Page 64 of A Governess' Unbridled Passion
Returning to Miss Alice and the nanny, it occurred to him that he hadn’t seen Lady Davina anywhere.
I cannot believe she’s not around to reprimand me for ending the ball early, he mulled over in his head.
Not giving it too much attention, he assumed she might have gone off with some young man somewhere. From the glimpses he caught of her that night, she had been doing much flirting. She was obviously a highly sexual woman with demanding needs; he’d met her type before. She would be furious when she discovered what he’d done to the guests. She’d soon seek him out for an explanation; such was her way.
He was about to twist the handle and enter the parlour where Miss Alice awaited him, but the lack of Lady Davina’s presence was bugging him. Even if she was in her room and up to no good, she must have heard the commotion. Turning back around, he went to climb the staircase.
He was determined to find Lady Davina and get her into the fold. If she wanted to be accepted as part of the family, then she could do her part in helping them find out who’d taken the children.
Knocking on her door, he was surprised that there was no answer. It wasn’t something he habitually did, but he put his ear to the door to see if she might be in the middle of something he didn’t wish to walk in on.
With only silence coming from the room, he turned the handle and opened the door. Perhaps she had taken ill and gone to her bed early. Had that been the case, he would have expected her to draw the curtains, but they remained open, letting in the moon’s silvery light.
The fire was burning in the hearth, and with that lending light too, he could see that she wasn’t there. What did draw his attention, though, was that the wardrobe doors were wide open, as were some drawers in a dresser.
Entering the room, he went to close the open doors, but it surprised him further when he saw that the cupboards and drawers were all empty.
“Well, I’ll be damned!” he mumbled. “Finally, she took the hint to leave, but she has chosen a bad time to depart.”
In a way, it pleased him. It meant he wouldn’t need to keep requesting her to leave. She’d finally taken the hint that she was no longer wanted or needed at Haroth Hall. His letter must have done the job it was meant to do and upset her enough to take her leave. He recalled that she’d said she had a surprise for him after the ball, and this must have been it.
“Thank the Lord,” he said to himself with a sense of satisfaction that at least he no longer needed to deal with her and her demanding ways. “It is the best surprise you could have given me, Davina.”
They had enough troubles at the moment, and this was one less problem to deal with. She would only have interfered in all the wrong ways, blaming Nanny and the governess for the children’s disappearance. He could do without that, so it was indeed a blessing to see the back end of her.
Davina, your timing is impeccable, and good riddance to you, he thought as he returned to the staircase to returnto the parlour.
Chapter 33
Alice tried her best not to show her fears, knowing the servants would look to her for reassurance, but it was difficult. She paced around the parlour room floor while Clara continued to sit with Betsy, doing her best to comfort the nursemaid.
Why would anyone take the children?Alice questioned herself over and over.Was it some unscrupulous burglar who used the ball to break in? But why would they steal away children?
Oh my! Are they to use them for labour? Or worse, to sell them? Yes ... I read that article about a child being led by their nanny in the park so that they could steal their clothes, but the child wasn’t stolen. Oh dear, where are they?
Alice gasped, her mind bringing up so many terrible possibilities. It was all-consuming, causing her to feel such terror. She needed to get a grip on herself.
“What if they have been abducted by someone who yearns to have a child of their own?” she mumbled. “Yes, that could be it. They could have read the articles in the newspapers about their father’s death and–”
“Stop that, Miss Alice!” Clara called over to her. “You’re only making it worse for poor Betsy. She can barely keep a grip on things as it is.”
“I am sorry, Betsy,” she said, going over to sit by the nanny’s side. Again, she took hold of her hand, trying to reassure her. The poor woman was inconsolable as she trembled, but Alice knew she could hardly even control her own feelings. “We must stick together in this, for we both love the children, dear Betsy,” she added.
“I am sure whoever has taken them has done so for a good reason. Though I cannot think what that can be for the life of me. So, I tell myself that they will not harm them,” Alice tried, but her words were no comfort to the sobbing nanny.
Alice stood up again, feeling too agitated to sit still, and began pacing.
“Where is the duke?” she mumbled, wondering if he’d found them yet. “Why does no one come to tell us that the children have been found?”
Where are you, my love?Her private thoughts were not to be repeated out loud.I need you now, please hurry and return to me.
She wanted the duke to return and assure her that all was well, or at the very least to comfort her. Not that he could do such a thing publicly; nonetheless, she needed him by her side.
“I cannot stay in this room a moment longer! she declared to Clara, walking over to the door. “I must go and search for the children. I will take a horse out and visit all the local houses in the hamlets. Yes ... yes, that is what I shall do.”
“But where will you even begin?” Clara called after her.
“I … I do not know,” Alice said, realising how helpless she felt. “But I cannot stay in here doing nothing,” she added, reaching for the door handle.
