Page 2 of A Loving Governess in Disguise

Chapter 2

Edward Balfour, the Duke of Cambridge, had always thought that his niece was a joy to be around, but that appeared not to be the case for all.

Isabella, Ella as he called her, was but seven years old, and anyone could expect and understand that her behaviour could be considered difficult at times. After all, she had only lost her mother and father a year prior. Thus, he hadn’t questioned it when she hacked at her long brown hair and made it frighteningly short or when she spent most of her time with her blue eyes narrowed at anyone who so much as looked in her direction.

Her governess had reacted with shock and horror as if she had caused herself any real harm, but Edward had only seen the humour in it. After all, her hair would regrow, and nobody would ever know what she had done. It was only an act of expression and rebellion, not like she had done it to someone else.

He was positive that his own blue eyes had looked the same when he had lost his own parents and that his rebellious streak had simply never settled in because he had been older when it had happened. Despite it all, he loved Ella and would have taken her in no matter the circumstance. It was, after all, his duty.

But it was not, it appeared, as rewarding for others as it had been for him. Ella had had five governesses over the last year, each one trying to help guide her and each one being chased away. She had hated them all, only ever wanted her mama. It pained him every time that he had to remind her that her mother, his sister, would not be coming back, and it only made her resent the next governess more.

She did, however, enjoy the company of his closest friend, Theodore Swanson. He was a kind-looking man, his brown hair and hazel eyes and six-foot-tall stature leading to him looking like a sort of big plush bear, and he was the only person other than Edward and their staff (besides the governesses, of course) that she dared speak to kindly.

That day, Theodore had come to see him, and at once, she was hanging on his every word.

“Have you been to the park today?” she asked, and he ruffled her chin-length hair.

“Not as yet, no. I have been occupied.”

“Might we go soon? All three of us?”

“I believe you need this hair of yours to grow a little more first.”

She pulled on it, the waves straightening to her shoulders.

“See? It is already very long. I was considering making it short again.”

“You shall do no such thing.” Edward laughed nervously.

It had taken months for it to look relatively normal, and in that time, she had not been outside the garden. Edward did not care what she looked like, but he did not dare have any comments made about her.

She accompanied the two gentlemen until they entered the study, where the little girl was not allowed during their discussions. It was not the done thing for her to be allowed inside at all, but Edward turned a blind eye to that. If she wished to sit inside his dark blue study with his dark wooden furniture, that was her choice.

They sat at Edward’s desk, listening to Ella skip away. She was likely going to her own room to play or the gardens to make herself dirty. It could have gone either way, and Edward did not mind which she chose. After all, he would not force his staff to clean the grass stains from her dress; instead, he would simply buy her another. In any case, she had been wearing one of her favourite ones that day and likely knew better than to ruin it.

“She certainly seems more attached than is usual,” Theodore noted.

“That would be because she believes me to be angry with her.”

“Well, are you?”

“No, not at this point. I do not know, however, what to do now. I have tried everything. She has chased away yet another governess that I found for her.”

“And what was the little miss’ crime this time?”

“She replaced the lady’s sugar with salt and then found a spider in the garden and placed it on the governess’ shoulder.”

He saw the smile on his friend’s face, even though he tried to conceal it. It was no laughing matter, even if Edward had to admit that he imagined it being quite amusing.

“Well, what do you plan to do now?”

“I have put a mention in the daily news column about it, and I have interviews prepared for today, including each one meeting Ella. She may make the final decision, and then I hope it will be easier for her.”

“Do you mind if I stay here during all this?” Theodore asked. “I am aware that it is not the done thing, but my mother has begun her talk of marriage again, and I am not interested in hearing about it today.”

Edward laughed. Theodore was nine-and-twenty, a year older than himself, and though it was expected of both of them to find a wife, neither of them ever had. Theodore simply did not care to marry, and Edward … Well, he had his hands full with Ella.

“That is perfectly fine. I shall require a drink after all this, I am certain of it, and so it would be my preference that you are with me regardless.”

The first lady arrived an hour later, a tall one with short black hair and little brown eyes. Her name was Rose, and Ella almost seemed fearful of her at first, and for a fleeting moment, Edward thought that might be good; she would be less likely to play her horrid tricks on her if she were afraid.

She had experience and showed willing, but as time passed, Edward saw just how uncomfortable his niece was. She did not like her, but that did not mean they would not grow to like one another. He considered her.

The following candidate was not at all noteworthy, having no experience and only coming because she read about the position in the news column and thought working for a duke would be good. She had no interest in children, which made her an impossibly bad choice.

There were then a third and fourth that were very similar to one another. Both had some experience, but never with children like Ella. The only discernible difference was that the second one mentioned never wanting to call her Ella, only ever her given name. Ella nodded at this approvingly, for she had never allowed her governesses to call her that.

By the time all the ladies had been seen, Ella seemed quite askance. She looked up at Edward as if waiting for another lady.

“Is that all?” she asked.

“It is, yes. You may go and play now. Thank you for helping me.”

“But … I do not like any of them. Can Rose come back?”

“You did not like Rose.”

She was swinging her feet, looking at the ground.

“No, but she was nice enough to me. I knew her, and I do not know these ladies. I do not want them.”

“I will see what can be done, Ella. Now, you run along and play for a while.”

She nodded, sliding off her chair and leaving the room. He sighed, not knowing what he could possibly do to make her happy. He hoped Theodore would be able to give him some form of enlightenment, but sitting together, he found that his friend was just as clueless as him.

“She passed me on my way in,” Theodore explained. “She is the very picture of misery.”

“She hated them; I could see it. I am simply grateful that she spoke to them respectfully, given how she has treated the others.”

“In all honesty, I had thought the first one she ever had was lying. Caroline, was it? I could not picture Ella being anything other than a sweet little girl.”

“Nor could I, but there is something about the governesses that makes her angry, furious even. I do not know what to do. At this point, I am at a complete loss.”

“Then perhaps I may help you?”

Edward looked at his friend incredulously. For a start, Theodore did not know of any ladies. He had never been interested in them, but perhaps he knew more than he was letting on.

“How much help can you give me?”

“For a start, I attend events and leave my house. That is a far better start than hiding away all day doing business.”

“You know perfectly well why I do that. I have been doing this for ten years now, and I work best alone, tending to my estate, doing my duty, and taking care of my niece. It is what must be done, and it hardly leaves any time for enjoyment. Besides, I feel content enough with Ella, and so I have no need to find entertainment elsewhere.”

“If you insist. Regardless, you have tried to do this your way, and it has been fruitless. Perhaps my way might be better?”

Edward considered his friend’s words carefully. For all intents and purposes, Theodore’s logic was sound. He had not found the right governess, and he needed one urgently if he wanted to be a good uncle. Ella needed a mother figure, and that was a role that he simply could not fill. Strictly speaking, he needed all the help he could get, and if Theodore was offering just that, then he could hardly refuse.

“Very well,” he sighed. “Do what you think is best. You know Ella well enough to know whether or not she will like whomever you find, so if you should find the perfect lady, then you may bring her to me.”

Theodore nodded, and the pair left the confines of the deep blue study walls. They walked in the gardens for a while, Ella finding and following them. Neither gentleman minded and Edward was grateful that his friend understood why she behaved the way she did.

When Theodore left that evening, and Edward and Ella were at dinner, he noticed that she was simply pushing her food around her plate and not actually eating any of it.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “It is your favourite, chicken and potatoes.”

“Dinner is perfectly lovely, but I am not hungry.”

If nothing else, at least she said how she was feeling with ease.

“Why ever are you afraid?”

“Because you are going to have one of those horrid ladies come, and then they will take me away from you and pretend to be my mama. They are not my mama!”

He could see how upset she was about it all, the hand holding her fork trembling. Had that been the issue all along? He had not been made aware of any previous governesses trying to impersonate his late sister, but it had clearly been what Ella had felt.

“It shall be different this time,” he assured her. “I know you did not particularly like any of the ladies today, so I have entrusted Mister Swanson with the task. He is determined not to let you down.”

At last, she brightened. She so loved Theodore that the mere mention of him always helped. It was more than that, however, for she trusted him too. She hardly ever trusted others, for they could leave her just as easily as her parents had, even if it was not their own fault.

That night, when he took her to her room, she dove onto her pretty pink bed and insisted on a story. After all that had happened that day, he could hardly refuse, so he pulled a book from the shelf and began reading it to her. It was a tale of a princess that had been locked away and then rescued by a brave knight, which had always been her favourite.

“I want to read tomorrow’s story,” she said, already growing weary.

“If you insist. You are certainly becoming good at it.”

“You are a good teacher,” she yawned. “If anything, you could be my governess.”

He winced, for he hated saying things that would hurt her.

“I wish that I could, but you know that I–”

“I know, you must do your dukely duties. I understand, Edward. Hopefully, Mister Swanson finds the perfect lady for me.”

“I am positive that he will. For now, you only need to sleep, and then we will see who he finds. This time, I hope that you might be a little kinder?”

“Hm,” she considered. “I will try.”

That was all he could ask of her. He knew her behaviour was unacceptable, but what more could he do? The poor girl had been punished enough without him making it any worse. He read to her until she fell asleep, and then he left the room, thinking as he wandered the corridor that taking care of this one little girl was far more difficult than being the Duke of Cambridge, and it was not even close.

But Theodore had made him a promise, and he had always been a man of his word. He would find someone, Edward reasoned, and Ella would like her, and the governess wouldn’t overstep, and all would be well.

And if him keeping the governess at arm’s length and giving her strict instruction to keep it that way would help, then he would do exactly that.