by Abby Ayles
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 a 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 5
For a few moments, the two sat in silence and Hannah wondered why he had insisted she spent 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 thinking 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 of a foreign 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 funny 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 indication, Hannah feared the earl was cut from the same cloth as the baron.
Unfortunately, he didn’t give the governess’s reason for leaving and it only made Hannah question and wonder more.
“When she left us, the girls were beside themselves. I did my best to help them and keep them entertained but there is just something different about time with a woman. They need that influence. I suppose what I am getting at,” he said, brushing a hand through his cropped black hair, “is that their little act today was more out of fear.”
“Fear, Lord Grimshaw?”
“Yes, I am sure they fear attaching themselves to a lady only to have her leave them again. That is why I made sure to interview the governesses myself, no matter how unorthodox. It is also why I picked you. You seemed like someone who would be willing to be their pillar.”
He looked deep into Hannah’s eyes and she feared he had reached her very soul.
“I know it is a lot to ask, but I need you to be that woman for my girls. Can you overlook their actions and see their hurt behind it? Will you truly forgive them and be that feminine figure that they need in their lives?”
Hannah couldn’t speak for a moment. She was overcome with emotions at his earnest pleading as well as the penetrating stare of his brown eyes.
She took a sip of tea, for nothing more than to break the intense connection between them. It also gave her the strength to answer.
“I am honored that you would put so much trust in me. I promise you, Lord Grimshaw, I will do everything in my power not to let you or the girls down.”
Lord Grimshaw seemed to visibly relax at her words. Hannah felt a strange comfort herself to know that she had relieved him of some burden he must have been silently carrying at least these few months since the last governess left.
“Now if you would please excuse me, I have some work to do in the west wing.”
Hannah stood up in unison with him.
“And what shall I do for the rest of the day since you have seemed to relieve me of my pupils?”
“Whatever you want. Of course, please stay to the estate grounds,” he added as an afterthought. “But other than that, you are free to explore and settle yourself in. Naturally, you are still most welcome to join me for dinner even with the girls absent,” he added, before bowing and leaving the room.
Hannah didn’t answer him. With his words, she felt the claustrophobic grip of his controlling rules again. She wasn’t allowed to leave the estate.
He may have merely requested her presence at dinner and not ordered it, but it still brought back terrible memories of her last post. She would not be joining him for dinner without the presence of the girls’ innocent eyes on them.
Instead, she would take the opportunity to explore the house more, then take a quiet meal in her room before preparing how to go about the next day’s classes.
The following morning Hannah was ready to get to work. She wasn’t used to having idle hands. She had spent the remainder of yesterday afternoon in her room and took her evening meal there as well.
It made her quite restless to have nothing to do but look over the things she brought. She did take a short walk around the manor but didn’t feel very comfortable doing so.
In her last house, she had been so busy seeing to the needs of her pupil and avoiding the baron that she had never left the few rooms that necessity dictated she be in.
Hannah was happy to see that she got to the girls’ schoolroom before them the following day. It would give her time to organize it to her liking.
Already she had assessed the girls’ weaknesses and strengths and had organized lessons for the next few months.
Whether it was because of the movement of heavy books and furniture or the fact that the
days were beginning to warm up in earnest, either way, Hannah was feeling quite warm in her linen gown and a cotton cap.
She would have loved to take it off, for she truly detested the item, as well as the fake spectacles that pinched at her nose and gave her a constant headache.
She could do nothing for it, however. Of course, she felt no need to hide herself from the children or their nurse, but there was always the possibility of Lord Grimshaw bursting in again.
Already his overbearing status and demanding rules made her wary. She would not give him even the slightest reason as the baron had claimed she did for him.
“Good morning, girls,” Hannah said as her wards were shuffled into the room by their nurse.
They both stepped in, curtsied with eyes on the ground and mumbled their salutations. Hannah suspected they were prepared for a severe reprimand or perhaps sour disposition in the least after yesterday’s events.
“I thought we might start the morning with a story if that is alright with you,” Hannah said.
Both girls simply nodded timidly, with Rebecca looking to her older sister for a cue.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already checked and made sure that Mr. Whiskers is happily secured in his cage,” Hannah added, hoping her little joke would brighten the girls’ mood.
It didn’t however.
“Come now,” Hannah said, crouching down before them. “Why such sad faces?”
Hannah was doing her best to be soft-spoken and kind to the girls. It was much like encouraging a skittish cat to a bowl of milk.
“Will you be leaving us now, as Miss Watts did?” Rebecca finally asked softly. “Because of our nasty trick, that is?”
“Oh no, my dear,” Hannah responded, taking the little girl’s hand. “It will take much more than Mr. Whiskers to scare me off.”
“She didn’t leave because of Mr. Whiskers,” Caroline said. “She left because she found a beau. Mr. Collins who also goes to our parish,” she explained.
“I see. I had no idea. And I suppose you cared for her very much before she left?”
Both girls nodded in unison. Rebecca’s big brown eyes were filling with tears.
Hannah was sure the girls were still hurting deeply at the loss of their governess.
No doubt they had hoped to start things on a bad foot so that Hannah would be cruel to them. It would be a lot easier to let a mean governess go than one they had grown to love like their last one.
Hannah’s heart ached for them. She would not be cruel to them, however. Instead, she would show them the abundance of motherly love that they were missing and also show them that no matter what she would be consistent in their life.
“Well, I can assure you I have no plans to leave anytime soon. I rather hoped you two would be okay with that? I think we could all have great fun together.”
Rebecca rubbed an eye with her still cherubic hand to brush away a betraying tear and softened into a hopeful smile.
Hannah was relieved that at least one of the girls was willing to open their hearts to her.
“In fact, I must confess I was inspired by Mr. Whiskers. I have brought with me a relatively new set of stories. They are written by a lovely lady named Beatrix Potter. Do you know them?”
Both girls shook their heads, Rebecca intrigued and Caroline still determined to be distant.
“Oh, splendid!” Hannah said, rising to stand.
She kept her hand in Rebecca’s and ushered them over to sit by the hearth. She lifted up the pillow and inspected the seat dramatically before sitting down. It got a small giggle out of the youngest.
“Now her first story is about a very naughty bunny named Peter Rabbit, but I thought we might start with a story you would find more interesting called The Tailor of Gloucester.”
Hannah settled into the chair and flipped through her cloth-bound collection of stories until she landed on the third one. She showed the introductory picture to both girls. It was a small mouse seated on a spool of thread reading a paper.
“In this story, a tailor is desperately struggling to get his work done on time. Luckily he has some very kind mice that live in the dresser and help him with his work.”
By the time Hannah finished her story, both girls were enraptured with the story and the little characters. Even Caroline who had tried so hard to stay distant couldn’t help but feel the excitement of the enchanting tale.
“Perhaps if I leave my sampler in Mr. Whiskers’ cage, he will finish it for me,” Caroline mused when the story was over.
“He would just shred it and make a bed out of it like all the other fabric we give him,” Rebecca responded.
“I am fine with that too. Then I wouldn’t have to work on it anymore.”
“I think it is wonderful that you have already started a sampler, Caroline,” Hannah responded. “You must be very skilled to already have one started so young. You must show it to me after our penmanship.”
Caroline held her head a little higher at the compliment. She had only started the sampler right before Miss Watts’ departure and had refused to continue the work after she left, but now hearing that she was quite advanced for her age, she had the sudden desire to pick it up again.
Chapter 6
As it was Saturday, Hannah finally got her first relief from teaching the girls. It was not as wanted as she had expected.
Within the baron’s home, Hannah counted down the days until she would get her day off from educating the pupil who was just as much a handful as his father.
After teaching the girls for almost a week, Hannah could easily say she had enjoyed every moment of it and had no desire to depart from them.
Much to Hannah’s surprise she also found herself enjoying her evening supper at the earl’s table. Both of them seemed to focus more on the girls than anything else.
She couldn’t help but admire the man for his dedication to his daughters and real interest in their lives.
Though she was looking forward to a chance to catch up on some grading over the last week and having a small break from work, she was also apprehensive of the day.
Hannah didn’t want to stay cooped up in the house, but also felt concerns about traveling to the nearby town.
Lord Grimshaw’s overbearing rules seemed to pound in the back of her mind. She refused to ask his permission or even his accompaniment as she went to town to pick up a few items she was in need of. At the same time, she did slightly fear his wrath at knowingly breaking his demands.
She couldn’t afford to be dismissed from a job yet again and without a good reference. More than that she couldn’t bear to leave the girls after making so much headway with them this last week. She was sure that to do so would be a greater detriment to their already delicate demeanors.
Instead, Hannah sought out the advice of Mrs. Brennon. Perhaps the lady would accompany her to town, thereby stepping around the earl’s requirements.
“I wonder if I might have a moment of your time, Mrs. Brennon,” Hannah said after softly knocking on the housekeeper’s office door.
“Yes of course,” Mrs. Brennon replied, coming to stand from behind her desk.
“I don’t want to disturb you if you are otherwise engaged,” Hannah said, motioning to the paperwork before the housekeeper.
“Nonsense, I was just thinking it might be a good time to take a break.”
She pulled a cord on the wall that also contained a series of bells of her own summons from the main house.
Instantly a young kitchen maid came in the room and curtsied.
“Will you bring some tea for Miss Jacobson and me,” Mrs. Brennon asked the girl politely.
She nodded and quickly left the room. The middle-aged woman motioned for Hannah to join her in two chairs with a small table between them. Other than the sound of rustling skirts and the clinking of Mrs. Brennon’s keys at her waist, the downstairs of the manor was a peaceful place.
“Are you settling in well?” Mrs. Brennon asked after they both sat.
“Yes, the room is magnificent. The house is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.”
“Have you been around the gardens at all? They are all abloom this time of year.”
“I have gone out a few times with the girls over the past few days. The skill of the gardeners is breathtaking.”
“I will have to pass your compliments onto Hanson, our head landscaper. He will be happy to hear of your enjoyment.”
