The rest of the men began returning to their duties.
Why put off for another moment the thing which weighed most upon Rupert’s mind? Rupert put his arm around Alice’s waist and tucked her close to his side. “Your Grace, I realize this might be odd timing, but might we speak with you a moment?”
Alice did not argue and instead tipped her head back enough to smile up at him.
The duke chuckled and folded his hands behind him. He raised one dark eyebrow and looked from Rupert to Alice with an amused twinkle in his eye. “Of course. I should very much like to know why my entomologist and governess appear to be on such close terms.”
For a moment, Rupert felt Alice tense at his side. As brave as she had become, he did not blame her one whit for her nervousness in that moment.
“Through our work on the catalog, Your Grace,” Alice answered the question, her tone conveying respect and the slightest hesitancy to speak. “But things have advanced, you might say.”
Rupert hurried to add, “To the point that I should like to court Miss Sharpe, with Your Grace’s permission.”
Rupert held his breath, and Alice did the same.
“My permission?” The duke chuckled. “Miss Sharpe is of age. If she gives her consent, I give mine.”
Rupert released a shaky laugh. “You do? I mean—thank you, Your Grace.”
“I expect everything to be conducted as becomes a gentleman and lady, of course. Miss Sharpe, should you require a chaperone, Miss Arlen might be willing to provide her company. And”—he held up a finger to underscore his point—“your duties must be fulfilled to the standard you promised the duchess.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Alice released Rupert and sank into a low curtsy. “Thank you, for everything. I promise I will continue to make your children my priority, Your Grace.”
“Unless you decide to accept Mr. Gardiner.” The duke sighed deeply. “At which point, we will need to find a new governess. Again.” He gestured to the castle. “I am certain we are too late to enjoy dinner, but perhaps you would both join me in my study? I can have some food brought up from the kitchens, and we can discuss the estate catalog. How close do you think we are to completion, Gardiner?”
Rupert took Alice by the arm, the two of them following the duke into the castle together. To his delight, Alice shared her impressions of the work, and the three of them conversed with ease on their interest of the natural world.
With his courtship of Alice approved by the Duke of Montfort, Rupert promised himself he would succeed.
How could he ever find someone as intelligent, lovely, and compassionate as Alice Sharpe?
She interrupted his musings just before they climbed the stairs. “Oh, Rupert, you have a spider on your shoulder. Probably from the woods.” She rose and used her bare hand to scoop up the creature and hurried back to the door, where a bemused footman opened it again for her to let the spider free on the front steps.
“I think,” the duke whispered to Rupert as he watched the governess, “you had better marry that one.”
When Alice turned, her smile in place and her blue eyes shining with happiness, Rupert could only nod. “I intend to, Your Grace. As soon as she will agree to it.”
Alice entered the children’s wing quite late, and she found Lord James waiting for her. He sat on the floor in front of her door, leaning against it. When she stood before him, a lamp in hand, he sat up and rubbed at his eyes.
“Geoffrey said you saved him,” the boy said, his tone subdued.
“Mr. Gardiner and I helped him down from the tree and walked him to the castle. But there were a lot of people looking for him.” She lowered herself to the floor, sitting beside him. “You did the right thing when you told me he was missing, Lord James. Thank you for that.”
The boy raised his gaze to hers, and she saw the brightness of tears in his eyes. “I don’t always do the right thing, though. I did something very wrong, Miss Sharpe.”
She studied him, even while her heart ached for the little boy. He was still so young, yet bore a great responsibility merely for being born to a duke and duchess. “What have you done, darling? I am certain it is not too terrible. We can set it to right.”
His bottom lip quivered a moment, then he lifted his chin. “I hid the note Mr. Gardiner left for you. I saw it in the flowers, the day he left. Isabelle said you’d probably leave us to marry him, and I didn’t want you to g-g-go.” A sob broke from him on the last word, and he buried his face in his hands.
This missing note explained, and the thief’s confession, filled Alice with relief. She wrapped the little boy in her arms and held him tight. “It was very wrong to take it, Lord James.” He nodded against her. “I want you to know, though, that I forgive you.”
He pulled back and looked up at her, his eyes wide. “You do? I thought you’d hate me.”
“I could never hate you, Lord James. You see, I like you very much. Even if I go away, that will never change.”
His shoulders relaxed and he nodded, then wiped at his tears with the back of his hand. “What will happen to Geoffrey? Miss Felton is a horrid—”
“Lord James.” Alice fixed him with a stern expression. “Mind your manners.”
“Yes, Miss Sharpe.” He lowered his gaze to the carpet on the floor.
She sighed and put her arm around his shoulder again. “I understand your concern. Your father feels the same as you do. The duke has decided to take a special interest in Master Geoffrey. I would not be surprised if he finds a way to bring Geoffrey here to stay at the castle.”
Lord James smiled, the expression small and slight. “Papa likes looking after people.”
“He does. I think, if you’re very good, you may grow up to be just like him.” Alice hugged the boy one more time. “Now, you had better go to bed.”
She stood, and Lord James slowly followed suit. Then he looked up at her one more time. “I really am sorry, Miss Sharpe.”
“Thank you for that. We needn’t speak of it again, so long as you behave better from now on.” Alice smiled kindly, relieved when he smiled back. “Off to bed with you.”
The boy went down the hall to his door, shutting it behind him.
Alice entered her room and prepared for bed, her heart lighter than it had been in a very long time.
Epilogue
Although Alice had waited patiently for the better part of the summer, she was nearly beside herself with anxiety when the first day of autumn arrived—and with it, the first copy of Rupert’s catalog.
The master copy, meant for the duke’s library, with all the original illustrations colored by her hand.
Alice stood in the library, a grand room with shelves two floors high, with sliding ladders as the only means of reaching the very top shelves. It was one of Alice’s favorite rooms in the castle. On a row of chairs facing a tall pedestal, crafted especially for the occasion to hold the bound catalog, sat the ducal family.
The duchess, dowager duchess, Lord Farleigh, Lady Josephine with Miss Arlen, Lady Isabelle, Lady Rosalind, and Lord James, all waited in their seats.
His Grace, Rupert, and Alice stood at the pedestal.
“After six months of your efforts, Mr. Gardiner and Miss Sharpe, it gives me great pleasure to see the fruits of your labors at last. This catalog of the flowers and insects inhabiting our lands will be a marvel for years to come, and through the change of seasons. Who knows but that a century from now, these very pages will be used by the naturalists of the future, to compare their world to ours?” The duke touched the large, green leather cover with reverence. “Thank you for your dedication, both of you, for making this work of science also a work of art.”
Then he opened the book and gestured for Alice and Rupert to look at its pages.
Alice noted a ribbon had been placed at the location where the duke opened the pages, and then she realized the significance of the illustration.
“Narcissus,” she said softly, her fingertips hovering over the page. �
�And Pieris napi. The little white moth.” They had been among her first of his drawings to color in, the flower and creature the first of each they ever discussed.
The room grew very still, and Rupert took her by the hand.
Alice turned and saw him kneeling beside her, and her eyes immediately filled with tears.
“Alice Sharpe, I always thought a book like this one would be my greatest work. The way I would prove myself to the world. But it has done something much more than that—it has brought me you, the one woman in the world who can love me even while I’m elbow-deep in brambles attempting to catch a wasp.”
A rather soggy laugh burst from her. That had been a memorable occasion.
“I love you, Alice. With His Grace’s permission, I would have you as my wife, and my partner, and the mother of my children. Will you have me?”
“Yes. Oh, Rupert. I love you.”
He stood quickly and wrapped his arms around her, bending to kiss her soundly on the lips.
“Dear me, in front of the children?” The dowager’s disapproval made everyone laugh.
“Oh, Grandmama,” Lady Rosalind protested. “It’s romantic.”
Alice and Rupert parted, and the children cheered for her. Until Lord James stopped suddenly. “Wait a moment. Does this mean Miss Sharpe cannot be our governess anymore?”
“I’m afraid so, dear.” The duchess smiled kindly at Alice. “But I do believe we will see more of the new Mrs. Gardiner in due time.”
Alice leaned against Rupert, resting her head upon his shoulder. Finally, she had a home. She had not expected to find it where she had—in Rupert’s arms.
Emma Arlen remained in her chair when the children and Josephine rose to give their good wishes to Mr. Gardiner and Alice. She watched, as she often did, from the edge of the spectacle, enjoying it even though she did not directly take part.
Like her, Alice Sharpe was an orphan, and she had finally found her place, and a family who loved her.
When the duke and duchess had given Emma a home in their castle, the paint still wet on the day Emma entered the impressive residence for the first time, she had felt rather like a princess. A decade later, only a year away from reaching the requisite age to receive the inheritance her parents left her, she still counted her blessings.
Josephine rejoined Emma on the chairs. “Isn’t it marvelous? I hope they will have the wedding in our chapel. It is so dull to only use it for Sunday sermons.”
“I do love weddings.” Josephine folded her hands in her lap. “Perhaps we can persuade Alice to use it.”
“Soon, too. Though I do not suppose Papa will offer to procure them a special license.” Josephine raised her eyebrows to suggest she wasn’t at all serious. “He will be far too occupied with the ambassador in the coming weeks.”
“The ambassador?” Emma blinked at her dearest friend, confused. “Which ambassador? Not that horrid Russian, I hope. His mustaches.” She shivered. “I tell you, I saw them dripping with soup after dinner that first evening.”
Josephine wrinkled her nose. “Most certainly not the Russian. No, this one is from Sicily. Or Milan? I cannot remember. Somewhere in Italy.” She waved away the details. “Papa told me I must be on my best behavior. You know what that means.”
“A bachelor.” Emma did not bother to hide her smile. “Poor Josephine.”
“I have no wish to marry anyone at the moment.” Josephine glowered at Emma. “But if he is very handsome, I might let you try flirting with him.”
Emma shook her head and nodded to where Mr. Gardiner and Alice now stood in discussion with the duchess and dowager, while the duke turned the pages in the new book. “I want what they have. Love. I doubt an Italian diplomat would care all that much for the companion to a lady. Not when the lady herself is present.”
“We shall see.” Josephine folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, a gleam of mischief in her eyes. “Someone will catch your eye one day, my dearest friend. I only hope I am present to congratulate him on the feat.”
They laughed together, and then Emma wandered over to the large globe the duke kept in the library. She spun it around on its axis once, then trailed her finger over England, across to France, and down to the boot-shaped mass of land labeled as Italy. She smiled to herself, then gave the globe another spin.
If you enjoyed this gentle romance, make certain to read the next in the series, A Companion for the Count, wherein Emma has a lovely romance of her own.
Another of Sally’s stories you might enjoy is The Social Tutor, a gentle story of unintended love.
Sally loves to connect with her readers through her Facebook group and her newsletter. Sign up for either to get all the latest news about releases and other fun!
Also by Sally Britton
Castle Clairvoir Romances
Mr. Gardiner and the Governess | A Companion for the Count
Hearts of Arizona Series:
Silver Dollar Duke | Copper for the Countess
The Inglewood Series:
Rescuing Lord Inglewood | Discovering Grace
Saving Miss Everly | Engaging Sir Isaac
Reforming Lord Neil
The Branches of Love Series:
Martha’s Patience | The Social Tutor
The Gentleman Physician | His Bluestocking Bride
The Earl and His Lady | Miss Devon’s Choice
Courting the Vicar’s Daughter | Penny’s Yuletide Wish
Stand Alone Romances:
The Captain and Miss Winter | His Unexpected Heiress
A Haunting at Havenwood
Timeless Romance Collection:
An Evening at Almack’s, Regency Collection 12
About the Author
Sally Britton, along with her husband, their four incredible children, and their dog named Izzie, live in Oklahoma. So far, they really like it there, even if the family will always consider Texas home.
Sally started writing her first story on her mother’s electric typewriter when she was fourteen years old. Reading her way through Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, and Lucy Maud Montgomery, Sally decided to write about the elegant, complex world of centuries past.
Sally graduated from Brigham Young University in 2007 with a bachelor’s in English, her emphasis on British literature. She met and married her husband not long after and they’ve been building their happily ever after since that day.
Vincent Van Gogh is attributed with the quote, “What is done in love is done well.” Sally has taken that as her motto, for herself and her characters, writing stories where love is a choice.
All of Sally’s published works are available on Amazon.com and you can connect with Sally and sign up for her newsletter on her website, AuthorSallyBritton.com.
Mr. Gardiner and the Governess: A Regency Romance (Clairvoir Castle Romances Book 1) Page 19
