Page 25 of The Colonel's Ungovernable Governess
“I swear—” Jocelyn began, but quickly swallowed her criticism of both Mrs. Peyton and the children’s parents for trusting the woman. “And you, Victoria, how is your French?” she asked instead.
The girl dropped her head in what appeared to be shame. “I refused to learn when Mrs. Peyton would not teach Vincent.”
“I see,” she said with a bit of irritation. “For the moment, I shall teach you common phrases. When we return to the classroom, we will begin the necessary conjugations.”
They both groaned.
“My name is . . . She paused, nearly saying “Jocelyn” in the need to engage the pair. “My name is Rose.Je m’appelleRose. Sayje m’appelleand then your name. You first, Lady Victoria.”
“Say it again,” Victoria requested with a frown marking her forehead in concentration.
“Je m’appelle Rose,” Jocelyn said slower.
“Je m’appleVictoria,” the girl said, and Vincent burst into laughter.
“You are next, my fine friend,” Jocelyn warned, and the boy quickly swallowed his mirth. “Je m’appelle,” she said slowly. “Say it together.”
“Je m’appelle,” they chorused.
“Je m’appelle Rose. Now Victoria.”
“Je m’appelle Victoria,” the girl said with a smile.
“Vincent, if you please,” Jocelyn instructed.
“What if I . . . do not please?” he asked stubbornly.
“Then you will force me to eliminate all our outings until you comply,” Jocelyn warned. “We may learn French as we enjoy other activities or we may learn it in the schoolroom. I can warrant neither the colonel nor Mr. Darcy will object to the schoolroom method. They will say such served them well.”
“She is correct,” Victoria told her brother. “There is a time to be dogged and a time to comply.”
The boy rolled his eyes, but he said, “Je m’a.ppelle Vincent.”
Jocelyn pointed to the elm tree. “Orme,” she said.
“Orme,” the pair repeated together.
Victoria asked, “How should we say ‘grass’?”
“Herbe,” Jocelyn provided.
“It sounds like ‘herb,’” Vincent observed.
“Yes, many words move back and forth between languages. We English speakers have adopted many French words, for French was often spoken at Court. The Norman Conquest was a key event which added French words to the English language.”
The boy perked up. “Mr. Darcy was teaching me words likesobriquetyesterday. The ‘Bab’ part of our peerage name likely came from Nicholas Bab whose name was first recorded in 1209 at Essex in the Court of Husting. Mr. Darcy says that is the largest court in London. The word ‘cock’ is asobriquetfor ‘a sharp, forward boy.’ Remember how I told you that your name came from the Roman god of victory, Victoria?”
Before they became too far off her lesson, Jocelyn overrode Victoria’s response by saying, “Remember, the Normans spoke a northern form of Old French called Anglo-Norman French. Words such asbachelor,bureau,debris,façade, andirony, all come to us from French. Even ‘literature’ has been borrowed from the old French wordlittérature.”
The boy looked at her oddly, as if he was not confident she spoke the truth, but he nodded his agreement, nevertheless. “We will learn what you teach, but may we see the pond, now?”
“Pouvons-nous voir l’étang maintenant?” she asked with a lift of her brows in a challenge.
“I will . . . attempt . . . to speak . . . French,” Vincent said with a shrug of his shoulders in defeat. “But, I will . . . do so . . . with little . . . confidence . . . of my success.”
“Such is all I ask. No one can learn without effort expended. The word for pond isétang.”
“The way you say ‘pond’ it sounds as if you are saying ‘it tong,’” Victoria declared.
