Risky Rules of a Passionate Governess

by Henrietta Harding

  “Bloody hell, I should have known that one,” Lord Garret said, combing his hand through his hair. “And, ‘You are beautiful, like the moon?’”

  Katherine felt a chill down her spine from the way that Lord Garret was looking at her as he asked this. “Sei bella come la luna.”

  "Sei bello come la luna.”

  “No, it’s bella, because the moon is a woman.”

  “Bella,” Lord Garret replied, his expression becoming soft and warm. He began to walk towards Katherine, and she felt her heart beating more rapidly in her chest. He stood in front of her for some time, his hips at the level of her gaze, and then he leaned over and took Katherine’s hand, which sent another shiver down her spine. “And this?”

  “Mano,” Katherine replied, her voice shaky.

  Lord Garret next took one of her fingers. “This?”

  “Dito.”

  “Dito,” Lord Garret repeated with a laugh, as though he liked the sound of it. Next, he brought his hand to Katherine’s cheek.

  “Guancia,” Katherine said, feeling the warmth of his fingers upon her face. She nearly closed her eyes in rapture and moaned.

  “That one is rather odd,” Lord Garret said warmly, not turning away. He was examining every curve of her face, and finally, playfully brought a finger to her nose.

  “Naso.”

  “Naso,” Lord Garret said. Then, a look akin to compunction came over his face and Lord Garret walked away, back to the window. Katherine was almost grateful for it, because it allowed her to catch her breath. Yet still she desperately wished that the anatomy lesson would continue. “How do you say, ‘broken heart?’”

  Katherine cocked her head to the side in confusion. After that delicious touching they had just shared, why was he speaking of a broken heart? “Cuore spezzato.”

  “Hm, I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “Have you had a broken heart, M’Lord?” Katherine asked. The words slipped out of her mouth before she had a chance to consider them. Lord Garret turned to her, his face all seriousness.

  “Haven’t you already asserted your opinion that I’ve never been in love?”

  “That doesn’t mean that you can’t have your heart broken.”

  “No, Katherine, I have never had my heart broken nor do I ever intend to have it so.”

  “That’s a bold statement.”

  “I’m a protective man when it comes to my heart and my soul.”

  “Why have you been so cold to me up until this point?” Katherine asked, not able to stop her candour.

  “Isn’t this an Italian lesson?” Lord Garret asked with a laugh.

  “Yes, I apologise,” Katherine replied, looking down towards the ground.

  “Don’t apologise. I will answer your question,” Lord Garret said. “I was cold towards you because I didn’t trust you. I don’t trust anyone, for that matter.”

  “And, you trust me now?”

  Lord Garret went silent, considering Katherine’s question. “I do trust you. How do you say, ‘I trust you’ in Italian?”

  “Mi fido di te.”

  Katherine was unsure how it was that she had gained Lord Garret’s trust, but she was immensely grateful for it. She was beginning to feel that the more that he was letting his guard down, that she trusted him, as well. How odd that people can cover up their true selves in order for protection. Now that the real Lord Garret was being revealed, Katherine was even more enamored.

  “And how do you say, ‘I’m hungry for dinner?’”

  “Ho fame di te.”

  Katherine had said it wrong, but didn’t seek to correct herself. She had said, “I’m hungry for you,” and although Lord Garret didn’t know the literal translation, she could tell from his reaction that he was mildly suspicious of what she had said.

  “Ho fame di te,” Lord Garret repeated.

  They remained silent for some time after that, but it was not awkward in the slightest. There was a warmth between them; a palpable affection that did not need explanation.

  “I enjoy not having my brother here,” Lord Garret finally said, looking out of the window once more.

  “What a thing to say.”

  “It’s the truth. He’s a nuisance.”

  “I think the duke is one of the kindest men I’ve ever known.”

  “You say that because he employs you.”

  “No, I knew it from the moment that I met him. He’s a kind man.”

  Lord Garret looked at her suspiciously, as though there was something in that last statement that he didn’t care for. “You desired him?”

  Heavens, but we truly are being candid now.

  “I did not.”

  “Yes, you did. I could see it in your eyes.”

  “Just as I desired Hans this afternoon? And perhaps Renee and Nigel?” Katherine quipped.

  “You have a great deal of desire in your eyes,” Lord Garret said with a smile, “so I would not be surprised.”

  Katherine was taken aback. She didn’t think that she had anything akin to desire in her eyes. In fact, she assumed that she looked like the least desirous person in all of Britain.

  “You have desire in your eyes as well,” Katherine replied, fearing that perhaps she was taking things too far. Lord Garret didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.

  “I desire simple things,” he went on to explain. “I have simple tastes.”

  “You desire cottage pie over escargot,” Katherine teased.

  “Yes, I prefer potatoes to snails.”

  “I must admit that I feel the same.”

  “And what do you desire in a man?” Lord Garret asked.

  “Desidero che assomigli a te.”

  “Now that’s not fair,” Lord Garret protested. “I haven’t a bloody clue what that means.”

  Katherine was not going to tell him that she had admitted to desiring someone like Lord Garret. She thought of a quick excuse. “I desire a man that is noble.”

  “Nobility will only go so far.”

  “How do you mean?” Katherine asked.

  “A noble man may be lacking in many other things.”

  “What do you desire in a woman?” Katherine asked. Lord Garret looked at her intently once more. He paused for some time, leaving Katherine in a state of great anticipation while waiting for an answer.

  “Silence,” Lord Garret finally said, and although in any other situation Katherine would become indignant and upset, on this occasion she laughed uproariously.

  “Such nonsense!” Katherine replied.

  “It is nonsense. I’m merely trying to get a rise out of you.”

  “Well, it’s not working,” Katherine assured him.

  The lesson and the banter continued for some time. Katherine noticed that Lord Garret finally gravitated away from the window and pulled up a chair in front of her, so that the two were facing one another. They looked into one another’s eyes and Katherine found that Lord Garret’s gaze did not waver.

  She had to remind herself to steady her breathing because she still felt her heart beating wildly in her chest, just from having him face her in that way. The sky was finally black outside and Nigel had come into the library in order to start the fire.

  “Dinner is ready,” Nigel said.

  “A few more moments,” Lord Garret replied.

  “Yes, Your Grace.”

  Katherine noticed something interesting then. It really was as though when the duke was gone, Lord Garret was effortlessly the master of the house. He seemed at ease, as though it were a station that he was meant to take charge of. The duke’s brother was relaxed, playful, and in command.

  “The fire is lovely,” Katherine said, gazing at the flames.

  “It’s unnecessary this time of year,” Lord Garret replied, "but considering I’ve kept you here so long, I did not wish for you to be cold.”

  “That’s very kind of you,” Katherine replied softly.

  “And you must be famished,” Lord Garret added.

 
“I am rather hungry.”

  “Just a few more moments, alone,” Lord Garret said softly, reaching out to take her hand. Katherine felt shivers down her spine once more, despite the heat from the flames. “Mano,” Lord Garret repeated, examining her hand. “Dito,” he said with a smile, taking her finger.

  Katherine was in heaven. Who needed supper, when she could sit there all night with the flames of the fire crackling, and Lord Garret holding onto her hand as though it were the most precious thing in the world?

  ***

  For the life of him, Lord Garret did not know how it was that he could be so forward. Katherine was transfixing him, body and soul. When she spoke Italian, it was as though she had the tongue of a native speaker. It all seemed so effortless and made him desire her all the more. Visions of the two of them lying in bed side-by-side came to mind, and Lord Garret imagined her speaking gently to him with that gorgeous Italian accent. It filled him with even more fervor. And that was when he noticed that Katherine was holding back a giggle.

  “What is it?” Lord Garret asked.

  “Your accent needs a little work, M’Lord,” Katherine said.

  “Is it so bad?”

  “It’s not that it’s bad,” Katherine went on. “It’s merely your first lesson. It will get better with time.” That was when Katherine began to laugh fully, and Lord Garret felt a flush come to his cheek.

  “It is so bad,” Lord Garret said, letting go of Katherine’s hand and looking towards the fire. “This whole time, you’ve been trying to conceal just how bad.”

  “That’s not true!” Katherine protested, a pitiful expression upon her face.

  “Make fun of me all you like,” Lord Garret went on. “Within no time, I shall be speaking Italian like a native. Just as you do.”

  “I do not speak like a native.”

  “It sounds as though you do.”

  “I have been speaking the language for some time. It does come naturally to me.”

  “For me it shall be the same, in good time.”

  Lord Garret’s ego was mildly wounded, but he did find it funny as well. Sharing in Katherine’s laugh, he delighted in the way that her eyes mildly crinkled at the side whilst she did so. It made her look impossibly beautiful.

  In the delightful silence that followed, Lord Garret thought of how divine it would be if Bonhomie was his home and Katherine his wife. What if they had all the time and space that they desired? What if they took dinner whenever it pleased them, and every day enjoyed long afternoons on the veranda taking tea? The notion of it was so blissful that Lord Garret felt a warmth in his chest.

  And then, reality returned. Bonhomie was not his home, Katherine was not his wife, and Lord Garret had to return to his true existence of constant fretting by the time that his brother returned.

  “What is the matter?” Katherine asked, noting the expression upon Lord Garret’s face.

  “Worrisome thoughts came to mind,” Lord Garret said, thinking it useless to deny anything.

  “What kinds of thoughts?” Katherine asked, and Lord Garret could tell that there was genuine interest upon her face.

  “Thoughts of the future.”

  “You shouldn’t worry so much about the future,” Katherine assured him. “What will be, will be.”

  “It’s that kind of thinking that can land one in the gutter,” Lord Garret assured her.

  “It’s the worrisome thoughts that can land you in the gutter,” Katherine countered back.

  Lord Garret paused to consider her sentiment. It only drove home for him why it was that Katherine was so transfixing. The charm, the beauty, and the lack of worrisome thoughts; he had to admit that it was everything that he could possibly want in a woman. He needed that kind of balance in his life. He needed a woman to remind him that life was about living and not about fretting.

  Lord Garret was getting ahead of himself yet again and decided to banish these thoughts, focusing on a firm sense of reality.

  “Might I apologise?” Lord Garret said.

  “Whatever for?”

  “For my former treatment of you. Perhaps I just needed a bit of time to know you better.” It was the truth. Being so close and intimate with Katherine had allowed him to not only see the jewel of a woman, but to better accept the feelings that she instilled in him.

  “And I apologise for the same,” Katherine said.

  “Rubbish.”

  “It’s true. I have been defensive and forward.”

  “You needed to be, I fear.”

  “I’m unsure of that,” Katherine said, looking towards the fire. As she did so, Lord Garret took the time to admire Katherine’s elegant, soft profile. The firelight sparkled in her eyes.

  Although Lord Garret tried as best he could to control his thoughts, in that moment it was of no use. He pictured himself laying her down in front of that fire, a soft blanket below her back. Lord Garret couldn’t help but think of slowly undressing her, discovering each new curve of her body as though they were treasure pieces. He would want to feel her, every inch of her, with his hands, before going any further. Lord Garret wished to take all of her in, to admire her as though she were a painting at the National Museum. Once his eyes had taken their fill, and his hands, that’s when he and Katherine would share in the most intimate act human beings were privy to. Lord Garret audibly sighed and this caused Katherine to turn back towards him.

  “I’m famished,” she said with a smile.

  “Tell me that in Italian.”

  “Ho fame.”

  “Ho fame,” Lord Garret repeated. “My accent is going to make you laugh again.”

  “I shall try not to laugh,” Katherine said, bringing a hand to her mouth. “But it will be my duty in these brief days to improve it.”

  The very notion of ‘brief days’ sent a shiver of regret down Lord Garret’s spine. Yes, they only had brief days, didn’t they? Then they truly would be sent back to reality. Katherine might be happy in that reality, but Lord Garret was most certainly not. His body couldn’t help it at that point; Lord Garret leaned in perilously close to Katherine. He wished more than anything to enjoy a kiss. He kept his eyes open and saw as Katherine leaned in to meet him, her eyes gently closing.

  “Dinner is getting cold,” Nigel said fastidiously, poking his head through the door. Both Katherine and Lord Garret quickly pulled away.

  Chapter 15

  As Katherine entered the dining room, she felt a flutter of nerves. Yes, she and Lord Garret were finally going to dine alone. It was one thing to enjoy tea on the veranda, but the evening meal was much more formal and Katherine could tell from the looks on the servants’ faces that they thought it a scandal that she and Lord Garret were doing so. It was true that it was rather unorthodox for them to dine together in that way; nonetheless, Katherine thought that there was something blissful about it.