Page 24 of A Governess' Unbridled Passion
“You think your position is safe, do you not, Miss Evans?” Lady Davina growled between gritted teeth. “Let me assure you otherwise.”
As she spoke, she glared down at Lady Beatrice with a burning hatred in her eyes. “It is high time to seek out a more respectable governess. And then, we look at finding suitable boarding schools. My advice to you, Miss Alice Evans, is to look for work elsewhere.”
With her threat lingering, Lady Davina glanced back at the nursemaid who had picked up Lord Jacob from the floor.
“The same goes for you, nursemaid. It is high time to stop mollycoddling that boy,” Lady Davina added.
Alice could only guess how much pleasure the French woman must get from the power she held over them. She couldn’t stop herself from trembling, something she always did when in the company of the children’s aunt. The French woman always managed to rile her one way or another. And now she had turned on poor Betsy, too, so Alice walked back to comfort the nanny.
“Are we to be dismissed, do you think, Miss Alice?” Betsy asked, her voice unsteady.
“I cannot know what is in that woman’s mind, Betsy,” Alice answered, watching Lady Davina float away like a devil. “Come, let us take the children indoors. The ruckus has upset Lady Beatrice, and she can do without it.”
The four backtracked along the pathway, to take the entrance through a door at the rear of the manor house. Lady Beatrice had begun to cry, and Alice had needed to carry her too. By the time they reached the nursery, they were a sorry lot.
“Why does my aunt not like me?” Lady Beatrice asked as Alice was taking the girl’s coat off.
“Do not think like that, Lady Beatrice,” Alice said softly as she wiped away the wetness from the girl’s cheeks. “Your aunt was not cross with you or your brother. She knows what lovely children you both are; I can promise you that.”
“What is a boarding school, Miss Alice?” the girl asked, and Alice felt a heavy weight in the pit of her stomach.
“I will tell you what it is not,” Alice replied, moving a blonde lock of hair from Lady Beatrice’s forehead. “It is not anything for you to worry over. Do you hear me?”
Lady Beatrice nodded her head and sniffed at the same time. Alice leaned in to hug the child, lending her a sense of safeness, at least for as long as she was to be around. Alice and Betsy tried hard to keep the rest of the day as normal as possible for the children, but they both worried. Alice also had to keep reassuring the nursemaid that all was well, even when she knew it was not.
A part of her sensed that Lady Davina was here only to seek marriage with the duke. That did not resonate well with any of them. The children’s lives would become utterly miserable if that woman became the duchess of the estate. All she could do was pray that sooner or later, the duke would see through her.
But then again, the duke would be under pressure to take a wife, and who knew how that would affect the lives of her charges?
Her love for the children intensified when they found themselves alone in the world. Their father, the late duke, loved them dearly, so she had never needed to protect them before. Now, she felt they were at risk of being thrown out into the world, alone and scared. In her position as a governess, she had no power to keep the children safe, which terrified her.
Not only was she troubled over the children, but her own sense of security was at risk too. She had feelings for the duke, emotions that she had no right to have. He had somehow dug his way into her heart, and she desperately attempted to plug up the hole he’d caused.
Somehow, she had to rid herself of the weakness that had overcome her, if not for herself, then at least to fight the battle for the children.
Should I go to the duke and tell him everything?she mused as the children played.I should tell him that he has a French witch under his roof. Hah! That is exactly what that woman is.
Her dislike for Lady Davina was developing into bitter hatred, which was not a feeling that sat well in her mind. Alice had always liked to see the good in people. Yet she was struggling to find anything pleasant in the children’s aunt, and it put fear into her heart, a fear that told her this was not going to end well.
Chapter 13
“That woman is a tyrant!” Mr Eli called out to his friend as he relived the incident with Lady Davina in the garden.
Phillip knew it was unusual for Mr Eli to become so angry about anyone; he was such an easy-going character. Mr Eli was a big man, but despite his build, he would not abide any form of bullying. They had both witnessed too much of it on many of the plantations, where workers lived in fear for their lives.
They didn’t get the chance to discuss the matter further because Lady Davina burst into the room, her face red with anger.
“I knew it, and I warned you, Phillip!” she screamed out, and in her trail was a worried-looking William. “Your butler will confirm it. He told me to speak with you over the matter of much urgency about a week ago, but I asked him not to bother you over it as you already have much on your mind.”
“What is it, William?” Phillip asked his butler, but Lady Davina put up her hand to stop William from speaking.
“I am horrified to inform you of this, Lord Phillip,” William managed to get his voice heard, speaking up despite Lady Davina’s apparent disapproval. “It appears that valuable items have been going missing from the manor house.”
Lady Davina nodded and wagged her finger in the air as if she were waging war against the world. “Now, Butler, as you are so determined to have your say, please go ahead and inform Lord Phillip of what we have since discovered.”
William was reluctant to speak, and Phillip could see the man was flummoxed over something.
“Why do I sense that you do not wish to share something with me, William? Is it really so bad?” Phillip asked.
