Governess in Disguise: Historical Regency Romance

by Lisa Campell

  Perhaps her grief had played a part. Emilia had badly wanted someone to pay for her father’s death, and she had fixated on the one person who had certainly been present in Jonathan Hill’s final hours. Christian had been convincing enough, and her grief had grabbed hold of the name.

  Was it possible that Thomas Andrews was completely innocent as he claimed, and this was just her looking for something that wasn’t there? Could that be it? Emilia had paused when she had first thought about it. It was just possible that her anger and grief needed someone to blame.

  Now she was here, did she really need to find proof that he was guilty? Or should she try to find something that said he was innocent? Either way, Emilia needed to know with certainty in her gut that Thomas Andrews was not the monster she had believed him to be.

  Then again, it was like her body had decided he wasn’t a monster at all. He made Emilia feel like she was being tickled by flames. The heat that built up in her whenever he was around was incredibly strong, and it just seemed to grow. Emilia could feel herself wanting Andrews to touch her, even if it was in passing. It was like a great ache inside her that just would not budge. Emilia was a little perturbed by how much she wanted Andrews’ eyes to be on her.

  She was not here to seduce him! Why was she reacting as if she was? Emilia wasn’t the most seductive of people, and she didn’t pride herself in being a good judge of character. The last man who had been in her life had been proof of that. It wasn’t something she could call upon if needed. Then again, didn’t pillow talk happen? Maybe…

  No! Don’t even go there!

  But don’t you want to just wonder?

  Emilia pushed her thoughts aside. She really should not be thinking about what it would be like to be in bed with Thomas Andrews. That was not productive at all.

  Her thoughts were all over the place. It was giving her a headache.

  “Mrs. Perry.”

  Emilia glanced up. Then did a double take before jumping to her feet, almost dropping her sketchpad. Lady Andrews had appeared on the terrace, looking fresh and bright in pale pink. Even when she was clearly worn out and looked like she needed some sleep, the older woman didn’t appear to let that bother her. She was one of those people who just picked herself up and carried on. Emilia had to admire that about her.

  “Lady Andrews.” Emilia bobbed a quick curtsy. “Forgive me, I didn’t see you there.”

  “Obviously.” Lady Andrews glanced at the sketchpad. “Not bad, Mrs. Perry. Although aren’t you supposed to be watching my granddaughter?”

  “She’s just off the terrace setting up the skittles.”

  Lady Andrews arched an eyebrow. “She’s well enough for skittles?”

  “Probably not, but you know what Anna’s like.” Emilia managed a smile and a shrug. “It’s best to let her figure out for herself that she’s not well enough. We’ll probably have a handful of games before she says she’s tired and needs to sit down again.” She glanced towards the terrace steps. “Do you want to see Anna? I can call her up here.”

  “There’s no rush. I’ll see her shortly.” Lady Andrews settled onto the chaise and stretched out her legs. “I think a brief sit-down in the sunshine will do me good first.”

  Emilia hesitated. Then she sat down again. She was normally content to be around Lady Andrews, both women seeming to like and respect the other, but there were times when Emilia felt a little intimidated. Much like now.

  “Forgive me for being surprised at your presence, Lady Andrews.” Emilia put her sketchpad and pencil down. “But I didn’t know you were coming over today.”

  “My son knew about it, but I’m not surprised if he didn’t say anything.” Lady Andrews smiled. “He’s not very good at remembering things if it isn’t involving work. You’d be surprised at how many times he’s forgotten birthdays and anniversaries in the past.”

  “Aren’t all men like that, though?”

  “I suppose. They don’t really listen, either.” Lady Andrews tapped her ear. “You tell them something and it goes out the other ear.”

  Emilia laughed. That was very reminiscent of both her father and her uncle. They were just stubborn men.

  “That certainly sounds like most men I know. When I was married, I used to see how long it would take before he remembered that he had missed my birthday or our wedding anniversary. I got a record of ten days for my last birthday.”

  Lady Andrews looked surprised. “Really? My son isn’t often that bad.”

  “My husband was worse. It was either have a bet with myself, or be upset that he had forgotten. Again.” Emilia sighed. “He would get upset with me if I reminded him that he had forgotten, he’d say I shouldn’t seek attention for him just because it was my birthday.”

  “You couldn’t win.”

  “Pretty much.”

  Lady Andrews shook her head. “Honestly, men. It’s harmless with my son, though. He means well, but don’t expect him to remember dates. Jenkins remembers things better than Thomas does, and even then, it’s not much better.”

  “Doesn’t he have a diary of some sorts?”

  “You try telling a man that he needs a diary.”

  “Samuel Pepys had a diary.”

  Lady Andrews arched an eyebrow.

  “But Samuel Pepys is not my son and Thomas Andrews is his own man”

  Emilia wouldn’t argue with that. She smoothed her hands on her skirts.

  “I would’ve thought he would have a diary for work, considering everything that needs to be worked out.”

  “Apparently, he does.” Lady Andrews rolled her eyes. “My son’s a mass of contradictions at times. Then again, aren’t all men?”

  “Was your husband like that, then?”

  “Pretty much. I look at Thomas and I see his father. Looks, personality, temperament, all the same.” Lady Andrews gave a slightly sad smile. “My husband would be proud of him right now.”

  Emilia’s chest tightened. There would be another casualty if she went through with trying to prove Thomas Andrews was a killer; his mother. She would be devastated that this happened to her family, and she was fiercely loyal and loving to her only child. Andrews loved his mother, and Emilia often felt a pang of resentment seeing them together. She had once had that with her own mother, long ago, but it had been a long time ago. Emilia wanted that back.

  Lady Andrews would be a good mother to anyone.

  You think she would be a mother to you after everything you’ve done?

  Emilia pushed that aside. She looked down at her hands. There had been several unanswered questions going around in her head, and Emilia wasn’t sure what to make of them. She couldn’t exactly ask the servants, and they would certainly be suspicious. And there was no way Emilia would ask these of Andrews; he would immediately figure out what she was trying to do.

  Could she ask these questions to the mother? Would she get an honest answer? Lady Andrews was known for being no-nonsense. She didn’t sugar coat anything.

  “May I ask something personal, Lady Andrews? Feel free to refuse if you so wish.”

  “I suppose it depends on what you want to ask me.”

  Here it came. Emilia took a deep breath.

  “Was your husband ever...well, was he ever violent?”

  Lady Andrews blinked. She looked bewildered.

  “What? No, of course not. He was never violent. Even when he had good reason to. But if someone threatened his family, however, my husband would go from placid to furious in a matter of seconds. No one disrespected his family.”

  That made sense. Emilia knew her father was the same; if anyone hurt someone in his family, especially Emilia, Jonathan Hill would be there charging to the front.

  “He’s never hit anyone, then?”

  “No, of course not. My husband was a verbal man, not a physical one.” Lady Andrews frowned. “Why are you asking about that, Mrs. Perry? Are you concerned that my son is going to hurt you?”

  “Oh, no. Nothing like that.” That Andrews
might physically lay a hand on her wasn’t what worried Emilia. Not in that sense, anyway. “But...I do keep hearing rumours about a death and Mr. Andrews appears to be involved. You’re his mother, and I know you’re a very honest woman, so I wanted an honest opinion.”

  Lady Andrews stared at her. She looked a little perplexed, but Emilia didn’t look away. She really did want to know.

  “You’re talking about Jonathan Hill’s death, aren’t you?”

  Emilia bit back a gasp at the mention of her father’s name.

  “That was the name going around, yes.”

  Lady Andrews sighed and rubbed a hand over her eyes.

  “Thomas did have me concerned when he took over Drake’s, especially with the clientele that went in there, but he would never lay his hand on them. If anything, they laid hands on him. I can’t begin to count how many times Thomas came back with a black eye or a split lip because a patron took a swing at him for daring to bring up their tab that they needed to pay back. They got away with a lot with the previous owner, and Thomas wasn’t about to let them do the same with him.” Lady Andrews shook her head. “He would never hit them back, and I wouldn’t have blamed him if he did.”

  Emilia didn’t immediately respond to that. Her inner belief that Thomas Andrews was the bad one and a hot-tempered, violent thug, was rapidly diminishing each day she was here. And seeing the pain in Margaret Andrews’ expression showed that she was genuinely fearing for his life. He was a big man. Surely, he could handle himself.

  No, he couldn’t. Lady Andrews is right. He could never hurt anyone. Size doesn’t come into it.

  “Jonathan Hill was one of the good ones who went to Drake’s.” Lady Andrews went on. “I met him a few times. His one weakness was that he had a bad gambling habit. But he never complained or turned into a child about his behaviour. He and Thomas would always have an adult conversation about it, and they settled things properly. Thomas had a lot of respect for Hill.”

  Andrews respected her father? Emilia wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She licked her lips, unsure where to look.

  “I just heard that your son was the type to be violent. I wasn’t sure what to believe, if I’m honest.”

  “And you still took the job even after what you’ve been told?”

  “I…”

  Lady Andrews sat forward, fixing Emilia with a sharp look.

  “Speak honestly with me, Mrs. Perry. I believe it’s your turn now. In the weeks since you’ve been here, have you been hurt by my son? Has he laid a hand on you that caused you harm?”

  “No. Never.”

  The only times Andrews had ever touched her was with a gentleness that Emilia didn’t realize he possessed. He seemed to make a point that he was aware of his size and he wasn’t about to use it on anyone. Emilia knew, deep down, that Andrews would never hurt her. He didn’t have the capability to do that.

  “My son would never hurt a woman, Mrs. Perry, but he would do whatever he could to protect someone he loved. He’s not a passive man when someone in his life is in harm’s way. I hope you understand that.”

  Was that a message? Or a warning? Emilia swallowed and nodded.

  “I understand, Lady Andrews.”

  They stared at each other for a moment. Then Lady Andrews broke into a bright smile and stood up, dusting her hands off on her skirts.

  “Well, that’s sorted, then. I love a game of skittles. Do you mind if I join in?”

  Emilia took a deep breath and managed a smile.

  “Of course. I’m sure Anna would love to have you join us.”

  Hopefully, by the time Anna wanted to stop playing and do something else, Emilia wouldn’t feel so awkward about what had just happened.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Thomas closed the accounts book with a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that was all over. It seemed to take him forever to catch up with all the paperwork, and then once he was on top of it all, something happened that had Thomas scrambling to keep up. Brent did his best to make sure everything was in order that required immediate attention, but then it all piled up and wasn’t collated properly.

  Thomas hated the paperwork that came with running a business, but he was glad that it was done. No need to worry about it for another six months, if he was idle about it.

  He looked up at Brent as the other man finished scribbling in the book on the desk in front of him.

  “Is that the last of it, Brent?”

  “One moment.” Brent finished the last line and closed the book with a satisfying bang. “Now it is. Everything is finally up to date.”

  “Good.” Thomas stretched his arms above his head. “That’s good.”

  “We should get someone else to focus on the accounts. You and I are not reliable when it comes to this.”

  “But at least we can trust ourselves to get it done and get it right. I prefer that to having someone else come in.”

  Brent chuckled. “You need to start trusting a little more, Thomas.”

  “Can you blame me for not?”

  Brent shrugged. “I suppose not. You seem to be in a good mood tonight.”

  Thomas snorted and yawned loudly.

  “I’m in a good mood. How am I in a good mood when I’ve been working on the accounts all evening and my daughter is unwell at home?”

  “You haven’t been grumbling and complaining as much as you normally do.” Brent pointed out. “You don’t seem to be as annoyed as usual. If anything, I’ve barely heard a peep out of you while we get this done and whenever I’ve looked at you, you’ve been smiling. Like you’re in another world.”

  Thomas hadn’t realized that he had been smiling. With Anna unwell at home, although she seemed to be getting better, he didn’t have much to smile about. Worrying about his daughter was weighing on his mind, as was if Jenkins’ investigation was going to bring up anything. It had been almost a month since his valet offered to find out for him about why the other governesses left. He seemed to be the type who could find out anything and everything possible. Except this time around, where there had been barely anything for the last three weeks. Jenkins had sent out letters to those he could find, but nothing had come back.

  He was beginning to think that it wasn’t going to happen. Maybe Thomas was not going to ever know why his other governesses had left as they did. Had he done something wrong? Had they been propositioned by someone else? If that was the case, Thomas wanted to know. He had thought he would be the one they would approach and ask for help or advice. Everyone knew he wouldn’t let any mistreatment of his servants slide. But nothing. It was like they were scared of him.

  Scared? Of him? Thomas found that hard to believe. But until Jenkins heard back, there wasn’t much he could do until someone responded. Things took time, and he needed to take a deep breath about it.

  It wasn’t exactly something to smile about.

  “Have you got yourself a girl in your life?” Brent asked.

  Thomas jumped. He stared at his friend. “What did you say?”

  “That smile. I recognize it. There’s a woman in your life and it’s making you happy even with everything else going on.” Brent chuckled at Thomas started to protest. “Come on, there was a spring in your step when you came in earlier, and there’s a light in your eyes that I haven’t seen before. It has to be a woman.”

  Was it because of a woman? The only woman in Thomas’ life that wasn’t his mother and daughter - was Emilia Perry. The mere thought of the woman warmed Thomas’ belly. He had seen her before he left, sitting by Anna’s bedside as she read his daughter a story. The sound of her soothing voice had warmed parts of Thomas’ body to the point of discomfort. She was mesmerizing when she was reading. That voice was so melodic.

  It wasn’t just her voice. It was everything about her. From the way she talked, the way she walked and even how she smiled at him. Everything was becoming hypnotic and Thomas found himself struggling to keep away. He kept finding excuses to be in her company, saying that he wanted
to spend more time with his daughter. In reality, Thomas just wanted to be around Emilia.

  He wasn’t so stupid as to what he was feeling. And he wasn’t stupid as to believe his feelings were going to be all right. From the way Emilia looked at him with eyes suddenly much darker, the way she flushed whenever he was around or kept stealing glances at him, the attraction was mutual. But she was meant to be the governess, not someone of equal standing. That would certainly be frowned upon, and Thomas didn’t want Emilia to go through the scandal.