by Ayles, Abby
Hannah was surprised that such a young girl was their nurse. She looked to be no more than sixteen. She wondered if that perhaps explained why the earl had insisted that it was Hannah who tended to the girls outside of school instead of their nurse.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Abigail, as well as both of you, Lady Caroline and Lady Rebecca,” Hannah said, smiling down at her wards as soothingly as possible.
“If it is alright with you, I would like to assess what your last governess has already imparted to you before we begin with our own lessons. Would that be alright?”
Both girls first looked to their nurse. Even at her young age, it was clear she was the only consistent mother figure they had had thus far in their lives.
Abigail gave them an encouraging nod and both girls turned to their new governess ready for the task.
“Our last governess would have us sit at the table over there,” Lady Caroline said by way of being helpful as Abigail excused herself from the room.
“Thank you, Lady Caroline,” Hannah said as she scanned the room and began to take in its layout.
There was a bookshelf amply supplied with resources for Hannah to comb over and use. A warm fireplace to be used in winter months with a comfy chair for her to sit in and read to the children. There was one desk for her use and a small table for the girls’ use.
Hannah spent the remainder of the afternoon assessing her two pupils. Rebecca was very young in age, only being five, and was very new in her education. Hannah was sure her education would start at the very beginning. Caroline on the other hand was very knowledgeable of her numbers and letters and was even able to demonstrate some exquisite handwriting.
Both girls were very quiet, however, and much of what Hannah came to learn of them was a slow and painful process to draw out.
She did notice that Caroline’s eyes also continued to float away from her task at hand. She realized that her first assignment for the child would be to focus on tasks at hand and not get lost in thought.
As the morning came to an end and a servant arrived with a tray of light luncheon, Hannah was relieved for the break.
Her last pupil, though he truly had taken ill towards the end, had been a wild and rambunctious boy. It was a stark difference to these soft-spoken girls.
“Miss Jacobson,” Caroline said after Hannah suggested they take a break for tea and a light meal, “our last governess would always read to us at the end of our lessons.”
Her eyes drifted again behind Hannah, and she realized that the child’s distraction had been the chair with a book already set on its arm.
“I can tell that you are very intent on having something read to you,” Hannah said. “Perhaps it would be worth letting the tea stand a few moments to read just a few pages.”
“The book is just there on the chair,” Caroline continued encouragingly as she grabbed her sister’s hand and seated them both on the carpet.
Hannah had not seen such light lit in this child’s eyes thus far. She made a note of Caroline’s excitement for storytelling. Perhaps it would be a way to encourage the child to open up more to her.
She followed the girls over, picked up the leather-bound novel and sat down in the chair. It was a very comfortable seat and she couldn’t help but also relish the fact of many afternoons seated here reading to the children.
She had just examined the cover of the book when she felt a rustling of her skirts. Hannah felt the chills run up her spine that gave her the distinct indication that a living creature was walking around in her skirts.
Moving the book out of the way she inspected her folds and much to her dismay saw a small lump begin to move beneath the grey fabric. Grabbing the skirt and petticoat in one hand, she removed the fabric and exposed a big fat mouse with its long tail coiled around it.
For a moment Hannah froze to the spot, just watching the mouse nibble on a biscuit piece he had happily in his paws. How a mouse or the biscuit ended up on the chair she didn’t care to know.
As sensation returned to her body, she promptly rose from her chair and screamed. The mouse, having been interrupted from his mid-day meal, began to scurry frantically around the seat of the chair, not sure where to go next.
Hannah screamed again. It wasn’t the first mouse she had seen, certainly there were plenty in her school growing up. But she had never expected to see one in her seat. She promptly swung the book at the mouse, hoping to put them both out of her misery.
“Don’t! Stop!” Caroline stood and screamed herself.
Hannah watched in utter bewilderment as the child grabbed the mouse by its tail and scooped it into her hands where it sat quite peacefully.
“Why would you try to squish Mr. Whiskers?” Lady Rebecca said with tears brimming in her saucer eyes.
Chapter Four
“What is the meaning of all this?” the earl shouted before he fully opened the classroom door.
Hannah was still so utterly bewildered by the whole event that she barely registered the pure panic in the earl’s dark eyes. Instead both girls and the governess stared at him blinking. From behind him Abigail was peeking around her employer to see the status of the children in her charge.
“Father,” Caroline cried, running into his arms.
Rebecca was not far behind her sister. Grimshaw enveloped both his children in his thick arms and did his best to calm their fears. He bent down to their level and let both children cry into either shoulder.
“She tried to kill him,” Caroline sobbed out.
“Kill who?” Grimshaw asked ever so softly though his dagger gaze on Miss Jacobson was less than gentle.
“Mr. Whiskers,” Caroline replied, holding up her rodent for her father’s inspection. “She tried to hit him with a book.”
“It’s alright now, girls,” he cooed to them both. Standing up, he faced Miss Jacobson with his full overshadowing stature.
“Miss Jacobson, I can understand why you might scream at the site of Mr. Whiskers, but I assure you he is just a pet. If you would but leave him in his proper container you won’t even have to think about him. There is no need for you to cause the pet harm.”
Both girls came to their nurse’s side. Though Rebecca was five she was still small enough that Abigail could pick her up into her arms.
“It was hard to know his family status as he was seated in my chair under my skirts and not in his container as you said is his home,” Hannah shot back, completely infuriated that he was chastising her for her actions.
“What would you have me do when finding a rodent in such a place?” she added, crossing her arms.
Hannah would not allow herself to be bullied by this man. She had had quite enough of that at her last employment.
Grimshaw turned his gaze back towards his two daughters and immediately both of their matching chocolate eyes hit the floor in guilt. He turned, now shadowing them in his displeasure.
For a man who had once spoken so softly to the children his voice was now deep and full of anger.
“Is this true? Caroline? Rebecca? Did you put Mr. Whiskers on Miss Jacobson’s chair?”
“I only gave him some of my biscuit from breakfast. He wanted to eat it in the chair, not his cage. I guess I forgot he was there,” Caroline said, though it was easy to see she was making the story up on the spot.
“I don’t think that is all the truth,” he retorted, now looking at his youngest daughter.
Rebecca cracked under the pressure of her father’s disappointed gaze.
“We only meant it as a joke, Father, honest,” she said in her soft shaking voice.
“I am very disappointed with the both of you,” he scolded as silent tears trickled down from their downcast eyes.
“I went through all the trouble of bringing you a new fine governess all the way from London and this is how you welcome her?”
“I don’t want a new one,” Caroline said with her eyes on the ground. “I want Miss Watts back.”
“Well she isn’t
coming back, Caroline. It is time you resigned yourself to that fact. You are far too mature to be playing such silly pranks. I would suggest for the remainder of the day you two work on writing an apology letter to Miss Jacobson.”
Hannah opened her mouth to protest. It was entirely unnecessary. Yes, it was a nasty trick but making them write out a letter of apology was sure to make them only despise her more.
Though Grimshaw’s back was turned to the governess he instinctively knew she was going to protest his punishment. He held up a hand to silence her.
“Abigail will be tending to you for the rest of the day,” he continued when satisfied that Miss Jacobson was not going to speak out of turn. “You will not be joining me in the west wing or for supper this night. I expect you both in bed early so that you may contemplate how better you might welcome your new governess,” he added deeply.
Both girls, who were first shocked by his punishment, now looked to the rug below their feet and simply mumbled a ‘Yes, Father.’
“Now, if you will follow me, Miss Jacobson, we have more to discuss, while Abigail will see to the girls’ task for the afternoon.”
Hannah opened and closed her mouth a few times. She would have much rather dealt with the situation on her own, not have his lordship barrel in and take control of the situation.
Yet he stood at the door and motioned for her to exit with him and there was nothing she could say about it.
“We’re sorry, Miss Jacobson,” Rebecca said just above a whisper as Hannah passed.
She knelt down before the both of them.
“I know you are, and I forgive you both. I am sorry too that I tried to squish such an important member of your family.”
The earl cleared his throat and Miss Jacobson stood and exited the room with him. She rather thought she still might be in trouble with him as well though she had no idea how this could be.
Much to her surprise, however, the moment the door was shut tightly behind her, the earl bent over in uncontrollable laughter. Again she found herself completely bewildered by this man.
Finally he stood and wiped a stray tear from his eye.
“A mouse on your seat,” he said more to himself than to his present company. “I must say that I am not so surprised by Caroline but I can’t believe Rebecca went along with it.”
“I am relieved you are finding humor in the situation,” Hannah said rather coolly as she looked up at him with arms crossed.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Jacobson. I don’t mean to offend. I am sure it was quite a fright for you. Though I must say it took a good amount of bravery to try and kill it.”
“It was a shock at first, I must admit, but it didn’t help that you didn’t give me a chance to compose myself. Instead you completely took over the whole situation. How am I to get the girls’ respect if they see you taking charge at every misstep?”
“Well, they are my children,” Grimshaw retorted back. “It is certainly my responsibility to discipline them, not yours.”
“And why did you have to do it so harshly? You clearly didn’t find the offense so heinous by the way you could scarcely escape the room without laughing. It would have been better to have let me deal with it on my own.”
He repeated Hannah’s defensive gesture by crossing his own arms and looking down his long pointed nose at her.
“I was only trying to help. Perhaps if you hadn’t screamed so, I wouldn’t have felt the need to come running and intercede.”
Hannah took a step back from their argument and tried to see things from his side. Of course he would have run in fists at the ready when it came to his daughters and a supposed encroachment on their safety.
She had seen how gentle he was with them, and clearly he loved them far more than she had ever seen in her last employment. His daughters were treasures and he took his responsibility as their father very seriously.
“I apologize then. I shouldn’t have been so cross with you. I suppose I am still a bit frazzled,” Hannah said, removing the false spectacles and rubbing the bridge of her nose. The blasted things did pinch something fierce.
“You don’t need to apologize,” Grimshaw said, feeling his own resolve to be angry melt away. “Come let us sit to tea and perhaps I can give you a better idea of why the girls might have behaved so.”
Hannah raised her eyes to meet his gaze, surprised by his invitation. She questioned his motives. Frankly, she questioned any man who wished to be in her presence alone, especially her employer.
Sebastian couldn’t help but feel his heart catch in his throat when he saw the lady before him without her bothersome spectacles. They were so thick and large that he had not even noticed the staggeringly gorgeous blue eyes beneath them. As she studied his intentions he was taken aback by her thick dark lashes that seemed to flutter as butterfly wings.
He wondered to himself what she looked like with both the glasses and her oversized matron cap removed. Was her hair dark like her lashes and brows or lighter in color? He tried to imagine what would suit her better. It was impossible to tell with her head so closely covered.
“I promise you will find it most enlightening,” the earl added by way of encouragement. “I believe you will understand the girls better once I have told you of their history.”
“Alright,” Hannah said rather reluctantly.
At first she had feared his imposing features, especially when it culminated with anger in her direction. But now he seemed so gentle. It was as if he was well aware of his fearsome stature and matched his movement and speech to soften his rough exterior.
Together they sat in a luxurious drawing room. Though the room was of good fashion it seemed to her that it hadn’t been used for quite some time. There was the fact that several maids hurriedly rushed around to open the floor-to-ceiling curtains. Behind each set were magnificent arched windows that let in the glow of the afternoon sun.
After a few moments of looking around the room, Hannah could pick up its distinct femininity. This was no doubt once his wife’s sitting room. Hannah’s eyes fell on an embroidery hoop filled with a half-finished pink rose.
Her fingers tingled to touch the sample while her body was sure her mere presence was trespassing on the late lady of the house.
Mrs. Brennon came in herself carrying the fine china tea set on a silver tray. She set the tray on a small table next to Hannah.
Hannah looked around the room and realized that she was no doubt sitting in the lady of the house’s spot. The whole room was situated around this one chair with its table next to it. It would make it easy for a lady to serve her guests and talk freely with all of them seated around the warmth of the hearth.
As realization dawned she looked over at the earl. He did his best to hide his discomfort at the fact, but he wasn’t doing well.
“May I serve the tea?” Hannah asked.
“Yes, of course,” he said awkwardly while he cleared his throat a few times.
She poured the tea and added two sandwiches to a small plate. Standing, she brought it over to him. Then she got her own cup and small plate and stealthily moved to sit in a different spot.
He smiled at her, thankful for her understanding. It was very clear to Hannah that just as the earl loved his daughters, his heart was still full of mourning for his wife.
Chapter Five
For a few moments the two sat in silence and Hannah wondered why he had insisted she spend this time with him, as he didn’t seem to have anything to say.
That old lump grew in the back of her throat again. Was he merely looking for a private audience with her? He did seem different from the baron in the few days she had been in his acquaintance but perhaps all men were the same in that respect.
“I do apologize again for being overbearing today. I should have let you handle the situation,” Grimshaw said after finishing his sandwiches and setting his tea aside untouched.
“You care deeply for your daughters though,” Hannah inserted the reasoning he was no doubt t
hinking about. “I am sure it was just an automatic reaction to come to their aid.”
He softened into a little smile. It seemed a bit foreign of an expression on such a skilled scowler.
“It is not just that. You see, I hoped that I could take this afternoon to explain things better to you. Perhaps then tomorrow when you rejoin them in the classroom you will not hold today’s actions against them.”
“I would never do such a thing. They are children and children make mistakes. I am sure they thought it a rather fun joke,” Hannah assured the earl that she had no intention of reprimanding them past their father’s requirements today.
“I am glad to hear that, but if you would allow me to explain their situation anyway,” he said softly.
He was such a large man, he seemed to fill the whole of the couch he sat on. It looked a bit comical to Hannah. She wondered if there was truly any place on earth this man didn’t seem to fill to overflowing with his physical presence.
“You know that their mother died when they were both very young. She took ill quite suddenly and we lost her,” Grimshaw said, turning his head away from Hannah and to the window.
“I am sure the loss was felt more greatly by Caroline,” Hannah encouraged his words when he didn’t speak more.
“Yes, well she remembers her. Rebecca was only three. So small. It breaks my heart that she will have no lasting memory of her own mother.”
He paused again. This was not an easy subject for him to speak on and Hannah allowed him the time to collect his thoughts.
“Caroline is really at that age now when a mother’s influence is necessary. Of course it is necessary for a lady at any age, but as they get older they are needing more and more of that feminine example.”
“I thought I had found such a thing in my last governess. Both girls adored her. Of course they have always had a youthful light to them, but with the governess, it was different. They were happy in ways I can’t explain. Then she left us suddenly.”
Hannah wanted to ask why, but also feared his answer. She too had left her last station suddenly. If his rules and controlling mannerisms were any shadow of the reason why, Hannah feared the earl was cut from the same cloth as the baron.