Page 34 of The Duke and the Enigmatic Governess
By mid-afternoon, the coach stopped at a lodge and the gates opened to show a long narrow drive leading to the hall in the far distance. Audrey could see the look of wonder on Sasha’s face as the carriage trundled nearer the hall.
Audrey felt a little apprehensive about the move to Clairville Hall. They had settled into a routine at Cambourne Place, but this was a larger house, with many more people. She had lived in a similar house most of her life and knew the complications and dynamics of the relationships above and below stairs. She knew Mrs. Driscoll and Nurse Walters, and she was sure that would make it easier for her.
Clairville Hall had a simplicity of style that Audrey loved at first sight. It was an elegant limestone building, with simple pillars either side of the steps leading to the main door. The windows gave the front an elegance that took her breath away.
Audrey gasped with surprise when the door opened, and a group of ladies ran down the steps—presumably his mother and sisters.
“Where is she? Where’s little Sasha?” they cried. Sasha, excited to see so many ladies in pretty dresses, was thrilled to be made such a fuss of.
Audrey watched, trying to work out the names of the sisters. She asked Nurse Walters, who was beside her directing the unloading of their luggage.
“They are all my babies,” she said with pride. “There’s Beatrice, who is still living at Clairville, Elspeth, who is coming out this year, and the twins, Jane and Grace. Miss Sasha is going to have a wonderful time getting to know them. His Grace’s two older sisters are married with children and two of their children will be close to Miss Sasha’s age. She will have fun when they come to visit.” And with that, Nurse Walters moved away to direct a footman to take more care with a trunk that was filled with her herbal tisanes.
So many people and so many names to remember, and Audrey would meet the duke’s mother soon. As they walked toward the hall, Audrey could see him speaking, in an animated way, with an older lady Audrey guessed must be his mother, the dowager duchess, who had the same cinnamon-colored hair as her son. There was a definite family resemblance, and sparks were flying as mother and son had a heated conversation.
“Mama, that is intolerable,” she heard the duke say. “A house party? Guests arriving? Who are these guests?” he asked in an exasperated tone.
“Jude, you will not speak to me in that tone of voice. It is a small, select party, just the Marquess and Marchioness of Langdale and their daughter Lady Caroline Ridlington. They will arrive tomorrow.”
“Ah,” he said, “I know that name. That young lady has written to me, telling me she looked forward to meeting me when she visited Clairville Hall.”
Audrey heard no more; she felt uncomfortable overhearing as much as she had. She hoped she would have little to do with any house guests and she would be able to keep to the nursery and school room.
From what Audrey had been told by Mrs. Driscoll, it appeared that the dowager duchess had invited Lady Caroline so her son could get to know her. She knew from Nurse Walters that the dowager was keen for her son to marry and kept introducing young ladies. And there was no shortage of young ladies—with mothers keen to see them married—who were happy to visit the Clairville Estate.
Audrey had felt strongly that there were times when the duke had been about to say or ask something but never quite foundthe words, adding to her sense of a connection between them. Audrey was cautious, feeling an attraction, but knowing any relationship was not likely to happen.
Audrey’s task at Clairville Hall was to settle Sasha into a household which, it was likely, would become her family. When that was achieved, and watching the child frolicking with the duke’s sisters, she suspected that would not take long, what would happen to her?
The connection between her and The Duke of Clairville had grown stronger, and the idea of leaving him to marry the Duke of Batton had thrown her into a pit of despair. Audrey believed there was something special growing between them, roots of care and concern for each other’s well-being. But also, strong shoots of passion growing like a climbing rose over a pergola, clambering higher, reaching for the sky, independent yet joined together in direction.
Enough of this! You are here as a governess, a paid employee, Audrey berated herself. If only she could have met the duke at a ball in London as Lady Audrey Rowe. They would have danced a quadrille, while longing to hold each other in the whirl of the once-forbidden waltz.
There was much resemblance to the waltz in their communication together. That dance, which was not yet accepted fully in polite society, but loved by everyone. The anticipation, the frisson of excitement about something new and thrilling, the depth of the music, the rhythm developing betweentwo people as they whirled around the room. The sensation of almost feverish exhilaration as the steps of the waltz became faster before the music ended, and then the sweet satisfaction as they moved into the slow, gentle steps of the pavane.
This is ridiculous, Audrey thought. She was not only being fanciful, she was imagining herself betrothed to the duke. Gentlemen of thetondid not marry their governesses, no matter that the governess was a lady. She was here to work and be paid, and once Sasha was settled at Clairville she would leave and find another position as governess.
It would break her heart not to see little Sasha again, but she suspected it would be best to seek a position a long way from Hertfordshire. Maybe her destiny lay in the moors of Yorkshire or the highlands of Scotland. She would go where fate led her; it was the only pathway open to her.
A high-pitched bark interrupted her melancholy thoughts and Audrey smiled, seeing Flossie had jumped out of her basket and was dashing around the carriage loop, sniffing, and exploring. Tess raced to join the puppy.
She watched the puppy’s antics, smiling as the Dowager Duchess of Clairville scooped her up into her arms. To her surprise, the duke’s mother walked across to join her, smiling with a warm welcome.
“Miss Banks, we are glad you are joining the household to look after Miss Sasha. I know you were there the night her poor mother died and have stayed with her since. I believe the child is going to enjoy life at Clairville, at least until my son locates her family. He says you suspect she is French?”
“I do, Your Grace. She speaks French without realizing it, especially when she talks of her mama.” Audrey confided.
“I know your story, my dear,” the dowager duchess said gently. Audrey drew in a breath. Would Her Grace disapprove of her?
“I’m told you wish to continue as Miss Letitia Banks, rather than your given name of Lady Audrey Rowe. We must talk further; I want to hear everything about little Miss Sasha.”
“Of course,” murmured Audrey.
“In fact, I’m told you visited Clairville as a small child, too young to remember the place, but it seems you visited with your parents. My late husband loved to entertain; we had guests much of the time.” she paused briefly, looking sharply in the direction of her son. “We have a small house party arriving soon, the Marquess and Marchioness of Langdale and their daughter, Lady Caroline. Now, if you will excuse me,” and she nodded and left.
Audrey stared after her. Had she visited Clairville before? It seemed possible. She turned to check on Sasha and looked for something to hold on to as she felt a little faint. Nurse Walters was by her side immediately.
“Miss Banks, you need to rest or risk becoming ill again. Come with me, I believe Mrs. Driscoll gave instructions for you to have a room close to mine near the nursery.”
