The Baron's Governess Bride by Deborah Hale Read Free Book Online

with an excuse that fooled no one.
    Phoebe’s abrupt return had changed all that. Clearly he’d been right in his doubts about Miss Ellerby after all.
    Hearing the nursery door close behind them, he swung around to confront the new governess. “What on earth possessed you to let my daughter run off to the stables at this hour?”
    He expected her to offer some excuse for her actions, which he could refute, going back and forth until he’d relieved his feelings and impressed upon Miss Ellerby the error of her ways.
    But she refused to be drawn.
    “I’m sorry, sir.” Keeping her mouth set in a tight line, she avoided his direct gaze. “I didn’t realize… I can assure you, it will not happen again.”
    “It certainly must not.” Rupert felt daft repeating himself but he could not help it. Miss Ellerby’s flat apology had denied him the desired opportunity to vent his feelings. “Stables can be dangerous places. Horses are large, unpredictable beasts and you may have noticed that Phoebe tends to be impulsive and heedless. Without proper supervision, she could be badly injured.”
    Miss Ellerby made no effort to deny it but accepted his rebuke with sullen self-restraint that made him suspect she was well accustomed to censure. That thought nearly silenced him but he had more that needed to be said. “My daughter’s physical safety is not the half of it. There may be an even greater threat to her future reputation if she makes a habit of such behavior. Today it was a harmless spat with a stableboy. Five years hence it could be altogether more serious.”
    That possibility had never occurred to Miss Ellerby. Rupert could tell by the way she flinched when he mentioned it. Subtle though her reaction was, it somehow satisfied him that he had impressed upon her the gravity of her lapse in judgment.
    The instant he was certain of that he began to have second thoughts. Had he been wrong to rebuke the new governess? It was a serious matter, but this was only her first day. Besides, he had not given her any clear instructions as to what was expected of her. He’d assumed that with her years of experience she would know better than he what she should do. Now he found himself questioning whether that was fair.
    Still Miss Ellerby remained mute.
    While Rupert tried to think what to say next, the nursery door swung open and Phoebe charged out. She was clad in her nightdress with her hair sloppily braided for the night.
    “What are you doing out here, young lady?” He tried to maintain a frosty frown, but she looked so much younger than her years just then. “As I recall, you were ordered to bed.”
    “No, I wasn’t,” she replied in a tone that was not insolent, only stating a plain fact. “Miss Ellerby said I should put on my nightclothes, which I did. Neither of you forbade me to come out here. Since you’re talking about me, I reckon I should be here.”
    “What makes you so certain we’re talking about you?” Rupert demanded.
    Phoebe rolled her eyes. “You have been, though, haven’t you?”
    She had him there. Rupert shuddered to think what a formidable adversary she might become in another few years—a proper little rebel over whom he might have no control. “If you have been the subject of our conversation, that is between Miss Ellerby and me. You must get to bed at once.”
    The child stood her ground. “It wasn’t Miss Ellerby’s fault that I ended up in the stables. I didn’t ask her permission. I just told her I was going and went. I’ve been going out to bid Jem good-night for weeks now, even before Mademoiselle went away.”
    Rupert almost staggered. Phoebe’s imprudent behavior had been going on all this time without him ever suspecting? He was torn between indignation at the former governess and vexation with himself for having permitted it to happen.
    “What on earth possessed Mademoiselle Audet to let you do that?” Once the question was out of his mouth, he realized it was the same one