The Colonel's Ungovernable Governess : A Pride and Prejudice Vagary

Chapter Eight

Edward came into the small dining hall to oversee the evening service, but Mrs. Darcy and Miss Lambert were already within. Elizabeth looked up with his entrance. “I apologize, Colonel, I assumed you would wish me to address the meal service.”

“I hold no objection,” he told the woman. “You are more accustomed to such details than am I.” He smiled upon the woman. “Now, if you wish for the servants and cottagers to attack the neighboring estate, I am your man.”

Darcy entered the room at that moment. “Do not challenge my wife unless you wish to lose, Cousin. If a bet is to be made, I would take Elizabeth’s side, even in a battle between estates. Mrs. Darcy possesses the knack of convincing a dying man to rise and walk again or a beleaguered group of tenants to wield their pitchforks as if they are capable of defeating a man with a cannon.”

“Thank you for the affirmation, sir.” Mrs. Darcy rose up on her toes to buss Darcy’s cheek with a quick kiss, and a bit of envy claimed Edward heart. Since his father’s order to marry, Edward had begun to study all his married acquaintances’ interactions. The Darcys were like no other pair, but were the one he would most wish to emulate.

“And the children?” Edward asked. “Should we send someone to fetch them?”

“They shall appear in three minutes,” Miss Lambert said casually, as she assisted the footman in pouring tea.

“And how can you know such with confidence?” Edward demanded.

The woman lifted her chin as if to accept his challenge. “I have explained to Lord Vincent and Lady Victoria that the world will judge them negatively if they are late or they speak from turn.”

“And they will not become involved in some other activity and forget?” he asked in skepticism. However, a noise in the hall said Miss Lambert was correct.

“The lady prevails, Cousin,” Darcy taunted as he held a chair for his wife and then Miss Lambert.

“We are not late,” Lady Victoria announced while a footman assisted her to a chair beside Miss Lambert.

“You were prompt, and being such is exemplary,” the lady said with a gentle smile and a sweet pat on the child’s knee, “but it is best not to announce your arrival. At most events, such is the butler’s domain, is it not, Mr. Torrence?”

“Yes, miss.” The man smiled and blushed at the same time.

“Told you,” Lord Vincent reprimanded in the manner of all children.

Before more could be said, Edward instructed, “You may serve, Mr. Torrence.”

* * *

That had been several hours ago. After the midday meal, as promised he had claimed a gig and escorted the twins into the village, where he had discovered Victoria’s saddle had been ready for more than a week, but no one at William’s Wood had responded to the message sent around.

Edward had thanked the man and told him he would have Lindale’s steward see to the bill. Victoria had suggested that they order Miss Lambert a sidesaddle of her own, but he could not be seen purchasing such a gift for a woman. A young woman, at that, and a servant in his brother’s household. “My mother keeps a proper saddle at the Wood for when she visits. Miss Lambert may use that one until we know how long the lady might remain in our employ.”

“She promised,” Victoria began, but Edward overrode the child’s protest.

“I must still have a proper conversation with Miss Lambert, and it might be advisable if I also approached my brother and Lady Lindale on the subject before a firm decision is made. Such could take weeks.” Edward liked that idea. The decision to keep or dismiss Miss Lambert should theoretically be Lindale’s. In that manner, Edward could send the woman off if she became too tempting, and no one would be the wiser.

“We like . . . her,” Vincent said in stubbornness.

Edward did not wish to disappoint the boy, who had not been happy with any of his brother’s choices; yet, he would not make promises he could not keep. “If I am satisfied once I have spoken to Miss Lambert, then she may stay, contingent upon the opinions of your mother and Lindale regarding her employment.”

“Will you tell our mother of Mrs. Peyton?” Victoria demanded.

“I imagine Mrs. Ross has done so previously, but I will explain what occurred in her ladyship’s absence. Now, we have spent enough time discussing what cannot be decided until more information is secured. I am prepared for a small cake at the bakery. Do you agree?”

“Could we . . . have . . . lemon sugars . . . and . . . licorice . . . instead. We could . . . share with . . . Miss Lambert.”

“Does the lady enjoy such hard candy?” Edward asked. “Most ladies prefer their sweet cakes instead.”

“Not Miss Lambert!” Victoria declared. “She said licorice was one of her favorites because she had the croup when she was a child. Her mother gave her licorice drops to assist with her cough. She said the licorice reminds her of her mother.”

“The lemon . . . drops . . . are our . . . mother’s . . . favorite,” Vincent explained.

“Then sugar drops will be our purchase,” Edward declared. He was proud of the children, for they had thought of others in their choices. He presented some of the credit to Miss Lambert, for the lady had listened to the children and accepted their need for their mother’s attentions with a story of her own, permitting Vincent and Victoria “permission” to miss their mother without being criticized. He also thought his brother and his father deserved some of the credit: They had stepped in to offer the former Lady Babcock and her children a safe place to land when the Babcocks turned an ugly head upon the woman.

* * *

Jocelyn was more than a bit nervous as she made her way to Lord Lindale’s study. She desired the safety of her position in the Lindale household to avoid her mother’s edicts. Moreover, she had quickly come to adore the powerful force known as Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy, who had unselfishly opened her arms to a complete stranger. Then there were the twins, who had obviously required a bit of “normalcy,” as much as did she.

She realized the colonel was not “sold” on her being in charge of the twins. He was attracted to her: She had known it to be true, almost instantly. She might not yet be legally of age, but Jocelyn was no “green girl” when it came to men. Having lived on the Continent where rules of deportment were not as strait-laced as in England, she had experienced more than one flirtation. In truth, she and the colonel were equals, and, though there was no means for the gentleman and her to come together, she was a daughter of the aristocracy, and he was a son of like standing. Yet, she knew, unlike the truth of such a relationship on the Continent, a colonel of the landed aristocracy and a governess would not be possible in Lincolnshire, England. A British colonel would not act dishonorably.

She sighed as she raised her hand to knock on the study’s door. “If my intended was a man cut from the same cloth as Colonel Fitzwilliam, I might consider returning home,” she murmured. The idea amused her, for she had often heard her parents speak of the all-demanding and completely ridiculous attitudes of the wife of her late Uncle Louis. From what Jocelyn knew of the woman, she imagined Lady de Bourgh’s nephew would be fawning and bowing constantly in order to please his aunt and the rest of the family.

* * *

“Come,” Edward called at the sound of her knock on the door. He had been addressing several letters, one to his father to explain the situation in Kent and something of Miss Romfield’s supposed illness, as well as his continued objection to this arranged marriage. A second was directed to his brother and Lady Lindale, describing the scene he had discovered at William’s Wood. He also spoke of Mrs. Darcy’s endorsement of Miss Lambert, along with the positive response of the children to the woman. He added, “Unfortunately, I cannot speak of how things might proceed once I return to my duties and the Darcys depart for Pemberley.”

After so writing, he had stared at his comment and wondered if he might be acting unfairly in his estimation of the woman. Was his unexplained desire to know more of her, and not as a governess, clouding his judgement? Was he protecting the children or himself? “You are betrothed to another,” he told himself as the woman opened the door. “Demme!” his mind announced, “she is indecently fair of face!”

She stopped several feet before the desk, her fingers nervously entwined before her. Edward privately celebrated the idea that she “feared” him. Unfortunately, the perfection of her countenance and the way the light brought life to her features struck him in a manner he had never felt previously. “Please sit.” He motioned to one of the chairs before the desk. He found himself leaning forward with a desire to be closer, a fact he seemed unable to control.

“It is my duty to protect my brother’s children, in that manner, I believe we should come to an agreement,” he began.

“I understand,” she said simply.

“Mrs. Darcy tells me you have no experience as a governess. Is such true?” He wanted to convince himself she was not an appropriate choice for his brother’s stepchildren.

“I have no experience,” she confirmed in a voice that said she did not “fear” him. It was rare for him to encounter any who did not initially show him great deference. She was not aggressive, but, assuredly, not submissive. He knew uncertainty as to whether this was a situation he admired or disdained. “Yet, I hold a diverse education, and I am not easily intimidated by a variety of small animals or the bugs young children adore.”

“Then you will be making up your lessons for the children as you go along?” he charged, wishing to discredit her.

“Do we not all simply make up what comes next as we move through the world?” she countered. “It is not as if, even with exact planning on your part that you could arrange a battle to play out as you designed it. Something surely will not turn as you thought, and you must make the necessary adjustments. I expect such will be so in dealing with the children. Just because I plan a lesson in mathematics does not mean I cannot teach something on the derivation of the terms we use. I expect making adjustments would be a desired skill of the children’s governess, for, obviously, Lady Victoria requires quite different instruction on a variety of subjects than does her brother, even though both must experience preparation for school.” She lifted her brows in a challenge.

“You mean to twist my words. I shan’t tolerate it!” he declared in frustration.

“I answered honestly,” she insisted. “Perhaps your questions are not designed to learn what you truly wish to know about me.”

Dear God, the chit possessed the same type of temerity Elizabeth Darcy had demonstrated with his cousin Darcy. “I possess not the least idea to what you allude,” he protested.

“You know,” she suggested with a lilt in her voice. “You are simply too much of a gentleman to ask them.”

“Such . . . such is ridiculous!”

“How might you think to assume your brother’s position, if a mere female flummoxes you.”

“You do not flummox me!” He was out of his seat and circling the desk to lord over her. The fact the woman did not draw back, but rather looked up into the fury marking his features was remarkable.

“Whatever you wish to believe, Colonel, shall be the ‘truth’ on your part,” she said with a small smile that infuriated him. At length, she expelled a heavy breath and stood, forcing him to step back. “Permit me to answer the questions you fear asking. How old am I? I shall be one and twenty in a few weeks.”

“You do not appear to be one and twenty,” he argued.

“Such is because I am not yet so old,” she corrected, “but you have my permission to evaluate my appearance again on that future date.”

Edward was not prepared to argue such claims. “You . . . you,” he stammered, “do not look old enough to . . . to . . .”

“To have the gall to argue with a man of your nature. To know umbrage at your lack of confidence in me. To have crossed the ocean multiple times. To have lived with war springing up all about me. To have the acquaintance of a number of people, including emperors and the plain, but obsessive, aristocrats. To have viewed the Parthenon, to have ridden upon the Venetian canals, and to have watched in horror as Napoleon Bonaparte rode through an area once owned by British forces in a victory parade. To have been kissed, though not by a man I wished to marry.”

As she spoke, Edward had been studying how her eyes sparkled with delight as she built to her conclusion—a conclusion he, without a doubt, had not expected.

“Do you expect me to kiss you, Miss Lambert?” he asked, edging closer still so she would be required to look up at him.

“Another man who does not mean to marry me? I think not, sir. I did not care for the previous experience. If you choose to employ me, I would prefer an ordinary handshake if you believe we must seal the arrangement in some manner beyond a spoken ‘yes.’”

“You do have a tendency to rattle on,” he accused.

“I am simply content to have such an attentive audience. I have never experienced such a contentious discussion from such a close proximity, though I suspect you are often nose-to-nose with new recruits and the like.”

For a few fleeting seconds, Edward thought to step back, but he would not permit her to know she had found a weakness. He desired her more than he would ever admit. Yet, he had a problem. He could not send her on her way without disappointing Lady Lindale’s children. Moreover, the eldest of Babcock’s children would soon be arriving at William’s Wood from school. Would it not be better for Lady Annabelle to have a person who had actually experienced a ballroom or a proper introduction, even if those experiences occurred during breaks in a larger-scaled battle plan, rather than a woman of Mrs. Peyton’s nature?

“I think we should permit you the opportunity to prove yourself to be a proper governess,” he said as he eased back to provide a space between them. Edward realized immediately that his choice was the correct one; even so, he wondered how he might stand to have her constantly within reach, as she was now. He would be required to increase his recruitment efforts in the surrounding shires. Eventually, it would be necessary for him to return to London and take the acquaintance of Miss Romfield, his betrothed. The idea was very sobering. He would wait until the Darcys departed for Derbyshire before he began his on-again-off-again days at his brother’s estate.

“I am willing to accept the position, but I fear we do not agree on the term ‘proper governess.’ Rather, I promise to teach the children of languages, mathematics, sciences, horticulture, with a bit of history and art. I am capable of teaching dance and manners, but a proper dance teacher and music teacher should eventually be employed, especially for the elder daughter, who I have yet to greet. All that being said, I would demand the right to change out some of the traditional lessons for those required of Lord Vincent’s singular attention and Lady Victoria’s need to protect her brother. Are these requests acceptable to you, Colonel?”

Wide blue eyes draped by dark lashes and brows met his, and Edward found himself wishing they had met under different circumstances. If so, the lady would require a large stick to beat him off. “Agreed, Miss Lambert.”