Page 32 of The Precious Secret of a Loving Governess
Miss Jamison was quiet, pondering for a moment.
“I find it difficult to choose, but I think that one there on your shelf is among them,” she replied.
He followed her eyes to one of his own favourite volumes and then turned back to face her.
“You have excellent taste then, I must say. And why is it your favourite?” he asked further.
“I find the heroine engaging. She is not the sort to sit and wait about as in so many other novels. She is strong,” Miss Jamison reasoned.
“Indeed, she is. And I am delighted to share the love of books with another, although I am beginning to suspect that you would put me to shame in terms of your knowledge of novels. I frequently have to read rather boring volumes for the sake of title and duty,” he sighed.
“Well, women are often scoffed at for enjoying novels so I am relieved that you deem it worthwhile for me to enjoy reading when we are afforded a very different sort of book,” she replied.
“What about novels do you most appreciate?” he wondered.
With the attitude of someone who had thought through this question before, Miss Jamison answered very decidedly, “I appreciate that I am able to escape into any world I wish. And that is what seems to have most interested Miss Marian as well.”
Of course his daughter wished to escape into the words of another place, another person. It made sense with all that she had gone through.
“I understand that. And do you deem it good for a child to use their imagination thusly? I have heard it debated, with many claiming that children who have too wild an imagination are unable to succeed in London,” he remarked with concern.
“Quite the contrary; I believe it is vital for a child to be successful that they use their imagination,” she replied. “If we trap them in this world, they are limited in their ideas to what they see in this world.”
Reginald wondered if she understood how her ideas sounded to a man in his position. While he could deem this to have some importance, he knew that there were many in society who did not believe a female child ought to have the creativity that came from those ideas.
But it seemed unimportant to mention this now as he wished for Marian to grow as intelligent and creative as Miss Jamison had been raised to be. For a brief moment, despite all her father’s mistakes, Reginald found himself admiring Mr. Jamison for the sort of father he must have been to raise her this way.
“Well, with all the changes I have seen in my daughter in a short time, I am relieved to know that you have made such an impact upon her,” he said, thinking he might conclude the conversation.
“It is my pleasure,” she replied.
But Reginald found that he was still unsatisfied. He wanted to know more about Miss Jamison. Not only that, but he didn’t want her to leave. He was enjoying the conversation far too much to simply do away with it.
“Are you able to tell me anything further that you believe I ought to be doing for my daughter? How I might act on her behalf to develop this improvement?” he asked.
She thought for a moment, looking conflicted.
“I do believe…” Miss Jamison trailed off and took a breath before continuing. “I do believe that she is in need of a mother. And that is something I understand you have taken action to correct.
“Having said that, you must forgive me, my lord, for not having congratulated you on your engagement,” she said. Miss Jamison’s eyes came up to meet his and he saw the remnants of hesitancy in them. She was trying to breathe through her words as if she found them difficult.
Reginald wished he had her skills for observing the reasons behind behaviour, but he did not. He would have to guess what was behind the hesitant looks. Whatever it was, he would have to accept not knowing it.
“Thank you for your congratulations,” he said, acknowledging her words.
Despite it, he felt no warmth at all at the idea of his impending marriage. And that was something he very much did not wish for Miss Jamison to observe.
Chapter 15
In the conversation that had occurred, Victoria had grown significantly more curious about the Earl’s feelings regarding his fiancée. Was it appropriate to ask? She knew that it was not.
Although it was evident that she was not in a position to question these things, Victoria thought about how she might get answers about them. Was there an easy way to question the matter?
Despite the congratulations, she was still able to continue the conversation. She had to know whether or not the Earl was in love with his betrothed. If he did love her, it would certainly complicate matters. Since Victoria knew about the significant betrayal, it was vital to understand how he felt.
“My lord, you must be looking forward to your marriage,” she commented.
He nodded and smiled, but remained silent. It was not the response that she could read anything from and thought to push the matter, except that it was entirely pointless, she saw. The Earl was an honourable man and would not speak details about his betrothed.
