Capturing the Governess’s Heart by Sally Forbes
Chapter Eight
Robert wished he could make reference to their meeting in Covent Garden and forge a closer acquaintance with Miss Emma. What if he mentioned apples? No, that would remind her of the unfortunate fall. Should he ask after her health? Robert had to bite his lip in indecision. If he tried to acknowledge their former connection, he was certain the object of his interest would turn crimson, and his mother would stab him with a disapproving stare.
“How have you been enjoying London, Miss Emma?” Robert went against all his gentlemanly advice. “Have you had time to enjoy any sightseeing yet?”
“I came to London merely grateful for the chance to work, Your Grace,” Emma replied.
“Did you stay in a hotel?” Henry asked. He bounced forward, making his chair creak. “I’ve always wanted to stay in a hotel.”
“Better to stay with friends or family,” Emma told the eager young boy. “I stayed with my mother’s cousin at her husband’s vicarage.”
“Acreage?” Henry misunderstood.
“Vicarage - the home where the vicar of the parish lives,” Emma corrected him gently. She then smiled at him. “Though he did have quite an extensive garden.”
Her moderate voice and easy joke impressed Abigail, who looked up and took note of her new teacher. Robert watched his niece’s smile warm as Emma threw her a quick, conspiratorial smile. Henry, content with his part of the proper, grown-up conversation, went back to eating.
“What sights is she to have seen, Robert? For goodness sake, I do hope you improve your conversation before the next ball. Lady Beatrice is quite a natural and graceful speaker,” the dowager added loudly.
Robert braced himself for another onslaught of his mother’s opinions and plans. He was forced to hang on to her every word until he wished the last course was done. Though wish finally granted, he found himself disappointed when dinner was over in what seemed too short a time. The children and their charming, new governess disappeared together across the Great Hall, and the dowager reluctantly let him go off to his study alone.
He drew the heavy curtains and poured himself a drink. Then, glancing over his shoulder at the closed door, Robert slipped off his shoes with a sigh. He eased into his favorite armchair and lifted his feet onto the ottoman closest to the fire.
The warmth on his toes relaxed the rest of his body, but Robert kept tensing as he remembered moments from dinner. First, there was the lost moment where he might have let surprise reveal the earlier connection between himself and Miss Emma. Then, the dowager’s imperial interruptions. The children were, thankfully, delightful, but Robert feared he was still too stiff towards them. Between his stares and the dowager’s loud, scheming declarations about the forthcoming Season, Robert was sure the new governess thought they were all mad.
Emma Fletcher. Emma. Robert tried her name out again and again in his head. So elegant and yet unassuming, like the woman herself. And, he knew he was not alone in his high regard. The children had taken to her encouraging smiles and her gentle tones; they had all gone off together upstairs as one happy crowd.
He stretched his toes in front of the fire and tried not to be jealous of their easy company. If he needed company, the dowager was always available for after-dinner conversation. Robert sighed and took a long, slow sip of his drink. His mother was relentless in her plans for the upcoming Season. At dinner alone, she had covered the first balls, concerts, and exhibitions which were suited for her matchmaking purposes. Robert groaned as he wondered if the new governess had missed her machinations. He did not want his household thinking he was in search of a wife!
He shuddered. If his indispensable Lucy Brown ever thought there was a chance for matrimony and more children at Dalwater, she would follow the dowager to the ends of England. Doubtless even Williams would lend a hand to the scheme, as he always enjoyed showing off his flawless service to fashionable parties. And what of the children? Surely, they did not need the injury of thinking their beloved parents could be replaced so soon?
The more Robert thought about it, the more he wondered if Fate had delivered Miss Emma to his doorstep. The agency had been able to find him someone so highly qualified seemingly in an instant; that it turned out to be the same girl who had enlivened his senses in Covent Garden was little short of a miracle.
Could there be any other explanation? The universe was somehow shaping their lives to be together. He finished his drink and shook off such fanciful thoughts.
If he really did conjure her by his own daydreaming, what could he possibly do now? Her appropriate decorum kept her from him in more frustrating ways than walls ever could. And, she was supposed to be below his notice.
The truth was, the lovely Miss Emma Fletcher drew his focus more than anything or anyone else had in years. He should be concentrating on his business ventures in the colonies, or Napoleon’s movements, or buying the new carriage his mother insisted upon for the Season, but all he could see in his mind’s eye was Emma’s sparkling emerald-green eyes.
No. Robert stopped himself. He was not a foolish man. It was merely an interesting situation, that was all. What was the probability of running into the same woman who was to become his ward’s governess? He wondered if Miss Emma had a head for numbers. Perhaps he could check on her qualifications, verify she was indeed capable of managing his wards’ education.
He pondered the pleasant thought of dropping by the schoolroom the next day, finished his drink, and then sat dreamily sipping at the empty glass.
What would Theo say if he could see him now? Robert grinned and shouldered himself deeper into his armchair. Somehow, the restless energy which usually sent him out to the club almost every night was gone. He was more curious about the comforts of his own home; did Emma like her accommodations? Was she frightened at being torn away from her sister and deposited in a stranger’s house? No.
Miss Emma seemed a sensible type, shy but not a cowering mouse. He imagined her marching bravely along with the upstairs gallery and not getting lost for one second, despite the confusing curve of the round tower sitting room. He was certain he would see her looking hale and hearty at breakfast.
Robert jumped out of his chair and poured himself another drink. Looking forward to an innocent run-in at breakfast was not something he believed himself capable of doing. Where was the reserve and dignity of his station?
The dowager bustled in and saved him from berating himself. “Now, Robert, you absolutely must pull yourself together about this whole governess situation,” she said.
He bit back a smile and poured her a drink too. “Here, Your Grace, you seem to have weathered a shock.”
“Shock? Yes! It was a horrendous shock to realize a perfect stranger had been invited to live in my home without my consent!”
Robert mulled happily over his mother’s use of the phrase ‘perfect stranger.’ Emma certainly did appear to his fancy to be perfect, and he wondered what could possibly jar him from that idealistic view of the new governess. “She is quite perfect, isn’t she?” he dared say aloud.
“Really, Robert!” The dowager swatted at him, then took her drink and settled on the leather sofa.
Robert returned to his chair, slipped his shoes back on, and asked his mother in a weary voice, “You’ve broken our evening tradition, Mother. Really. Whatever is the matter?”
“Why was I not consulted?” the dowager complained.
“Until the will was read, you cared for your grandchildren on your own. I thought it was my place to take over their care and let you go back to living your life undisturbed,” Robert said.
“And this is what you call undisturbed?” She sipped her drink, dabbed her chin with her handkerchief, and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. “I could barely eat tonight at dinner, and I was so distraught.”
“And yet you managed to speak at length perfectly well,” Robert teased.
The dowager swatted at him again. “Did you even hear a word I said? I could have sworn that every time I looked up, you were studying that new woman.”
“I wanted to see that she was mannered, kind, and warm to the children. They certainly seemed to take to her quickly.”
“Yes, well,” his mother spoke begrudgingly, “she is fresh and smiling, I’ll say that. Of course, they were charmed by her. That doesn’t mean she is the one they need to guide their futures.”
“And I haven’t asked her to do so,” Robert said. His patience was growing thin. His mother had intruded upon his territory, his after-dinner sanctuary, and now she was double-guessing his decisions.
“Ah, Williams, finally,” the dowager exclaimed as the butler appeared with a silver tray. “Do you think that Fletcher woman is well-suited to guide my grandchildren’s futures?”
Mr. Williams’ mouth tightened slightly at the corners, but he did not let his distress show in any other way. He serenely poured the dowager a cup of hot cocoa while murmuring a non-committal sound.
The dowager scowled. “Of course, it was Mr. Williams who related to me the governess’s good references.”
Robert looked at his butler and sympathized. Obviously, the servant had been cornered after dinner and forced to tell every detail of the governess’s hiring. It was certainly the dowager had called upon his lifelong loyalty to confess where the plan originated. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if the order for the hiring of a governess had come from anyone but Robert himself. Someone would have been crying or fired, that night for sure.
He wanted to pretend he had no idea why the presence of the governess made his mother feel so thwarted. Of course, Robert himself was trying to use the governess as a buffer between him and undesired matrimony. Would the decorous Miss Emma be mortally offended if she found out why he had expedited her hiring? Should he confess his sins now or wait to be called out?
No. Robert swirled his drink, took another sip, and reminded himself that he was the Duke of Dalwater. He was guardian to Abigail and Henry. He was merely following the excellent advice of his friend Theo. Robert almost smiled; wouldn’t Theo love to know that he had almost pinned the whole upset on him. He should have gone to the club to meet up with his friend so his mother could not have cornered him so easily.
“Good references do not guarantee good manners, though. Wasn’t she quite querulous about her living quarters?” the dowager asked Mr. Williams.
“She worried over her proximity to the family,” the butler replied.
The dowager could see that particular sin did not horrify her son as much as she would like, so she tried again. “And she stole into the dining hall through the servants’ door instead of waiting at the staircase where she was told to be.”
“She thought it best to be out of the way when the family descended.” Both Robert and the dowager were surprised at how the butler spoke without invitation, appearing to defend Emma, albeit politely. He bowed to them both: “Please excuse me, Your Grace.”
“See? She’s upset the whole household,” the dowager concluded. She waved a relieved Williams out of the room. “I won’t let this change my plans, Robert.”
Robert eyed his glass and wished he could avoid both his mother’s conversation and her matrimonial machinations. She again tried to rail about the distraction a perfect stranger caused to the household: Lucy Brown must be beside herself, she opined, and poor Williams was so distracted, he had actually spoken before being asked. It was all quite shocking! How could he have been so thoughtless to have brought this on them at such a crucial time?!
“It will take careful thought and consideration in accepting only the right invitations to make a success of this Season. We cannot be expected to consider another person. I do hope you are not planning that Miss Fletcher should act as a chaperone as well.”
Robert stared into the fire. The possibility had not occurred to him, but now that his mother had mentioned it, he was curious to see how Emma would fare out in society. Would she still pull his focus from every surrounding subject?
The Dowager continued her complaints, used to Robert’s close-mouthed ways. “I will give you that a larger entourage is always preferable. It’s impressive for Abigail to have a personal chaperone as well as her uncle. Although we shall have to make some considerable expenditure to have the governess dressed properly.”
“The Duke of Elsby can give me the name of his sisters’ favorite seamstress, I’m sure,” Robert spoke up finally.
His mother rattled her cup and saucer. “Now, Robert, you must not let this added personage distract you from your cause! She is an interruption. Nothing more.”
Robert could not help himself: “An interruption? What exactly do you mean?”
“Your life has changed directions, Robert. Surely you knew it as soon as Abigail and Henry became your wards? Now, you are off down a new path, and you suddenly see every possible off-shoot. Do not lose sight of where you want to be!”
“And where is that, Mother?”
The dowager gave him a pitying smile. “Why, here at Dalwater, of course, content with a wife, Robert. I am not out to ruin your life but to improve it. Surely, you must see that?”
He softened towards his mother but would not give in completely. “I do not believe Miss Fletcher intends to ruin my life either. She will, instead, take some of the worry of educating and caring for the children off my mind.”
“You mean her presence may allow you to concentrate on your own choices this Season,” the dowager argued.
Robert knew they would never reach an agreement. He waited until his mother had sipped the last of her hot chocolate, then he solicitously rang the bell. Her lady’s maid and Lucy Brown appeared to help his mother to bed, but she was not quite ready to give up their conversation. She shooed the women to the far corner of the room and did not concede to rise.
His mother glared up at him and said: “I still believe you have rushed unwisely into hiring this so-called governess. You must tell Miss Fletcher there will be a trial period. Tell her first thing in the morning. Or, tell the housekeeper to inform the governess for you.”
“A trial? I think not,” Robert said. Emma could barely look at him due to her gentle and shy nature. How would she fare if she thought the whole household was scrutinizing her every move?
“Think of the young woman, Robert. What if this position is not a good fit for her? Abigail is far above her in beauty, accomplishments, and station. They may detest each other. And Henry will obviously prove too much for her.”
“Enough, Mother,” Robert tried to keep his voice low so the servants didn’t hear. “I will not change my mind based on conjecture or foundationless worries about the future.”
“Then, all I ask is the truth.” The dowager rose from her chair slowly and faced her son. “Tell me honestly why you have hired this governess.”
Robert took a deep breath and gave his mother the leeway she deserved. “I hired a governess to guide the children so there would be no need for me to rush into any marital alliances. I thought you would approve of me taking the time to make the right choice.”
“Though you rushed into the decision of employing a governess,” the dowager pointed out.
He opened his mouth to defend Emma again but closed it just as quickly. He could not reveal the extent of his preoccupation with the young woman. As it was, the Dowager was already watching him closely, and he could not stand for her to see his interest. He liked Emma for being the antithesis of the women in his past, and he figured the attraction would soon pale.
“It is late, Mother. Let’s not argue. I am sorry you feel so disrupted. Perhaps a good night’s sleep will make the transition easier.”
She glared at him for shuffling her off like an older woman, but the dowager finally deigned to be escorted out. He watched her cross his study with all the grace of a queen, and then she returned to poke a finger in his chest.
“You are not broken simply because you made one mistake,” she told Robert.
He gritted his teeth but had to ask, “I made a mistake?”
His mother glared. “I’ve apologized enough for introducing you to Lady Isabel. We were all fooled, Robert, not just you. All society feels the same.”
“So, you understand my desire not to rush towards the altar again.” Robert took his mother’s arm and escorted her to the door of his study. “Therefore, you understand why the governess is a welcome addition to our household.”
He spoke loudly, so the housekeeper and the lady’s maid were sure to hear. The duke had declared the new governess was welcome. He had also ruined his mother’s last chance to remind him that her grandchildren needed a mother.
He could see in the lift of her chin that the dowager had not given up. Tonight, though, he was free to go to escape to his dreams uncontested … and, as yet, unencumbered by the looming Season.
