Page 14 of The Duke and the Enigmatic Governess
Returning, he found Miss Banks had already taken a seat, so he took the chair opposite her.
“Well, Miss Banks,” he began, “how is our young charge progressing? It is still early days since she lost her mother.”
“She has begun to talk to the puppy, to Flossie, just this afternoon. I heard her speaking some French and some English to the puppy. Until now she has only spoken with me about our activities apart from asking me about her mother that first morning,” Miss Banks replied.
Jude smiled as he thought about the arrival of the puppy, and Sasha’s excitement at seeing it. “My impression was that she was submerged so deeply under shock and grief, that she rarely spoke to anyone. She has experienced a traumatic death and I’ve heard children can go into a shell when that happens. Today, there were signs of her coming out of it,” he commented.
“It has been lovely to hear her talking with the puppy,” agreed Miss Banks. “Please thank your mother for thinking of it.”
“And Nurse?” he asked. “Has she now accepted the puppy?”
“Indeed, she has. As soon as she saw Sasha bonding with Flossie, she made it a little bed in the corner of the bedroom and startedtalking to Sasha about Flossie as if the dog is a member of the family.” Miss Banks paused, looking thoughtful.
“What is it, Miss Banks?” queried Jude.
“I’m only a little worried what will happen if her family are traced and there is no place for a dog in their life.”
He looked at her intently, and remembering the report from Daniel, replied, “I think there is little chance of that. All enquiries so far have led us nowhere. There are no leads, no trace of the woman. My attorney has widened the search to France, but you will be aware of the chaos there.” He paused. “If we fail to find her family then I am of a mind that she will be adopted by myself or my family and live on our estate at Clairville. There are so many dogs there it will be part of her life.”
As if on cue, Tess, who had been sitting in the corner, came to sit by him. Almost automatically, he tickled the dog’s ears.
“She’s a lovely dog,” said Miss Banks.
“She’s a springer spaniel, a little larger than the one Mama sent to Sasha, but she is older,” Jude replied, smiling.
“We always had terriers,” Miss Banks replied. “I also had a whippet once,” she said nostalgically.
Jude thought it unusual for a governess to have a dog, but then many of that profession were young ladies who had fallen on hard times. He made himself a mental note to ask more about her past at some point in the future. What was clear was that she knew dogs and was easy around them. He was confident his mother had done the right thing in sending the puppy to town.
As they talked, Jude felt the same pull to be informal in conversation, and a desire to know more about her life, her interests, and her personality. He craved a level of intimacy with the governess which was forbidden by all normal moral and social standards. He pushed those desires aside, annoyed that he could be so easily distracted by a woman he hardly knew, and who was now in his employ.
He must overcome this attraction to Miss Banks, he just needed to work harder and keep distancing himself from her. The need to have her close, to glimpse her in the hallway, to see her playing with Sasha around the garden was beginning to frustrate him.
It might be for the best if Daniel locates Sasha’s family soon, and then the distraction of Miss Banks will be gone, and mother can help her find a new position,Jude thought to himself.
He looked up, almost having forgotten Miss Banks was still there, sitting opposite him, near the fire.
Jude was conscious he had become a mass of contradictions, he had wanted her to go a few minutes ago, now he didn’t want her to leave the library. He was relieved when Mrs. Driscoll arrived with the tea. He asked her to join them, and the three of them talked together about Sasha and her reticence to speak, and their delight that she was saying more and speaking to the puppy.
“It will be good when we are out of this quarantine period,” said Mrs. Driscoll. “Nurse wants the child to be at Clairville, where she can get fresh air and spend time with the other children. I think she is right, but we cannot travel yet.
“You’ll like Clairville,” Mrs. Driscoll told Miss Banks. “It is one of the most beautiful places in England.”
This is fine,thought Jude.I can deal with this. It is just going to be best if I am never alone with Miss Laetitia Banks. That is too dangerous.
Chapter 4
The following day dawned dull and grey. All signs of spring sunshine had disappeared. Little Sasha stared at the raindrops running in rivulets as they raced down the windowpane.
She looked very glum.
“Flossie likes the garden,” she said seriously. She turned her head up toward Audrey. “I don’t like this weather, Miss Lettie,” she added, obviously hoping Audrey could do something to change it.
“Well,” said Audrey, “it’s good for the flowers in the garden, even if it isn’t good for us or Flossie, but I’m sure the sun will come out again soon.” She racked her brains for inspiration to occupy Sasha, and thankfully a couple of ideas came to mind.
“It can be fun in the rain,” Audrey said. “We can’t stay outside very long, but we can go outside for a short time. Have you ever done puddle dancing with your mama?”
“No,” said Sasha, “but Mama did like the rain. She said it was good for the wheat for bread.”
