Page 52 of The Secret Life of the Elusive Governess
She gasped and was ready to run only to see Mr. Collins, the coachman, approach with a lightly intrigued tone. “How are you this fair day?”
She forced a smile on her face while marshalling over the urge to flee, “I am well, Mr. Collins.” She then spotted the flowers in his hand, “How is your wife?”
“Ah,” the Irishman smiled while lifting the bouquet of wildflowers and spinning it. The medley of blue, pink and yellow was as vibrant as the man’s ginger hair. “The missus is as bonnie as ever.”
“That is wonderful to hear,” Caroline said as she stood, “Well, I must be going. Duties to attend to and all that. Good day, Mr. Collins.”
She forced her stride to be as calm as possible even though her base instincts were pushing her to hurry her steps. If she calculated the time correctly, the children should be back from their mid-morning break.
Halfway to the classroom she stopped at a random wall and braced her hand on it. The question came again, only this time it plagued her—could she live with herself if her loved ones were harmed?
I would leave before it comes to that…She vowed with strong determination,God forbid, but if it comes to that I will run.
Inside the schoolroom, she saw Nicholas slumping over his desk and playing with a set of dice, while Josephine was making a tiara from interlocked flowers. A surge of maternal protectiveness overtook her, even though she had not birthed them. These children were ones she had looked after for two years, she knew them in and out, and would hate to be the cause of their hurt.
“All right, Lord Hayward and Lady Josephine, this afternoon, I have an intriguing word game for us to play, according to your level,” Caroline smiled as she pulled out a stack of cards from her desk. “Each of these packs has a French word but they are mixed up, you need to put the letters in correct order to form the word.”
Nicholas had perked up from the moment she had uttered the word game and Caroline smiled knowing she had his attention. “Let us begin.”
* * *
Moses dropped the letter from Mr. Reddington that updated him on the status of the workers. The miners had been paid off, and to his surprise, there had been a second surplus from the grain that he was currently contemplating using on either acquiring more farmland for the workers or refurbishing some old buildings.
Since he wasn’t needed in the town as of late and Mr. Reddington was handling most minor issues, Moses had taken to working in his study once more. As he was at home, he had more time to see his family, exercise Pegasus, and have wonderful companionship with the one he knew was his soulmate.
Thinking of the night of the ball, Moses laughed under his breath.
Never have I seen a more innocent but wonderful woman.
“Deep thoughts, Your Grace?” Hinds asked while entering the room with a cup of tea on a tray.
“Not as subterranean as they seem, Hinds,” Moses replied while accepting the cup.
“If you will pardon me for saying so, Your Grace, your altered look this day is very beguiling,” the butler offered.
Moses glanced down to his clothes, a charcoal-colored morning coat and light grey trousers with a light green waistcoat. In truth, though he was not a fan of bright colors, he had picked the waistcoat out on a whimsy. “Thank you, Hinds.”
“Good day, Your Grace.” The butler bowed and left.
Sipping his tea, Moses went over the idea he had the other day of buying Caroline a dress of silk but now, with the high rush of emotion gone from him, he decided to start with much simpler things. Like a shawl, or a set of handkerchiefs, even a set of oils and Filbert bristlebrushes.
Perhaps a piece of jewelry. A round of sapphire or amethyst would highlight her eyes…Moses nearly dropped the cup. Jewelry? My stars, am I courting her now?
* * *
After her last trip to the town, Caroline was apprehensive about going back, but she needed some time away from the manor to think and put everything in perspective.
The carriage driver, Mr. Collins, had apologized for the last incident and promised to stay near her. Her appetite had not resurged but she had forced herself to eat a cinnamon bun with buttercream and take some tea that morning.
The trip was fortuitous as a dress she had sent out to be made was ready to be collected and she needed some other odds and ends from the haberdashers. She also had to pick up some more goods from the stationers for the children. Even though just thinking of her adversary sent chills down her spine, she needed to bolster her bravery.
“Here you go, Miss Robins.” Mr. Collins called, as the buggy stopped at the seamstress’ building.
“Thank you, Mr. Collins,” Caroline said courageously, “I will be going to the haberdasher and the stationers. I might take a while, and if there is anywhere you need to go, please do, and meet me at Mr. Bucklers’ after.”
“I was actually hoping to get some tarts for the missus,” the coachman said with mild contemplation, “Are you sure you are going to be all right, Miss Robins?”
“Completely sure,” Caroline replied with a heavy dose of Dutch courage, “I will meet you there, then.”
