A Mysterious Governess for the Reluctant Earl: A Historical Regency Romance Novel

by Ayles, Abby

  Grimshaw could not have wished for a better day on such an occasion. The sun was bright and high in the sky, warming the earth around them. He even heard the distinct sound of several winter birds singing their happy song in celebration of the departure.

  Jayden would stay on through the rest of the festivities and possibly into spring. All in the household were happy to have his welcome company.

  What brought Grimshaw surprising joy was how well Jayden seemed to get along with Miss Jacobson. He never realized how important it was to him that his late wife’s brother be accepting of his new choice. Now that he saw the two of them interacting so happily together he found it a great relief of a burden he didn’t even know he was carrying.

  The girls were successful in convincing Grannie to let them have their gifts the day after Christmas and so they all sat round the warm hearth while the girls opened their parcels.

  For Lady Caroline she gave a small easel fashioned from wood. It was clearly done by Grannie’s skilled hand as each leg had intricate ivy carved into it.

  For Lady Rebecca was a small china tea set for her doll. It was made from clay and painted with perfect little flower designs. It was amazing to see the level of skill the aged woman had.

  If that was not enough, she also insisted that Hannah open her gift. It was followed by a refusal and then much encouragement from the whole party till Hannah was completely embarrassed.

  Rather reluctant to accept a gift, let alone open it in front of a whole crowd of people, Hannah did so anyway.

  Instantly her eyes sprung with tears as she pulled the item out of the box. It was a small stationery lap box. It came with several fine quills, bottles of ink, and best of all delicately decorated stationery letters.

  “Oh Grannie, this is too fine. It must have cost you a fortune.”

  “You always spoke of writing letters back to your own mother. I thought it would be nice if you had a fine station to do it with.”

  “But it is too much. How did you ever get such fine things,” Hannah said, inspecting one of the metal tipped quills.

  “You forget my Matty owns the village shop. I had him order it as a surprise for you. He knew you would love it just as I did.”

  Hannah rather suspected he had done it during a time when he had hoped to win over her favor. She was sure that was no longer the case after she had given him such a cold shoulder.

  “You must promise to thank him for me,” Hannah said, taking Grannie into a great big hug. “It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

  “Oh, Matty will be happy to hear you like it, dear,” Grannie said with her own joy glistening behind her small dark eyes.

  It was during this joyous occasion that they were interrupted by an announcement. Apparently Matthew McCarthy’s ears must have been burning at their discussion because he was found outside of Brighton Abby’s door.

  The gentleman entered the room with determination once permitted and strode right up to his mother as if she had caused him great offense.

  “Mother, we are leaving right now. Get your things and let’s be off,” he said rather curtly without even a word to any other member in the room.

  “Who is this rake?” Jayden said quite loudly.

  “I am Mr. Matthew McCarthy. I am here to collet my mother and her things.”

  “I believe the lady is quite happy here at Brighton Abby. We are all enjoying her company over the festive season,” Grimshaw said, coming to a stand. “There is no cause for you to come here so coarsely, sir.”

  “Forgive me, Lord Grimshaw, but there is. Word has flown all over Concordshire that I have not been a good steward of my mother and I am here to rectify that.”

  “Perhaps that would have served its purpose when she was trapped inside a cold cottage during a blizzard but your assistance is not required at the moment.”

  “Oh, yes, Matty. I am enjoying myself greatly here with his lordship. I do wish to stay.”

  “And what of your animals? What of the things needing tending to at the cottage? You will just let it all go to rot whilst you sit here pretending to be a fine lady,” Matthew spat back.

  “I have a man seeing to the needs of her property,” Grimshaw said with a narrowing of his eyes. “Joanna McCarthy is here as my guest and she will stay as such until she desires otherwise. Clearly she doesn’t at this time.”

  The eyes seemed to swivel in the room from one man to the other as the verbal battle continued. Matthew McCarthy would not leave until his wounded pride was rectified and Grimshaw was not about to let this woman fall into hands that would treat her any less than she deserved.

  Matthew McCarthy looked down at his mother in frustration and saw Hannah at her side. His eyes fell on the stationery set on her lap and his rage turned onto her.

  “This is all your doing, you know?” he said. “My mother was perfectly content until you started coming around. I went through all that trouble to get you that thing,” he motioned to the stationery box, “and to thank me you have soiled my good name.”

  Grimshaw stepped between Matthew and the ladies, blocking their view of him. Grimshaw didn’t do it for Hannah’s benefit, but rather to protect Mr. McCarthy from Hannah’s sharp tongue.

  She was already puffing her cheeks out and ready to give the wretched man a piece of her mind. She may have been a fearful flower when she first came to Brighton Abby, but she was not such now and Grimshaw knew that well.

  “Let us take our conversation to my office,” Grimshaw said with a stern disposition.

  Matthew considered the idea, but Grimshaw gave him no time to respond either positively or negatively to his offer. Instead he grabbed the gent by the arm and steered him in the proper direction.

  “I will not be bullied by you in my own house,” Grimshaw said in the confines of his office. “I have no care that she is your mother. I have taken her on as my own responsibility and I will see her treated right.”

  “You have done a piss-poor job of it yourself. I first heard such from the mouth of Miss Jacobson and then confirmed the truth of it with my own eyes.”

  “If you think for one second that I will let you remove that lady back to her solitude with no care, you have another think coming.”

  Grimshaw bore down on him with all the fierce anger built up inside him. Rarely did he use his title to his advantage over others, but he had no problem doing so now.

  “Do you dare have the impertinence to tell me that I am wrong in my assumption that Mrs. McCarthy will find far superior comfort and affection here in my own home?”

  It was a question that Grimshaw knew all too well the man would have no choice but to answer in the negative. To do otherwise would be to insult the earl.

  Matthew McCarthy swallowed hard. He hadn’t expected the earl to fight so boldly on behalf of his mother.

  He was torn between what he knew he ought to say and the ramifications of leaving Brighton Abby without his mother in tow.

  “I will be the shame of the village,” McCarthy finally said though in a very much more deferential tone.

  “I care little for your reputation. You should have considered Mrs. McCarthy’s well-being. For God’s sake that is your mother, man,” Grimshaw spat.

  “Your failing reputation is your own doing. I will not remove the consequence that in all honesty I believe you truly deserve.”

  McCarthy shuffled his feet in the room. He had been defeated and was sure to be leaving the estate empty-handed for it.

  “Now if you will excuse me,” Grimshaw said, straightening himself to his full height with satisfaction that he had won the contest. “I have guests that I should see to. I bid you good day, sir.”

  Without so much as a look behind or pause for words from the gent, Grimshaw removed himself from the room and returned to the happy party in the drawing room.

  After assuring Mrs. McCarthy that Grimshaw had shown Matthew the error of his ways and that she was more than welcome to stay but also had Mr. McCarthy’s
full blessing to do so, the matter was altogether forgotten and the festive season continued on as if the ripple had never occurred.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Grannie stayed with the family until the day after New Year, at which point she assured both Hannah and the girls that she was ready to return to her own cottage.

  “I must be there for Twelfth Night. I put up a few mistletoe sprigs and ivy before you came to see me. If I don’t burn them on the Epiphany I will have bad luck all year long, I am sure of it.”

  “That is just a silly superstition. I am sure there is no truth to it. You must stay,” Hannah urged the old woman.

  “Superstition or not, I couldn’t bear to not do so. I would fear any bad that might befall me for the next year would be caused by my delay.”

  Hannah could see that she would not sway the widow from her determination. So it was with a basket of pies and puddings for her own celebration on the night five days hence that Mrs. McCarthy returned home in the comfort and style of Grimshaw’s finest carriage.

  Lady Caroline gave a little sniffle as she stood watching through the window as Grannie left.

  “Don’t be sad, Lady Caroline,” Hannah said, putting a loving arm around the girl. “We will see her again in a few days’ time. Your father has agreed to take us twice a week to spend afternoon tea with Grannie. I dare say we will see so much of her that you will wish we stop going.”

  “I will never wish that,” Caroline said with the innocence of a child.

  “I know, dear, I was only teasing you,” Hannah said with a smile and soft squeeze.

  The next few days was a lull between the feast of New Year and celebration of the Epiphany. The girls settled back into the daily routine of their education and training as ladies.

  Grimshaw got to work with great vigor as the completion of the west wing neared. He found great excitement in its eventual completion.

  Somewhere in his heart, he had worked out that with the west wing done, Ann would be at peace in heaven and he would be ready to make the next move in his life.

  With that notion ever present in his mind, he found himself forgetting to not be so open about his feelings towards Miss Jacobson.

  He was satisfied to see that she didn’t mind his attention as he feared she might. In fact, in many ways she welcomed and even reciprocated his flirtation.

  “I wonder, Miss Jacobson, if you might help me with something?” Grimshaw said one night as the family sat around the fire.

  Both girls were quietly playing with Rebecca’s tea set. Caroline, who normally felt she was too old for pretend and dolls, had allowed herself this one night for the sake of making Rebecca happy in her play.

  Jayden was deep in concentration over some news he had received that morning from his father. Hannah likewise was busy at work, writing a letter to her mother on her new stationery.

  At the earl’s request, however, she set her writing aside and willingly accepted to aid Lord Grimshaw despite not knowing the request.

  He asked her to follow him to the card table that was at the back of the drawing room. There afforded them more privacy though it probably wasn’t needed.

  “I was hoping to do something nice for the girls. To give them as a Magi gift. Normally I would give them a new dress or some other type of frill, but I thought there might be something better. I wondered if you could help me?”

  “I’m not sure I can, but I will be happy to try,” Hannah replied.

  “Surely you must know as a woman what they would like. When you were a little girl what things did you like to get?”

  “I am afraid my childhood would not be an accurate comparison to the young ladies’,” Hannah said in honesty.

  “Perhaps you think they have too much then?” Grimshaw seemed to ponder, sitting back in his chair.

  “No, it is not that. I just experienced a different childhood, is all.”

  “But you are not averse to little notions and tokens of affection when given at appropriate times now, are you?”

  “I don’t think I would have been then either. I was just not able to receive them. But no, to answer your question. I don’t think there is anything wrong with giving them small gifts. They both certainly deserve it.”

  Hannah looked lovingly towards the girls playing quietly. Grimshaw studied her.

  “Do you care for them?” he asked with a sudden turn in conversation.

  “Of course I do,” Hannah retorted, surprised that he should even ask.

  Of course he knew that would be her answer but still he had the desire to hear it out loud.

  “Would you love them as if they were your own daughters?”

  “I already do,” Hannah said, still unsure of where he was going with his talk.

  A quick but fleeting smile brushed across his lips. He rubbed his chin. At this time at night it was already beginning to darken with stubble.

  “I fear that Lady Tara might have ruined them to the idea of a mother.”

  “I don’t think so,” Hannah replied, still unsure where the conversation was leading.

  She couldn’t help but be relieved when she saw Lady Tara leave Brighton Abby. She would have liked to say it was solely for the children’s sake. If she was to be truly honest with herself though that wasn’t entirely accurate.

  She found that she had fallen in love with the earl just as much as she had with his daughters. It was a stark contrast to the attitude she had first come to the county house with.

  Of course with such a bad experience like the one she had with Baron Edgley, it was no wonder that she was averse to liking the earl, let alone falling for him.

  It was hard for her to do otherwise, however. What she had first seen as a gruff exterior, she learned was nothing more than a father who loved his daughters deeply.

  He was a good man who worked hard with his own hands. He was willing to admit his own faults, but also wouldn’t back down when Hannah was in the wrong. She found that trait surprisingly admirable.

  She couldn’t help but let her heart sink a little at the earl’s question. Was he already on the hunt for a new wife? Hannah had hoped that with the disaster with Lady Tara he would take time before going about his search again.

  She of course never expected him to set his eyes on her. Instead she rather hoped that she would be able to simply enjoy the time she had now and worry about what the future held when it came.

  It seemed that the future was now becoming the present by his muddled conversation. Perhaps he was looking to her for advice again.

  Hannah wasn’t altogether sure she could give such words of comfort to him. Before she had been only half aware of her feelings. Now she was sure her heart had been wholly given over to the earl.

  “Have you another lady in mind already?” Hannah asked, swallowing hard. “I mean to take as a wife and mother to the girls.”

  Hannah did her best to hide her fears in her question. She needed to know the answer and wished to never hear it all at the same time.

  “I do,” Grimshaw said simply. “She has been a choice of mine for some time, but I hesitated.”

  “What for?” Hannah asked, sure her heart was beating loud enough for even the earl to hear.

  “Well,” he said with a sigh. “I worried that Ann would hate me for it. I know,” he said stopping her before she spoke, “I have come to see you are right on that matter. It is wrong of me to feel guilty. But I did all the same. I don’t know that I can explain why.”

  “I suppose I thought if I let myself love another it would remove Ann from my heart. I’ve learned now that there is room enough. My greatest fear is that the lady in question might not take kindly to such a situation.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I would ask her to love me and my children as her own, and I think she does on both accounts. At least, she has confirmed so for my children’s sake,” Grimshaw said with a twinkle to his dark eyes

  Hannah’s heart raced at his words. She wasn�
�t sure but thought he might actually be talking about her. She couldn’t find it possible for Grimshaw to have fallen for her as she had for him.

  She had vexed him at every turn it had seemed. Not to mention the fact that she had also attempted to physically assault him twice. What man would want a woman like her even without considering the fact that she came from less than ideal breeding.

  “But I would wonder if she would be happy knowing that I still held my late wife dear. I wonder if she would come to resent that over time?”

  “Resent that you love your first wife? How could you not though? She gave you the gift of two beautiful girls. I myself never met the woman, and only heard stories of her, but I have come to have a great admiration for the lady.”

  “You have?” Grimshaw said, surprised.

  “Of course. Any woman who would find a place in her heart for you, Lord Grimshaw,” Hannah said, her cheeks blushing with the frank conversation, “would have no choice but to have affection for Lady Grimshaw as well. She has influences in every corner of Brighton Abby. Even just the simple act of finishing the west wing in her name shows how she has influenced this place for the good.”

  Grimshaw looked at the woman before him with awe. She was certainly wise beyond her years when she had the hankering to be.

  “And she wouldn’t resent that presence, you don’t think?” Grimshaw asked as he reached a hand forward and took Hannah’s.

  Her eyes drifted down to where they touched across the table. She could feel his warmth flowing through her veins.

  “I know I never would,” Hannah answered barely above a whisper.

  Grimshaw rewarded her response with a wide joyous smile. Pulling her hand to his lips, he kissed it ever so gently.

  It was just the first step, but it was a definite step in Grimshaw’s mind to courting Miss Hannah Jacobson.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  It was fortuitous that on the day of the coming of the Magi Grimshaw put the final touches to the west wing. It was a great weight of relief off his shoulders to see all the rooms properly put together, including the great hall that occupied most of the first floor of the wing.