Page 39 of Fortune Favors the Viscount
“I’ve never heard it,” whispered Charlotte, stealing a glance at Nick.
“Now you have,” said Miss Greene.
Lucinda glanced at Nick again. “And what is he doing? If you are... governessing.”
“Thinking,” said Nick. “She is governessing, and I am thinking.”
“It’s taking a very long time,” said Charlotte under her breath. Naturally, she would recover her spirit in time to tweak him.
Nick took a sip of coffee. “It’s an important question.”
Miss Greene stared at him, her expression halfway between stubborn and perplexed. “Apparently so.” With a little shake she tore her gaze from his. “Perhaps we won’t walk in the park today. We shall have a lesson right here in the house. On how to defend ourselves from villains.”
In unison, Nick, Charlotte, and Lucinda jerked upright in their chairs.
“We will?” gasped Lucinda
“With what?” asked Charlotte eagerly.
Miss Greene patted her lips with the napkin. “Parasols and hat pins—any pins, really. A swift, well-aimed kick is always beneficial. And of course, our wits, a lady’s most useful defense against men who wish us ill.”
Nick shot to his feet, almost knocking over his chair. “Come,” he told his infuriating governess, and stalked from the room.
She marched past him through the dining room door he held open. “This is governessing? Talking of swift kicks and hat pins?” He closed the door, aware that it was just the two of them, the exact dangerous circumstance he had told himself to avoid but couldn’t stop thinking of. The only way to survive it was to argue.
Her cheeks were flushed. “I suggested a simple, ordinary thing.Youargued, and I proposed an alternative.”
“How to stab people?”
She widened her eyes innocently. “It’s important for a lady to be able to protect herself.”
Nick flung up one hand. “They are girls!”
“It’s never too early to learn,” she insisted. “You’ve no idea what ladies face in this world.”
“You didn’t mention this when we discussed duties,” he charged, incredulous.
“You didn’t mention that you would prohibit respectable strolls in the park!”
No. It was beginning to sound deranged, even to him. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. “I’m not accustomed to being told what to do.”
“I never told you to do anything,” she retorted.
“You didn’t ask my permission first.”
Oh Lord. Another mistake. Nick acknowledged it inside his head as Miss Greene’s bosom swelled temptingly in indignation. “You promised I would have free rein!”
“With Lucinda.” She paused, her lips already parted for another argument. “I agreed you would have a free hand in the rearing ofLucinda,not of Charlotte.”
Her expression blanked with astonishment. “You prefer that I leave Charlotte at home while I take Lucinda to the park?”
Yes, he did, but Nick knew it was wrong. Not only would it provoke a storm of protest from his sister, the entire point of hiring a governess was for Charlotte to go out. He cleared his throat. “Speak with me first before proposing outings.”
Her face wrinkled in confusion. “Of course I would, before most outings. But the park? It’s perfectly respectable for young ladies to walk in the park with a chaperone. At this time of day it will be full of children with their nursemaids.”
“Will it?”
“Of course,” she said in surprise. “Surely you’ve seen them.”
