Risky Rules of a Passionate Governess

by Henrietta Harding

  “It is,” the duke replied

  “I don’t care for beef,” Constance said.

  “Bœuf,” Lord Garret replied with his best French accent. “Bœuf.” Then he turned to Katherine and added, “Vous devez apprendre le français aux enfants.”

  ***

  Katherine decided to wear a blue silk gown to dinner. She selected it with great care. Katherine was still beaming from the charming afternoon that she had spent teaching the children about stargazing, and watching Lord Garret as he seemed surprisingly happy throughout. Was she beginning to win him over? Katherine was hoping so.

  Looking in the full-length mirror at her blue gown, Katherine noted that her appearance had changed in the short time that she had been at Bonhomie. She looked more womanly in some way. Perhaps the role that she was playing in the children’s lives was doing her more good than she realised. Before going down to dinner, Katherine thought it best to write a short note to Elizabeth, lest her sister be cross with her for not doing so.

  My Darling Elizabeth,

  We’re having a celebratory meal this evening in honor of my being at Bonhomie for one month. I’m incredibly excited. I selected my blue silk frock; I know that you remember it. Even though I was fearful of the duke’s brother at first, it seems that the man is beginning to change his attitude towards me, which is an incredible relief. I know that I have already written of his handsomeness, but the warmer he becomes, the more the handsomeness grows!

  I do hope that you’re carrying on all right without me. I know that I miss you continually, and there are days where I wish that you were one of the children that I teach. I think that you would enjoy my lessons, and as your older sister, I can say without censor that you have a lot to learn.

  Take care of mother and father,

  Katherine

  She sealed the letter and planned to give it to Nigel as she went down for dinner. Everything was falling into place. This time next year, there was no telling how great her happiness would be. Looking out of her little window, Katherine spotted Cassiopeia in the distance.

  Entering the dining room, Katherine could see that the children had already assembled. The duke had been good enough to hire a very taciturn old maid to help with dressing and assembling the children; things that the duke didn’t wish Katherine to be in charge of. He wanted her to merely focus on their studies and their happiness.

  Katherine turned to Lord Garret, who was also already seated in his chair, and he looked at her with something that she would describe as fondness. What was it about the way that he looked at her? It was mysterious in some way and Katherine could come up with a 1,000 different explanations for it, all of which were merely in her head. Nigel pulled out her chair and Katherine sat, handing him the letter as she did so.

  “To Katherine,” Lord Roland said, raising his glass in the air.

  “And to the de Bowes’,” Katherine added, her glass lifted.

  As the dinner carried on, Katherine found to her amazement that Lord Garret was keener on conversation than he had been in the past. His former nature seemed to provoke him to quietly observe, and nothing more.

  Now, however, he talked of horses, firing the gardener and hiring a new one, as well as having a brief discussion about the stars. All the while that he did so, Lord Garret kept looking in Katherine’s direction. Every time their eyes met, Katherine felt a wave of heat come over her.

  The heat was from wild attraction and admiration, and it was also from the delectable meal that was placed before them. Although Renee had wished to make another of his famous seven-course meals, Lord Garret apparently had advised him against it, so the beef was served with side dishes of Lyonnaise potatoes and buttered haricot vert. When the meal was finished, strawberry cake was served for pudding. Everything was a delight to the taste buds; something that Renee could always be relied upon to deliver.

  “Tell us of this new gardener,” the duke said, drinking his post-supper tea.

  “His name is Hans,” Lord Garret went on.

  “He sounds German,” the duke said with a laugh.

  “That’s precisely what he is, brother,” Lord Garret replied. “German order and efficiency are what the shrubs of Bonhomie need,” Lord Garret said humorously.

  “And where did you find Hans?” The duke asked in amusement.

  “Feuchtwangen,” Lord Garret said, and both brothers laughed. Yes, Katherine had never seen them in such good spirits. Things were taking a most extraordinary turn.

  “Where is that?” Harry asked, a forkful of strawberry cake in his hand.

  “Southern Germany,” Lord Garret replied.

  “Did you really go there?” Harry asked.

  “Yes, this very afternoon,” Lord Garret said playfully, looking down at the boy with such deep love and admiration that it knocked the wind out of Katherine’s chest.

  Why did that glance make her breathless? It occurred to Katherine immediately that she wished for Lord Garret to look at her that way. All at once, Katherine concluded that she was being absurd and tried to distract herself with another moist bite of cake.

  The evening concluded and Lord Roland and Lord Garret retreated to the sitting room in order to drink brandy. Katherine went up to her own room and thought about what a pleasant evening it had been. Then, Katherine considered what a fool she was. She even imagined Lord Garret gazing at her just as he was gazing at the children. Such nonsense. It wasn’t possible for him to have the same affections for her. Why should that even be something that she should want? Lord Garret was her employer’s brother and nothing more. Boundaries must be set, lest Katherine allow her imagination to get the best of her.

  Looking up at Cassiopeia one last time, Katherine considered what the lesson plan for tomorrow might be. But thoughts of Lord Garret’s brown eyes continuously distracted her.

  Chapter 9

  One morning, Sofia brought Katherine’s tea up to her, as was becoming their routine, and upon the tray there was a small book. Sofia seemed to enjoy giving Katherine little treats here and there, so she merely assumed it was another one of her endearing gifts.

  “Love Everlasting,” Katherine said aloud, picking up the book in her hand. She was delighted that it was a romance novel, for those were indeed the ones that Katherine most enjoyed. Whilst she sipped her tea, she began to read the book morning and found that she was instantly hooked. She would have to hide the book for the rest of the day, lest it distracted her from the various tasks at hand. Also, if the duke or Lord Garret should discover the book, she was quite sure that it would be frowned upon.

  For the days that followed, Katherine picked up the book and tried to continue reading it whenever she could. This mostly meant early in the morning, late evening, or in the afternoon just after tea. To her great dismay, she pulled away one afternoon in order to return to the book and found that it was missing. In a daze, Katherine tried to remember all the places that she had furtively taken the book, and she recalled that the last location was most assuredly the library. Making haste to get there before someone should discover the book, Katherine passed down the hall and to the great doors that led into the library, which oddly enough was often unpeopled in spite of its great size and scope.

  Opening the large wooden doors, Katherine stepped inside the cathedral-like space and found Lord Garret standing there, a book in his hand.

  Oh, heavens. Please don’t let that be “Love Everlasting” in his hand.

  “You lost your book,” Lord Garret said. His voice was cold and distant, not unlike how it had been when she first met the duke’s brother.

  “Yes, I was . . . coming to retrieve it,” Katherine replied, faltering.

  Lord Garret opened the book and proceeded to peruse it, and Katherine felt her heart pounding in her chest and a flush come to her cheek.

  “We don’t have these kinds of books in this library,” Lord Garret said, his tone still cool.

  “It was given to me. As a gift,” Katherine began to explai
n, not wanting Lord Garret to think that she went out of her way in order to procure such a book.

  “Are you enjoying it?” Lord Garret asked.

  Katherine had to wonder if he was taunting her by asking such questions, still holding the book in his hand. “It’s amusing, I think.”

  “You read a great deal?”

  “I used to read more, when I was at home. There was plenty of time for it then. Now I find that I can only pick up a book occasionally.” It was a lie. Katherine read when whenever possible.

  Katherine wished to go ahead and plead for Lord Garret to give her back the book, but to do so would be impolite at best. Therefore, she watched as he continued to flip the pages in amusement, then turned his brown eyes on her.

  Katherine felt like he was looking right through her. There wasn’t the same admiration in his gaze. Lord Garret’s eyes returned to having that questioning glare that they had done before. Did the book in his hands change his opinion of her?

  “Do you come to the library often?” Katherine said anxiously, wishing to change the subject so that Lord Garret might take his head out of her book.

  “I enjoy the library, yes,” Lord Garret said.

  Katherine couldn’t hold back a second longer. “May I please have my book back?” She said, putting out her hand. A smile came to Lord Garret’s lips. Did he like that she was pleading? That she looked so embarrassed?

  “I have something better for you,” Lord Garret said, turning and walking to a particular row of books, inspecting the spines, then pulling out a rather thick tome. “Here you are,” Lord Garret said, holding the book out, beckoning Katherine to walk over and fetch it.

  “What is it?”

  “Astronomy. It will give you more information to instruct the children, instead of pseudo-science.”

  “What I told them is not pseudo-science,” Katherine assured him.

  “Take it,” Lord Garret said, holding out the book still, even though it appeared massively heavy. Katherine looked to her own book which remained in Lord Garret’s other hand.

  “I’ll have both, then,” Katherine said.

  “You really are quite desperate to read ‘Love Everlasting,’ aren’t you?” Lord Garret said, his tone mocking.

  “I don’t wish to explain myself at this time,” Katherine said, feeling on the verge of tears and not knowing why. Just then she saw what looked like pity in Lord Garret’s expression and she took a deep breath, not wishing to look childish and desperate.

  Lord Garret, seemingly ready to concede to her request, returned the astrology book to where he had found it and came back to Katherine with a smile upon his lips. Had he been teasing her all along? Playing with her like a cat plays with a mouse?

  “Just be sure that this does not get into the wrong hands,” Lord Garret said, walking up to Katherine and handing her the book. As he did so, their fingers brushed against one another’s and Katherine felt her hand jump. It was a peculiar reflex and Lord Garret saw the whole event. He looked up into her eyes, and Katherine felt entirely found-out. Yes, Lord Garret must understand why her hand shook like that, just from their fingers brushing together.

  Katherine took the book and averted her gaze, pretending to take an interest in looking out of the window. “It’s a rather nice day for reading,” Katherine said. “Seeing how gloomy it is.” Although she continued to look out of the window, in her peripheral vision she could see that Lord Garret’s eyes were still on her. Katherine’s heart was pounding in her chest.

  “You read a lot more than you let on,” Lord Garret said, and Katherine turned to him.

  “Oh?”

  “I see you come into the library often.”

  “How did you know that this was my book?”

  “As I said, you come into the library often.”

  Lord Garret’s reply was vague, but Katherine took it to mean that he observed her reading far more frequently than he cared to admit.

  “When I first arrived here, I would sneak into the library,” Katherine admitted, “and would desperately look for fiction, which is a rarity here.”

  “And where did ’Love Everlasting’ come from?”

  “Sofia gave it to me. As I said, it was a gift.”

  “You seem to have a curious expression upon your face when you read,” Lord Garret said, beginning to stroll around the library, looking up at the stacks in curiosity.

  “How’s that?” Katherine asked, in awe that he should even take the time to observe her while she read.

  “Your expression,” Lord Garret went on. “It’s like there’s nothing else in the world aside from the book in your hands.”

  “That is how I feel when I’m reading a good book,” Katherine replied with a smile.

  “A good romance, you mean,” Lord Garret said, turning to her once more.

  Katherine fell silent for a moment. Was he still taunting her? Wishing to make her feel ashamed?

  “Yes, a good romance,” Katherine finally said, deciding to no longer back down. She was going to own up to her tastes, no matter what the duke’s brother might think of it. Lord Garret had the audacity to laugh to her. “There’s nothing humorous about it,” Katherine said, still standing strong.

  “I’m not laughing at you,” Lord Garret insisted. “I just think it’s funny, the thoughts and notions that go flitting around in ladies’ heads.”

  “Flitting around in ladies’ heads,” Katherine repeated. “I don’t think that you should judge something that you know nothing of. I can’t imagine that you’ve ever read a romance in your life. In fact, I believe that was the first time that you carried one in your hand.”

  “That would be true.”

  “So, how do you find it possible to judge?”

  “It’s not a judgement, it’s merely an observation.”

  “Romance is the only genre in fiction where the woman gets what she wants in the end.” The words flew out of Katherine’s mouth before she had the chance to stop them. Yes, she had gone too far and said too much. Lord Garret looked at her quizzically then walked towards her, coming dangerously close and peering directly into her eyes. For a moment, Katherine thought that she must retreat, Lord Garret was so perilously close. “I have misspoken,” Katherine finally said, unable to stand the tension a moment longer.

  “No, I’m merely staring into your eyes, in desperate hope of finding a brain,” Lord Garret said rather seriously, then walked away once more.

  “You don’t believe in love,” Katherine said to his back. Lord Garret stopped in his tracks and then turned.

  “That was a statement and not a question, I see.”

  “Yes.”

  “No, I do not believe in love.”

  “And why is that?”

  Lord Garret cleared his throat, as though what he was about to say was considerably difficult. “My brother was in love once, with the Duchess of Easterly. I saw his happiness then, and I must admit to being jealous and wanting the same happiness for myself. But when the duchess died, I had never seen my brother so bereft. His heart was torn out of his chest and I feared that he wouldn’t be able to care for his own children,” Lord Garret explained sombrely. “After that, I could understand clearly that those who succumb to love are asking for an early death. When one opens their heart, a barrage of barbs is sure to follow.”

  “That’s awful,” Katherine replied in awe.

  “Explain how that’s awful.”