a few of us... we've become a family of sorts. We might not be blood, but we are a family."
    Sally reentered the room to tell them luncheon was served. None too soon by the looks of it. Mary was looking somewhat uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. Once they were seated, she asked him about his parents, and Lucky related how he, too, was an orphan. "My parents died when I was seven. I don't remember them at all. They died in a fire. My sister is eleven years older than I, and we went to live with our aunt and