“This here is the door down to the kitchens. You are always welcome to go down there, but feel free to have one of the footmen or maids fetch you whatever you might need, deary, everyone will be happy to serve you. Now let us go up these stairs to the private quarters. You and the little lady will be on the third floor. Her ladyship, the late countess you know, wanted to have the nursery moved downstairs to be closer to her and the earl, but it never happened before she passed, poor soul, and his lordship has not yet seen fit to have it done.”
At this point, Mrs. Hill finally subsided for a moment because the climb up the few flights of stairs was making her breathless. Felicia allowed the housekeeper to catch her breath while she gazed about at the beautiful wall hangings and fixtures. It was obvious to her untrained eye that someone with excellent taste had decorated this home. While the high ceilings and vast rooms could have been intimidating, the color schemes and furniture choices made the spaces warm and inviting rather than off-putting. Even though she had been raised in humbler surroundings, Felicia felt comfortable in the earl’s beautiful home.
They finally reached the nursery wing, and Mrs. Hill opened the door to a comfortable-looking bedchamber. Felicia realized this was to be her room, since she spied where the footman had placed her bags. She could not restrain her happy smile as she took it all in.
“This is quite lovely, Mrs. Hill. Thank you so much for showing me around. You have been most helpful. I should no doubt make haste to find Lady Penelope and get started with her.”
“Oh yes, deary, that would be wonderful. Just out this door is the nursery.”
Felicia was delighted to see another door she hadn’t noticed before. Her chamber had two entrances: one that entered into the nursery and one that afforded her a degree of privacy that entered into the hallway.
When they entered the main room of the nursery wing, Penelope could be seen tying a perfect bow on the rope she had wound around the maid who had been assigned the task of watching over the earl’s recalcitrant daughter. The maid looked wilted and was thrilled to see more responsible adults entering the room. Penelope turned her back on them disdainfully. “Oh, it’s you,” she said with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.
Felicia contained her mirth at the sight before her. Obviously the child was in desperate need of being taken firmly in hand.
“Hello, Penelope.”
“I am Lady Penelope,” the hoyden emphasized.
“Well, you are not currently acting like a lady, so I really see no need to address you as such.”
Penelope gazed at her new governess with wide, fascinated eyes, not prepared with a ready answer to this surprising statement.
“Now, Penelope, please untie the maid. I’m sorry I don’t know your name,” Felicia addressed the maid in a calm, warm tone, helping that young woman retain her composure.
“It’s Mary, Miss. Thank you, Miss.”
“Penelope, Mary has things she needs to be doing. I saw a lovely park on my way here. I was thinking we could go for a little walk before we have our supper.”
Penelope did a little dance of delight. “We could go to the park?” she asked. “My grandmother always says I should be kept indoors, that it isn’t healthy for a young lady to play at the park.”
Felicia nearly winced at this, not wanting to put a wrong foot so early in her employment, but she wasn’t about to go back on her word to the child either. She wracked her brain momentarily before answering briskly. “Well, your grandmother is not here, and it is a lovely, warm day, perfect for spending a bit of time at the park. Perhaps your grandmother was referring to winter as an unhealthy time for a young lady to play out of doors. Or she may not have wanted your nose to freckle, so be sure to find a hat before we go.”
Penelope was quick to do as she had been instructed in this instance, unwinding the rope she had made from her sashes in order to tie up the young maid.
“Thank you, Miss. You arrived just in the nick of time.” Mary was nearly overcome by her gratitude.
“Penelope, I think you owe Mary an apology.”
Penelope was now shocked. No one had ever expected such a thing of her before. “Why?”
“Well, for one thing it was very unkind to tie her up, but also look at the mess you have made of all your sashes. It is going to be a great deal of work for her to straighten those out for you.”
“But that’s her job,” the youngster declared, still puzzled, “and I am the earl’s daughter.”
Felicia couldn’t help herself. She could not contain her mirth this time. “I have a distinct feeling I am going to be hearing this explanation for any number of behaviors.”
Mrs. Hill and Mary were watching this exchange with avid interest. Since her mother had died, no one had been able to control Penelope. Most of the staff looked upon her with varying degrees of terror.
Ignoring the suspicion that this entire conversation was going to be repeated over and over amongst the servants, Felicia kept her attention focused squarely on the child.
“I would say it is precisely because you are the earl’s daughter that you owe Mary an apology. Can you imagine your grandmother tying up one of her maids with a rope of sashes?”
This logic struck Penelope forcefully and she actually giggled at the image Felicia had drawn.
“No, but I didn’t hurt her.”
“Well, that’s good, but she might have been scared. Have you ever been tied up?”
“No.”
“Were you planning to leave her by herself like that?”
Penelope hung her head, finally starting to see the shame of what she had done. Felicia pressed the point home. “Do you think you would find it a bit scary to be tied up and left by yourself?”
Penelope merely nodded.
“So what do you think you should say to Mary?”
The little girl ran to the maid and threw her arms around her waist. “I’m sorry, Mary. I promise not to tie you up again.”
Mary was delighted with the turn of events, but was at a loss for words, gazing helplessly at Mrs. Hill. The housekeeper understood what had just been accomplished, but also was at a loss as to what to say.
“That was excellent, Penelope. Now as soon as we straighten up the room here, you and I can be off for our walk, and Mrs. Hill and Mary can go about their business,” Felicia covered the awkward silence and kept control of the situation.
It was clear the youngster had never been asked to help clean up her own mess before, but in her current subdued frame of mind she pitched in gamely. The three adults and one small child quickly had the room sorted.
Felicia tied a pretty straw hat on top of the young lady’s curls and the two of them set off in fine humor, leaving stunned silence in their wake.
“Well if that don’t beat all.” For once the usually verbose housekeeper had nothing else to say. The two made their way down to the kitchens where they regaled the rest of the staff with a word by word description of what had taken place with the new governess and the young lady. Much to Mrs. Hill’s satisfaction, the entire household was agog with the news that someone had finally taken charge of Lady Penelope. She made sure to tell the earl’s valet all about it in the hopes that he would see fit to divulge the entire scene to Lord Astley while he was assisting him to dress for his evening’s entertainments.
***
Meanwhile, blissfully unaware of the stir she had caused, Felicia skipped along with Penelope, listening as the youngster told her a story about the last time she had been out of the house. Still unused to London, Felicia had been momentarily distracted by all the sights around her, but she dragged her attention back to Penelope’s tale.
“Excuse me, Lady Penelope, I am sorry to interrupt you, but are you saying it has been two months since you were out of doors?” She made every effort to keep the horror out of her voice but she feared she had not quite succeeded when Penelope stopped walking and looked at her with a reproachful stare.
“I told you my grandmother s
aid it is unhealthy for young ladies.”
“Yes, you did tell me that. I shall have to discuss this with your father. In the meantime, we are here now, so we should make the best of it lest we be told we cannot return.”
Grinning at one another, they began a vigorous game of chase that was closely followed by various other games. The two girls were enjoying themselves to such an extent that the time quickly passed. Felicia was dismayed to see the daylight was beginning to wane. She quickly called a halt to the games. Grabbing Penelope’s hand, she walked as briskly as possible back to the earl’s vast home. All the playing had worn the little girl out, so while they were still a block away Felicia picked her up and carried her the rest of the way.
Alfred was at first dismayed at the sight of them when he answered the door. “Is all right with the young lady, Miss?”
“Oh, yes, we have just been running ourselves ragged, have no fear. We had a delightful time, did we not Penelope?”
By then Penelope had been placed back on her own feet, and she looked at the butler with pink cheeks and glowing eyes, grinning from ear to ear. “It was so much fun, Alfred. We fed the ducks with crumbs Miss Felicia had in her pocket and we played tag and we chased butterflies. It was the best afternoon I have ever spent.”
Felicia felt tears spring to her eyes at this glowing review but managed to contain herself. “But now we must look a sight and I fear we are a wee bit late for our dinner, so we must make haste. Goodnight, Alfred.”
Alfred watched in awe as the two left the room hand in hand. He too had a tale to tell the earl that evening.
Chapter Three
The next day, despite her trepidation, while Penelope was absorbed with playing with her dolls, Felicia left her in the care of one of the maids so she could seek out the earl. Alfred escorted her to the library.
“I am terribly sorry to disturb you, my lord, but I had something I wished to discuss with you.”
As she entered the room she could see that the earl was deeply absorbed in some important matters. He looked up at her with impatience. When he saw who was interrupting him, his frown turned into a scowl.
Felicia paled in the face of his obvious displeasure and regretted her impulse to search him out. Unfortunately it was too late to back down at this point. She waited for his permission to speak.
“What is it?” he demanded harshly.
She could feel the blood draining from her face and she almost stammered. “I’m sorry, my lord. I took Lady Penelope to the park yesterday and we had a lovely time. Unfortunately, while we were there she mentioned that your lady mother would not allow it. I was raised with the belief that children should run about during the day so they have an appetite for their meals and use up their energies so they can sleep, but I would hate to gainsay you or the countess.”
Felicia had become more and more nervous the longer she talked. By the end of her explanation she was wringing her hands together, and her voice had risen to almost a squeak. She was disgusted with herself for her lack of backbone, but it would be terrible if she were to lose her position after the very first day.
“Despite your youth and lack of experience, you came highly recommended for this position. One of the recommendations, as you know, was from my mother. Watching over Penelope and teaching her is your responsibility. From what I have heard from my household staff, you are already doing an admirable job, so for now I will say that you are the authority on raising her. Unless I hear of something truly outlandish, you may do as you wish with her.”
Felicia was happily surprised by the earl’s declaration and blinked at him rather owlishly for a moment, at a loss for words.
“Thank you, my lord, Penelope will be most pleased. We really did have a lovely time at the park. We shall return again today as long as you do not mind.”
“I understand it was getting late when you returned yesterday.”
Felicia flushed guiltily, forcefully reminding the earl of her youth. “Yes, my lord, it was actually starting to get dark. You see, when Penelope told me she was not allowed to go out of doors, we decided since it might be our one chance, we wanted to take advantage of what time we had. I promise not to let the time get away on me again.”
Unbeknownst to her, the earl really had no opinion on the matter of whether or not his daughter should be allowed to play outside. His ill-tempered frown had been a result of his own unsettled feelings with regards to the governess, not of anything she had to say. It had been obvious to him that he was causing her distress, so he had tried to set her at ease.
Delighted by her honesty over why they had stayed out so late the previous day, the earl could not help a short bark of laughter. It had been at least several years since he had laughed and he was surprised to hear the sound coming from his own throat. Ignoring the feelings coursing through him, he said his last word on the subject before dismissing her. “If you fear you might lose track of the time in the future, ensure you have a footman with you. I do not ever want to hear of you or Penelope out by yourselves if it is nearing dusk, do you understand?”
“Thank you, my lord, I will be most careful.” On those words she curtsied herself from the room, leaving the earl in a brown study.
***
Bouncing down the hallway, grinning with delight, Felicia waved airily to the butler before gathering up her skirts and dashing up the stairs.
Alfred was still chuckling over her antics when he answered the earl’s summons. “What is the matter with you, Alfred?” Lord Astley demanded with surprise.
“Naught is wrong with me, my lord. I just find the young miss delightful. She is a breeze of fresh air that the entire household was needing, if you don’t mind my whimsy, milord.”
The earl could not deny the truth of the older man’s words, so he merely snorted in response before getting on with the business at hand.
***
Meanwhile, Penelope was clapping her hands in delight over the news that her governess had garnered permission for them to be allowed to go out of doors whenever the weather allowed. “Could we please go back to the park today, Felicia? It was ever so fun to feed the ducks. We could ask Cook for some bread before we go.”
“That sounds like a brilliant idea. Tomorrow is time enough for your lessons to begin. Let us work out some more of our fidgets, then we will be in a better frame of mind to get on with learning tomorrow.”
And so it began. The two girls set a pattern of doing lessons in the morning after breakfast and then dashing off to spend a few hours outside most afternoons, after they had eaten their lunch. They were in quite good charity with one another, and Lady Penelope was settling into a fine routine. This came to a screeching halt one afternoon late on Felicia’s second week in the earl’s employ, as the two of them came clamoring into the house after another one of their rambles.
“There you are, Miss. We were wondering when you would get home,” began Alfred hesitantly as he was letting them into the house.
“Were you looking for me, Alfred? Were we expected at a certain time?” Felicia asked in some confusion.
“Her ladyship, the countess, came around to visit Lady Penelope and we were unsure what to tell her as to when you would return.”
“Oh dear, was she terribly put out that we were not here when she did not find us at home?” Felicia asked with a worried furrow to her brow.
“She decided to wait for your return,” answered the butler.
Felicia’s eyes widened in shock. “Has she been waiting long?”
“Not overlong, miss, but I do believe she could be getting a mite impatient by now. His lordship is with her, so you need not concern yourself. But you should make haste to present yourselves in the morning room.”
Felicia looked her young charge over, grateful that they had not been indulging in too vigorous activity that afternoon. She pulled a comb from her reticule and quickly ran it through the youngster’s curls.
“Don’t make such a fuss, Felicia, I don’t think
my grandmother will care how neat my hair is.” Penelope rarely had patience with fussing over her appearance despite her obvious vanity.
“I disagree, Penelope, I do believe your grandmother, the countess, would expect you to present yourself to best advantage. It is a sign of respect for her position as your grandmother and as a countess. But in this instance, you may be correct, it would be better for us to be a bit messy than to keep her waiting any longer.” After shaking out her own skirts, she allowed the butler to usher them into the countess’ presence.
Lord Astley was quite well aware that his mother found his company to be depressing. He rarely cracked a smile and was forever out of sorts. She probably found it a struggle to spend time with her only son. On the other hand, the earl’s poorly behaved daughter seemed to cause her very mixed emotions. When Penelope wasn’t causing the countess to wish to pull her hair out in frustration, she could be a delight to spend time with. Unfortunately, the former occasions far outweighed the latter.
The commotion at the door was a blessed distraction to both occupants of the room who were struggling to make desultory conversation. The earl had previously ordered a tea trolley to be brought in as soon as his daughter arrived home, so there was a great deal of activity for a few moments after Penelope bounded into her father’s presence.
Felicia had dipped into a respectful curtsy as soon as she entered the room, despite her assumption that no one was paying her any attention at the moment. She was wrong in that supposition. The earl noticed everything about her, much to his chagrin. He watched with approval as she showed her respect to his mother and then stood aside and watched attentively while Penelope regaled her grandmother with her own news.
The earl enjoyed watching his mother’s amazement. It was obvious Lady Astley could barely believe this was the same child. It had only been two weeks since she had last seen her granddaughter, but the time had most certainly been well spent. Obviously there was vast room for improvement, but it became apparent that the child would be pleasant to spend a visit with.
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