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

possible.
    “I thought you wanted to hear the girls’ prayers.”
    Behind her dour facade, he sensed Miss Ellerby might be having a secret chuckle at his expense. Tempted as he was to resent it, Rupert had to admit he deserved it.
    * * *
    As she watched Lord Steadwell hearing his daughters’ prayers, Grace strove to make sense of what had happened in the past half hour.
    She had fully expected Lord Steadwell’s rebuke for letting Phoebe run off to the stables right before bed. Though she wanted to excuse herself on account of her exhaustion and her uncertainty about how much freedom her new pupils were permitted, she knew she had made a serious lapse in judgment. A lapse for which her employer had every right to be vexed.
    So she had done what she’d learned to do at school whenever one of her teachers scolded her for vanity or laziness or disobedience. She accepted the criticism in meek silence, heeding as much of it as she could bear in an effort to improve herself. But when it got to be more than she could absorb without breaking down in tears, she had imagined herself encased in a thick sheath of alabaster, which nothing could penetrate to harm her. It muffled the words until they became nothing more than a rumble of noise without any meaning.
    She’d soon discovered it was more difficult to reduce Lord Steadwell’s voice to a harmless babble. Its pitch and timbre were so very agreeable that she found herself compelled to listen carefully, even when she could not expect to hear anything good.
    Phoebe’s sudden appearance had jarred Grace out of her protective trance. The last thing she’d ever expected was for that willful girl to come to her defense at the risk of incurring her father’s wrath. It reminded her of the times at school when Marian or Rebecca had stood up for her, deflecting the spiteful anger of the teachers. It made her feel worthy of something better than blame and belittlement.
    Yet, as much as Phoebe’s behavior had surprised her, Lord Steadwell’s reaction amazed her even more. Upon hearing what Phoebe had to say, he had not only been diverted from his annoyance with Grace, but also admitted he was wrong to blame her. He’d gone so far as to beg her pardon.
    That went contrary to all her previous experience. Even when it was proved that she had been unjustly punished, none of the teachers had ever shown the slightest remorse for their mistake. Lord Steadwell’s apology was all the more difficult to fathom because she knew he was not entirely wrong to hold her responsible for what had happened.
    If only he had left it at a simple apology.
    Grace’s stomach seethed at his suggestion that they meet late in the evening to discuss her duties. She would have preferred he stay vexed with her. At least that might have provided an extra layer of defense against any unwelcome attention from her new employer.
    “God bless Papa.” A fervent note in Sophie’s small voice made it clear she believed she was speaking directly to her Heavenly Father, who listened with perfect attention, as ready to grant her requests as her doting Papa. “And God bless Charlotte and Phoebe and Mamzell…”
    When Sophie paused, her father leaned close and whispered something in her ear, after which she continued, “God, bless Miss Ella and help us behave well so she will want to stay at Nethercross. Amen.”
    Did his lordship truly believe she might leave because his daughters behaved badly? If only he knew she was far more concerned about his behavior. Not that he had given her any reason to be…yet.
    “Sleep well.” Sophie’s father tucked the bedclothes around her then pressed a kiss on her forehead. “And sweet dreams.”
    “Thank you, Papa.” The child replied in a drowsy murmur. “Will you come and hear our prayers again tomorrow night?”
    His lordship flinched slightly at his daughter’s request and cast a furtive glance toward Grace. “Perhaps I will. I reckon I should visit the nursery more often.