A Governess of Unusual Experience (The Governess Bureau Book 5) by Emily E K Murdoch

Author:Emily E K Murdoch [Murdoch, Emily E K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2022-01-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

August 11, 1815

Rachel sighed heavily. “I suppose you can look after yourself for a few hours?”

She would never have dreamed of speaking in such a way to her charge when first she arrived. Miss Quintrell, as she had called Violet then, was the reason she was there. The idea of speaking to her so directly, with a languid tone in her voice thanks to the heat of the day, would have been absolutely unthinkable.

A lot could change in several weeks. Besides, Violet was such an obliging girl, so happy to put Rachel at ease, that she found herself treating the girl—hardly a girl, really—more like a younger sibling than a responsibility for which she was paid a wage.

The charge in question looked up from the book in her lap, a large one of poetry that Rachel had never seen before. “What?”

Violet blinked as she spoke, as though she had entirely forgotten not only that Rachel was there but that anyone else existed in the world at all.

Rachel smiled. Well, it was the weather for it, after all. The sun had been up many hours, warming the terrace and verandah—an addition Mrs. Quintrell had informed her that her husband had insisted on making—where she and Violet now sat.

The shade gave them a little protection from the elements, but it was still stifling hot. She wondered how Violet could take in a single word from that book.

“I said,” Rachel repeated with no consternation, “I suppose you can look after yourself for an hour or so?”

Violet snorted at her, like she often did.

“You were impressive at dinner last night,” said Rachel mildly, testing the waters.

They had not discussed the evening. Until now, Rachel had preferred to wait to see whether Violet would mention it herself, but her curiosity got the better of her.

Violet made a face and did not look up from her book again. “I suppose so. I had thought I was more prepared, but it turned out…Uncle Timothy had to show me a few forks.”

Rachel ensured her outward appearance was sedate. It was natural to feel warm, she told herself. It was a warm day. It had nothing to do with…with him.

“A few adjustments are expected,” she said. “Only a few nudges in the right direction at your first dinner in Society is good, Violet. You should be proud of yourself.”

There it was—the smile of a girl realizing she would soon be in the world, a woman.

Violet’s smile disappeared as swiftly as it had come. “Maybe.”

She turned a page, and Rachel stifled a laugh. It did not matter when you were born, it appeared; when a girl started to approach that delicate time when one became a woman, embarrassment was never far away.

Still, it could not be more obvious that, though Violet feigned detachment, she very much wished to discuss the dinner more.

Rachel glanced through the window into the morning room. She could just make out the clock: two o’clock. She still had time before Mr. Evans would collect the post.

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