“But…you’re good at it. The children are learning.”
“Yes, well, I have the reading, writing, and arithmetic and I like to read so I know enough about various subjects. But I have no training. I am a fraud.”
Betsey squeezed her hands and shook them until Emily looked into her eyes. “You’re no fraud. You’re the best governess these children have ever had. Don’t you go doubting yourself.”
“Should I tell the Earl?”
Betsey sighed. “Normally I do not advocate lying but the Earl is particularly sensitive. For now, I would advise you to keep this to yourself.”
Chapter 14
Duncan really should have known that Holburn would get him drunk. The Marquess loved to win at whist and one of his go-to strategies to do so was to get his opponents drunk. That rarely worked with Duncan but he was not the target tonight.
Holburn meant to clean out Winchester and Collins and he was absolutely doing just that. Duncan was grateful to be partnered with his friend, who was quite a wolf when it came to games of chance.
Both men were looking quite peeved with the entire contents of their pocket books on the table. Duncan did not feel even a bit sorry for them. Both were quite well off and could afford to lose a few thousand pounds without too much fuss. Winchester’s father might attempt to cut him off once again but that never lasted long.
Once Holburn–with Duncan’s help–had swept the table, the other two men went off to lick their wounds at the nearest brothel. Duncan and Holburn settled in a corner with a celebratory bottle of rum.
“A toast to us,” Holburn declared extravagantly lifting up his glass.
Duncan touched his own glass to Holburn’s with a grin and they downed the liquor without further ado.
“We should do this more often, old boy. Don’t you get bored, sitting home every night all by your lonesome?”
Duncan immediately thought of Miss Fletcher and how much less lonely he’d been feeling lately, much to his chagrin. His thoughts must have shown on his face because Holburn leaned in curiously, “Go on then, tell me what’s that look about? Did you finally give in to your baser instincts and get a mistress?”
Duncan snorted. “Funny you should say that.”
Holburn lifted a curious eyebrow. “Do tell old friend.”
Duncan shook his head, “It’s nothing. Just…”
“Just what?” if it was possible, Holburn’s eyebrow rose higher.
“Well, it’s the new governess actually.”
Holburn’s other eyebrow quirked as well. “Your mistress is your new governess?”
Duncan laughed, “No, no, nothing like that,” he waved his glass about and a bit of rum sloshed onto the groove between finger and thumb. He ignored it in favor of making his point. “She’s so…she’s too…” he waved his hand vaguely again.
Holburn smirked. “Eloquent.”
Duncan laughed long and hard, the laugh ending in a sigh. He shook his head and rolled it around on the seat to face Holburn. “My governess is a gorgeous little thing. She and the twins have really taken to each other. And even Lady Nancy tolerates her. She told me she wants to take the children up on the roof to watch the lunar eclipse. Asked if she might borrow my telescope.”
Holburn grinned, “You mean your telescope…or your telescope?” he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Duncan snorted, turning away from Holburn. “I do declare your mind is a sewer, my friend.”
“I cannot help it. It is just the way I am made.” He placed a hand theatrically on his chest, “Now tell me why your governess wanting to give an astrology lesson is cause for all this pearl clutching.”
Duncan sighed while rolling his eyes. His friend’s sense of humor was always a source of relief to him, but sometimes he thought that Holburn didn’t take anything seriously. “I don’t know, this woman…she comes into my home, she disrupts it in the best way possible. It’s…confusing.”
“You mean because she’s not a lady and you cannot just ask for her hand in marriage?”
Duncan cocked his head, regarding his friend in surprise. Holburn might just have inadvertently hit the nail on the head. If Miss Fletcher were a lady, this would all be very simple. He would present her with a proposal which she would accept and then she would be his betrothed. Or if she were simply one of the maids, he might offer her carte blanche and she would leave his employ. He would install her in a suitable suite of rooms and visit her there whenever he had the urge.
But, as his governess, she was in that strange no-man’s-land between respectable lady and possible light skirt. And he was at a loss as to what to do with her.
He hummed in understanding, his eyes on his hands.
“Sulby? Are you all right?” Holburn peered at him with concern.
Duncan laughed. “I am fine. Thank you, for giving me clarity.” He clapped Holburn on the shoulder, getting unsteadily to his feet. “I should go.”
“No,” Holburn wailed, “You cannot.” He held up the bottle of whisky, “We still have quite a bit to get through.”
Duncan chortled, but flopped back down on the leather sofa and gestured for Holburn to pour him another drink.
Holburn beamed. “Good man,” he upended the bottle of rum and filled Duncan’s glass. He knew that he would regret it bitterly in the morning but for now, he was happy to get in his cups with his friend.
Emily woke up early, hoping to catch the Earl at breakfast and remind him about the telescope. Instead of his tall chestnut-haired mien, she was met with a raucous pair of twins, arguing furiously about who would get the last kipper on the plate.
“Now now, calm yourselves. Why don’t we split it in two?” she hurried forward to get between them.
“No! He already had two!”
“Well, I’m hungrier than you!”
They tried to get at each other and Emily had her work cut out keeping them apart.
“All right then you two, why don’t you both sit down and I shall bring you both two more?” Betsey came bustling into the room and snatched up the plate with only one kipper on it, “Meanwhile, your governess can have the last one on the plate since she hasn’t had any.”
Emily opened her mouth to protest, but Betsey’s quelling glance had her closing it again. She looked to her two charges. “Well? What do you say to Mrs. Cooke?”
They both looked at her with honest puzzlement.
She huffed in astonishment. “Thank you! You say thank you.”
Lord Essex frowned. “Really? But she’s only a servant.”
Emily frowned at him. “She is your housekeeper. She keeps you fed, makes sure your bedding is clean and fresh, keeps house for you, she is deserving of your respect,” she admonished.
Lord Essex’s brow cleared, “Oh,” he turned toward Betsey, his voice subdued. “Thank you very much, Mrs. Cooke.”
Betsey smiled down at Lord Essex and then her eyes filled with pride as she looked up at Emily. “You’re very welcome My Lord. Now sit down and give me five minutes. I shall have piping hot kippers on your plates before you know it.”
The twins obediently sat while Betsey watched, a look of wonder on her face. Her eyes sought Emily’s and she nodded to her in approval. “Miss Fletcher, can I get you anything from the kitchen?”
Emily’s tongue felt all tangled in her mouth with confusion so she simply shook her head and sat down. She had expected that even if Betsey might have excused her story last night, she would be a little aloof as a result. For the housekeeper to support her instead was gratifying in the extreme, if confusing.
They were just tucking in to their fish when the dining room door opened and the Earl shuffled in, looking quite the worse for wear. Emily scrambled to her feet wanting to rush to him and find out what had happened. Something about his mien was familiar. She remembered her father looking just as ragged after a dissolute night at one of the hells. She frowned, not wanting to think that the Earl also indulged in such behavior.
She’
d seen, to her detriment, where it led.
“Good morning, My Lord,” she said quietly, remembering how her father flinched at loud noises when he was in a similar state. In spite of her deliberate quiet, he still flinched.
“Miss Fletcher,” he mumbled, pulling back his chair and dropping into it as if with his last bit of energy.
“May I get you some coffee?” she asked, fumbling with the jug.
He held his head in his hand. “That would be nice, thank you.”
She nodded, taking the jug and hurrying out, the piping voices of the twins rising behind her. No doubt they were curious about his diminished-looking capacity. She felt a twinge of sympathy for him, intermingled with real anger.
He is the only parent those children have! He should not behave in such a manner.
She reached the kitchen, requesting some coffee from Betsey.
“Oh, you didn’t have to come,” she pointed at a tray on which a steaming jug already stood along with a bowl of porridge and some fried foods. “I had already prepared a tray for the Earl.”
“Oh…well…” her cheeks heated with embarrassment. She knew it was not her place to cater to the Earl but she had merely felt an instinctual need to take care of him and had acted on it without thinking.
Betsey smiled, patting her hand. “Don’t you worry, Phineas here will take the tray in to his lordship as it is rather heavy.”
Emily nodded, shuffling out of the kitchen with burning cheeks, Phineas, the footman, following behind her. She led him to the dining hall and quietly retook her seat as he placed the tray in front of the Earl.
His head was buried even deeper in his arms as Lady Anne and Lord Essex whispered theatrically loudly, asking him about his illness.
“Why don’t we let your father have his breakfast in peace? You’ll ask him all your questions at dinner, all right?”
To her surprise, the twins subsided. She saw that she was not the only one taken aback by their obedience when the Earl lifted his head, looking from his children to her in utter disbelief.
She gave him a small smile.
Enjoy it while you can. I won’t rescue you again.
She realized that she was still gritting her teeth and a part of her was still seething.
Who am I really angry at? Lord Sulby or my father?
That snide voice in her mind had her stiffening in her seat, eyes straight ahead. It had not occurred to her before but now that she thought about it, she realized that she felt incandescent rage at everything her father had put her through ever since her mother died. To think of Lady Anne and Lord Essex suffering even a little of that type of neglect was more than she was willing to bear.
Abruptly getting to her feet, she forced a smile on her face. “Excuse me,” she told the room, not bothering to keep her voice down and then stomped out before she threw something at the Earl’s head.
Even through his pounding headache, Duncan was aware enough to know that Miss Fletcher was quite upset. He did not know why but something told him that his appearance had something to do with it.
A vague shamefaced feeling curdled in his belly and he felt the need to find her and apologize.
But what for? I have done nothing to her.
The resentful thought mixed with the acid in his belly and for a moment he thought he might cast up his accounts all over his tray of breakfast. He swallowed hard, hand creeping along the table to close over the handle of his cup of coffee. He took a long gulp, feeling better immediately and finished the cup as fast as possible. On his plate were some fried eggs and fried apples and he ate them slowly, hoping to settle his stomach.
All the while his mind circled around Miss Fletcher, wondering what he’d done, if she was simply belatedly angry at his kissing her…
No, she is the one who kissed me.
Yes, he had taken over the kiss eventually but she was the one who threw herself at him.
Is she upset that I did not pursue it? Is that what she wants?
He chewed thoughtfully on his fried apple as he pondered it all. There was no way to have an appropriate conversation about it and yet they could not ignore the elephant in the room forever. He did not know how to proceed and his head was pounding too much to try.
Finishing up his breakfast, he decided that a long hot bath might be beneficial. Then he might better understand what he had done to put that look on Miss Fletcher’s face.
Why do I even care?
That was indeed a good question, but one whose answer he was perhaps not prepared to face. Struggling to his feet, he shuffled out of the room, just then realizing that the twins had disappeared. He shook his head, heading slowly for his room where Roberts was waiting, a bath already drawn.
“You are a man among men,” Duncan clapped him on the shoulder as his valet helped him out of his clothes.
Lady Nancy was already in the schoolroom, reading through one of the books Emily had chosen from the library on Copernicus. She turned as Emily stepped in the room, narrowing her eyes.
“I understand that you asked my father for his telescope. Why?” she demanded.
Emily quirked an eyebrow at her. “If you want to know something from me, I am going to insist you ask politely.”
The five-and-ten-year-old growled in annoyance. “I do not have to be polite to you. You’re just a governess.”
“Well then, I suppose your question will have to go unanswered.”
Lady Nancy shot to her feet, her face red, fists clenched. “I shall tell Papa on you!”
Emily carefully arranged the row of pens on her desk before turning to face Lady Nancy and pointing to the door, “Go right ahead.”
The lady looked nonplussed at Emily’s serenity. “He will fire you.”
“For insisting on politeness? I doubt it.”
Lady Nancy snorted, “You think you can persuade him to your side, but you cannot. He only loves my mother!”
Emily’s heart softened at Lady Nancy’s words. She could well imagine the turmoil behind them. She approached the girl slowly, taking a seat beside her on the bench with a sigh. “I have no interest in persuading your father of anything,” she said even as a voice whispered liar in her ear. “I simply want you to be a well-mannered young lady, like your mother would have wanted.”
Lady Nancy turned on her, “Do not speak her name!” she cried and then stood up and ran out of the room. Emily watched her go, her mouth agape. She did not know how to get through to the lady. Everything she did or said seemed to further inflame her. She wondered if she should follow or if she should stay and continue to prepare for class.
She sighed.
Everything is so complicated.
Chapter 15
Duncan felt much better after his soak in the tub and went in search of the governess because his mind would not stop pondering her anger. He found her sitting alone in the school room, looking lost.
“Have you misplaced your students?” he grinned at her, hoping to coax a smile from that delectable mouth.
She looked up, eyes forlorn, her body hunched miserably over the desk. He stopped smiling at once, stepping into the room. “What’s wrong?” Concern coursed through his veins and his temples throbbed as his veins tightened with anxiety. Whatever ailed her seemed to be serious just from how helpless she looked. The urge to comfort her was overwhelming.
He wanted to reach over and cover her lips with his, kiss her until she forgot her name, let alone whatever had upset her. Her shoulders straightened slightly at his question and she tried to smile at him. “I…nothing is wrong.”
He took another step toward her, coming to stand on the other side of the table, his hand reaching out without permission to cover hers. “Then why do you look so miserable?”
She gave a long tired sigh. “I suppose you’ll find out sooner or later.”
“Yes, I will,” Duncan agreed at once, “so you might as well tell me.”
“Well, Lady Nancy ran out of here just now, upset because I mention
ed her mother to her. I simply meant to remind her that there are certain standards expected of her as a lady. But she took it all wrong and now I am at a loss for what to do.”
Duncan straightened to his full height slowly. “Why did you mention her mother?”
“Well, she was a bit rude to me, and I asked her to repeat her question in a polite manner. She refused and threatened to have me fired over it. I simply tried to make her see that such behavior would not be what her mother wanted.”
A Wicked Earl she can't Resist: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 12