The Wicked Governess (Blackhaven Brides Book 6)(33)

She hadn’t gone far before a crashing in the undergrowth heralded the appearance of Tiny, who greeted her like a long-lost friend.

“You’re not out on your own, are you?” she murmured, pulling his ears. And of course, he wasn’t, for a few moments later, Mr. Benedict also emerged from the undergrowth, frowning over two plant cuttings in his hand as he walked.

Despite Tiny, Caroline would simply have hurried by with a quick, “Good afternoon, sir,” and indeed, she walked faster to do just that. However, Mr. Benedict, glanced up and saw her.

“Miss Grey,” he said at once, stuffing the plants in his pocket. He took a step nearer, blocking the path. “I have to apologize for my misunderstanding, and the offence I have given. You should know that I thought no less of you, whatever I imagined.”

“I cannot believe that is true,” she said flatly.

He looked surprised. “Can’t you? You would not have been the first gently bred girl betrayed through no fault of her own. Despite what I once said about Braithwaite’s mistress not being fit to teach my daughter, I regarded your situation—what I imagined was your situation—quite differently.”

“I doubt the rest of the world does!” She drew in a breath. “However, I, too, must apologize for losing my temper. In truth, I was angry because…because I do almost regard Peter as my own. In my worst moments, I have wished he was my own,”

Frowning, he began to walk. “Why?”

“Because his father was once my whole world,” she blurted. “I was young and naive and we were engaged to be married. And then he met my sister and married her instead. I used to torment myself with the belief that he should have been mine, that if Theo had married me as he’d promised, and not Eliza, then he would have been mine.”

She would not look at him, but his gaze burned into her face.

“And yet,” he said, slowly, “now you work to keep your sister and the child who should have been yours. You are a lesson in duty.”

“No, just necessity.”

He walked on in silence. “Do you miss him?” he flung at her at last.

She thought about it, then shook her head. “Not really. In fact, I believe we would have been most unhappy together, for he was a shallow and feckless man who left my sister without a penny. Imagine the disillusion of discovering such a thing of your spouse rather than of your sister’s spouse.”

He let out a short laugh. “I don’t need to imagine. It seems we have both been deceived.”

“Did you love your wife very much?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“Once,” he replied. “For five minutes or so. I was not a very satisfactory husband.”

Shocked, she waited for more, but that appeared to be the end of his confidence.

“Then we are still friends?” he said, casting her a sideways glance.

“No, sir,” she replied firmly. “You are my employer. And I am your daughter’s governess.”

Her skin flushed under his continuous scrutiny, but she would not meet his gaze.

“And in spite of our better understanding,” he said, “you still refuse to believe why I seek your company.”

“And why is that, Mr. Benedict?” she challenged.

His lips quirked. “Because I like you, Miss Grey,” he said softly. “Because I like you.” He tipped his old hat to her and sauntered off down the other path toward the woods.

*

“That is the one,” Lady Tamar said warmly.

They stood before the glass in her bedchamber, where Caroline had tried on several of the marchioness’s evening gowns. On the other side of the room, Rosa and Helen were doing likewise—except where Serena snatched certain gowns from their grasp. The children did not appear to mind. There were plenty to choose from. At the moment, Helen sprawled on the chaise longue in a caricature of a fashionably languid lady. She wore a slightly torn but gorgeous yellow silk that trailed so far beyond her toes that Rosa knelt beneath her on the floor, wrapping the train of the gown about her shoulder. They both found this exquisitely funny, and Caroline smiled to see them laughing together.

With an effort, Caroline dragged her gaze back to herself in the glass. She was a little thinner than Serena, who gathered the fabric of the gown at her back to portray a better fit. It was a high-waisted, delicate peach silk, worn over an under gown of a slightly deeper color. Although the low-cut neckline was not quite immodest, it exposed far more of her chest and shoulders than she was used to. Still, it did not look ill. Instead, it seemed to bring out the creaminess of her complexion and the brightness of her eyes.

“I don’t look like the governess,” she said flatly. “People will talk, say I’m encroaching and giving myself airs.”

“Well, they might if you covered yourself with diamonds, too, and walked about with your nose in the air as if you were too good for Blackhaven. Those who know you will be glad to see you looking so well and enjoying yourself. Those who don’t, will never guess that you’re a governess.”

“Except that I’ll be with the children,” Caroline said.

“Well, they pretty much look after themselves,” Serena argued. “There’s no need for you to be with them constantly. Let me just pin this, and I’ll have Mrs. Gaskell take it in at the waist and alter the length.”