Page 16 of The Enigmatic Governess of Buford Manor
To her surprise, Bridget chuckled dryly.
“My dear, David has been gone for many years. It would be cruel for a woman with time left in her youth to remain a widow, especially one who has not yet been blessed with little ones to nurse and nurture. David would not want it for her. She asked for our blessing and we gave it to her.”
Rose wondered what kind of woman would ever think to remarry after the death of her true love, especially one who was gainfully employed?
If she hasn’t need to be supported, why would she do such a thing?
It made little sense to Rose but she did not speak her mind.
Perhaps she did not love David as well as I love Philip. My love for Philip will never die but perhaps ours was rare. It is not my place to judge her decisions.
Yet Rose could not help but feel a slight bitterness toward David’s widow, despite not knowing her. She could not help but wonder if Bridget and John were as happy with the impending union as Bridget claimed.
“The point, my dear, is that there is a noble family in East Anglia who is in need of a governess for two children, one boy, one girl although I understand the girl is older and cares mostly for herself these days.”
Rose blinked her blue eyes, the information hanging in the air like a cloud of tinder smoke.
“In East Anglia,” she repeated as she realized that Bridget waited impatiently for an answer. “Whose family is it?”
“The Duke of Buford. Eloise assures me he and his wife are respectable and very kind. If not for her impending marriage, she claims she would stay with them until Lord Arlington comes of age, thereby writing her a recommendation.”
“Lord Arlington? I thought it was the Duke of Buford.”
“Lord and Lady Arlington are the niece and nephew of Duchess Buford. The children were orphaned.”
Rose felt her eyes closing slightly.
Eloise lost her husband when she was young, the Arlingtons are orphans…there are interesting similarities between me and these people. Is this a sign from the heavens?
Somehow, she could not bring herself to believe so as Rose knew what accepting such a position would entail. She would be required to leave her beloved land, the farm she had tended so lovingly, in anxious expectation of Philip returning.
The memories I have will be gone.
Rose reminded herself that in one form or another, she would lose the house.
It is better that I go willingly rather than become evicted and shamed before the community. I will always have the memories of Philip in my mind where I have held him for almost three years. Perhaps I can pretend he is still at sea and will still come back to me. Anything will be better than humiliating myself and his legacy.
Of course, the Boyles would never permit such a thing to occur. They would shield her as they always had. Here was Bridget Boyle, offering her an opportunity.
This woman is my guardian angel. Her and John. I must never take them for granted.
“How old is the boy?” Rose asked.
She was aware that she was merely biding her time, willing her mind to form the words of acceptance but her heart still fought against the utterance.
“Ten now. The girl, Betsey is ten and two.”
Rose suddenly noticed she had not taken a breath and exhaled in a whoosh of air.
There is nothing left to discuss. You have been afforded a chance that few in your situation could claim.
“Rose, child, I know this is much to discuss but I must provide her with an answer. She offered it to you first, knowing how much affection I feel for you. She is a good woman, Eloise, and she understands loss the same way you have felt it.”
“Yes,” Rose agreed, bobbing her head. “I will gratefully accept the position. Would you care for me to pen the letter in response?”
Bridget’s face melted into a look of relief.
“Oh, how wonderful!” she choked, and Rose realized that her neighbor had been expecting a rejection.
