Page 41 of The Earl's Disguised Governess
“I have grown lax?” she repeated. “Lord Bannerdown, forgive me, but I believe it is you who has. You have been an avoidant guardian, and she has felt that loss. You have worked tirelessly at the hospital, and I understand you have had responsibilities there, but you have them to Lady Florence as well. She has felt abandoned by you, and while you took her to play, and dined with us, you did not always ask her how her day was. You did not always speak with her, and she lacks genuine company. Yes, I am her governess, and I have a duty of care to her, but you are her legal guardian. You agreed to take on that mantle.”
Ernest whirled on her. “Do not accuse me, Miss Gundry. I have been trying to put out many fires, so to speak. The romantic worries of a six- and ten-year-old have been the least of my concerns.”
“And now?” she demanded. “Now, will you finally see your cousin? She grieves deeply, My Lord, and she seeks any attachment she can. That is why she is being rebellious and sneaking out in such a way. She needs you.”
Before Ernest could say anything, the winter wind finally caught up to their candlelight and extinguished it. Darkness sank around them, a heavy blanket that would not be removed. Ernest checked his pockets in a futile effort for matches. Of course he would not have any. But he noticed Claire did the same.
In her cloak pocket, she had some. Steadily, she lit the candle, and Ernest was caught by the way the flame heightened the colour of her eyes, setting them burnished.
Then he blinked, and her anger was back as she pocketed the matches. “I think we ought to go left. Her lover might not know the canal route, but if I am correct, he will know the property boundaries. Left leads right to the far gate, furthest from the house. If she desires secrecy without venturing too far, I think that is where she will go.”
“You presume to know my cousin better than me?”
“I know that I spend time with her and listen to her,” Claire answered sharply. “I believe I know what would drive a young girl’s actions in such a situation.”
“And if we are wrong?”
Her answering silence confirmed enough. They could be too late, and he would have a bigger task of presenting Florence to Society than he realized.
But the sound of a horse cut through the night, coming from the left side of the estate, and Ernest’s head whipped around to the sound.
“There’s a rider.” Through the distance, not too far off, a lantern became more visible through the darkness, highlighting the form of a girl in a cloak who stood before the horse.
Florence.
“Make haste!” he called to Claire, and they both tore off in the direction of the lantern and his cousin, who waited for her lover.
Chapter 14
Claire was still reeling from everything Lord Bannerdown had told her and accused her of, but all those thoughts flew from her mind the moment they spotted Lady Florence, hooded and cloaked, staring at the lantern attached to a horse as her rider got closer and closer.
“Lady Florence!” Ernest shouted, and the rider immediately stopped. Florence whirled around to face them, her feet sinking into the snow. The moonlight lit her up, and Claire saw the devastation on her face at being caught. Her mouth parted. She looked back at her lover, cloaked by darkness, and then at them before bursting into tears.
“Go!” she shouted. “Leave me!”
But Claire and Ernest only sped up their approach.
As they reached her, the rider dismounted, his face a picture of shock. He had not seen them approach. He said nothing, and with Ernest holding the candle, Claire could barely see his face. But this was Victor, surely. Lady Florence’s lover, through letters, coming to meet her at midnight beneath the cover of night.
It was a coward’s move.
“Who are you?” Ernest demanded, moving the candle closer, but the rider was clever, dodging the light. All Claire could see was a scar across his lip. She filed the knowledge away, trying to see beyond the shadows to find more of his face. “Who are you, and what are you doing with Lady Florence?”
“Cousin, please!” Lady Florence cried, going to him. “Please do not shout at him.”
But Ernest paid her no mind and strode towards the rider. The young man shied away, clambering back onto his horse.
“You will not say anything to her?” Claire called out. “You shall leave her out here in the snow rather than admit your identity and be honourable?”
“Miss Gundry, please do not start such a thing,” Lady Florence sobbed. “He means no harm. I only wished—”
“If you are on my estate, you will show your face,” Lord Bannerdown warned. But the young man was already back on his horse.
“Lady Florence, I am sorry,” he said, his voice low and cracking as if nervous from being caught.
“Do not leave me!” she cried. “Please—you promised.”
But her pleas fell on unhearing ears as Victor urged his horse on. He vanished into the darkness, sparing no backward glance for the young woman he left behind, crying for him. Lady Florence let out a hard sob before she sank to her knees in the snow, her nightgown billowing around her.
