Page 43 of The Earl's Disguised Governess
“Cousin!” Florence cried, her cheeks flushing pink as a new wave of tears slipped down her face. “Do not sully what we have!”
“Tell me who he is, cousin.”
“No,” she sniffed.
“Lady Florence,” Claire began. “It is beneficial for everyone to know who your rider was tonight. Perhaps Lord Bannerdown can even arrange to meet with him officially and ask him of his intentions.”
Ernest cut a scowl at her, but she knew she needed to get Lady Florence back on their side if she was to divulge anything to them. Miserable, she watched the young girl shrink further and further into herself.
“I will tell you nothing,” she mumbled. “You do not need to know as it is none of your business. Nothing is. You have made that clear, cousin.”
“Lady Florence, returning from war and coming into this inheritance has been a great problem for me,” he seethed. “I am sorry I could not always find a way to speak properly with you, but I am doing—and have done—my best for you. I cannot be your father, nor your grandfather—”
“And I am not asking you to be, but you are still my family!” she cried.
He ignored that. Claire knew that he already felt so much guilt over his lacking ability to converse with her in such ways. His face hard, he rounded on Lady Florence.
“I am doing my duty now,” he told her sternly.
“Now? When it means you deprive me of any happiness I might even hope to have. I shall not tell you his name, Lord Bannerdown.”
“Regardless, I will find out,” he warned her. “You can either tell me it yourself, or I shall enquire alone, and who knows what other stories I may hear? If your rider attempts to meet with you beneath the cover of night, it is quite clear to tell his character. What else might I discover, Lady Florence?”
Her face was tense with tears she held back. She only shook her head.
“Then retire to your room,” Lord Bannerdown dismissed. “If you shall not tell me anything of use, then I will not stand and listen to your proclamations of love. Love does not sneak through the night. Love is honourable and wishes to be known.”
Claire watched as he spoke, and something eased in her chest, dissipating some of her earlier frustration. Love wishes to be known.
Her own hope rose, only to be quickly ignored when Lady Florence fled the room in a fit of tears.
“I hate you!” she cried. “And I wish my father was alive so I did not have to endure one more ignorant day with you!”
The door slammed shut behind her, leaving Claire alone with Ernest, who sighed and collapsed into an armchair. The tea on the table grew cold, untouched, yet Claire poured them both a cup.
“You must be frozen,” he said, glancing at her.
“I have found the cold has been good to cool down the heat of my anger,” she answered, smiling weakly.
“I wish it did for me. Was I too harsh on her?”
Claire hesitated. “There were things you said that were good for her to hear. I tried to talk to her several times myself, but she is very stubbornly independent and thinks she can do this alone.”
“She is resolute, just like her father,” he muttered. Ernest rubbed his fingers over his forehead and groaned. The mixture of anger and exhaustion on his face as he tipped his head back had Claire blushing and averting her gaze.
“I could not help noticing a feature on the young man’s face,” she commented lightly. “He had a scar marking his lip. As if he had taken a knife wound.”
“Oh, truly?”
“Indeed,” she answered. “It could be helpful to identify him.”
“I will ask around,” he said. “I must know who my cousin is risking herself for. I cannot let it continue unless I know his intentions.”
“If it helps, I do not think he is the type of man to elope with her. From what Florence told me, he is very … singularly minded. I believe he asked to meet her for a kiss and nothing more.”
At that, some tension released in Ernest’s shoulders, and after some quiet moments, he nodded. “I see.” He sighed deeply, sipping his tea before wincing and putting it down. It must have grown cold like hers. “Miss Gundry, I am truly sorry for my argument with you in the garden. I was tired, worried, and fired up and wrongfully took it out on you. Instead, I should have thanked you for your help. You guessed she would go left, and she did. I would have had us out there all night and who knows what Lady Florence would have got up to?”
Claire only smiled at him, nodding. Together, they stood to leave, ready to retire for the night. “I know a young woman’s mind, Lord Bannerdown. I know how she acts when she is in love.”
