Miss Fortune's First Kiss by Annabelle Anders

Author:Annabelle Anders [Anders, Annabelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2019-07-21T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

HIS MOTHER

T ilde held the door wide for Peaches to precede her from the nursery into her own chamber and then closed it quietly behind them so as not to awaken the twins.

Nap time was always a welcome respite. Not that the girls were difficult, but it gave her time to plan the next day’s lessons and take care of any personal business. Today, she’d write a letter to her former pupils, sew a new button on one of her gowns, and give Peaches some well needed attention.

All the while doing her best to avoid drumming up errant thoughts about her increasingly handsome employer, who she rarely saw but made numerous appearances in her dreams.

Although Jasper had made it a point to pop into the nursery each morning, Parliament was in full swing and he often didn’t return until late in the evenings. He made the most of his time spent with his girls, however, providing them with his full attention.

While writing in her lesson book on the occasion of one of his morning visits, Tilde had overheard him explaining to the twins that since he’d been voting by proxy over the past few years, he had lots of learning to do. When he’d gone on to explain what proxy meant, Tilde had given up all pretense of her task at hand in order to watch daughters and father interact.

His love for them was obvious, as was all the frustration of being their sole parent. He’d proven on more than one occasion, already, that he wanted to do what was best for his children, but unfortunately, his mother seemed to thwart his efforts at every turn.

Much as she attempted to do with Tilde.

While Jasper was away, his mother dropped all pretense of caring for the well–being of her granddaughters and only took notice of them when an opportunity arose to parade them in front of her afternoon guests––much as she would a favorite toy or pet. She’d insist the girls be dressed and styled immaculately, and always identically, and then have them make their curtseys to her visitors so they could exclaim at the girls’ likeness to one another and try to guess which one was which.

Althea struggled increasingly in her abilities to finish her studies after such meetings and it seemed the girl took one step forward and then fell two steps back.

If only Jasper was not gone so very often, because despite Tilde’s bravado on occasion, Jasper’s mother, for all her evil ways, was the Lady of the house, a countess, a peer. And Tilde only the governess. If Tilde were to lose her position it was not she who would suffer, but Althea and Eloise.

The situation was becoming most untenable. She was going to have to find an opportunity to speak with Jasper about the problem. Although he’d insisted upon hiring her when his mother disapproved, in many things, the befuddled man failed to comprehend the countess’ manipulations.

Lady Willoughby was wily in her subtle ways, indeed. But she could not hide her true nature all of the time.

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