Page 16 of The Duke and the Enigmatic Governess
In the armoire, she placed a little cushion, and quickly drew figures on a piece of paper she saw on the bureau near the window. Each figure had a different face and she made sure there was a knight, a fairy, a queen, a king, and a princess. She tore the paper carefully around the figures and placed them on the cushion. This would make an excellent hide-away place for Sasha.
She stood, looking around the magic kingdom which she had created in a few minutes and which she hoped would bring Sasha happiness when they returned from their puddle dancing.
It was time to find Sasha and venture out on a rainy-day adventure. The rain was no longer torrential and there were breaks in the cloud. Sasha chattered cheerfully as Audrey wrapped her in a thick woolen shawl. Rosie had been given leave to abandon the laundry and accompany them. Flossie could walk some of the way but would need carrying too. Audrey found a thick hooded cloak on the stand and wrapped herself in its warmth.
As soon as they stood outside, Audrey knew this had been the right decision. There were puddles of water along the garden path which led to the mews stable, and the rain had almost cleared. At that moment the sun broke through, giving an impression of diamonds glistening on the surface of the puddles.
Little Sasha’s face was a delight. “Can we dance now, Miss Lettie?” she asked excitedly.
“In a few minutes. We just need to go to the stables to see the horses first. It’s best if we get wet on the way back to the house.”
“Do the horses have names?” Sasha asked, skipping along the pathway, followed by Audrey and Rosie, carrying the puppy.
“I don’t know, but we can ask Mr. Barton. You can run to that green gate if you like,” Audrey suggested.
“I’m going to skip,” came the reply, as the tiny figure did skip along the path to the garden gate.
Watching her charge in the stables, it was clear to Audrey that Sasha knew horses. She knew where to stand when feeding a horse and asked Barton before she touched a chestnut mare’s mane. Audrey nodded her approval when Barton whispered in her ear, asking if he could lift the child onto the mare’s back.
The expression on her face was delightful. She stared intently at Barton, looking as though she was proficient and ready to trot out of the stables. “I miss my pony,” she confided to Barton. “Mignon is dapple grey and likes to eat apples from the tree in the orchard.”
Barton told her the chestnut mare was called Sheba, after a famous queen, and she liked to eat apples and carrots.
Sasha promised to return the next day to feed Sheba with the favored carrots and apples and then began to skip back to the house. Rosie gathered the puppy, who had been rolling in the hay, and Flossie wriggled a little as Rosie picked her up, clearly preferring to walk.
Once inside the garden gate, Rosie put Flossie on the ground, and she lolloped off to drink from a puddle.
Audrey began to tell Sasha a story about an elf, whose job was to test all the puddles and see how deep they were. He was so bored at having to be serious about it, that one day he decided he was going to splish, splosh, stamp, and dance in the puddles, and he discovered he loved this. From that day on he was known as Puddledancer, the elf. If she lifted up her skirts, then Sasha could be a puddle dancer, too.
Audrey caused Rosie to collapse in a fit of giggles as she demonstrated how to dance in a puddle. Sasha copied her and then Flossie joined in by wading into a deep puddle.
Sasha began to sing a song about splashing in puddles, and it was a happy group which made it back to the boot room. Sasha was still singing and dancing as they made their way upstairs. Rosie put the puppy in a makeshift basket and left to go and help Mrs. Driscoll.
The rest of the morning went to plan. Sasha entered into the spirit of the play day and loved the magic kingdom. When Audrey showed her the hobby horse, she was delighted. She rode it along the landing, pretending to be a knight.
“I must remember to tell her about King Arthur,” thought Audrey. She had a feeling Sasha was going to enjoy imaginative stories.
It was almost time for Sasha’s lunch and Nurse Walters would be waiting for her in the nursery. Audrey suggested a hide-and-seek game, with Sasha hiding somewhere in the magic kingdom. Audrey closed her eyes and counted while Sasha found her hiding place.
She took her hands from her eyes, opening them to see the duke standing in the doorway, staring at her. The smile of greeting dropped from her face as she recoiled, seeing the expression on his face.
“Your Grace.” She nodded a greeting and waited.
“Miss Banks, I returned from my ride to try to work in my library. All I have heard is a commotion and caterwauling. I have no idea why Sasha has been thundering along the landing.”
Audrey pointed at the little hobby horse and smiled. “There, your grace, I believe you are the owner of the horse which has caused such a commotion.”
She sensed he was about to return her smile but stopped himself. “There is too much noise,” he continued. Before her eyes, he suddenly became even more angry. “What on earth are you doing in this room, anyway? This is my bedchamber!”
“I am sorry, Your Grace. The room looked empty, and as it is a rainy day, we had to play inside. You have entered our magic kingdom,” she added.
And you are behaving like an evil ogre,she thought to herself.
“Well, maybe a little more discipline,” he fumed. “How is a man to think? It is difficult enough being confined in this small space without that continual din.”
Anger rose in Audrey’s body at the injustice of these words. The duke looked tired and strained, but this was no excuse for such thoughtless words.
Forgetting she was merely a governess, she became once again Lady Audrey Rowe, a lady of quality, and she would not be spoken to in this way.
