The Earl's Runaway Governess

Her blush deepened. He knew quite well that she had been judging him.

‘Miss Bolton, have you heard of the Four Horse Club, sometimes called the Four-In-Hand Club?’

‘No? What is that?’

‘Never mind.’ He chuckled to himself.

‘Well, I think that you are a very good driver,’ she declared.

For some reason this made him laugh out loud. She could not help appreciating his enjoyment and noting how well laughter became him. Then she realised the direction of her thoughts and put an abrupt halt to them.

‘Miss Bolton,’ he stated, once he had recovered a little, ‘I must admit I am grateful that fate brought you to Netherton today, for you have enlivened a dull journey. The Four Horse Club, by the way, is for those of us who have developed a certain level of skill at carriage driving. Now, here we are.’

He swung the carriage around to the left, entering a driveway via a set of iron gates. Ahead, Marianne could see the house. It was a broad, welcoming, two-storey building with tall windows, a wide front door, and ivy curving lovingly up the right-hand side.

‘What a pretty house!’ she could not help exclaiming.

Lord Kingswood grunted. ‘It may look pretty from afar, but it has seen better times.’

It was true. As they got closer Marianne could see signs of ill-use and lack of care. Some of the windows had not been cleaned in a while, it seemed, and the exterior was littered with autumn leaves and twigs—debris that should have been cleared away long since.

Her heart sank a little. What did this mean for her? Could they afford a governess? Would her existence be uncomfortable? Her pulse increased as she realised she was about to meet Lady Cecily and her mother. What if they disliked her?

Lord Kingswood glanced at her. ‘You are suddenly quiet, and all the vivacity has left you. Do not be worried—I have no doubt that they will be glad of your arrival.’

She gave him a weak smile. ‘I do hope so.’

He pulled the horses up outside the house and jumped down. Immediately he came to her side of the carriage and helped her down. She could feel the warmth of his hand through her glove. It felt strangely reassuring.

She looked up at him, noting the difference in height between them. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly, then let it go. She felt strangely bereft as he did so.

Turning, Marianne saw that the front door of the house was open and two ladies stood there. Both were dressed in mourning gowns, and one was a young girl of twelve or thirteen. This, then, was the widowed Lady Kingswood and her daughter.

Lord Kingswood strode forward and Marianne deliberately dropped back a pace.

‘Good day, Fanny,’ he said amiably. ‘Good day, Lady Cecily.’

Marianne searched their faces and her heart sank. Neither looked welcoming. In fact both looked decidedly cross. Still, she was taken aback when Lady Kingswood’s voice rang out, addressing Lord Kingswood.

‘And so you have returned, as you threatened to do! I wonder at you showing your face here again after what you have done to us!’ She turned to Marianne. ‘And who are you? One of his ladybirds, no doubt! Well, you shall not be installed in my home, so you should just turn and go back to wherever you came from!’

Chapter Four (#u1c8cfdd4-a808-5734-8021-39de660cecd1)

Marianne’s jaw dropped. What? What is this woman saying? She felt a roaring in her ears as all her hopes for a welcome, security, a safe place, crumbled before her. She stopped walking and simply stood there, desperately trying to fathom what was happening.

Lady Kingswood’s face was twisted with raw fury—mostly, it seemed, directed at Lord Kingswood. Lady Cecily held her mother’s arm, supporting her, and her young face was also set with anger. Both were white-faced, their pallor accentuated by their black gowns. Marianne knew that her own face was similarly pale.

Lord Kingswood kept walking, tension evident in every line of his body.

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, Fanny, stop play-acting.’

‘Play-acting? Play-acting?’ Lady Kingswood’s voice became shrill. ‘You think this is some sort of jest, do you? Did you honestly believe that you could simply turn up here, with your lightskirt, and expect us to simply accept it?’ She took a step forward into the centre of the doorway. ‘You are not welcome here, and nor is she!’

‘Dash it all, Fanny, you have become quite tedious. She is the new governess—not a lightskirt. And if you would pause these vapours for one second you would see that.’ His tone was calm, unperturbed. ‘Besides, you know full well that you cannot prevent me from entering Ledbury House. Nor do you have any say in who accompanies me.’

She gasped. ‘That you should speak so to me! If John were here...why, he would—’

‘Yes, but John is not here, is he?’ He marched up to her and stepped inside.

Marianne felt a pang of sympathy for Lady Kingswood. Despite the woman’s erroneous assumptions about her, Lady Kingswood was a recently bereaved woman who was clearly in distress.

The two ladies had turned to follow Lord Kingswood inside, and Marianne could hear the altercation continuing indoors. Behind her, a groom had taken charge of the horses and begun walking them towards the side of the house. The noise of hooves on gravel, combined with the jingling harnesses, prevented Marianne from making out the words, but she could hear Lady Kingswood’s distress, punctuated by Lord Kingswood’s deep tones.

The door was still open, but Marianne remained rooted to the spot. What on earth was she to do now? How would she get back to Netherton? She would have to walk, and some of her precious coins would have to be spent to pay for the next mail coach back to London—probably in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

She hurried after the phaeton and retrieved her bandboxes from the groom. He failed to meet her eyes and was clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation.

Marianne squared her shoulders, turned, and began trudging down the drive. As she walked, she carefully focused her attention on each step.

Don’t think about reality. About the fact that you have no position. That you will be walking for the next hour just to reach the village. That you have no bed to sleep in tonight.

Could she afford to pay for a meal at the coaching inn? Once she had bought her ticket she would count her coins and decide what she must do.

Stop! She was thinking about exactly the things she should not be thinking about. Just walk, she told herself. Just. Walk.

‘Miss Bolton!’

Surprised, she turned. Judging by Lady Kingswood’s distress, she had not expected the argument between her and Lord Kingswood to end so soon. If she had thought about it at all, she would have said that neither of them would remember her existence for at least a half-hour.

Lord Kingswood was marching towards her, his face contorted with wrath. ‘Where the hell do you think you are going?’

‘To Netherton, of course.’

‘Lord preserve me from melodramatic females!’ He raised his eyes to heaven. ‘Give those to me!’

Stupidly, she just stood there, trying to understand what was going on. He took the luggage from her.

‘B-but...’ she stuttered. ‘Lady Kingswood—you surely cannot expect her to accept me as a governess, when she believes—’ She broke off, unwilling to repeat Lady Kingswood’s shocking assumption about her.

‘I can and I shall!’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘Now, Miss Bolton, please come into the house and stop enacting tragedies. The day is too cold to be standing in a garden exchanging nonsense!’

He turned and began walking back to the house. As if tied to her precious bandboxes by an invisible thread Marianne followed, her mind awhirl.

The door was still open. Marianne followed him inside. And there was Lady Kingswood, seated on a dainty chair in the hallway, sobbing vigorously, and being soothed by her daughter, who threw Lord Kingswood a venomous look.

‘Now then, Fanny,’ he said loudly, ‘apologise to the new governess!’