Page 18 of A Governess' Unbridled Passion
If that had been true, then how was the duke to know? Then again, he was the new master of the house, so he must make his own decisions, and Alice accepted that. She was only too grateful that Lady Davina had given up on insulting her, for now at least.
“Well, Eli, I trust, from what you said earlier, that your meeting with the solicitor went well?” the duke asked, resuming the chatter around the table.
“It did, Phillip.” Mr Eli nodded as he ate his food. “Your brother kept things running smoothly. You can rest assured that you have inherited a healthy estate.”
“Well, that is one less problem to worry over then,” the duke sighed as he, too, ate his meal. “Have you managed to write and request an update at the plantation yet?”
“All in good time, Phillip,” Mr Eli replied. “I am concentrating on your English first. That is why we are here.”
“You see how my good friend guides me,” the duke announced with a happy grin. “You three are my trusted allies. Each one of you has the skills to get me through this.”
“That is a very honest statement, Phillip,” Lady Davina said. “On my part, I will ensure that you take a wife by your side in no time, and then your estate will be complete.”
“Good Lord, I had not thought of that,” the duke said, his face paled with shock. “One supposes that will be expected of me.”
“Worry not, Phillip, you are in capable hands,” Lady Davina purred. “You shall be seen at all the important social gatherings, and I will be by your side to guide you.”
The words drooling from Lady Davina had Alice worried. Could the duke not see the trickery of the woman? And what about her own problem with the duke? It was all too much, and without thinking, she stood up and excused herself from the table.
“But you have hardly eaten anything on your plate,” the duke said, surprised at her sudden request to leave the table.
“My apologies, Lord Phillip. This is a new routine for me, and the children will be getting ready for bed now,” she explained, her voice quivering at her urgency to get out of the room. “They will be expecting me to read to them before bed if you can excuse me.”
“Of course, of course,” the duke repeated. “I admire your commitment. Please, do not let us keep you from your duty. In fact, from tomorrow, I will arrange for us to eat earlier to accommodate your needs.”
“That will not be necessary, Lord Phillip,” she tried, hoping he would simply accept how difficult it was for her to eat with him.
“I insist,” he replied. “We must all make adjustments as the dust settles, as they say. Miss Alice, I will send word on what time dinner will be served tomorrow. For now, please feel free to see to your charges.”
With that, Alice bowed her head at the duke and left the room without glancing at anyone else. When she arrived at the nursery, the children were waiting for her, and she felt a sense of relief to be returning to them.
“Well now, shall we embark upon a new adventure book this evening by the Brothers Grimm? I have picked out a story called ‘Cinderella’,” she said as she went to get the book from her desk.
Betsy came over to speak to her at her desk. “How did things go?” she asked. “I was worried for you, having to sit with that woman.”
“I am a big girl now, Betsy,” she said, smiling. “I can take care of myself. Now off you go. I will see to taking them both to bed this evening.”
Alice knew that the old woman meant well, but she would not discuss her problems with her. Alice was never one to gossip, at least not on purpose. She occasionally got drawn in with the servants’ chatter through Betsy but refused to be the instigator of spreading gossip. Besides, she had far too much to worry over and had no intention of sharing her worries with anyone.
Betsy said her goodnight to the children and then left the nursery.
“Let us get you two into your beds, and I will read the story in your room tonight,” she suggested, seeing as the children still shared a room.
“What is a Cinderella, Miss Alice?” Lady Beatrice asked as Alice tucked Lord Jacob into his cot.
“It is all about a young lady who marries a prince. Does that sound interesting?” Alice asked the girl who was waiting for her.
She wouldn’t read the story word for word because as she scanned the book, she could indeed see it was a little grim. Instead, she would embellish the story and make it more romantic for Lady Beatrice. Alice had always read to the children last thing at night. Often Lord Jacob fell asleep, but Lady Beatrice loved her stories. And on this night, Alice needed to do something to take her mind away from her experience at dinner.
“It all started with,Once upon a time …”she began.
Chapter 10
Davina was secretly pleased when the governess excused herself and left the dinner table. She’d promised herself to continue with her little digs whenever the woman saw fit to join them. Already she’d come to recognise that the duke had a soft spot for his governess, which didn’t go well with her plans. She intended to drive the governess away at every opportunity. She could do without such interference if she were to get her hands on anything.
She was also aware that the naïve duke didn’t have a clue about any of the valuables in his home. So, she had seen fit to pilfer the odd trinket or two when no one was looking. Having rented a small cottage about fifteen miles away, as she collected her valuables, she went out for the day to dispose of them there.
And there they would stay until she returned to France, where she would sell them and rid herself of the Tilbury family once and for all. If she could see to the duke’s downfall, she would do that too, but she didn’t feel she had enough power to achieve that.
