On that sensible note, she folded Sophie’s gown and placed it in the box with Elizabeth’s already completed one.
She was putting up her sewing supplies when Sara walked into the salon.
‘Finished, I see,’ she said, coming over to give Olivia a hug. ‘Are you going to use the green material now and sew another set?’
‘Perhaps later, but not right now. I don’t intend to hang about here, a charge on your household indefinitely, you know.’
‘You know we love having you here! I do wish you’d reconsider accompanying me to some of our meetings, or come with us to dine with—’
‘No, no,’ Olivia said, holding up a hand. ‘Nothing about my circumstances has changed. I must still seek a new situation, so there’s no point picking up any of the threads of my former life.’
‘You know your friends would love to see you. Especially Lady Lyndlington and the other ladies from the Committee.’
‘That is kind of them, but I don’t mean to remain in London much longer. I’ve decided to journey to Laversby Hall as soon as I can make suitable arrangements.’
‘You are missing your former charges.’
She smiled. ‘Yes. I promised Elizabeth I would bring their gowns as soon as I finished them. It’s going on three weeks already since they left Somers Abbey—a very long time for a six-year-old!’
‘Sometimes a very long time for grown people as well! I wouldn’t want you to break your promise to Elizabeth, so I won’t try to detain you, but I did learn today about a situation I wanted to speak to you about. Something I hope you will seriously consider when you return to London.’
Though Olivia was increasingly convinced her path lay elsewhere, she couldn’t help but be a little intrigued. ‘What sort of situation?’
‘You remember the Dowager Marchioness of Trent? She’s worked with Lady Lyndlington on the Committee since its inception, but has been less active the last few years.’
Olivia scanned her memory, coming up with a tall, thin lady with a ready smile and an infectious laugh. ‘Yes, I think so. I don’t believe I’ve seen her at meetings above once or twice.’
‘No. She took a fall while riding two years ago and has had a very slow, painful recovery. She still has difficulty walking and lifting her arms to get a book from a high shelf, or pull a shawl from the top of her armoire, is a misery. When Lady Lyndlington called on her recently, she said she regretted that she hadn’t been able to attend many meetings. Lady Maggie suggested that she might find a companion—not a servant, more a friend, who could converse with her, help her to the dinners or balls she wishes to attend, take her to the Committee meetings and assist her with her letter writing. She said she would consider it. When Lady Maggie related this story at the Committee meeting today, I told her I thought you would be perfect for the position.’
‘Me?’ Olivia said dubiously. ‘Recall that I’m not very good at taking orders, or running and fetching.’
‘Oh, but she isn’t like that! Lady Maggie likes her very much and you know she doesn’t care at all for officious people who are puffed up with their own consequence. Only think, Olivia! You would be able to live in London in a lovely town house, attend balls and dinners, bring Lady Trent to meetings you’d want to attend anyway and even be paid a salary in addition to your room and board! Surely that would be more attractive than seeking another governess position.’
To remain in London, being paid for light duties while being able to throw herself into the work of the Committee, keeping her finger on the pulse of reform legislation as it evolved... Six weeks ago, before she’d first set out for Somers Abbey, she would have leapt at the opportunity.
Picturing Sophie’s shy smile, Elizabeth’s infectious giggle, such an opportunity no longer seemed quite so appealing.
‘Sara, I’m not sure that I will return to London. If I can find a way to stay on at Laversby, I will.’
‘Stay on at Laversby?’ Sara echoed. After studying Olivia’s face for a moment, she said quietly, ‘You love those girls that much?’
Olivia sighed. ‘I’m afraid I do.’
Sara nodded. ‘If being with them will make you happy, then you must stay at Laversby.’ She paused, then continued, ‘I don’t mean to tease you to talk if you don’t wish to, but it seems to me that you’ve been deeply unhappy since you left Somers Abbey. And I don’t think it’s just because you miss your charges.’
Olivia smiled faintly. ‘Ah, Sara, don’t ever be foolish enough to fall in love!’
‘The Colonel?’
Olivia nodded.
‘Reading between the lines of your letters, it seemed to me that you had an ever-growing regard for him. He...did not return your affection?’
‘He does...care for me. But if it weren’t enough that he lost his son to a fever in India, his wife was so distraught after the child’s death, she left him. She died in an accident while running away with another man. So he...he doesn’t really believe that love can last.’
‘How awful for him! No wonder he shies away from risking his heart again. Still, if he doesn’t realise what an excellent, superior lady you are, one who, if he were fortunate to win her love, would cherish it for ever, then he doesn’t deserve you!’
‘Thank you, my dear advocate. But there the situation remains and, frankly, I don’t think it will change.’
Sara pulled her into a hug. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered against Olivia’s shoulder. ‘So, your journey to Laversby. When do you propose to leave?’
‘As soon as I can make arrangements. The day after tomorrow, if possible.’
‘That soon! Then I must make the most of the time I have left with you. I’ll tell Aunt Patterson I cannot dine out with her tonight. I’ll stay here and we’ll have a comfortable coze, just as we used to do at school.’
Olivia smiled sadly. ‘As we’d hoped to do, all three of us, at Judd Street.’
‘We mustn’t mourn what can’t be changed,’ Sara said briskly.
‘Are you sure you want to cancel your plans? I wouldn’t want you to distress your Aunt Patterson.’
‘I’ll have plenty of time to appease her after you’ve left for Laversby.’
‘Then I would love to share the evening with you. You can tell me all about the latest projects of the Committee.’
‘Excellent! I’ll just go tell Cook we will both be dining in.’ After pressing her hand, that concerned look still on her face, Sara walked out.
Olivia added the green material and her sewing box to the trunk with the newly made dresses. Hopefully she would be at Laversby Hall long enough to sew new gowns using that material, too.
She smiled wryly. Had anyone predicted two months ago that she would be willing to give up her work on the reform Committee to live in the countryside caring for two little girls, she would have laughed at them.
And laughed even harder had someone suggested in a tall, aloof, world-weary Colonel, she would have found—and lost—the love of her life.
* * *
A week later, Hugh Glendenning rode up the carriage drive to the large, imposing mansion that was Laversby Hall. As the miles had gone by, from Somers Abbey to London and out to Kent, he had become more and more convinced of the rightness of it. Perhaps it was just as well that he’d missed Olivia in London. She was here now—all the ladies he loved were here together. And if he were persuasive enough, he would be taking all of them back to Somers Abbey.
Rather than ride up to the entrance, he took the side path to the stables and turned his horse over to a groom. It had been many years since he’d visited his great-aunt’s estate, but he remembered it well from his childhood visits. Walking from the stables through the formal walled garden to the manor would give him time to rehearse again what he meant to say to his great-aunt, the children and, assuming he could get her to agree to see him, Olivia.
The
second of his objectives came abruptly to the forefront as he walked through the gardens—and almost literally stumbled over Sophie as he turned the corner to a rose allée, where she was bending over, smelling one of the fragrant blooms.
‘Whoa, sweeting, careful!’ he said, gently steadying her before she could fall. Kneeling down to address her at her eye level, he said, ‘Are you all right?’
Her eyes going wide, she stared at him. Then, throwing herself into his arms, she said, ‘You came back for us?’
No first words spoken could ever have been sweeter. Clutching her tighter, feeling tears at the corners of his eyes, he said, ‘Yes, I’ve come back for you.’
It seemed so natural to hold her, to cradle her small body against his. He would never stop aching for the little boy he’d once sheltered as he now sheltered her, but he’d found his heart could survive many hurts and was stout enough to bear the risk of more. If he’d ever doubted that, the perfect peace he felt at this moment was all the proof he needed.
‘Sophie, where are you?’
He heard Elizabeth’s voice before she rounded the corner—and saw them.
‘Colonel?’ she breathed, stopping short. Then she, too, ran to his arms. As he added her to the embrace, he felt deep within the rightness of it.
‘You came back, just like you promised!’ Elizabeth said against his coat. ‘We’ve missed you so! Please say you’re going to take us home!’
For a few minutes, he revelled in their innocent embrace. Then, releasing them, he took one small hand in each of his large ones and led them to a nearby bench.
‘Haven’t you liked being at Lady Laversby’s house? It’s had all the nice things I promised you it would, hasn’t it?’
‘Oh, yes, she has ever so many pretty things,’ Elizabeth said. ‘Dolls and blankets and puzzles and lots of dresses and two maids to bring us anything we like. But we’re ready to go home now. Does Pierre miss us?’
‘Everyone at Somers Abbey misses you.’
‘Good. I miss them, too. I have so many words I want to teach Pierre! And Sophie promised she would talk to Pierre, too, didn’t you, Sophie?’
The little girl nodded solemnly. ‘I talk to Pierre, too.’
‘When are we leaving, Colonel?’ Elizabeth asked.
‘It wouldn’t be polite for me to leave so soon after arriving. I must speak with Lady Laversby... And I need to talk to Miss Overton. But if we’re all going home together, “Colonel” sounds a little too formal. Do you think you could call me “Uncle Hugh”?’
Elizabeth angled her head at him, considering, then nodded. ‘I like that. Will you talk with Lady Laversby right now, Uncle Hugh?’
‘First, I’d like to speak to your governess. Do you know where Miss Overton is?’
‘She reads to Lady Laversby in the afternoons, while she rests on her sofa, and Sally takes us to play in the garden. Lady Laversby says she has the most soothing voice.’
‘She does indeed, doesn’t she? You two go back to playing and I’ll go find her. I’ll see you later then, when you come back inside.’
Dropping a kiss on each girl’s head, he let them go. Giggling, Elizabeth seized her sister’s hand and began skipping her down the pathway. ‘We’re going home, we’re going home!’ she sang. Just before he walked away, grinning, Elizabeth halted and blew him a kiss. ‘I love you, Uncle Hugh!’
He blew it back. ‘I love you too, sweeting.’
His heart lighter than it had been in months, he took the path back to the manor. If only his interview with their governess would end so delightfully.
The vision he saw as he reached the next cross path stopped him in mid-stride. Strolling down a parallel path, her attention on the book she carried, was Olivia.
For a moment he simply stood and drank in the welcome sight of her. The graceful walk. The fringe of curls that shadowed those expressive brown eyes. The well-rounded figure that set his senses ablaze even as his heart swelled until his chest ached and he felt tears sting his eyes.
Murmuring a prayer for God to grant him eloquence, he walked over to intercept her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Idly browsing the book she’d been reading to her hostess, Olivia only vaguely noticed movement on the path parallel to the one she was taking to find the girls and bring them in for their nap. Until something about the height and stride and presence of the man, some subtle stirring in her senses, made her halt abruptly and look up.
Hugh.
Delight and trepidation spiralling within her, she barely choked back a gasp. She’d known if she stayed with the girls, she’d probably encounter him at Laversby Hall at some point—but she hadn’t expected to see him today. Now.
Not while she was unprepared, unarmoured against the love that burst from her longing heart in effervescent waves and made her want to throw down the book and run to his arms.
She had to grit her teeth, clutch the book and curl her toes in her half-boots to keep herself from doing just that. And frantically tried to use the few minutes’ grace she had while he approached to recover her façade of serenity.
When he reached her, she gave a curtsy to his bow. ‘Colonel, I didn’t realise you were visiting,’ she said, proud of how calm her voice sounded. ‘Have you met the girls yet? They will be so happy to see you.’
‘Yes, I just spoke with them. How glad I was to see them! Much as I initially tried to resist them, those two little minxes have carved a place in my heart. And that’s not all I have missed. Nor is seeing them the main reason I came here.’
Though her heartbeat leapt at that, she made herself reply coolly, ‘Indeed?’
‘Yes. Would you sit on this bench with me? I have a few things I’d like to say.’
Praying it was what she wanted to hear, and not more apologies or explanations, she said, ‘I suppose I can spare a few minutes.’
As they took their seats, curiosity compelled her to ask, ‘Did you know I’d be here?’ At his nod, she added, ‘How?’
‘I’ve already been to London and called on your friend, Miss Standish. She told me you’d come to Laversby.’
‘And...you wanted to see me about...?’ she probed. With her stomach in knots and her emotions jumping from agonised hope to steely resignation, she needed to discover his reason for seeking her out as quickly as possible.
His eyes roved over her face with a tenderness that made her breath hitch. ‘First, though you may well tell me it is none of my business, I wanted to know if...if you have accepted the offer Stephen Saulter told me he intended to make you. Although what I want most in the world is your happiness, I can’t bear the thought of you risking yourself, going out to India.’
He was worried about her, she realised. Compassion and a sympathetic sadness filled her. Given his experiences, she could understand why the prospect of having any child or female he cared for taking a ship for foreign lands would fill him with trepidation.
‘It’s...kind of you to be concerned—’ though kindness is not what I want from you! ‘—but you needn’t have worried. Mr Saulter did call on me right before I left London. But I politely let him know that I could not encourage his suit.’
‘Thank heaven,’ he muttered, such an intensity of relief in his voice she had to hide a smile.
‘Miss Standish also told me she didn’t think you’d be returning to London. That you’d turned down a position there so you might come here and be with the girls.’
‘I love them,’ she said simply. ‘I spoke frankly with Lady Laversby about my feelings for them and my...circumstances, offering to remain here in any capacity she would allow, even unpaid, as long as I might stay with them. She’s agreed to hire me as her companion.’
‘So you love them more than your political causes? You’d be happy to spend your life with them?’
Suddenly exasperated, she burst out, ‘If there is so
me point to this interrogation, I wish you would reach it! If what you mean to discover is what would make me happiest, I suspect you already know the answer to that. After all, I’ve already all but thrown myself at your feet with a lack of feminine modesty that would have made my mother swoon! And all you had to offer me back was...money.’
Unable to keep the hurt and disappointment from her voice, she rose from the bench. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I need to find the girls.’
‘Wait!’ he said, catching her hand. ‘That isn’t...all I would offer you. But before I say any more, you need to know the truth, all of it. Please, won’t you listen?’
She could hardly refuse that plea. Trying to keep her battered emotions, which had already swung several times from the heights of hope to the valleys of disappointment, from rising again, she sat down. ‘I’m listening.’
Despite his avowed eagerness, he remained silent for several minutes before beginning. Whatever he felt compelled to say must be difficult for him, she realised.
‘You know my wife died shortly after Drew,’ he said at last. ‘But she didn’t expire of a fever or a broken heart. At least, not directly. She was killed in an accident while trying to return to England...with another man.’
Despite all her attempts to armour herself against him, her heart ached anew. ‘I know,’ she said softly.
‘You know?’ he repeated. ‘But how—? Ah. Stephen.’
‘You mustn’t think he was breaking a confidence! I’d told him earlier that I knew all about what had happened in India, so he assumed I knew that, too. He didn’t realise no one in England had heard the full story. It...must have been so dreadful for you.’
Gazing into the distance, he took her hand, absently rubbing his thumb over her wrist. She knew she should pull away, but she didn’t, instead closing her eyes to savour his touch.
‘I was so distraught over Drew I was hardly aware of the gossip.’ He sighed. ‘I... I still don’t know why or how things changed between us. I’d known Lydia since we were children. She had such an adventurous spirit, such a zest for life! When I came back from university to find she’d turned into a beauty, I was...dazzled. With her spirit and enthusiasm, I thought she would be a perfect wife for an army officer in India.’
The Tempting of the Governess Page 23