by Jane Charles
Her sister’s question initiated a dull pang beneath her breastbone. Meredith had begun the Season with dreams of following her sister’s example and finding a good man to love. But when she’d overheard Lord Hessenford speaking about her to a group of gentlemen at Almack’s, her hopes were crushed. She could still hear the derisive sneer to his voice as he proclaimed her an idiot and the men’s guffaws when he’d imitated her stutter.
Her cheeks heated at the remembered humiliation. “Becoming a governess would allow me contact with children.”
“It wouldn’t be the same.” Felicity gently squeezed her hand. “Remember how sweet it was to hold Reid in your arms the first time? Some day you will hold your own babe if only you are patient.”
Meredith glanced toward the door. It was better to avoid thinking about what she would be losing by pursuing this path and focus on what she would gain—a purpose. “Lord Blackwood’s carriage will be here any moment. I should go meet the driver and ask him to relay my message. Surely, the earl and countess will understand the need to delay.”
Felicity’s shoulders sank. “I might not agree with your choice, but if you insist on taking the position, you should arrive as expected. As you said, it is important to make a good impression.”
Her sister’s support meant a lot to Meredith. She smiled and leaned forward to place a kiss on Felicity’s forehead. “Please try to rest while I am gone,” Meredith said.
Felicity held on to her hand as she tried to slip from the side of the bed. “I only want you to be happy, Meri.”
“This will make me happy. I cannot abide a life of idleness any more than you can.”
Although Felicity had married a man she adored, she hadn’t been able to give up her love for medicine. She restricted her ministrations to their servants for propriety’s sake, except in dire situations. Julian had never tried to stop her from saving lives, as she had done when the local midwife sought her assistance in a breech birth earlier that spring.
“How many burns, cuts, and bumps have you tended since we settled in Bath?” Meredith asked. “How many sniffles and irritable bellies?”
“A fair number, but there is a need, and I love—” Felicity’s eyes widened. Perhaps her sister was finally coming to understand. Eventually, she nodded. “I have been overstepping my bounds, have I not?”
“Perhaps a bit, but I know you are well-intentioned.” Meredith patted her sister’s hand before releasing it and turning toward the door.
“At least take your maid when you go. I am holding out hope you will reconsider marriage, and safeguards must be taken to protect your reputation.”
“I will, and please stop worrying.” It was a wasted effort on Felicity’s part. Meredith would not be changing her mind.
Chapter 5
Harsh whispers outside Colin’s study door shattered his concentration, and he paused in the middle of moving his rook. When he met his brother’s gaze across the chessboard, James’s eyes glimmered with anticipated victory. Colin replaced the Jasperware porcelain piece and leaned back to study the board once more. James growled softly, but it was all in good fun.
Both possessed competitive natures, which had served them well over the years. Their desires to best each other had driven them to earn the highest marks at Eton and become two of the best cricket players the school had ever seen—much to their father’s pleasure. The rivalry continued when they were admitted into Oxford, and it hadn’t lessened any over the subsequent years.
“Are you insane?” a male voice blurted outside the door. Someone shushed him, but he paid no heed to the warning. “Do you want to get me turned out? You tell him.”
“I canna tell him.” A thread of hysteria stitched the young woman’s words together, and her voice rang with familiarity. “It isna proper.”
His brother’s dark brows rose high on his forehead. “Is that Audrey’s maid?”
“Rhona, present yourself,” Colin called out to the lady’s maid, “and bring your cohort. You’ve nothing to fear.”
“Perhaps you don’t bite,” James said with a smirk, “but Audrey does. They should fear her.”
He silenced his brother with a glower as Michael—a young footman who’d recently reached his fifteenth year—shuffled through the door with the Scottish maid slinking in behind him. Neither servant could meet Colin’s gaze and instead, watched their feet.
He cleared his throat.
Rhona peeked around the footman, and a scarlet blush engulfed her face. It didn’t require much imagination to ascertain Colin’s message to Audrey had been less the well received. And his sister-in-law’s corresponding message to him probably involved a good dose of profanity, which would account for the maid’s flustered appearance.
In an attempt to ease the girl’s worries, he smiled. The servants couldn’t be held accountable for Audrey’s abrasive manners and salty language. “Am I to assume Lady Blackwood is indisposed and unable to meet this morning prior to the arrival of the new governess?”
“Er... Aye, milaird.” Rhona shoved a hunk of loose auburn hair beneath the mobcap Audrey insisted the girl wear. “Something to that effect,” she mumbled under her breath.
James chuckled.
Colin thanked and dismissed the servants before returning to the chess match as if there hadn’t been an interruption. He refused to react to Audrey’s attempt to rile him. She took too much pleasure in the act. His brother followed his lead and held his tongue.
Discovering James’s knight was left unprotected, he captured it. James responded by eliminating Colin’s rook.
“Damnation,” Colin muttered and leaned closer to study the board. A soft clearing of a throat drew his attention toward the doorway where the butler stood framed in the threshold. Bickley’s posture was stiff enough to make a statue envious.
“Has Miss Halliday arrived?” Colin was out of his seat and crossing the room before the manservant could answer.
“Yes, milord.” Bickley moved aside so Colin could pass. “I’ve seen her settled as you requested,” he called out as Colin set a course for the drawing room.
“Very good.” He stalked through the stone corridor, his determined steps echoing as he went.
“You seem eager.” His brother’s voice behind him startled him. “She must be pleasing to the eye.”
Colin stopped and turned to face James with the most neutral expression he could muster. Miss Halliday was beautiful, but her appearance did not account for his eagerness—at least not entirely. He was more anxious to see to his family’s security, which hinged on the new governess tendering her resignation as soon as possible. Of course, that wouldn’t come before she assumed her duties, so he wanted to get on with matters.
“Were you planning to accompany me?” he asked his brother. “We are discussing expectations. I am certain you would find it dull.”
“I sense you would rather I not.” James’s eyes sparked with interest. “I must admit to being doubly curious about Miss Halliday now.”
Upon his return from Danby Castle, Colin had confided in James about the agreement with the duke. His brother had demanded to know what was wrong with Miss Halliday, and even though Colin had posed the same question to Danby, James’s skepticism had riled him. He’d been quick to defend the new governess. Perhaps too quick, which was likely the reason his brother insisted on following him now.
Colin shrugged. “Do as you wish, but don’t complain to me if you grow bored.”
“Oh, I am certain I will find this encounter very entertaining,” James said with a sly smile.
“Splendid.” Colin ground his teeth as he continued toward the drawing room. Outside the door, he drew his brother to a halt. James had a charm about him that often left ladies clamoring for his attention, and the thought of Miss Halliday falling under his brother’s spell left a bitter taste at the back of his throat.
“To be perfectly clear,” he whispered, “you need to keep your hands to yourself.”
James’s gri
n widened. “Why? Do you fancy the lady for yourself?”
“No,” he said while his blood rushed faster through his veins. His body refused to allow him to lie to himself, but it didn’t matter if he wanted Miss Halliday. He couldn’t afford her. “Danby wouldn’t like it, and we can do nothing to jeopardize the agreement.”
“I thought the old duke mentioned flirting,” James said sotto voce. “I could meet his terms.”
“Not and keep your nose in joint.” Colin entered the room ahead of his brother.
Miss Halliday was alone, standing at the window looking over the rolling pasture beyond the glass. Sunlight illuminated her profile—slender nose, high cheekbones, pert chin. And her rich brown hair was shrouded in a hazy glow. Her beauty struck him like a punch to the gut, and a strange wheezing sound escaped him.
She turned toward the noise, coming up short. Her cocoa gaze shot back and forth between him and James. “T-twins,” she murmured.
“Cut from the exact same cloth,” James confirmed. “I am James MacBride, and you have met my brother.”
“Yes, L-lord Blackwood. W-we met when he collided with the f-footman yesterday.” Pink tinged the apples of her cheeks as James graced her with a winsome smile.
“How interesting. Colin failed to mention an accident. Please, you must sit and tell the story.”
Colin snapped out of his stupor and came forward to escort her to the sitting area. “I am sure Miss Halliday is anxious to meet her charges. We shouldn’t fritter away her teaching time with anecdotes when there are more important matters to discuss.”
“Thank you, my lord.” Her smile was shy when she linked arms with him and allowed him to guide her toward the most comfortable chair. Her gaze darted toward the doorway. “Will Lady Blackwood be joining us soon?”
He managed a strained smile. “I am afraid the countess is indisposed at the moment. I expect she will visit the classroom this afternoon.”
“Oh.” Miss Halliday halted, swallowing hard. “M-my maid is waiting in the servants’ quarters.”
Of course, she required a chaperone. Danby would insist upon protecting her reputation when his true intentions were to see her married. “I will request Mr. Bickley send someone to retrieve her.”
“No, no. That is unnecessary.” A nervous titter accompanied her words. “We will not be long, will we?”
“The servants at Blackwood Castle are loyal,” James piped up from his place on the sofa. “You needn’t worry anyone outside of Blackwood will be privy to today.”
She looked to Colin for reassurance, which he readily gave. Danby was the closet neighbor, and it was to the duke’s benefit to keep the entire affair secret. Colin was certain Baron Lovell would never know his bride had once dabbled in education.
Reaching the chair, Colin urged her to sit. No sooner did her derriere touch the butter yellow upholstery than she was back on her feet. “I wanted to write notes while we speak. I left my notebook...”
Colin followed the direction of her wagging finger and found she’d placed a stack of books on a table close to the window. “Allow me,” he said.
Miss Halliday offered her gratitude before sitting again. Colin retrieved her notebook, found a pencil in a drawer of the rarely used Chippendale desk, and settled on the sofa beside James after delivering the items.
She opened her notebook and initiated a small interview of her own, asking for the children’s names and ages, how well the three oldest girls could read, and if the younger ones had started learning their letters.
“Rebecca can read,” Colin answered. “I’ve seen her reading to her sisters before bed.”
Miss Halliday consulted her notes. “The oldest girl, and she is twelve-years-old.”
“Correct.”
“At ten, I would expect Emily to be a proficient reader as well.”
“I’m sure she is,” Colin said, although he knew very little about his nieces’ education.
Malcolm had hired a governess for his daughters, but the troubles with keeping one hadn’t occurred until this summer when Colin was in London attending his first session at the House of Lords. He imagined his older brother had served as a buffer between Audrey and the help, and without Malcolm’s calming presence, tensions had run too high.
To Colin, it seemed the best course of action to take with Miss Halliday would be to keep his distance and allow Audrey to run roughshod over the young woman until she quit. Throwing Miss Halliday to the lioness, however, struck him as unnecessarily cruel.
She finished jotting in her notebook. “I see Iris is nine. Where is she in her education?”
Colin shrugged and appealed to his brother for help.
“I cannot recall ever seeing her with a book,” James said. “I suspect she has no interest in reading. She is more likely to be racing through the corridors than sitting still.”
Miss Halliday shot Colin a bewildered look and thanked James. “What can you tell me about Catherine and Nora?”
“I’m sure they are much too young to have started reading,” Colin said with confidence. At four- and five-years-old, he still thought of Catherine and Nora as babies, although he knew they weren’t.
Miss Halliday posed several more questions about their study of etiquette, skill with a paintbrush, and ability to cipher numbers, but neither Colin nor James had answers. With a slight frown, she closed her notebook. “Forgive my over eagerness, Lord Blackwood. Perhaps it would be best if I posed these questions to your wife when she visits the classroom.”
A shocked laugh burst from him. “Audrey isn’t my wife. She was married to my older brother. Your charges are my nieces.”
“I-I assumed—I thought because she is Lady Blackwood that you and she...” Miss Halliday began thumping the pencil against the chair’s gilded armrest, seemingly unaware of the incessant tapping noise she created.
“I understand,” Colin said. “I can see how that might be misleading. Our brother died from injuries sustained in a riding accident last spring, and I inherited the earldom.”
The tapping stopped, and she regarded him with her mouth slightly ajar. He barreled on before she could recover enough to offer the obligatory words of sympathy.
“I have been guardian to Malcolm’s daughters for a short time only, and my presence was required in London this summer. I hope you do not judge me too harshly for being unfamiliar with their academic achievements thus far.”
“It would not enter my mind to judge you, my lord.” She shook her had sadly. “Your poor nieces. My heart goes out to all of you. I am certain your lives have been turned on end.”
Compassion swelled in her deep brown eyes and elicited a pang in his chest. It was true his life would never be the same. He had responsibilities he’d never anticipated, but most worrisome was whether he could provide everything the girls required from a father. Looking into Miss Halliday’s eyes, he sensed she understood their needs better than he, but it wasn’t surprising. According to Danby, she had lost her father when she was young. Her wisdom was hard earned.
“Thank you for informing me,” Miss Halliday said. “My students may need special allowances made in the classroom at times. Grieving one’s father can be an arduous task, and I vow not to drive them too hard.”
“Perhaps their previous governesses were not as understanding,” James mused.
And perhaps Colin should allow his sister-in-law the benefit of the doubt. Audrey was inconsiderate, hot-tempered, and critical, but she loved her daughters with a ferociousness he couldn’t deny. Watching over the help’s shoulder might have been necessary.
“Thank you, Miss Halliday. I believe the girls’ education is in good hands,” Colin said. “Shall we go meet your students?”
“Yes, that would be lovely.”
James declined to join them, offering an excuse about needing to see to correspondence, which suited Colin. Miss Halliday’s choice to take a governess position both baffled and intrigued him, and he was eager to indulge his curiosity out f
rom under his brother’s watchful eyes.
Chapter 6
Meredith accepted Lord Blackwood’s offer to carry her books to the third floor classroom and accompanied him from the drawing room.
“Catherine and Nora are in the nursery under the care of their nanny,” the earl said. “I thought perhaps you would prefer to meet with the older girls first.”
“Yes, thank you.”
As they moved through the foyer side by side—not even an arm’s length separating them—the initial jitteriness she’d experienced upon her arrival melted away like butter on a warm roll. The earl had a way about him that put her at ease while also triggering an intense awareness of him.
A faint lilt to his voice hinted at a cheerful disposition. A teasing whiff of woodsy cologne reminded her of the cedar-lined chest she’d filled with her most treasured possessions as a girl. And as inappropriate as it was to harbor such thoughts for one’s employer, she couldn’t deny that he cut a very dashing figure in his tailored fawn trousers and navy coat. He was twice as handsome as any of the men she’d encountered in London, and it was a wonder she could remember her name when he turned his exquisite blue gaze upon her.
As they climbed the curved staircase, he continued to speak of his nieces.
“My brother already mentioned Iris rarely sits still, but that is simply because she is a curious sort. She likes to know how and why objects work. A little patience might be required, but I assure you that she is well-intentioned.”
“I am certain we will get along well, my lord. I, too, was a curious child.” Meredith noted the softening of his jaw and smiled with satisfaction. Lord Blackwood seemed sincerely interested in seeing that his nieces received the finest instruction possible. Meredith would do her best to provide his charges with an education to make him proud.
“Rebecca may not appear to be listening at times,” he said as they reached the top of the stairs and he directed her down a long corridor, “but she notices everything. She is a brilliant girl who is capable of looking at a drawing once then recalling even the most minute details.”
