“The nurse was bullying them, Your Grace. She told them that they were now in a fine house of repute and not in some dreadful little village in Wales. I cannot think her behaviour anything other than woefully inadequate and dreadfully cruel.”
“Am I to take it that you told her as much?” the Duke said with an air of exasperation about him.
“Indeed, I did, Your Grace. In truth, she took a good deal of persuading that we ought to have our disagreement out of the hearing of the children. It struck me that she cares nothing if they see and hear things that a child should not.”
“So, you told her that you disagreed with her methods?” the Duke said, nodding. “Then surely that is an end to it, is it not?”
“Apparently, it was not, Your Grace,” Georgette said, recognizing the fact that the Duke was already trying to back away from any sort of involvement in the matter. “Because the time for luncheon came and went, and no food was delivered to the schoolroom.”
“The maid did not come in with your luncheon tray?”
“No, there was no luncheon tray. The children were hungry, and so I left them in the schoolroom for a moment whilst I went to speak to the cook.”
“You went down into the servants’ quarters, and you spoke to the cook?” the Duke said and let out a large sigh.
Georgette could feel herself growing annoyed; did he really expect that she would have allowed two little girls to go hungry simply because the Duke’s servants were spiteful enough to take out their hatred of the governess on them?
“Yes, Your Grace. I politely mentioned to the cook that the children had not been fed. In truth, Your Grace, the cook looked most uncomfortable, and I rather imagine that it was Mrs Griffin who had ordered that no food be sent up to the schoolroom. I am quite used to being sent burnt offerings for my breakfast, Your Grace, and stone-cold water in which to wash. I have said nothing of it nor made any complaint to the housekeeper. However, I cannot support the idea that the children are to suffer simply because the nurse and the housekeeper have a low opinion of me. That is rather something that they should keep between the adults. To make the children go without food to satisfy their petty grievances is insupportable, Your Grace.”
“I daresay there have been little misunderstandings along the way in the time since you have been here at Draycott Hall, Miss Darrington,” the Duke began in a most determined manner.
Georgette knew without question that he was about to sweep the whole thing under the rug. “And I am sure that your own grievances will dwindle as time goes on.”
“My own grievances, Your Grace?” Georgette said, hardly able to believe what she was hearing.
“I mean that things will improve, Miss Darrington. That is all I am trying to say,” he said, holding a hand up as if to placate her.
However, far from feeling placated, Georgette simply felt patronized.
“And the children?” Georgette said, hearing the iciness in her tone.
“I daresay that the oversight on that particular luncheon will not re-occur. After all, it has not happened again since you brought it to the attention of the cook, has it?”
“No, Your Grace, but …”
“And so, I think it is safe to say that the matter is dealt with, is it not?”
“And the bullying of the children over their language, Your Grace?”
“Have you seen or heard anything else of that nature since you spoke to Mrs Wells about your concerns?” The Duke leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his desk and fixing her with something of a stern gaze.
For a moment, Georgette simply studied his face. Although his skin was tanned, it seemed a little dark around his eyes, almost as if he had gone without a little sleep. Absently and quite inappropriately, Georgette wondered what might keep such a man awake at night. Surely it was not his conscience.
“No, Your Grace, I have not witnessed it again.”
“Then I think we can safely assume that that matter is also dealt with, can we not?”
“Your Grace, I do not know what happens to Eleri and Ffion after half-past three in the afternoon. Just because I have not witnessed such bullying does not mean that it does not exist, Your Grace.”
“If you are so greatly concerned in this matter, Miss Darrington, then it is in your power to change things, is it not?”
“I am afraid that I do not understand your meaning, Your Grace.”
“If you set your mind to anglicizing the children’s language and accent, then Mrs Wells would have no reason to chastise them. Do you not think that that is the case, Miss Darrington?”
“Perhaps I should not have mentioned it all, Your Grace,” Georgette said rather sharply, feeling greatly that she had been let down in some way.
The Duke had simply handed her a set of logical responses, none of which had taken into account the real facts of the matter. The children were suffering at the hands of an ill-educated and spiteful woman, and her actions were being supported by others of his staff simply because they would do and say anything to go against the new governess, even if the children suffered because of it.
He had offered her a most dreadful choice; if she did not take her part in removing the very heritage from those little girls, she would be responsible for any hurt and upset they were caused in the future because of it.
If she had thought that she had despised him in the church, it was nothing to how she felt about him at that moment. The Duke of Draycott had shown himself up very badly indeed, and Georgette knew that she would never forget it for as long as she lived.
If only there were something she could do, some way of making life better for Eleri and Ffion. If it were not for the children, she would most certainly be making ready to give her notices, citing the remoteness of the location, so that she might head back to London and straight into Mr Winstanley’s employment registry. However, she could not abandon the girls to their fate in a house where nobody seemed to care for them at all.
But neither could she destroy what few memories they would have of their homeland. She would not take their voices away from them under any circumstances. She would eagerly await the arrival of the phrasebook that Henrietta would undoubtedly send her. She would give them their voices back, if only in secret.
And yet she knew that there was more that must be done. She could not simply encourage the girls in their own language only to see them treated cruelly on its account. Georgette would have to find a way to satisfy the needs of the children and the demands of the Duke.
However, as she sat opposite her master, her eyes full of disappointment in him, she had absolutely no idea how such a thing was to be achieved.
Chapter 15
“She is right to protect the children, Hamilton. Lord knows they need it.”
Georgette stopped dead in her tracks. Mrs Wells had just taken the children from her for the evening, and Georgette found herself, once again, in the position of hearing something of a conversation which she knew, in truth, she should not be hearing.
Undoubtedly the voice which was emanating so clearly from the drawing room was that of Lady Cynthia Lyndon. And, without a doubt in her mind, Georgette knew that she herself was, in part at least, the subject of the conversation.
“The children do not need protecting, Aunt Cynthia. Really, you act just as the new governess does and speak as if the children were being cruelly dealt with. That simply is not the case.” Georgette winced; she had never heard the Duke raise his voice before and, although it was not terribly loud, she found it startling nonetheless.
However, as startled as she was, Georgette was keen to hear what else the Duke had to say about her. That he had dismissed her concerns so completely renewed her fury afresh, and it was with far less compunction on this occasion that she silently made her way a little closer to the door and listened.
“And how do you know that it is not the case, Hamilton? Tell me, what efforts have you made to discover the truth of the thing?” Georgette smiled; Lady Lyndon wa
s obviously not about to give up, despite the Duke’s hectoring tone.
“What is it that you suggest I do, Aunt?”
“Did you even speak to Mrs Wells about her bullying of the children? And did you speak to Mrs Griffin about the withholding of their meal? Really, Hamilton, that you could condone such a thing turns my blood cold.”
“And what efforts have you made to discover the truth of the thing, Aunt Cynthia? You speak as if you have the facts, and I think it is true to say that you do not.”
“It is not appropriate for me to interview your staff, Hamilton. That is rather your job, do you not think?”
“I will not have you tell me what my job is, Aunt Cynthia. You most certainly do not have the facts which you claim that I myself lack. In truth, I rather wish I had not described my meeting with Miss Darrington. If I had not, then we would not be having this conversation, would we?”
“Oh, Hamilton, but I am glad that you have told me. I think you know as well as I do that the behaviour of some of your servants is quite reprehensible. After all, do you not see that that is why you have lost so many governesses already?”
“Perhaps if the governesses were not quite so confrontational with the servants then they might be treated a little better, do you not think?” he said vehemently, and Georgette almost gasped. She could hardly believe his determination to look around the truth instead of right at it.
“If this governess has been confrontational with the staff then she is the first of them. And I cannot help thinking that it is not without reason, Hamilton. After all, why would a young woman in need of a position such Miss Darrington is, seek to upset things if she did not have genuine concerns?”
Inasmuch as Georgette entirely agreed with Lady Lyndon, still she was not keen to hear herself described in such terms. Of course, it was true; she did need the position. Her fortunes had fallen, and it was her very position at Draycott Hall which highlighted it most clearly. And yet, she could find no comfort in logic.
“Who knows why these women speak as they do?” the Duke said, and Georgette recognized the tone.
It was the exasperated and somewhat patronizing tone he had used when she had first brought her concerns to him. She could quite imagine him sitting back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling in a great show of exasperation.
“Hamilton, that is not good enough. Surely you must see that a competent young woman such as Miss Darrington who, you admit yourself, has already made such great progress with the children, does not speak such things lightly or in an offhand manner. It cannot have been easy for her to have brought such a thing to your attention, especially in giving her first progress report to you.”
“The children are not cruelly treated, Aunt Cynthia. Whatever you think of me, I should never allow such a thing. In truth, I would have hoped for a better character reference from my own flesh and blood.”
“How ironic that you can quote flesh and blood when it suits you and ignore it when it does not.” Suddenly, Lady Lyndon sounded furious.
Georgette swallowed hard. Her mouth had gone dry, and she knew that the longer she stood where she was, the greater the chance of discovery. And yet, despite it all, she could not walk away.
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Eleri and Ffion are your nieces. They are the closest kin you have in this world, and yet you care nothing for them. Even the suggestion that they have been made upset by something that the nurse has said to them should be enough to have you marching through the corridors of Draycott demanding an explanation. But what do you do, Nephew? You do nothing.”
“Aunt Cynthia, I am warning you.” The Duke’s voice sounded dark, and Georgette wondered that he had a single person left in the world to care about him.
“You do nothing, Hamilton. You do not even seek to discover the truth. If there is even the slimmest of chances that those children are being poorly treated in your home, then it is for you to discover it. It is for you to put an end to it. The governess has shown great courage in even speaking to you on the subject for I have no doubt that it is already clear to her that you allow the upper-level servants to act in any manner they please as long as it does not disturb you. I cannot help admiring her for such courage and hope that your casual treatment and dismissal of her concerns does not find that young woman packing her bags and leaving. For if it does, Hamilton, then I cannot think that those poor children have an ally anywhere in this dreadful house.”
“Dreadful house?” The Duke was suddenly bellowing, and Georgette felt herself rather afraid. “If this is such a dreadful house, Aunt, then I wonder that you still attend. Perhaps you would be wiser not to come again.”
“The only thing that keeps me coming is the children. If it were not for them, I should not bother,” She said, and Georgette could hear the woman’s voice break. “No, that is not quite true. I keep coming because of you, Nephew. Because I remember the man you were and because I know that you cannot truly be so very disconnected from the world and everybody in it who would love you.”
“I am tired of this perpetual interference, Aunt Cynthia,” the Duke said, and Georgette was relieved to note that he was no longer shouting.
“And I am tired of the need to perpetually interfere. But those children are my blood kin too, and I shall not stand by simply because you cannot bear to look upon them. Whatever it is which stops you opening your heart to Eleri and Ffion, there is nothing that they can do about it. They are but four years old and entirely helpless; you expect too much. They have lost their parents and their grandparents. They have lost their home, and they have even lost their own country, for goodness sake. And all you can think about, Hamilton, all that concerns you in the world, is your determination to eradicate every trace of their homeland from them. Tell me, once that is achieved, will you finally love them?” Despite her obvious fury, it was clear to Georgette that Lady Cynthia Lyndon was sobbing.
At that moment, Georgette felt terrible; she knew she ought not to be standing there listening and yet, at the very same time, she knew that she could not walk away and leave Lady Lyndon alone in such a disagreement. Of course, Georgette knew that she could not simply make her way into the drawing room and offer her support. In truth, were there to be any movement at all, she could not even remain where she was. But if nothing else, she could be a silent ally. An unknown eavesdropper in the hallway silently praying for strength and fortitude to be sent to that good woman.
“And now it is you who expects too much, Aunt Cynthia. You cannot know what it does to me to look upon their faces. I cannot see them without remembering Josephine as she was at that age.”
“I see it too, Hamilton, but it only makes me love them more, not despise them,” Lady Lyndon said, rather desperately.
“And then they open their mouths, and I hear him.”
“Their father, Hamilton. The father they loved dearly and lost as they lost their mother. What on earth do you imagine that Eleri and Ffion can do about any of this except to appease you and clip their own tongues?”
“I have decided upon this course of action for the girls, and I truly believe it is in their best interests to adopt a very different accent from the one they currently have. It cannot help them in society to speak as they do; can you not see that?”
“I do not see evidence of that, Hamilton. They are the nieces of a Duke for heaven sake. What other recommendation could two young ladies need when they are grown?”
“It is clear that you and I shall differ in opinion on this matter forevermore, Aunt Cynthia. I do not relish the idea of arguing with you, nor does it give me pleasure to see you so dreadfully upset. Quite the opposite is true, in fact, and I am sure that you know in your heart that I mean what I say. But I remain firm in my resolve, and I shall not be swayed.”
“But it is nothing to do with society and their acceptance of Eleri and Ffion. It is your own acceptance, or lack of, which is at the root of this. It pains you to hear what you think of as the fat
her’s voice from the children’s mouths. That is something that nobody can help you with, Hamilton. But it is for you to come to terms with it. You are a grown man, and they are but children. It is not right for you to expect them to lose everything they are to simply satisfy your own sensitivities.”
“This matter is at a close, Aunt Cynthia,” the Duke said. He sounded defiant and yet, Georgette rather thought that she could hear a little concern in his voice.
She could not help sensing that the Duke, whatever her low feeling for him, was not keen to upset Lady Lyndon any further than he had done already. He cared for her at least, even if there was nothing else in the world to recommend him as a human being.
“It is not at a close for me, Hamilton. If I were to leave it now, then all of this would be in vain, would it not?”
“I do not see how it helps you, Aunt Cynthia, to simply continue with this argument and find yourself ever more upset by it. As I have already said, it gives me no pleasure to see you in all this state.”
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