Page 13 of The Precious Secret of a Loving Governess
Nevertheless, Victoria knew she could not give up. She proceeded as if everything was still going well and attempted to continue in the lessons without giving up. She was quite determined that she would not allow this child to defeat her. She would be stronger and better than this.
“Do you wish to continue or are we going to just sit and talk?” she finally asked, noticing that Marian had not heard a word that she had said for the previous hour.
The day had already been quite long and unproductive. Victoria knew that there was little hope of continuing in her efforts to make the lesson more exciting and she thought that she might as well give Marian a break. Things were not moving forward no matter how hard she had tried, and it was time to at least change her ideas.
Marian’s eyes were glazed over in boredom and she knew that the learning was finished for the day—if it had ever even begun at all.
“I think it is best if the two of us just chat. What say you? Can we enjoy one another’s company without all of this pressure of learning and studying?” she asked.
Marian looked at her with suspicion, as if not believing that such an offer would truly come from the mouth of a governess.
“I suppose…” she replied hesitantly.
“Very well then. We shall abandon the studies as this is our first day together. I should like to know more about you. What can you tell me? Miss Marian Fairfax, what do you enjoy? What do you dislike? What are your favourite foods and colours and songs?” she asked, hoping that giving the child a chance to talk about herself might cause her to open up a little bit.
“You wish to know all of these things?” Marian asked in surprise.
“Of course I do. You are my charge and I should like to know you better. Why does that shock you?” she asked.
“Because no-one wishes to know me better. The governesses always wish to know what they can make of me or how they might be able to be rid of me. And Papa’s betrothed, well, she is simply the worst of them. She never asks me a thing, always prattling on about herself…” Marian remarked bitterly.
Victoria was surprised at this. She had not been aware that the Earl of Hanover was engaged to be married. More than that, she was surprised to hear that Marian disliked her so much as to complain about her to the new governess whom she also clearly seemed to dislike.
“Your father’s betrothed?” she repeated.
“Yes. A Miss Ignoble or some such name as that,” Marian said with a scrunching of her nose. Her distaste for the woman was painfully evident.
“Now, now. We do not call people such things, Miss Marian. I am certain you know the woman’s true name, so calling her Miss Ignoble is rather crude,” Victoria noted, despite the fact that she was secretly delighted to hear that she was not the only one whom Marian found so unfavourable.
“Fine. She is a Lady Ingles. But I prefer to call her Miss Ignoble when Papa is not around,” Marian noted.
“And have you ever called her this to her face?” Victoria asked.
Marian blushed, sheepishly. “Once, only once. She did not appreciate it and threatened to tell Papa if I ever called her that again. She said that she would see to it that I was put out of the home as it is to be her home now,” Marian noted.
Victoria was sad to hear this. She knew that the Earl was hardly the sort to send his own daughter from the home for the sake of some betrothed, but to hear Marian speak of it as fact was painful. She never wished to hear a child believe such a thing.
“Your Papa would never turn you out of the home,” Victoria told her.
“That is what I thought, but Lady Ingles said that I was a fool for believing that and she said that all fathers can be molded when they have fallen in love,” she said innocently in reply.
Victoria thought of her own father. It was not for love that he had abandoned his family, save perhaps for the love of himself. He had turned their family into a laughing stock because of his mistresses and gambling. He was hardly the sort of father she might use as an example of love for a wife and child.
And it confused Victoria further to hear these things when she knew well that the Earl of Hanover was still in mourning for his late wife. Or so it had seemed.
While she spoke with Marian, she tried to hide her surprise at the news of the Earl being engaged, but it did not change the shock that she felt in her heart. Why had she not known this? And how could he be engaged to someone whom his daughter found so disagreeable?
Was he not aware that Marian detested the woman? Or did he simply not care? Perhaps he was more like her father than she realised, and this woman had been a mistress of his all that time ago.
At that thought, Victoria knew that she was being ridiculous. This woman could not be a mistress. He was not that sort of man and his wife had passed away five years before. If he was still mourning her then clearly he was not the sort to have a mistress. On the other hand, if he had once had a mistress, he would not have waited five years to marry her.
No, there had to be another explanation and whatever it was, Victoria felt confident that it was none of her business, no matter how she might wish to learn the truth about it all.
“I am sorry you do not approve of your father’s intended,” Victoria remarked to Marian.
“Oh, it doesn’t matter too much. You see, Papa tells me that she will change over time and we shall be the best of friends. I hardly believe it, but perhaps one day I can make her understand that I am the woman of this house,” Marian said nonchalantly.
Victoria smirked at the child’s resilience. She clearly believed that there was no possibility that Lady Ingles could take her place as the primary female in the home. Yes, she was a strong, stubborn child. For some reason beyond her comprehension, Victoria felt herself hoping that it would come to pass and Marian would indeed prove her strength against this Lady Ingles.
