Page 36 of The Duke and the Enigmatic Governess
He could only imagine Lady Caroline being taken to a picnic in an open carriage and walking demurely along a street in Bath with her parasol, not rambling across the countryside.
The contrast with Lady Audrey was striking. He knew nothing of her taste in fashion, the clothes of a governess were not those seen in high society. Nor could he know if Lady Audrey had loved that life of grace and favor. No, the difference was in the naturalness of her expression and in her body language. He doubted she ever thought for a moment about how she looked, or whether to stand in a certain way. He didn’t know Lady Caroline very well, but she exuded sophistication and style.
Again, he realized he was thinking too much about Lady Audrey. He needed to get her out of his thoughts. Lady Caroline was a pleasant young lady, keen to have his company and all he could do was compare her with the governess.
His mother’s voice pulled him out of his daydream. “Jude, tell Lady Caroline and Lady Langdale about the history of the hall. Parts of it date from the Medieval era and the plow at Home Farm often digs up pieces of mosaic from Roman times.”
“How interesting,” came the high-pitched soprano voice of Lady Caroline. “Do tell me about the history of the hall, Your Grace,” she said, smiling directly at Jude.
Jude began his story about the changes at Clairville over time, but he stopped when he heard a tiny scream, and looked across at Lady Caroline who was looking at Tess with disgust.
“We never have dogs in the house at Langdale Hall. Dirty creatures,” Lady Caroline exclaimed, and shooed Tess away.
Jude found himself comparing Lady Caroline to Lady Audrey. Two young ladies, yet this one lacked any natural actions, everything felt too controlled, Jude also had an instinctive dislike of anyone, man or woman, who spoke that way to Tess.
His mother didn’t seem to notice these things, totally captivated by Lady Caroline Ridlington.
Chapter 12
The Dowager Duchess of Clairville had organized a range of activities for her guests. The party had enjoyed a carriage ride to a local viewpoint, followed by luncheon at a local tavern. In the evening, there had been singing by Beatrice and Elspeth, and Lady Caroline had joined in.
Audrey had avoided these events, pleading her duties looking after Sasha. She had no interest in a schedule of society activities.
Then Grace and Jane had lobbied for a games afternoon, keen to show little Sasha some of the games they knew. Audrey knew this was unavoidable and she would need to take part with a good heart.
The older girls spent the morning setting up an area of the park for the games. The gardeners had built a little temporary pavilion, ready for refreshments. Audrey came across the girls making a list of the games.
“What have you chosen?” Audrey asked them with interest, noticing the skittles they had set up already.
“Well, it looks as though it is a sunny day, so we’ve chosen nine-pin bowling, French cricket, and touch tag.”
“And tug of war!” suggested Elspeth.
“There are hoops in the boot room. We could play that game where you run and have to pull a hoop over your head.” proposed Beatrice.
“That’s a good idea,” said Elspeth, pen poised. “What’s that called?”
“Hoops!” laughed Beatrice and collapsed into fits of giggles.
“How about Blind Man’s Bluff,” Audrey chimed in.
“I’d forgotten that,” said Elspeth.
“We’ve got a whole afternoon of fun now,” added Beatrice.
“Jane, Grace, and Sasha will love it,” Audrey agreed.
***
Nurse Walters had refused point blank to have anything to do with an afternoon of games as she said she had far more important things to be doing. Mrs. Driscoll wanted to come and watch, and Audrey whispered to Beatrice that it would be kind to invite the housekeeper to play with them. Rules of society could be relaxed as they had been during the quarantine in London.
Audrey saw Lady Caroline arriving, twirling her parasol, a few minutes before the games were scheduled to start. Her mother accompanied her, and they went to the seating area that Robert had set up for guests to watch the games.
Audrey wondered if the duke would join them to watch any of the games. Sasha was so excited it was hard to contain her from jumping up and down continually.
It’s such fun, thought Audrey.Everyone is having a great time, and it is not so competitive that anyone feels left out. She felt Beatrice and Elspeth had done an amazing job organizing the games.
Jane and Grace were keeping Sasha occupied and she had the luxury of watching the games without looking to check that Sasha was safe.
