Lois Menzel

by Ruled by Passion

  Anne stood by silently as her employer bought several more lengths of fabric for her—sky-blue calico, russet, and burgundy muslin.

  Later, in the privacy of the coach, Anne found the courage to protest. “You cannot intend all this for me, Mrs. Saunders. I cannot possibly pay—”

  “Nor need you. Tenbury provides livery for everyone else. I see no reason why you cannot have some attractive things.”

  “But ma’am, colors are not suited to a governess’s station. Quiet, serviceable clothing is more proper.”

  “In whose judgment? I don’t agree. Children should be surrounded with stimulating things; color is one of them. Wait to see how well you will look. In the end I know you will agree with me.”

  Their next stop was at the dressmaker’s shop. There Anne submitted to having her measurements taken and recorded while Arelia chose patterns for the goods she had purchased.

  Beyond Anne’s hearing the French seamstress spoke to her valued client. “She is too thin, this governess of yours, madam.”

  “Yes, Collette, I agree. Cut the dresses generously, and I will see what I can do to put more flesh upon her bones.”

  The drive to Tenton Castle in northern Wiltshire took two days—two days during which Anne suffered almost continuously. She traveled with Belinda and found that keeping the child occupied helped put her own discomfort at bay.

  Anne did not touch her meal the morning they departed. On the trip itself, she skipped meals as well, explaining to Belinda that she did not like traveling and had no appetite. Near the end of the second day, she was ready to swear she would never step into a carriage again.

  Five carriages made the journey from London to Wiltshire, carrying the various members of the family as well as the servants and baggage. Anne’s carriage and one other had managed to stay together on the road. When they arrived in the early afternoon, Belinda leaned up to the window, exclaiming as the familiar landmarks streamed by. “There is the church … and the bridge where Tom and I go fishing. And there is the lake. It is monstrous big. And deep, too. We have a boat, and Tom has promised to teach me to row this summer. Do you see that oak tree there? Tom can climb it, clear to that Y near the top.”

  Anne made an appropriate response but was in no mood to admire the palatial splendor of Tenton Castle, a sprawling structure of gray towers, ornate turrets, and sparkling leaded windows.

  Tenbury saw the coaches when they were still half a mile away and was waiting when the first one rolled to a stop before the Castle. Opening the door, he lifted a glowing Belinda under the arms and set her on the ground. He then held out a hand to Miss Waverly and frowned when he saw her pale, drawn face. She took his hand tentatively and reached one foot toward the carriage step. It was then that her knees buckled, and Tenbury caught her as she collapsed into his arms.

  Lady Tenbury hovered inside the great front doors as the earl carried Anne inside.

  “What has happened, Tenbury? Who is this woman?”

  “This is the new governess, Mother. I believe she has fainted.”

  “The poor thing,” her ladyship said sympathetically. “Take her directly up to her room. I have put her next to Belinda.”

  When Anne opened her eyes again, she found she was being carried by Lord Tenbury as he mounted a flight of stairs. His arms banded her firmly—one beneath her knees and the other behind her shoulders. Her body was pressed intimately against his chest. When he reached the top she said quietly, “Please, put me down, my lord.”

  “When we have reached your room, I will do so, Miss Waverly.”

  Embarrassed both by her weakness and by her proximity to him, she persisted, “It is not necessary—”

  “Don’t concern yourself. You weigh no more than a child; you are costing me no effort.”

  She subsided in silence. At the end of a long corridor Tenbury carried her through a door into a sunlit room and laid her on top of the bed. When he straightened, Anne noticed the silver-haired lady at his elbow.

  “This is my mother, Miss Waverly—the Countess of Tenbury. I will leave you in her care. I hope you feel better soon.”

  Anne made no reply, but when he was gone she turned to the countess. “I must apologize, Lady Tenbury. I am so sorry. I believe I must have fainted. I cannot imagine why.”

  “Traveling is tiresome—all that jolting about,” the countess replied in a quiet, sympathetic voice. “I think it would be best if you simply rest here for the remainder of the day. I will have cook send up a light meal. After a good night’s sleep, we will hope to find you much restored in the morning.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. You are very kind.” A short time later Anne ate and then slept straight through till the morning. But her sleep was disturbed by dreams—dreams of a carriage that rolled on and on, never stopping, never allowing a moment’s peace.

  Anne awoke when a young maid delivered her breakfast on a tray. The aroma of freshly buttered toast and strong tea brought her fully awake as she pulled herself up in bed.

  “Good morning, miss,” the maid said as she set the tray on a table and bobbed a curtsy.

  “Good morning,” Anne replied. “Is Miss Belinda awake? Has she eaten?”

  “She had her breakfast an hour ago, miss, and has gone off with Master Thomas. Mrs. Saunders said I was to tell you there would be no lessons for her today what with the unpacking and all.”

  “That is probably best,” Anne agreed. “She would likely be too excited to apply herself.”

  “So Mrs. Saunders thought, miss. She hopes that if you are feeling better, you might join her in the morning room when you have finished dressing.”

  “I’m feeling well, thank you. Your name is?”

  “Cassie, miss. Maid to Miss Belinda, and to you too, Miss Waverly, should you need me. Can I get you anything?”

  “No, thank you, Cassie. I will be fine on my own.”

  As the maid dropped a quick curtsy and left the room, Anne hurried from her bed and surveyed her breakfast tray. She devoured eggs and tender ham as well as toast generously spread with butter and strawberry preserves. She sipped tea as she hurried into a black gown she had acquired after her father’s death. She quickly fastened her hair in its severe style and then went to join Mrs. Saunders downstairs.

  Outside her room, a narrow corridor laid with a crimson carpet stretched in both directions. Not knowing which way to turn to find the main stairs, she chose left. At the end of the hallway the corridor made a left-hand turn, then continued as before. Further along this hallway another crossed at right angles, while the passageway she had been following continued straight ahead. Within minutes she realized she was hopelessly lost. Fortunately, she encountered an upstairs maid who turned her in the proper direction.

  She was soon descending the main stairway into the great hall, a massive room three stories high. The broad stairway, wide enough for ten persons to walk abreast, was supported throughout its descent by giant pillars rising from the floor of the hall below. Anne laid her hand along the cold marble balustrade as she slowly descended. She turned as she had been directed to a pair of doors flanked by two sets of ancient armor, while one of the footmen on duty moved to open them for her.

  The morning room was a splendid combination of predominantly red carpets and pale blue furnishings. Numerous paintings covered the walls, nearly obscuring the design of the paper beneath. A small fire was dwarfed by the massive stone fireplace in which it burned. Over the mantel hung a life-sized, full-length portrait of a man robed in seventeenth-century splendor.

  Arelia Saunders looked up as the doors opened and immediately rose to come forward and greet Anne. “You are admiring Torquil Saunders, a mere viscount when this was painted,” she said. “He was faithful to the Royalist cause and created first Earl of Tenbury for his support of the king. Come and sit down, Miss Waverly; you are looking positively pale. I was sorry to hear you had a difficult journey. Did you sleep well? Are you fully recovered?”

  “I am feeling better, t
hank you,” Anne replied. “But I fear I slept overlong and neglected my duties.”

  “Pish! What duties can there be on one’s first day in the country? It is a day meant for sleeping and recovering from the rigors of a long carriage ride. You met Lady Tenbury, I believe?”

  “Yes. Briefly, when I arrived. She was most kind.”

  “She invariably is. Always the first to make allowances for one’s behavior, and always settling disputes in her quiet way. She came down to Tenton nearly two months ago with my son. Tenbury granted him a holiday in return for his promise to apply himself to his studies when his new tutor takes charge. Tom is not a model student, I fear.”

  “So I understand.”

  “Ah. The servants will talk, I suppose. I can’t say that I mind gossip so long as it is not malicious.”

  “Has his lordship found a tutor for your son?”

  “Indeed, he has. I hope to meet him this morning. He is the younger brother of our rector, and a man of the cloth himself. He has recently come to stay with his brother’s family and is helping with our parish of St. Stephen’s. Perhaps you should stay and meet him. Then later you must meet Tom. He is always up to mischief, never having the slightest interest in anything civilized. He seldom—”

  The morning room doors opened and the butler intoned, “Mr. Dennis Pearce, madam.”

  While introductions and pleasantries were exchanged, Anne took stock of the new tutor. Being a man of average height and build, he stood only a few inches taller than Mrs. Saunders. Few costumes could be more severe than the black worn by men of the church, yet Mr. Pearce displayed the color well. His dark brown hair showed a few streaks of gray at the temples. As he greeted Anne, she noticed that his brown eyes under thick dark brows seemed uncomfortably omniscient: the sort a person dreaded on Sunday morning after having participated in wrongdoing during the week. His voice was pleasantly warm and friendly.

  “Was there anything specific you wished to discuss with me, Mrs. Saunders?” he asked.

  “No. I merely wanted to meet you and to wish you luck. Thomas will not be an easy pupil.”

  “His lordship did mention that.”

  “His past history does not intimidate you?”

  “Not in the slightest, ma’am.”

  “Good. You don’t lack for courage. I admire that.”

  He half smiled at this remark, his eyes never leaving her face. “I’m pleased, I’m sure, that I meet with your approval. Was there anything else?”

  “Only that you should settle with Miss Waverly on a time for Tom’s French lessons. She has agreed to teach the children together.”

  “Very well.”

  When he was gone Anne remarked, “What a pleasant man.”

  “They are all pleasant in the beginning,” Arelia said. “It is remarkable what a week or two of dear Tom can do to the most amiable of men.”

  Anne met Thomas the following day, and during the next week saw him regularly. She found that he was, in most ways, much like the young boys her father had occasionally tutored in Ripley. Although Tom was fair like his mother, Anne saw little of his mother’s countenance in his features. She thought instead that he greatly resembled Lord Tenbury. He was an active boy, never seeming to sit still for a moment. Anne was rather relieved that it was Mr. Pearce and not she who would have the task of settling Thomas to his studies.

  Belinda had been granted a holiday coinciding with her brother’s. Anne therefore had nothing but free time on her hands. When she encountered the children, she was inclined to show an interest in whatever they were doing at the moment. Nothing could have served better for creating a bond between them.

  Within a few days of her arrival at Tenton Castle, Arelia began turning the rooms inside out. She had planned a house party for some twenty guests, invited to Tenton to escape the heat of the city in summer. When the maids started bustling and the dust began to fly, the children fled the Castle and Anne soon followed. Tom’s friend, Will Carey, was often in their company, but he was so shy and quiet that Anne could almost forget he was there. The children took Anne to the lake and showed her their prized possession: a sturdy rowing boat painted bright yellow.

  “I chose the color,” Belinda claimed proudly. “Tom and Will painted it.”

  “Which was a big mistake,” Tom added. “Even on the darkest night the thing can be seen for a mile. Makes stealth impossible.”

  Anne could only wonder why the boys would not wish to be seen at night. She decided not to ask. It was probably better if she didn’t know.

  The children took her to their favorite climbing trees, which she declined to ascend with them, even though they generously offered to help her.

  Of all their confidences, Anne was most pleased when they shared with her their secret swimming place—a wide spot in the stream that was virtually inaccessible to the uninitiated. They assured her there was only a single path, which only the family knew.

  “Uncle Nate wanted to clear all the brambles away, but Uncle Jack would not let him do it,” Belinda supplied. “Uncle Jack says this was my papa’s favorite place, and we should leave it just as it is.”

  Tom immediately changed the subject, as Anne noticed he had done several times when his sister mentioned their father.

  “Where is your Uncle Jack?” Anne asked, remembering the warm smile and friendly good humor of the young man she had met so briefly in Lord Tenbury’s study.

  “He followed the Prince to Brighton,” Tom said. “He says the country bores him, which I can’t understand at all. But he did say he would come down soon. He has been teaching me to hunt on his sixteen-hand roan. I am doing well.”

  “That’s true,” Will spoke up in a rare moment. “He only fell off twice the last time.”

  When Tom smiled at this revelation, Anne smiled too, realizing that a lesson with only two falls must have been great progress from the one that came before.

  Anne spent the early afternoon with the children. Then, as the sun grew ever hotter overhead, she made her way back to the Castle and through the cool, dark hallways to the library. All was quiet and orderly, the cleaning finished, the first guests due to arrive in a few days. The library doors stood open, while light flooded the room from a long row of western-facing casements.

  Anne had discovered that Lady Tenbury loved books but had poor eyesight, which made reading difficult. She moved to the shelves and began searching for the comedies of Shakespeare, knowing he was one of her ladyship’s favorites.

  “Good afternoon.”

  Tenbury had been sitting in an armchair near the windows where Anne had not noticed him. She returned his greeting as he stood.

  “May I help you find something?” he offered.

  “Shakespeare. I thought perhaps As You Like It.”

  He moved to a spot several feet from where she stood and, after a moment’s search, produced the volume.

  “Here you are. My mother tells me you have been reading to her. It is kind of you.”

  “Not at all. I daresay I enjoy it as much or more than she.” When Anne noticed he was regarding her strangely, she asked, “What is it, my lord?”

  “Nothing. It’s only that you look different somehow.”

  “Oh,” she replied, immediately self-conscious, smoothing the front of her skirt with her free hand. “It must be this dress Mrs. Saunders bought for me. She insisted, and I could not—”

  “You need not explain. I know what it is to lose an argument with Arelia. The dress is most becoming. I think, too, that your hair is altered.”

  Although Anne retained her chignon, Mrs. Saunders had encouraged her to fix it loosely, allowing the hair to remain fuller. Several wisps even now curled softly near her face. When she didn’t answer, he changed the subject.

  “Your things arrived this afternoon from Mr. Boone. I had the books carried to your room. I believe the shelves there and in the schoolroom will hold them. The horse is in the east wing of the main stables, sixth stall from the end.”


  “The horse?”

  “Yes. I should say your horse.” When she continued to stare blankly at him he asked, “Did you not leave a gelding with Mr. Boone?”

  “Yes, but I cannot believe he would send him here. Surely you told him to send only my books?”

  “I told him nothing. I simply ordered a servant to fetch from Mr. Boone all those possessions you had left in his care. He returned with several trunks and one gelding.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  “Why, ‘Oh, dear’?”

  “I cannot keep him here. I cannot afford—”

  “I would not expect you to pay for his keep. You will need a horse while you are here. You may as well have him as any other. Belinda needs a companion when she rides, and I daresay Arelia would be glad of your company. She detests riding out with a groom at her heels.”

  He paused, giving her an opportunity to respond. When she said nothing, he continued. “That is settled, then.”

  A few moments later he departed, and Anne was left to wonder how it was that Lord Tenbury with regularity took seemingly awkward situations and in a matter of moments resolved them logically and reasonably. He spoke, and things were settled. It never occurred to her that she had any right to object.

  Chapter 6

  Jack Saunders descended on Tenton Castle the following afternoon. He declared that Brighton had been frightfully boring and dreadfully hot, then announced his intention to repair to the private swimming spot to wash off the thick dust of his journey with a cool swim. The boys clamored to go along and he feigned reluctant permission.

  While Jack, Tom, and Will hurried off toward the secluded spot, Arelia set a leisurely pace calculated to allow her brother-in-law ample privacy for his swim. Jack avoided the shallows where the children often played and headed for the deeper water on the far side. In a matter of seconds he pulled off his boots then stripped off his shirt. Dressed only in his breeches, he plunged in without bothering to test the water.