The Earl and the Governess

‘Probably not, but that is my affair.’

Finally, he handed it to her. ‘I’ll wait for you.’

She’d expected him to say that, and frankly she didn’t want him to leave. She just didn’t want him to know how scared she was. ‘I cannot stop you.’

And then she straightened her back like a fire poker and walked alone the rest of the way to the shop and up its crooked stone steps. She took a deep breath and opened the heavy, groaning door.

When she emerged four minutes later, her bag was no lighter. As feared, Josiah Fairly had offered insultingly low prices for her belongings, but she was too despondent to feel angry. She was tired and hungry, and she simply wanted to give up.

She immediately began searching the street, looking for him. She didn’t see him anywhere, and it was clear to her that he’d abandoned her. She couldn’t blame him, and she should have felt relieved, but instead she felt even worse. She sank down on to the steps, placing her bag beside her. Then she crossed her arms over her knees and buried her head inside them. She hadn’t cried in years. She’d been through worse humiliations. But right now—

‘Miss Thomas? What’s wrong?’

She raised her head slowly. He’d returned, and he stood right in front of her, looking so handsome…and she knew her eyes were red and her lips swollen.

‘Nothing,’ she said quietly, wiping away a tear.

‘Please don’t cry.’

‘I’m not.’

He mounted the steps and sat next to her. Not indecently close, but close enough that she forgot about the horrible man in the shop, and began to worry instead about his proximity.

‘I’d just walked down the road a bit,’he said. ‘I’m sorry—I expected you to be inside longer. He wasn’t helpful?’

She shook her head, waiting to hear him say he told her so.

But he didn’t. ‘So what’s it to be now? Would an ice cream cheer you up?’

She shook her head again.

‘No? Um…some proper food, then? How about a very large glass of brandy?’

She looked at him sideways, but she couldn’t help smiling this time. It had been so long since someone had been kind to her or cared if she was happy. ‘You’re absurd.’

The warmth in his green eyes made her catch her breath. ‘If it makes you smile. May I look in your bag?’

‘No.’

‘Please? Perhaps I can suggest something.’

Why not? she thought. She didn’t have the energy to argue any more. She shrugged. ‘Very well.’She slid the bag across the step until it sat at his feet.

He opened it rather hesitantly, as if he expected it to contain snakes. ‘Don’t know why you’ve been so mysterious about it. I’m sure if you took your necklace to a respectable dealer…’But then he broke off, frowning into the bag’s depths. ‘Miss Thomas, you really are carrying stones.’

Chapter Two

She bit her lip, trying to control the smile that threatened to break through. But he sounded so nonplussed it really was comical. Finally, she gave up and grinned at him. ‘They’re marble, actually.’

He nodded slowly, allowing his gaze to drift over her face slightly longer than was proper. She flushed and looked away, wishing he didn’t have such a disturbing effect on her—he, no doubt, thought her blushes were ridiculously missish. When she’d regained her composure and looked back, he’d removed one of the items in question. A fragment of a woman’s face, small enough to fit in his hand, delicately carved in white marble. All that remained of it was an almond-shaped eye, an ear, and an elegant nose. Isabelle knew her bag contained two more like it.

‘I take it she used to be a Roman goddess, or something like that,’ he said slowly.

‘Well…’

He didn’t let her finish. ‘And I was starting to think you were only a little bit eccentric. Why would you carry these things around?’

Her smile faded, and she replied coldly, ‘I was trying to sell them, clearly.’

‘Did the man offer you any money at all?’

She shook her head. ‘He didn’t quite know what to make of them.’

‘I shouldn’t think so. What do you think they’re worth?’

‘I don’t know. Next to nothing.’

He returned the object to the bag. ‘More than that, surely.’

She shrugged. ‘I…I’m going home now.’

He didn’t pass the bag back to her. ‘But I thought I was going to help you.’

‘How can you possibly help me?’

His answer didn’t come readily, suggesting he had no more idea than she. ‘Well…some advice, maybe. Perhaps you could sell these things to a collector? Someone with an interest in antiquities? You won’t find anyone who wants to buy them around here.’

She sighed unhappily. ‘A collector wouldn’t want them, either, since they’re not really old.’

‘No? Then why are they broken?’

‘They were broken to begin with, to make them look more, um…authentic.’

‘I see.’ He was looking at her curiously, and she suspected he didn’t see at all. ‘You mean they’re forgeries.’

She didn’t want to say the words. She just nodded.

‘You told the man they weren’t real, I trust?’

She frowned at him, not liking the implication. ‘Of course. I’m not dishonest.’

He reached into the bag and removed the red morocco case. ‘What about this necklace? Are the pearls real?’

She nodded. It was the last nice thing she owned, and it was more valuable than many of the things she’d already sold. She’d held on to it for personal reasons, but she could no longer afford to be sentimental.

‘It is yours, I hope.’

‘Are you suggesting I stole it?’

‘Did you?’ he asked.

She wanted to be angry, but it was a perfectly reasonable question. ‘It was a gift. It is mine to do with as I like.’

He nodded. ‘In that case I would be happy to buy it from you.’

She took the necklace from his hands and returned it to her bag. ‘I do not think it will become you.’

‘No?’

There was a lilting, teasing note to his voice, but she was entirely serious—serious and, now, getting angry. ‘No. I will not accept your charity. You’ve just met me and you needn’t feel you have to help me.’

‘It isn’t charity,’ he protested.

‘Oh? What use have you of my necklace?’

‘You needn’t sound so incredulous. I’m sure I can find someone to give it to.’

‘Who?’ she demanded, but then she immediately blushed, realising how naïve her question sounded. A man like him undoubtedly had about five mistresses, if not a wife.

‘I wouldn’t have to look that far. I could give it to you, for one.’

‘To me?’ She didn’t quite understand what he was proposing, probably because all rational thought was quickly slipping from her mind. All she knew was that he suddenly seemed every bit as dangerous as the man who’d been following her that morning, and the boy who’d tried to rob her. More dangerous, in fact, at least to her sense of self-preservation.

‘Yes,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll buy it from you, and then I’ll give it back. As a gift.’

‘That’s unnecessary. I…I must return now.’She rose and started walking back the way they had come.

He caught up a few seconds later, taking the bag from her when he reached her side. ‘You’re remarkably stubborn, you know.’

She didn’t turn her head to look at him. ‘If that bothers you, then you may leave. I know precisely where I’m going, so I can walk on my own.’

‘I’m far too stubborn m’self.’ He caught her hand, forcing her to stop. ‘And I would like to buy your necklace. I don’t see why you’re denying me, since it’s clearly for sale. And, if you promised not to be difficult about it, then I’d even be happy to allow you to keep it. Perhaps it has special meaning for you?’

It did. It had belonged to her mother. There was pity in his eyes, and she hated it. ‘Then that would be charity, sir.’

He frowned. ‘You needn’t worry that I would expect anything in return.’

That just made her blush. She started walking again. ‘It’s very expensive.’

‘How expensive?’

‘Two hundred pounds,’ she said, hoping the outrageous price would end the subject. She glanced at him sideways.

He raised an eyebrow, but otherwise showed little reaction. ‘Yes, that does seem rather dear.’

‘Well, I’m sorry—’

‘Would you settle for fifty pounds…’he was patting his jacket’s inner pocket as if looking for something ‘…and sixpence?’ He extracted a coin.

She stopped to stare. ‘You don’t travel with that sort of money.’

He smiled. ‘No, I tend to rely on credit. I think the sixpence would be about all I could manage at the moment.’

‘You think I’d give you my necklace for sixpence?’

‘A mere deposit. You can come to my house and I can give you the rest.’

Go to his house? No. ‘Your offer is too high.’ She resumed walking.

‘It’s considerably less than you requested.’

‘I wasn’t serious!’

He sighed. ‘Yes, I rather realised that. But I thought the object was to sell everything in this bag, and you’ve so far failed miserably. You’re clearly in need of money, or you wouldn’t be here.’

Isabelle ignored his point. He was right: she really was a fool. He was offering her the money she needed—much more than she’d hoped for—and yet she was refusing. Why? ‘I don’t need money that badly…I’m looking for employment, you see, and I only need enough to tide myself over until then.’

‘Oh? What sort of employment are you trained for?’

Another perceptive question. Drat. He asked it politely, as if he were merely curious, but she suspected he’d already guessed the answer. ‘I’m not trained for anything, if you must know. A governess, I suppose. I am reasonably well educated.’

He looked so dubious she added defensively, ‘Well, I am. You needn’t make a face.’

‘I’m not doubting your education, Miss Thomas. But somehow you don’t seem to realise that few mothers would eagerly welcome someone like you into their homes.’

She flushed with anger. ‘I don’t know what you mean by that.’

‘There’s no need to get upset. All I mean is that women like their children’s governesses to be stout and homely. Or skinny and homely. But…homely is important, I’m afraid.’His voice dropped an octave. ‘You’re…what I mean to say is you’re not homely. The very opposite, in fact. It’s a compliment.’

Her heart was beating like a hammer. She forced herself not to look at him and fixed her sights on a sleeping dog at the end of the road. But she knew he was looking at her. She could feel his gaze on the side of her face.

So she started to babble. ‘I…I might also work in a shop. Or I…might take in sewing. I could do any—’

‘Miss Thomas?’

‘Yes?’

‘I have no doubt you’ll be successful in whatever you choose to do, but it might take a while.And you still haven’t sold your necklace, so you haven’t any money to tide you over. Just accept my offer, please. Don’t think of it as charity, since I am getting something in return.’

Isabelle said nothing. She didn’t want to take his money—she really didn’t. But she also didn’t know why it mattered, since she’d planned to sell her necklace anyway. And the money he offered would pay for her lodgings for several months. It would feed her. It might even cover some of her debt…

But taking money from him was different. It was more shaming. No matter what he said, it was charity.

In the end, though, necessity won out over pride, although she still couldn’t meet his gaze. ‘If you truly wish to buy it, then I won’t argue. But I insist you keep it. I…I don’t need your gift.’

He nodded, and they walked on in uncomfortable silence.

After another minute, they reached the crowded street where she’d first encountered him.

‘My carriage is just over there.’

She looked in the direction he indicated. His carriage had pulled to the side in order not to obstruct traffic; his driver, who’d been arguing energetically when she’d last seen him, now glared sullenly at the greengrocer, who’d still not moved his cart.

‘Your carriage?’ she asked.

He was regarding the vehicle with mild displeasure, but he looked back at her to answer the question. ‘Yes—you’re coming to my house, remember?’

Ride in his carriage with him? It was far too intimate. She couldn’t do it. ‘Perhaps I might hire a hack?’

‘Don’t be silly. It could be an hour before you see a hack around here.’

‘I could walk, then.’

‘You expect me to trust you with my sixpence? How do I know you won’t abscond with it?’

She frowned at him. ‘You can have your sixpence back.’

He crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Oh, for the…’ He managed to catch himself before emitting an oath. ‘You’re being silly. I’ll hire a hack for myself, so you won’t be alone with me, if that’s what’s stopping you. You can have my carriage to yourself.’

No. ‘As you pointed out, hacks rarely come to these parts. I cannot allow you to inconvenience—’

‘It is not inconvenient,’ he said tightly, patently already both annoyed and inconvenienced. ‘You are not walking, but if you propose to stand here and debate it all day then I am willing to oblige you.’

She didn’t want to debate all day, nor did she want to walk. Her stomach rumbled and her feet hurt. She looked away, wishing she hadn’t argued with him. It wasn’t proper for her to ride in his carriage, alone or otherwise, but she’d abandoned propriety many months ago. She was in no position to be so fastidious.

‘You will at least let me pay your fare.’

‘No, I won’t,’ he said irritably, his gentleman’s honour obviously insulted that she would offer.

She blushed again, embarrassed by her gaucheness. But she had to acknowledge his generosity somehow.

‘I really am grateful for your kindness. I’m sorry if I’ve seemed impolite. What I mean to say is, well, thank you, my lord.’

‘You don’t have to be so formal.’

But she did. Formality was all that was keeping her from melting on the spot. His eyes had warmed with her apology, and his tone had dropped subtly: deeper, richer, entreating. She couldn’t look away, and in the heavy silence, he reached out to tuck a loose curl behind her ear. She found herself staring at his lips. She thought he was going to kiss her, and stopping him was far from her mind. He was so close, and all he’d have to do was tilt his head…

‘Do you know what I think?’

‘What?’ she asked, feeling rather mesmerised.

‘I think you need more help than you’ll admit.’

She blinked and looked away, realising that any kissing was merely the product of her overheated imagination.

Will glanced in the direction of his carriage, where the argument had recommenced. ‘You’d better wait here while I sort this out. I don’t trust McGrath to mind his tongue when he’s riled. And pay attention this time.’

He gave her a stern look and deposited the bag at her feet before walking purposely towards the carriage, just on the other side of the road. She watched him go, feeling rather dizzy. That morning she’d been penniless, friendless and scared. Through sheer happenstance she now had the promise of money and a most unlikely champion.

She allowed herself to look at him, safe in the knowledge that for the moment he wasn’t paying attention to her. She liked the way his hair fell over his temples as he lowered his head to listen to the greengrocer. After a few seconds, he pushed it back, looking frustrated. He seemed—quite valiantly, she thought—to be holding his temper in check. He started patting his pockets, and she assumed the man was demanding money for his damaged potatoes. She couldn’t suppress her smile. Pity she’d taken his last sixpence, but she was certain he’d think of something. What with all that credit. There’d be a small parade of beggars, all with hands held out, following him home before the day was through.

She looked at the sky, watching the clouds drift past and wondering how late it was. She’d been enjoying herself, in an odd sort of way, and she suspected more time had passed than she was aware of.

Mrs William Stanton. She rather liked the sound of that. No, no—Isabelle, Lady Lennox. Or the Countess of Lennox, perhaps. How terribly grand. If only her father’d been a duke instead of a criminal.

She rolled her eyes at her folly and returned her gaze to the street. Right, he’d instructed her to pay attention…

But then the second her mind drifted back to earth she saw the man again. The one who’d followed her. She blinked, not quite believing her eyes, but it was definitely him. Dark hair, medium height. He didn’t seem to have seen her, but he appeared to be searching the crowd. She didn’t know who he was, but she had an awful idea who might have sent him.

She immediately stooped to pick up her bag, gripping it tightly. She gave William Stanton one last glance, but he was still occupied with his driver. So much for riding in his carriage.

She turned her body slowly in the other direction, hoping not to attract any attention as she eased deeper into the crowd. She looked over her shoulder, hoping the man still hadn’t noticed her.

But now he was heading in her direction.

She turned her head and started walking faster, not caring if it looked odd. He hadn’t necessarily seen her; perhaps it was chance that he’d seemed to be closer. After a few long strides, she turned again. This time, there was no sign of the man. She hoped she’d lost him. Or, perhaps, he’d merely blended in with the crowd. He could be as close as ever.

She started to run.

Isabelle arrived at her boarding house an hour later with a swiftly beating heart. She’d taken a circuitous route, hoping the man wouldn’t reappear. And, as far as she was aware, he hadn’t. She’d run much of the way, stopping to catch her breath only a few times; after a mere ten minutes she’d abandoned the marble heads on the side of the road. Worthless anyway, and they slowed her down.

Now, she stood at the top of her front steps, facing a slightly shabby door. She wondered if the man knew where she lived, and she supposed he probably did.

She wouldn’t think about it. She began fishing around her pocket, hoping that she hadn’t lost her key in the rush. She’d already forgotten it once, and Miss Standish, the house’s temperamental proprietor, had been remarkably put out about having to answer the door.

Isabelle located the key easily, and the door opened without so much as a sigh to notify Miss Standish that she’d returned. In the four days she’d been staying there, she’d learned it was best to avoid her.

Isabelle quietly closed the door behind her and returned the key to her pocket. But then…what was that? The key had clinked against another heavy, brass object. She removed it, frowning.

It wasn’t brass, actually. It was William Stanton’s gold watch.

Good God, she’d stolen it after all.

Chapter Three

It was a typical, damp English afternoon. Will was in his drawing room, weighing the effort of walking to his club against the gloomy pleasure of perusing his paper in search of bad news. He turned the page, allowing inertia to win. A portly tabby cat curled in the carved giltwood chair across from him, shooting aggrieved looks every time he rustled the paper. He appeared to be in as bad a temper as his owner.

Will’s bad mood could be blamed entirely on the female sex. His mood had soured soon after he’d turned his back on Isabelle Thomas the previous afternoon. At first, he’d actually felt rather pleased with himself as he’d crossed the road, leaving her to wait. His mind had only been half on the argument between his driver and the greengrocer, so much so that he hadn’t even balked when the man insisted he be compensated for his entire cart of vegetables when most still seemed perfectly saleable. Instead, he’d been thinking about the intelligent, beautiful, mysterious girl who would unexpectedly be visiting his house—a prospect that suggested many interesting possibilities.

He didn’t mind buying her necklace, or even paying over the odds for it; it was a small price to pay to keep her off the street. And he’d hoped that once he’d taken care of that small matter, he might convince her to have supper with him, or perhaps go to the opera. He wondered how she’d react to that sort of invitation. Her blushes suggested she wasn’t terribly experienced, but she appeared to be old enough and independent enough to make up her own mind. He’d felt inordinately satisfied when he’d finally succeeded in making her smile. He usually charmed women with ease, but her…well, it felt like a real achievement. Her adorable smile had more than made up for her prickliness.

Of course, he’d changed his mind once he realised that she was a thief, and a thief so skilled she hadn’t even had to steal. She’d so beguiled him with her charms that he’d simply given her his watch—and sixpence, for good measure. The whole thing was gallingly ironic since he’d accused her of lacking common sense.

After he’d realised that she’d fled, he’d spent two angry hours searching the slums before finally giving up and returning home. He’d been damned fond of that watch; it had belonged to his grandfather.

Only once he’d reached his house, his mood got even worse. A letter awaited him there, from Miss Hume. She must have sent it within hours of his departure from her blasted school. It seemed that Mary was being sent home, and since he was her guardian, her home was now his. According to the letter, sometime during the evening after he’d left, Mary had snipped a large segment of hair from one Major Fitzgerald’s daughter’s head, using a sharp pair of scissors. Her possessions had been packed posthaste, and she would arrive, courtesy of Miss Hume, some time tomorrow morning. Miss Hume did not plan on inviting her back. She was Will’s responsibility now, and he didn’t have the faintest idea what to do with her. He knew nothing about children, girls in particular, and it might take months to find another school that would accept such a hoyden.

He lay down his paper and took the letter from his inside pocket, glancing yet again at the strident lines of text. Bloody unpredictable females, young and old…

A quiet knock on the drawing room door interrupted his ill-tempered thoughts.

‘Yes?’

Bartholomew, his butler, entered cautiously.

‘Good morning, my lord. It is your cousin.’

This wasn’t welcome news. Will had several cousins, but all but two of them were considerate enough to leave him alone in the mornings. It was certain to be one of the demon twins, Henrietta or Venetia.

‘What—here? Which cousin?’

‘Which cousin indeed?’an arch voice called in from the hall. ‘Surely you must know that Venny’s at Waddlehurst with Philip and the children.’

Henrietta Sandon-Drabbe sailed into the drawing room, not waiting for permission to enter. She was a year younger than he, and the top of her head stopped just shy of his chin. She’d once been very pretty, and her pale blonde hair and blue eyes undoubtedly continued to appeal to most casual observers. Will, however, had a difficult time separating her personality from her appearance. She was intrusive, manipulative and bossy, as was her sister. Since they normally travelled as a pair, he considered himself lucky to have only one to deal with that morning.

Bartholomew wisely eased out of the room, closing the door behind him. Will folded the letter and laid it next to him on the sofa, forcing a smile as he rose. ‘I hope she’ll be away for a long time?’

‘Until the end of the summer, sadly. But I know she would approve of my mission this morning.’

He groaned. ‘Oh, Henny, don’t say you’re on a mission.’

‘Well, I am,’ she replied. Her gaze sharpened as it lit on the cat. ‘And why is that foul creature not in the kitchen? Surely you have rats enough to keep it occupied. Shoo!’ She waved her hand at it, and it insolently shifted its fat mass, but did not otherwise move. She glared at it before selecting another chair.