Lord Garret watched the three of them playing jovially while he reined in his thoughts. Had he really just revealed so much to his brother? Lord Garret didn’t know why. The words had flowed right out of him.
He had done a great deal of considering when he was in Switzerland on business. Lord Garret thought of Katherine constantly, wondering what she was doing at various points in the day, and even how she was dressed. Having that distance and time allowed Lord Garret to consider the fact that he was dangling by a thread. Such a thing had never happened to him before, nor did he wish for it to ever occur again. Katherine had transfixed him, body and soul, but there was still an important point that remained; he couldn’t allow himself to fall in love with her. It was perilous, his position.
He spoke in earnest when he told his brother that love was a dangerous game. Someone always got destroyed in the act of it, and in most cases, it was both parties. Lord Garret recalled what a sad state his brother was in after the passing of his wife. It was something that Lord Garret could not soon forget.
Lord Roland found himself completely incapable of taking care of the affairs of his own life. He could not care for his children, he could not care for Bonhomie, and he couldn’t even look after his own person. Lord Garret had never seen a man so dissolute; so helpless. Upon leaving Oxford to take care of his brother, all that Lord Garret could think of was how he would never let it happen to him.
Gazing down at Katherine and feeling the breeze on his face, Lord Garret thought that he had never seen such a lovely creature. Had she grown more lovely since he had been away? They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Such utter rubbish. Lord Garret was not going to fall for any of it. Yet still, Katherine looked so happy, wild, and free, that he wanted to simply reach out and touch her; to feel the softness of her skin.
They had only touched twice, and Lord Garret recalled both of the incidents in expert detail. It had sent a shiver through him that he had not felt before. There was electricity in their touch that signified something great, or something disastrous. Perhaps both.
Lord Garret could see how, if Katherine broke his heart, he’d be rendered dysfunctional, just as his brother had been. For the sake of Bonhomie and the family’s future, that couldn’t be allowed to happen. There was too much at stake and Lord Garret was at the helm of a very important family legacy.
“Uncle!” Lord Garret heard Harry’s voice cry out, and that was when he knew that he’d been discovered. Harry was wading in the water and waving his little hands in the air. Lest he should be frightfully embarrassed, Lord Garret tried quickly to think of some sort of excuse for why he was sitting there, but nothing came to mind. Instead, he got up from his grassy plot and came down the hill towards the brook, where all three of them were looking at him. He wished to call them all three ‘children’ but that would be an abomination.
Katherine was no child. Although she was quite young, she was still an adult, albeit nearly 10 years his junior. Still, she did not seem intimidated by him in the slightest. He admired her courage and was even attracted to it, but he could never tell Katherine as much.
“You’re home!” Constance cried out, waving her hands as well.
“So I am,” Lord Garret called back to them.
Katherine remained mute. She was no doubt in shock that he had been sitting there. “Come and play in the water with us,” Constance said.
“I’m afraid not.”
“Please,” Harry added.
Lord Garret turned to Katherine and saw that she was practically staring at him. He did not know if it was out of fear or surprise. Finally, she spoke. “How was your journey?” She asked.
“Fruitful,” Lord Garret replied curtly.
“The children missed you,” she said.
“And did you?” Lord Garret asked.
Imbecile. Why do you say such things?
“I thought of you from time to time. Mostly, I thought of how disapproving you’d be of everything that I do,” Katherine said humorously.
“You would be right.”
“Come in, come in,” Harry kept pleading, and finally, Lord Garret could not refuse. He hastily pulled off his boots and walked into the water, feeling how refreshing it was upon the feet.
“You have asked for it, good sir,” Lord Garret said, running up to Harry and hoisting him up into the air. Harry screamed and giggled, and Constance did the same. “You’ll be plunged into the drink now,” Lord Garret said, lowering Harry perilously close to the water so as to almost dunk him in face-first. Harry screamed and laughed once more.
“No, no!” Harry cried.
“You refuse?” Lord Garret asked.
“I refuse,” Harry protested.
“Je refuse?” He asked again in French.
“Je refuse, je refuse,” Harry replied.
Lord Garret smiled and turned the boy upright, placing him down with his feet in the water again. “Courage, good sir. Are you afraid of ruining your hair?” He asked, messing up the boy’s curls with his hand.
Everyone continued to laugh and carry on, and Lord Garret was having jolly good fun with the children. He saw that Katherine had decided to take a break and had seated herself on the banks of the brook. Lord Garret looked back her way from time to time, and she was constantly regarding him with a confused expression. What was the cause for confusion?
Chapter 12
Another week passed and Lord Garret had left yet again, this time back to Switzerland where he said he was securing an important business deal in Lugano; a lesser-known Italian-speaking city in the Alps.
Katherine thought the whole thing fascinating, and wondered what it must be like to live such an exciting life of travel and adventure. Would she ever be able to see all the countries that she dreamed of? In place of traveling, Katherine kept her nose in a book.
As strange as it seemed to her now, Katherine was taught Italian as a young girl, for her mother, the Baroness of Glower, had Italian lineage. It didn’t seem strange to Katherine at the time, but upon growing up, she could see that the custom in Britain was to teach one’s children French as a second language.
At least, this was fashionable. Katherine would return to her Italian language books from time to time, and she even instructed Harry and Constance in a few words and phrases. None of this was known by the duke, as she feared that he might not approve.
In the days where Lord Garret was gone, Katherine admitted to herself that she missed him terribly. And to make matters even more vexing, upon Lord Garret’s return, the duke, Katherine, and the children would be going to London for five days, as the duke himself had some business to attend to. He wished to bring the whole family so that they might bond. Katherine was looking forward to the trip, if only to spend more time with the duke, but she was not fond of London. Also, Katherine was feeling fatigued.
The first two months at Bonhomie had been sublime, but with daily lessons and little time for herself, Katherine felt the need to secure a break. She had asked the duke about going home for Sunday roast and he agreed, upon their return from London. Perhaps the real benefit to going into London would be to purchase a new stack of books. Katherine had finished ‘Love Everlasting’ and was beginning to feel bereft. Surely, the city would supply her with all of the books that she could ever desire.
It was a Sunday, and Lord Garret was expected to arrive the following morning. Katherine felt giddy at the thought of it. She had done her best to keep herself cool and aloof the last time that Lord Garret was in her presence. She thought that this tactic was effective, for Lord Garret seemed to show more interest in her than ever before and it pleased her immensely.
However, Katherine didn’t know for how long she could maintain that aloofness, because the wild feelings within her when he was near were difficult to control. Perhaps this time that Lord Garret was away and then the time that she would spend in London were good things. Distance was essential in order to clear one’s mind.
As she lay in bed
that night, Katherine feared that she’d never fall asleep. There was too much anticipation in the air. That’s why it came as a surprise when she fell into a deep sleep instantly; but it came as no surprise at all that Lord Garret came to her in a dream.
In this dream, the two of them were in Switzerland, of all places. Katherine was standing on the balcony of a grand chalet and Lord Garret came up behind her, placing a hand on the small of her back. She could actually feel the warmth of it. Then, Lord Garret leaned over and whispered into her ear, “Give yourself to me.” Katherine looked out over the snow-capped mountains and felt her heart beat wildly in her chest. “Yes,” she had replied.
Katherine awoke from this dream with a start and noted that the sun was already rising outside. She had fallen so deeply into this dream that it was as though no time had passed between when she had put her head upon the pillow and when she awoke the next day.
Quickly preparing herself for the day to come, Katherine sipped upon the tea that Sofia had brought her and ate a small piece of caramel that accompanied it. She knew not what time Lord Garret would arrive, but his reappearance at Bonhomie was all she could think of.
Katherine was disappointed when, hearing the clock strike noon, Lord Garret had not yet arrived. This same disappointment lasted well into the late afternoon lessons when there was still no sight of him. Finally, just before dinner, the servants went all aflutter and Katherine could hear Lord Garret’s boots coming down the hall. She was in the sitting room at that point; the maid, Prudence, was preparing the children for dinner. Katherine was reading a history book, which made her miss her father back at home all the more.
“How are things?” She heard Lord Garret ask the duke.
“Progressing well. We leave for town tomorrow.”
“So soon?”
“Yes, I told you of all this in my letter.”
“I must have overlooked it,” Lord Garret said, back to his businesslike self. The two men made their way into the sitting room where they discovered Katherine, book in hand. There was surprise on Lord Garret’s face, as though her presence was shocking in some way. Katherine thought it strange.
“Good evening,” Katherine said, getting up from her chair.
“You can stay seated,” Lord Garret replied, serious and teasing at the same time.
“Very well,” she replied, seating herself again. Why was she so nervous? Perhaps because she had been anticipating this moment for a week.
“We’re almost ready for dinner,” the duke said.
“Most good. I’m famished,” Lord Garret replied.
“Come this way.”
With that, the two men exited the room, Lord Garret following his brother. But before he stepped out of the door, Lord Garret turned back and looked at Katherine once more, which made her cheeks instantly flush.
Entering the dining room, Katherine discovered that the children were already seated and the soup course was being served. It was a simple dish of French peasant soup, which Katherine assumed that Renee prepared in order to please Lord Garret’s modest tastes.
“Tell us all about Switzerland, uncle,” Harry said.
“It’s remarkable there. Fine businessmen, the Swiss,” Lord Garret said, eating his soup and soaking it up with crusts of bread. “The people are quite accommodating.”
“I hear that they speak several languages,” Constance said.
“Yes, indeed,” Lord Garret went on. “There is French, German, Italian, and one other that I can’t remember.
“Romansh,” Katherine said.
Lord Garret turned to her and lifted his brows. “That’s exactly it,” he said in surprise. “Do you know of Switzerland?”
“I read travel accounts, yes,” Katherine replied.
“Katherine parla Italiano,” Constance said, and everyone at the table turned to her in stunned silence.
“What’s that?” The duke asked.
“Katherine ci insegna l’italiano,” Harry added.
The mortification was so great that Katherine wanted to sink down into the floor. She placed her spoon beside her bowl and waited for the scolding.
“Do you teach them Italian, Katherine?” The duke asked.
“Yes. I know that French is more suitable, but —”
“You didn’t tell us that you were teaching them Italian?” Lord Garret asked, and Katherine turned to him, ready for the resulting mortification.
“I did not,” she replied plainly, placing her hands in her lap.
“This is most extraordinary,” the duke said.
“Yes, most extraordinary,” Lord Garret echoed, his tone difficult to read. “Katherine, there’s something that I need you to do.”
“What’s that?” She asked, thinking for sure he was going to advise her to discontinue the Italian lessons.
“I’d like you to teach me,” Lord Garret said.
An amazing flood of relief came over Katherine in that moment. Had Lord Garret really just asked her to teach him Italian?
“Whatever for?”
“The chaps that I’m doing business with in Lugano; although they speak English, I think that they would be most impressed if I could turn an Italian phrase.”
“Truly?” Katherine asked.
“Yes,” Lord Garret replied with a warm smile. “Brother,” he said, abruptly turning towards the duke. “How say you that Katherine and I remaining at Bonhomie whilst you go into town? It would provide enough time for her to teach me elementary Italian. The nobleman from Switzerland will be visiting in two weeks. The timing is perfect.”
“But Katherine was anticipating going to London,” the duke said, his brow knitted.
“This is of more importance, I assure you,” Lord Garret replied.
The duke looked towards Katherine and sighed. “Katherine, how do you feel about this?”
“Well, I’m surprised that Lord Garret wishes to learn Italian, but considering that it could be advantageous for his business affairs, I would be willing to do it.” What she couldn’t tell the duke was that it would be nice to take a break from teaching the children, if only for a few days. She wanted more time to read and rest her mind. Even more importantly, Katherine greatly anticipated spending time alone with Lord Garret.
“I can’t think of this now,” the duke said, tossing the subject away. “Let me enjoy my meal and then come to a conclusion.”
Although it was an understandable method of decision-making, Katherine could feel that now there was going to be anticipation throughout the rest of the meal as she waited for what the duke’s reply might be. Lord Garret looked frustrated, as though he wished for his brother to give him an answer that very moment.
Following the soup course, cottage pie was served; yet again, a way for Renee to cow-tow to Lord Garret’s wishes. It was so odd at Bonhomie, Katherine considered, how it was that no one ever knew who was really in charge. Lord Roland had the title and Lord Garret had the sway. Although it was a simple, rustic dish, Katherine thought the meal divine. The potatoes of the cottage pie were perfectly buttery, and there was a mixture of lentils and vegetables within.
Lord Garret continued to talk of business affairs and the children fell silent at this; no doubt thinking it the dullest conversation that one could ever have. Katherine felt anxiety in her breast. What was the duke going to conclude? Or was he going to abandon the question entirely? Memories of her dream from the evening before flooded her. The way that Lord Garret’s hand felt on her back, the cold air of the Alps, and Lord Garret’s tantalising request in her ear.
Risky Rules of a Passionate Governess Page 13
