The Governess's Secret Baby by Janice Preston

Author:Janice Preston [Preston, Janice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

‘I have concerns about that young woman, Nathaniel.’

Nathaniel took a second to compose his expression before looking at his mother, ramrod straight on the other side of his desk. He laid his pen aside, rose to his feet and rounded the desk to pull a chair forward for her. Then he crossed the book room to shut the door.

‘What are your concerns, Mother?’ he asked as he settled back into his own chair, elbows on the armrests and fingers steepled at his chest.

‘I am far from convinced of the reason she has come this far from her friends and family to take up a position as a governess. Why would she not choose to stay—?’

‘Mother, please do not interfere in my domestic arrangements. Miss Bertram is good with Clara. I do not want to lose her.’

‘But it makes no sense, quite apart from the recklessness of a young woman travelling alone, from one end of the country to the other, to attend an interview with no guarantee of employment at the end of it. She is hiding something. I am convinced of it.’

‘You are allowing your imagination to conjure up unwarranted suspicions.’ It was hard to allay his mother’s doubts and suspicions when Nathaniel was still plagued by his own. ‘I understand her teacher knows someone in the county who read my advertisement.’

‘I have a mind to write to this Madame Dubois and—’

‘There is no need. I have already done so and have received a satisfactory report of Miss Bertram’s time at the school. There is nothing for you to worry about.’

‘I am your mother. I am allowed to worry about you.’

‘About me?’ Nathaniel felt his brows bunch in a frown. ‘I thought this conversation was about Clara’s governess?’

His mother ignored him. ‘I cannot be easy in my mind about Miss Bertram. Fish heard gossip in the village that a young woman had been snooping around, asking questions about Hannah and David and what had happened and whether Clara was at the Manor. What if it was Miss Bertram?’

‘Fish should mind his own business.’ The butler at Ravenwell Manor had always been a busybody. Nathaniel pushed his chair back and went to crouch by his mother’s side. ‘There is nothing to worry about. Miss Bertram is good for Clara and she has settled in here well. Why, even Mrs Sharp is warming to her and that in itself is a miracle.’

‘Mrs Sharp worries about you too.’

Nathaniel surged to his feet. ‘It is neither her place nor yours to worry about me. I am a grown man and I am perfectly capable of managing my own household.’

He stalked back around his desk and threw himself on to his chair, furious he had allowed his mother to rattle him.

His mother’s lips thinned and her nostrils flared as though in response to a bad smell.

‘She is very young. It would surely be better for Clara if her governess was a more mature woman. Someone more experienced.’

‘Better for whom? I believe Clara will benefit from having someone young and lively.

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