The dowager duchess moved to Rosamund’s desk, tracing her fingers over the dark wood.
“Rosamund is still too young to truly understand. You saw that for yourself. Isabel does understand, and she doesn’t talk about it. She copes in her own way. Hermia, on the other hand …” Lady Rossdale hesitated. “I’d say she was resentful.”
Beth blinked. That was not a word she would have used to describe Hermia Thinesley.
“Resentful of what, Your Grace?”
Lady Rossdale sighed.
“I couldn’t honestly say. But she’s resentful of someone, certainly.”
Someone who had just come into her life when she didn’t want them. Beth didn’t need to use her mind to know what the older woman was talking about. She exhaled heavily.
“She sees me as an interloper into her family. And now she’s turning her aggression onto me.”
“Pretty much everyone who comes into the house since her mother’s death has experienced her unbecoming behaviour. And word is getting around about it, which doesn’t do our reputation any favours.” Lady Rossdale shook her head. “I love Hermia, Miss Campbell. Don’t get me wrong. But she’s on the cusp of entering Society for her first Season and her conduct is making things ... difficult. She needs to learn how to be a lady.”
“But she doesn’t want an outsider telling her how to do it,” Beth murmured.
She was beginning to see now. Lord Rossdale had mentioned that his wife had taught their children, wanting to know what they were learning. And Hermia had been close to the former duchess. It was no surprise that at a point when she was becoming a woman and learning how to conduct herself that she would want her mother to teach her. Not a complete stranger.
Beth would agree if she was in the same position.
“Hermia’s reasonings are confusing, even to me.” Lady Rossdale fixed a cool gaze on Beth. “If you’re serious about keeping this job, Miss Campbell, you need to stand firm. Hermia will back down once you show that you’re not going anywhere.”
That was better advice than what Lord Rossdale had given her. He had simply said to carry on and take it in her stride. The dowager duchess’ words were certainly going to be more useful. Beth bowed her head.
“I’ll do my best, Your Grace. I know I can do a good job with your granddaughter. I want to keep going at this job.”
“That’s good.” Lady Rossdale smiled, and then her eyes twinkled. Was that approval? Respect? Beth wasn’t sure. “You’ve got a stronger resolve than the last few governesses.”
Beth frowned.
“How many governesses have you had?”
“Since Allegra died? Too many.”
There was a knock on the door, and Beth turned to see Hettie, the upstairs maid, bringing in a tray. She managed to bob a curtsy at the dowager duchess without dropping the tray.
“Forgive me, Your Grace, but Mrs Rainesway sent this up for Miss Campbell. She had a feeling that Miss Campbell was going to be a little held up.”
Beth didn’t think she would be held up, and she had been looking forward to doing a bit of exploring around the house. But she was also glad she didn’t need to go downstairs and potentially get lost.
“Thank you, Hettie. That was kind of her.”
“And that is my cue to leave.” Lady Rossdale gave Beth a slight smile before she headed towards the door. “I’ll leave you to your meal, Miss Campbell. You’re going to need all the strength you can get this afternoon.”
Even a short while later as the girls came back into the schoolroom, Beth still had no idea what the older woman meant.
Chapter 11
“How’s Miss Campbell getting on?” Gerard asked.
Sitting across from him in front of the fire, Amelia sipped her drink and smiled.
“She’s doing well. Far better than I expected.”
Gerard chuckled.
“You thought she wasn’t going to be up to scratch?”
“I don’t know what I thought.” Amelia sighed. “But I was sure she wouldn’t last long. Hermia does make it difficult.”
Gerard couldn’t argue with that. Hermia had made it clear that she wasn’t going to listen to anything. She did not want to be there; she did not want Beth to be there, and she was going to make it known. Gerard had spent most of the day in his study finishing off the accounts, and he could hear Hermia’s voice all the way upstairs.
He had been mentally drafting a letter to his aunt, ready to write and send off if Hermia’s behaviour didn’t change. From the way things were going, it wasn’t going to change. Hermia was stubborn to the last, even towards something that was for her own good.
From the sound of it, though, Beth was holding her own. Gerard had been confident that she could handle Hermia’s conduct, and he was glad that his confidence hadn’t been misplaced.
His daughters, along with Beth, had joined them for dinner. Isabel and Rosamund talked and talked about their day, discussing some of the topics that Beth had covered. It was basic for now, but Gerard wasn’t about to argue with that; Beth was finding her own way and needed to come up to speed. Hermia was certainly not going to be of any help. His eldest daughter had sat in her chair next to Rosamund, scowling across the table at Beth. But Beth was more focused on the younger two, her enthusiasm spurred on by them. It was refreshing to watch. Gerard enjoyed watching the three of them interacting. It was like they had known each other for years.
That was just what Gerard had been looking for. Admittedly, hiring Beth Campbell had been a gamble as she didn’t have a background as a tutor and had never done it before, but she was proving to be very competent. And she hadn’t run away from Hermia’s attitude just yet.
Gerard was glad he had made this choice.
“Let’s hope she’s not going to do anything stupid.” Amelia grunted. “Like not cavort with the other servants.”
“She doesn’t know anyone here, Mother.”
“You think that’s going to make a difference?”
Gerard frowned. Somehow the thought of Beth conducting an affair with one of his servants didn’t sit well with him, and it was nothing to do with the staff fraternizing with each other. He just didn’t like the thought of her being with anyone.
She was not his to control. So why was he getting annoyed about this? Gerard pushed this aside and swirled the ice cubes around in his glass.
“Miss Campbell is not going to stray, Mother. She’s an honest woman.”
“Even though she’s a Campbell.”
“The indiscretions of the other family members should not reflect Miss Campbell’s own conduct. That is not fair on anyone.”
Amelia stared at him for a long time. Then she sighed and stared into the fire.
“I hope you’re right about that. Because I can see a lot of potential with her.”
“So do I.”
Gerard was really glad that he had found her. Probably not in the best of circumstances, but it had happened. Gerard had come across Beth almost like fate, and she was showing her worth. It made him want to kiss her again.
But that would have to wait. Gerard knew he wanted another kiss of Beth, but she was choosing to back off and remain distant, as she should. If he attempted anything, there was a chance Beth could run, and Gerard didn’t want her running anywhere. Except into his arms.
“I’m surprised you found her at all. She doesn’t exactly run in the same social circles.” Amelia frowned at her son. “Where did you find her, Gerard?”
“She was the one who found Rosamund after she ran away.”
“But just doing that isn’t enough for you to decide that she’s perfect for this job.” Amelia tilted her head to the side. “What’s going on, Gerard?”
Gerard took a deep breath. He wasn’t about to tell his mother how he really found Beth. That would certainly have Amelia scandalized and telling him to get rid of her immediately. She would see Beth as a temptation, someone who shouldn’t be around the children.
She was a tem
ptation, and Gerard was finding out how much. Which was why he had kept himself out of the way all day; the urge to go and simply look at her was strong.
“Nothing’s going on, Mother.” That sounded like it was said with some conviction. “And even if there was, it’s not going to hurt anyone.”
Why did he have to say that? Amelia still didn’t look convinced.
“I don’t believe that at all, son.” She sipped her drink. “I do hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do know what I’m doing.” Gerard sighed. “It’s fine, Mother. Miss Campbell’s going to manage teaching the girls without any problems. Or without much of a problem.”
Amelia snorted.
“With Hermia involved, that’s going to be a stretch.”
Gerard couldn’t argue with that.
#
For the next week, Gerard did his best to keep out of Beth’s way. She came in every morning, did her lessons with the children, and went home again after the evening meal. She had refused to take a room at his house, for now. Beth called it a trial, to see how things went. If she was successful, she would move in. In her eyes, there was no point in moving into the house until she knew that the job was secure. Gerard couldn’t argue with the logic behind that.
But she needn’t have worried. Gerard wasn’t about to throw her out. Beth was just what his daughters needed, and it was beginning to show. Certainly, with Rosamund and Isabel. They were attentive in their lessons, according to Beth’s report at the evening meal, and neither girl would stop talking about what they had learned, from geography to history. Beth’s range of education was quite remarkable.
Hermia was the only one who said nothing about it. She simply sat in her chair eating silently but scowling at Beth. It was like she was attempting to intimidate Beth by scowls alone. Gerard found it almost amusing. God only knew what was going on in the schoolroom because Beth wouldn’t say anything and neither Isabel nor Rosamund would speak about it. He did contemplate sneaking a peek into the schoolroom to find out what was going on, but then he would find himself wanting to hang around more.
Just for a look at Beth.
Gerard knew he was acting like a fool; Beth was not something he could gawp at. Then again, Gerard wasn’t the only one who thought the new governess was beautiful. Several of the male servants had noticed, and they seemed to find any excuse to talk to her. Gerard had caught two of the under-footman in the foyer over the last four days talking to Beth and practically fawning over her. They had scurried on their way when Gerard approached them.
He found that he didn’t want Beth talking to any of his servants, and that was nothing to do with Lacey’s previous indiscretions. Gerard knew his selfishness was coming back to haunt him already.
There were days when he wondered why he had decided to offer the position to a woman he wanted. Having temptation wandering around under his nose and not being able to touch her was agonizing. Gerard was feeling it every day.
This might have been one of his more foolish decisions. But he couldn’t deny that Beth was good at her job. The girls – Isabel and Rosamund mostly – were excited and happy, and Gerard had seen their schoolwork. Such an improvement. Hermia, on the other hand, was still being a brat and refusing to work.
Gerard was going to have a strong word with her. He had sent the letter off to his Aunt Florence. It would be a while before he got a reply, so Hermia had until the reply came to the house to change her ways.
If he was honest, Gerard wasn’t holding much hope. He loved his daughter, but he knew how stubborn she could be. It was going to take something big for Hermia to change.
His paperwork was all done, and there was nothing more for him to do in his study. Gerard couldn’t use it as an excuse to hide anymore. He would have to venture out and see what was going on with his children. Amelia had told him to make more of an effort with his daughters, get more involved. Gerard was going to have to take a deep breath and do it.
Being a father meant more than help in the breeding process.
He left his study and made his way upstairs. On his way out of the dining room, Amelia had told him that Mr Baker, the music tutor, was going to be arriving shortly. Apparently, Beth had been asked about doing some dancing, and she wanted to treat the girls to some music and teaching them how to dance. Gerard was curious to see how that was going to go.
He could hear the piano upstairs as he headed along the hall. And he could hear Beth’s voice, nice and clear and upbeat.
“There we go, that’s it! Good, Rosamund! Just need to calm it down a little. You don’t want to scare the young man you’re dancing with, do you?”
Gerard smiled at that. Rosamund did like to throw herself into things, which meant she got a little overexcited. He heard Rosamund giggling. Then he heard Hermia’s voice, sulky in tone.
“This is pathetic. Why do we have to do it?”
“What’s wrong, Hermia?” Beth asked.
“I know how to dance! I don’t need to learn again.”
Oh, dear. Here they went again. Gerard opened the door to the schoolroom and slipped inside. The desks had been pushed back, the piano pulled out from its corner. Mr Baker sat at the piano. He saw Gerard and started to rise, but Gerard waved him back to sitting.
He didn’t want to be noticed just yet. Rosamund and Isabel certainly hadn’t noticed him, watching the interaction between their sister and Beth and Hermia squared up to her governess. Gerard was surprised that Hermia hadn’t taken a swipe at Beth’s head.
“Your sisters were the ones who wanted to dance.” Beth sounded patient, but Gerard could detect the strain in her voice. “They wanted to learn how to do the popular dances. If you know them, why don’t you demonstrate to your sisters how to do it?”
Hermia bared her teeth.
“No.”
“You don’t need to be shy. I’ll do it with you.”
Hermia shook her head. She folded her arms as her scowl got darker.
“I’m not doing the dances with you,” she sneered. “Never.”
Beth sighed.
“We’ve talked about this, Hermia. You know the punishment if you start this again. If you’re going to be behaving in this way, you can go to your desk and get on with writing out the text of Shakespeare. I won’t have you being so unkind in front of your sisters.”
Writing out Shakespeare. Gerard had to smile at that. Hermia hated Shakespeare, complained that she couldn’t understand it. Beth seemed to have figured this out pretty quickly.
“Hermia, please stop it,” Isabel pleaded. “We just want to do some dancing.”
“Stop being mean to Elizabeth!” Rosamund cried.
“Shut up, runt!” Hermia snapped. She rounded on Beth. “You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not my mother. Only Mama can tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. And you will never be my mother.”
Chapter 12
Beth took a deep breath, and Gerard could visibly see her try to maintain her composure. Then he went cold. Something just froze inside him. Moments later, he felt the anger start to build. But not at Beth.
What A Wicked Duke Demands (Historical Regency Romance) Page 15