Page 7 of The Duke and the Enigmatic Governess
The child—the little girl, Sasha. Sadness flooded her body when she remembered the child’s mother as she lay dying in the rain-washed street.
Audrey Looked across at the little truckle bed placed next to hers, where the little girl was fast asleep.Let her sleep, thought Audrey,so many changes and adaptations to cope with in her tiny life.
I must remember I’m Laetitia, or Lettie Banks, and no longer Lady Audrey Rowe,she told herself.
Even the very thought of her name made her shudder, as she remembered her brother, Lord Cheshire, and his scheming plan to marry her to the Duke of Batton. So far so good. She hadescaped from Rowton Castle with the aid of her cousin, Rupert, and hoped never to set eyes on her brother again.
She closed her eyes for a second, remembering the gothic towers and battlements of Rowton, the rose garden her mother had tended before her tragic death in the carriage accident which had robbed her of both parents.
Oh, Mama, if you were still alive, I would not be faced with earning my living as a governess. You and Papa married for love, and you would never have made me marry for financial gain. I just have to get on with it and make my way in the world. If that poor child can cope with losing her mother at the age of four, then I can cope with leaving home and being a governess.
A gentle knock at the door, followed by a head peeping round it. It was Rosie, the housemaid, to check if she was awake. Rosie, who had eight brothers and sisters, said she was not worried about catching anything, as she was pretty much immune to most illnesses after caring for her siblings for so many years.
Rosie mouthed the word “tea” across the room, and Audrey nodded back. Sasha was beginning to stir anyway, so Audrey gestured for Rosie to enter the room.
“Don’t worry, she’s waking up now,” Audrey said quietly.
“That’s good, miss, I’ll get the fire made up. It’s a sunny day, but chilly out there. There was a frost this morning. Mrs. Driscoll suggested you take breakfast with her in her parlor. His Grace is already in his library looking at his accounts.”
Rosie smiled at Audrey. “You have an hour or two before the whirlwind arrives.”
“I’m sorry, a whirlwind? It seems such a sunny morning,” queried Audrey, as she looked out of the window.
Rosie burst into a fit of the giggles, her dark curls escaping from her mob cap as her head bobbed up and down. “The whirlwind is Nurse Walters,” she explained. “Nurse Walters was the duke’s nurse when he was a boy. We all call her Nurse, and she has been with the family for many years. She supported His Grace’s mother, the dowager duchess, and his two older sisters, through all their confinements.”
Rosie coaxed the fire into a flame adding sticks and more wood, and almost immediately Audrey could feel its warmth.
“I can say Nurse is a whirlwind as she is also my Aunt Agnes. The dowager duchess, his mother, may think she rules the household at Clairville Hall, but it is, in fact, Nurse, who is in charge.”
“And she’s coming here?” asked Audrey, holding her hands out to feel the warmth of the fire. There was a definite chill in the air, despite the bright sunshine.
“Yes, indeed, miss. His Grace sent to Clairville Hall for Nurse late last night. It’s not too far from Hertfordshire, so she will arrive sometime this morning.”
Audrey’s thoughts wandered away to her own nanny, Mrs. Flinders, at Rowton Castle. With a pang, she remembered those long-ago nursery days with her brother Ethan. He’d been such a sweet, attentive older brother, and she often wondered how his personality could have changed so dramatically in such a short time. She no longer recognized him; he was like another person.
Enough of sadness and regret, time to move on in this new reality,she thought.Mama would think this was funny, she was always telling me to give myself a good talking to when I was cross or miserable. I suspect I shall be giving myself a few lectures on how to behave in my new life.
“Sorry, Rosie. I was far away and not listening,” Audrey said.
“You did look a long way away, miss. I suggested that I take Miss Sasha for her bath and get her dressed and ready. I don’t know if Mrs. Driscoll told you but I’ve eight brothers and sisters, and what with Mam always so ill, I pretty much brought them up. Little Miss Sasha will be fine with me.”
“Let’s give her a little while after she wakes. If all is well, then that seems a good plan, Rosie. Thank you.”
At that moment Sasha sat up in bed and looked at Audrey, her large blue eyes wide, and golden ringlets bouncing around her head.
“Good morning, my dear,” said Audrey gently. “Can you remember? We are here at the Duke of Clairville’s house. You met him last night and liked him.”
The child nodded. She looked so serious for such a small person. She hesitated and then found her voice. “Has Mama gone?” she asked in a quiet voice. “I had hoped it was a bad dream.”
“I’m so sorry, Sasha. Your Mama was very poorly, and no one could make her better.”
Sasha looked at Audrey intently. “I was ill, and Mama gave me chicken broth, and looked worried. She wanted to send for a doctor, but we didn’t have any money,”
“You were ill first?’ asked Audrey.
“Yes,” Sasha said, nodding. “I had a sore throat and felt very dizzy and strange.”
So, the child had been ill first. That was reassuring, as it meant that she had immunity and would not fall ill again.
