Page 10 of The Colonel's Ungovernable Governess
“Used, but new to me dresses,” she thought. “A trunk on top, along with my saddle.” Mrs. Darcy’s footman rode Jocelyn’s horse with a saddle supplied by Mr. Bingley, who had a fabulous stable, one she would like to have explored, but quickly realized she would never have the opportunity.
“I was thinking on Lord Lindale’s family,” Mrs. Darcy said, jarring Jocelyn from her musings.
“Yes?” Jocelyn said simply, having quickly learned the woman’s brain was always analyzing, manipulating, as well as organizing, though not in a mean-spirited manner.
“The twins both display signs of anxiousness. The boy’s awkwardness is likely more deep-rooted, but I believe the girl can easily be won over. Both will surely be made to go to school soon, and so your responsibility will be to prepare them both for the experience. I shall send Mr. Darcy a note for his cousin to consider a tutor willing to develop a ‘parent’ and ‘teacher’ relationship with the boy. My husband had such a man who came to assist in preparing Mr. Darcy for being on his own at school. Mr. Sheffield, who is my Hannah’s husband, has been a Darcy staple since my husband was a bit short of his tenth birthday. It was Sheffield who broke the news of Lady Anne Darcy’s passing to my husband and who counseled him when Mr. Darcy’s own father became somewhat of a recluse after his wife’s passing.”
“Does the boy have no one he prefers?” Jocelyn asked, wondering if she had erred in this choice.
“He likes Mr. Darcy’s cousin, for he is the type to take the boy fishing or for a run with the hounds,” Mrs. Darcy explained, only to be struck obviously by an afterthought. “I hope you are not frightened easily by toads or green garden snakes. The twins have driven away more than one governess with their antics.”
“I do not imagine such silly maneuvers would frighten you,” Jocelyn observed.
“I may have, when I was young, placed more than one frog in my mother’s quarters,” the lady said with a chuckle. “In truth, I am not so fond of snakes, but, as it is with those who do not like owls, I see a need for them on a home farm to keep away mice and other creeping and squiggling crawlers.”
“I consider myself made of sterner stuff than hysterics over a croaking frog,” Jocelyn declared, though she was no longer so assured she had made the correct decision. She only possessed her interactions with Andrew to serve as her experience with children.
As if the woman had read Jocelyn’s mind, she said, “If I were in your place, I would not be too strict nor too lenient. If you discover the children enjoy music, I see no reason not to take turns singing the lines of a piece such asMuch Ado About Nothingto recognize the lyrical nature of Shakespeare’s words. You would be studying two subjects at once. If mathematics is a favorite, then count bushels of apples or walk off a field and calculate its size. Learning may happen outside the school room. My father is an expert on Shakespeare, as well as Francis Bacon. He and I can recite plays for hours on end. He also is a great lover of different types of architecture, and I share his interest. I love to sing, but my fingers upon a pianoforte are only passable, at best. I can draw you the loveliest bouquet you could ever imagine, but my portraits are more along the line of Cruickshank’s caricatures. Despite what English scholars say, we all learn differently.”
* * *
Edward’s cousin said, “I have finished my business in the City and plan to return north. You may travel with me, if you have a mind for the comfort of my carriage, rather than all those miles on a horse.”
Edward swallowed the bite of lamb he had just popped into his mouth before responding. “Do you mean to go to Pemberley? I assumed you might call upon the Bingleys as Mrs. Darcy is staying with her sister.”
“Elizabeth departed Bingley’s estate earlier than expected. I thought I had told you she intended to escort Miss Lambert to William’s Wood. They should arrive there today.”
“Miss Lambert? Is that the woman Mrs. Darcy suggested for the governess position?” Edward inquired.
“Yes.”
“Has Mrs. Darcy told you anything of the woman?” Edward asked.
“Miss Lambert has lived on the Continent for many years. Her father was a soldier. She and her mother followed the drum? In truth, I believe Elizabeth has taken on the task of making certain Miss Lambert knows success.”
Edward lodged an objection, “Does the woman have a proper education of her own? Many soldiers, even officers, are not of the gentry or the aristocracy.”
“You know my wife would not expose Lindale’s stepchildren to someone not capable of addressing their needs, though I suspect Elizabeth has encouraged the young woman to consider more ‘creative ways’ to teach a variety of subjects, just as Mr. Bennet did with her and her sisters. Just do not overreact if you view a bit of orderly mayhem.”
“What do you consider me to be? My father?” Edward protested.
“Nothing of that nature,” Darcy said with a grin, “though the Fitzwilliam ‘self-importance’ sometimes creeps in before we know what is what. I most confidently ate more than a bit of shoe leather in my attempts to court Elizabeth.”
“Court?” Edward asked with a chuckle. “I would not call insulting the woman a reasonable approach.”
“My dearest Elizabeth is a saint,” Darcy declared. “Anyway, Mrs. Darcy hopes you will provide Miss Lambert a proper welcome.”
“I am not a heathen, Darcy.”
“Just leave the ‘colonel’ packed in your trunk and permit ‘Mr. Fitzwilliam’ his due,” Darcy warned.
“Absolutely,” Edward attested. “I only eat weak soldiers and inept governesses on Sundays after saying my prayers.”
“With good weather,” Darcy surmised, “we should arrive at William’s Wood on Wednesday, around midday.”
Chapter Five
“Mrs. Darcy! Mrs. Darcy!” Jocelyn paused on the steps of the lady’s coach to look up as two young children scampered across the drive before a lovely Saxon-style manor house. The lady opened her arms and the pair barreled into her, nearly knocking the woman over. Jocelyn noted how Mrs. Darcy leaned over to gather the children to her, and she quickly recalled how both of her parents executed something similar when she was small—much younger than the pair before her. However, by the time she was nine, such displays of affection had ceased. With Andrew’s arrival, she had been relegated to the role of “older sister.”
