by Abby Ayles
“Yes, ma’am,” Hannah responded.
“Oh,” she waved Hannah off with a blush, “don’t you be goin’ calling me such. I ain’t no such thing.”
“Then what shall I call you?” Hannah asked, elated to make a friend in this conjuration of naysayers and gossipmongers.
“Why most just call me Widow McCarthy, though I never cared for it. What’s the use of being reminded that you’re all alone with every word come out of some’uns mouth?”
Hannah had to smile at her logic.
“Surely you’re not all alone though?” Hannah asked, looking around the room for someone that perhaps took care of the aged lady.
“Oh, there is my son, Matty. Though he is far too busy to spend time with a’old timer like me’self.”
Hannah looked around the room in earnest. Surely this sweet lady was not left to return home alone.
“Forgive me,” a man’s voice said from behind her and Hannah whipped around. “I believe my mother is bothering you.”
Hannah studied the frame of the gentleman. He looked to be in his mid-twenties and rather handsome at that.
“No, not at all. We were just having a lovely conversation,” Hannah turned back to Mrs. McCarthy. “She has been a most gracious welcome party for my first Sunday service.”
“Are you her son then?” Hannah inquired. “Mrs. McCarthy did mention one. I believe Matty?”
He cleared his throat, “Matthew McCarthy, at your service, Miss?”
“Miss Hannah Jacobson.”
“Mr. McCarthy,” a gruff voice boomed from next to Hannah.
She hadn’t realized it but Lord Grimshaw had finished his words and was now apparently entering their conversation.
“I see you wasted no time in making the acquaintance of my governess?”
“Actually, I was just here to collect my mother. Mother?” he said, motioning for the elderly lady to follow after him.
Hannah sensed something unspoken and not understood by her between the two gentlemen. They seemed to hold each other’s gaze for several seconds.
“Well it was very nice meeting you, Mrs. McCarthy,” Hannah said, doing her best to hide her confusion on the tension between the two men.
“Now you come and visit me anytime. I would be happy for the company,” Mrs. McCarthy said, patting Hannah’s hand as she shuffled towards her son. “I am all alone in my little cottage and would be happy about it. Just go to the local shop and ask Matty here and he will show ye the way.”
“Thank you, Mrs. McCarthy. That is most kind of you.”
“Miss Jacobson, we really must be going,” Lord Grimshaw said in a demanding voice.
“Yes, of course,” Hannah said, only hesitating for a moment as she watched the McCarthys walk away.
It wasn’t Matthew that she was so interested in but the sweet little lady. Hannah was sure that she would find a moment in the next week to go and visit with the lady.
“I believe you are forgetting my conditions,” Lord Grimshaw said rather gruffly after they were all again seated in the carriage waiting out front for them.
“I’m not sure what you mean?” Hannah retorted, not sure if she was more surprised by his words or the accusation behind them.
“Then I suppose that will be something we can discuss tonight after dinner,” he said, penetrating her with his dark brown eyes.
She was utterly surprised by his words, but more so by the stern nature of his face. She could swear on the ride in he was all aglow with warmth and his eyes shone a sweet honey glee. Now his face was darkened with its usual solemnity and his eyes were as dark as a deep pool.
“I assure you there will be nothing needing discussion. I was merely speaking with a kind old lady.”
“And her young eligible son,” Grimshaw added.
Hannah opened her mouth to retort but realized there were two pairs of big doe eyes intently watching the two of them.
She was sure this was not an appropriate topic for a carriage ride in front of Grimshaw’s two little girls. She was not willing to let him bully her into admitting she was attempting to flirt with Mr. McCarthy when she certainly wasn’t, nor did she want to disrespect the man by arguing with him in front of his children.
“Then I suppose there is a misunderstanding between us and a proper conversation might be well advised.”
Grimshaw was more than sour that he came upon Miss Jacobson all smiles for Matthew McCarthy at her first church service no less. He wasn’t sure what irritated him more, that she seemed to waste no time in finding a suitable beau in town, or that she had shown her first unencumbered smile to another.
Now when he suggested they discuss the matter and resolve it promptly she had the audacity to pretend to have no idea to his meaning. Now she was claiming that a sit-down was her idea all along.
Grimshaw wasn’t used to having the tables turned on him, but he had a feeling with Miss Jacobson in his employment he would now always have to be on his toes to counter her cunning abilities.
Dinner in the company of the earl and his daughters was a strained occurrence that Sunday evening. It was as if the weight of the unspoken words for both Grimshaw and Hannah were pressing down on them.
Though Rebecca was far too young to notice the change in mood and happily chatted on, Caroline, on the other hand, was very aware of it.
Constantly the girl darted her eyes nervously between her father and governess. Hannah did her best to give the child a reassuring smile whenever possible.
Caroline may have understood that something was amiss, but she couldn’t know what exactly. Hannah highly doubted that the earl had made his daughters privy to the knowledge of the ridiculous rules he had yoked upon her.
To make matters all the worse, it appeared that Mr. Poole would be waiting on them at dinner that night. Apparently one of the normal servers had fallen ill and Mr. Poole had happily stepped in to take his place.
Hannah didn’t have to guess why. He made it a point to stand against the wall directly behind her. Though there were several feet between them she could still feel his icy breath on her neck.
He would make sure to torment her in any way he could, it would seem.
Twice he came to fill up Hannah’s cup with more sherry though it wasn’t even half empty. She did her best to ignore his eyes drawing to her chest as he poured the decanter.
Now that the meal was over, Hannah would have rather liked to go to her room, perhaps take a hot bath if at all possible, to wash off Mr. Poole’s glowering stares.
But this would not be possible for her. She was to meet the earl in his office promptly for a pointless reprimand.
More than the audacity of the matter was the fact that the earl was going to accuse her of being loose with a man she had only just met in town, when he clearly couldn’t even see the lewd looks she got all through the meal from his own footman.
Standing outside the earl’s door Hannah took a steadying breath for courage and lifted her chin ever so slightly.
She had once been the meek type as she had been trained in her younger years. That had rewarded her with the Baron Edgley debacle. She promised herself that mistake would never be made again.
She was sure that the moment she stepped into that office, she would be confronted by Lord Grimshaw’s overbearing stature and booming words. He would try to bully her, but she would not allow it.
She knocked good and hard to make her intentions known and as soon as she was permitted entrance, she threw back the door and strutted in head held high.
“Lord Grimshaw, before you speak,” Hannah said, coming to stand right in front of the desk he was seated at. “I must inform you that you have been grossly mistaken in your accusations.”
Grimshaw blinked once before relaxing back into his high back chair, interlacing his fingers and smiling slightly.
“Well then,” he said smugly, “please do inform me.”
“I had only met a kindly widow woman, who seemed very lonely I might add a
nd in great need of Christian kindness and conversation when her son came to collect her. I had not spoken more than introductions to the man before you bellowed into the conversation.”
She let a long breath out, not realizing she had been holding it throughout her practiced speech.
“I see,” he said after letting her say her piece with all the calm decorum of a man of his rank. “And the fact that this kindly widow woman happened to be the mother of the most eligible bachelor of Concordshire is of little consequence?”
“As I said I would know no such thing as we scarcely exchanged names.”
“Quite a serendipitous coincidence however that he would be the man to whom I saw you speaking.”
Hannah opened her mouth to counter but he held his hand up to silence her.
“The point is, I was blindsided by the first governess. I am not so now. I am well aware that ladies of your nature only seek to use my employment and hospitality as a means to procure a, shall we say, different arrangement. For the sake of my children, I will not allow such cunning motives while you are employed under my roof.”
Hannah’s hands flew to her hips. “How dare you assume you know anything about me! I have done nothing unbecoming of a lady and will not allow you to accuse me of such. I can, however, assure you that I have only taken this post for the sole purpose of educating your daughters with no ulterior motives.”
“Good. That is very good to hear,” Grimshaw said with a stern smile on his face.
He was proud that he had outwitted her this time. She, unbeknownst to herself, had said the exact words he had led her to.
“That being the case, then there should be no objections to my regulations and no reason for you ever to find yourself in conversation with Matthew McCarthy again.”
Hannah shifted her feet a few times. She couldn’t possibly disagree with his declaration after stating that her only focus was the girls, but at the same time, she didn’t particularly enjoy agreeing to terms that involved telling her who she could and could not speak with.
There was nothing to be had for it, however. So, letting her arms fall down at her sides she simply nodded her understanding.
“Wonderful,” Grimshaw said, coming to a stand. “Then I believe I can bid you goodnight.”
Hannah hesitated. She was so sure that she was going to have this discussion in her control but it seemed to all slip from her fingers. With nothing more to do for it, she gave a curtsy and her own evening salutation before leaving the room.
Grimshaw waited for Miss Jacobson to exit the office before he sat back in his chair. Had she also known the game of wits they had just played?
He had to smile to himself, for this round he had won. He also couldn’t help but feel admiration for the spunk and tenacity of the girl. Certainly not what he would have expected from Hendrick’s Preparatory School.
When he had first learned of her education, he expected her to be the droll timid thing that was always beaten into every girl that left that place. She had looked the part that first meeting, but Grimshaw was beginning to find that beneath her cap there was a hoyden that perhaps she was not even aware of.
Chapter 10
The following weeks Hannah was happy to say that she fell into a very regular schedule. That schedule included mornings educating the girls on scholarly things, then they had lunch with Abigail their nurse. After lunch, Hannah engaged them in various deportment and etiquette lessons or for strolls around the gardens.
The weather was turning so fine with the ripening of spring that their outdoor time was becoming quite regular.
Little Lady Rebecca had blossomed before Hannah. Every moment that Hannah shared in that little girl’s life seemed to be a magically joyous one.
Lady Caroline, on the other hand, was still hesitant to let Hannah in and she struggled to find the chink in the armor.
“May we go visit Father in the west wing this afternoon?” Lady Rebecca asked with a heavy sigh as she set down her quill for a moment.
“Oh yes!” Lady Caroline said, perking up instantly. “Do say you will allow us to go?”
Hannah had not heard the west wing spoken of since the first few days of her arrival.
“What exactly is so exciting about this area?” Hannah asked the girls.
“There are loads of crumbling stones to climb, and we can hide among the saplings while Father works,” Rebecca chimed in.
“Works?”
“He is having it rebuilt,” Lady Caroline informed her.
“I see. And you would usually go and visit him there after your morning lessons? I fear it does sound dangerous.”
“It is not dangerous at all with Father there,” Lady Caroline said with excitement bursting through her dark eyes. “It’s been so long since we have been. Do say you will let us go. I wish to see what Father has done.”
Though Hannah did hesitate in taking the girls to an area of the house that seemed in disrepair, it also looked to be very important to Lady Caroline.
“Well, you both have made it sound all too tantalizing for me not to want to take you and see it myself. If you both do a very good job on your samplers while we read, then I see no reason why we shan’t go.”
As Hannah sat in the chair by the fire reading Greek mythology to the girls, she had to admit she had never seen Lady Caroline so dedicated to her embroidery work.
Perhaps taking these trips to the west wing was just the adventure that Lady Caroline was seeking and being the one to offer it might finally open the child’s heart to Hannah.
They strolled down the halls and corridors from the rooms that Hannah was familiar with in the east wing, through the main section of the house, and up a set of grand stairs that Hannah had never traversed before.
At the top, it was clear that this portion of the house was not livable in simply by the breeze that she could feel.
The stairway led to a long hall with windows every few feet. Through the window panes, Hannah glanced into the remains of the wing.
There were doors along the hall, no doubt all leading to what used to be rooms, but now they were all to be locked tight as stepping through one would lead to a long fall to the floor below.
All that was left of the wing was the stone walls that outlined it. The whole of the inside was nothing but a bare floor with little saplings growing up.
Much of the roof seemed to be missing too by the look of light shining down in various rays.
As they came to the end of the hall Hannah could hear the sound of men at work growing louder and louder. Finally, they reached the last door which was actually open.
Coming out from its frame was a long wooden walkway that stood on stilts to hover over the ground.
The girls stepped onto this walkway without the slightest hesitation. Hannah, on the other hand, had much more reserve.
“Girls, I don’t know if that is quite safe to do. I wouldn’t want you getting into anyone’s way either,” she added, looking at several men walking up and down as they worked on this portion of the outer wall with heavy stones and mortar.
“We do it all the time,” Caroline said before she lifted her skirts and ran along the walkway.
“Oi, who let these wildlings loose,” a deep voice called, a man coming to stand and catching one girl in each arm.
Both children giggled happily as they were wrapped in their father’s strong grasp.
Hannah had just stepped out onto the plank when she heard the call. He came up fully to stand still with one dirty arm wrapped around each girl.
He was just as shocked to see Hannah as she was to be looking at his bare chest. He was glistening with sweat and dusted with the dirt coming off the stones.
Hannah had never imagined when the girls had said that their father would be in the west wing that he would be actually using his own hands to rebuild it.
Seeing the lady, he quickly turned and grabbed his shirt for propriety’s sake. He wasn’t the only man to be doing the back-breaking labor
without a top covering but he was the only one that Hannah couldn’t seem to catch her breath over.
“We didn’t mean to disturb you, Lord Grimshaw,” Hannah said when she finally regained her composure from the image of his perfectly sculpted frame. “The ladies asked to come visit but I can see now that you are very busy.”
“It’s alright,” he said with a soft smile. He looked down at his girls, “Go and see the floor. I believe a robin has built a nest in one of the larger saplings,” he said with joy in his eyes.
Both girls squealed in delight before running around their father and further down the walkway to a ladder. One by one they climbed down the ladder in their fine dresses.