Page 22 of A Loving Governess in Disguise

Chapter 22

Sitting in misery would not help anyone, Edward decided, so he returned to his study the morning after the dinner to work.

He had been collecting quite the pile of letters in the room, as he had not felt able to read any of them, let alone respond. Even so, the pile would not decrease in size if he continued to ignore them, so he started on them that morning. For the most part, they were of little interest: invitations that he intended to refuse, requests to meet for business matters that he did not want to go through with, and the odd calling card for Miss Pembroke.

He missed her but hoped the ache would dull in time, even if he did not believe it completely. With a sigh, he began to reply to them. It was a long and monotonous task, as each response was exactly the same, but eventually, he came to something different.

Your Grace,

I would like to apologize for my mother’s actions at your dinner. I had not said anything at the time as I did not wish to anger her, but you must know that I disagreed with it completely.

In truth, I am pleased that you do not want me to be your wife. I understand that you will never separate from your niece. I admire you for that; truly, I do. She is fortunate to have you protecting her, especially when you have proven that you will not give her up for anything. It is admirable. I, on the other hand, could never do such a thing. I do hope you do not think less of me for that, as I do not think it is evil, only different.

I hope you find the perfect wife who can care for your niece in a way that I could not. Perhaps you might think this is a bizarre letter to receive, and I suppose it is, but I did not like how I left. I wanted to thank you for the dinner and to apologize for everything. I hope you can forgive me, as I never meant any harm.

Cordially,

Miss Victoria Wilkinson

Despite himself, Edward smiled at it. He would not respond to it, as he felt she had not left much room for him to, but he appreciated it, nevertheless. She was not a villain; he knew that. She simply was never going to be his wife, and he shouldn’t have tried to force it. He was thinking about a place to leave the letter when a strange memory came to him.

A letter was sent to him from a lady he did not recognize, and he had never opened it.

He tried to remember where he had put it, as it had been a while since he had received it, and so much had happened since. He searched his drawers one by one, checking each letter that had been stored away until he at last found it. It was from Miss Charlotte Fletcher, and though he did not recognize the name at all, something felt familiar. He tore it open at once and immediately realized his mistake.

The letter was not for him. That was why he did not recognize the name.

It was addressed to someone named Euterpe and must have been sent to him by mistake. He wanted to stop reading, as it felt wrong to read a private letter that had not been intended for him, but he couldn’t help himself.

Dear Euterpe,

I am writing to you with the most important news, so I hope you receive it quickly. If not, my cousin will arrive to bring you here himself, but you, of course, will not know that if you do not open this letter.

My apologies, I know that I sound out of sorts. I am simply in a state of shock, as will be the case for yourself once you understand why I am writing to you.

It is Eloise. We have found her, Euterpe. She is with me now, as is her … well, he is neither her husband nor her fiance yet. In truth, I do not know quite what he is to her, but I can tell you that they are very much in love. It is a shame that all of this had to happen, as they truly are a sweet pair.

Please make haste and visit me soon. I know you have to take care of the duke’s niece, but this is of the utmost importance. He will surely understand that you require some time to yourself, but again if he does not allow it, Theodore will bring you. He tells me that you have made quite the impression there, which I always expected of you.

I am staying with my aunt for a while. I will explain when you are here, but all you need to know for now is that my own household is no longer safe. I am well, as is my family, but we cannot return home for a while.

I hope to see you soon.

Yours Faithfully,

Charlotte Fletcher

Edward tried not to fall to the ground. It did not make any sense. Miss Fletcher had written to his niece’s governess, had she not? And yet, she had not called her by the correct name.

He tried to think back quickly to his other governesses, in case it had been meant for a previous one, but he knew he had never known a Euterpe. Not only that, but she had explicitly mentioned Theodore, calling him her cousin, and explained that he had spoken highly of her. Theodore would never have said that about anyone other than–

Miss Pembroke.

He thought back to the many things he had faintly questioned before: her accent, which he had decided was from her working in various households; her age, which he had always questioned but never had any real reason to beyond the fact that she looked younger than she claimed to be; her impeccable manners and skills as though she had had a tutor of her own for years, which he somehow managed to make himself believe was a natural talent.

Regardless, he would never have thought that she was a member of the ton herself. That was what she had to be, he thought, as why else would Theodore’s cousin be speaking with her? He had more questions about her than ever, mostly pertaining to why she would lie and why she would leave such a fortunate position in society to be a mere governess.

He did not want to think about what she must have been trying to escape to be forced out of her own life, and he wished she had simply told him the truth. He could have helped her, but now that she was gone, he could not do anything.

Except, he realized, he could.

The address on the letter matched that of Theodore, proving that she was indeed his cousin and that she was staying there. All he had to do was find Miss Fletcher and ask her where Miss Pembroke was. He huffed, wondering if he could even call her that anymore, but then he shook his head. There were more important matters at hand.

He found his housekeeper and instructed her to watch over Ella for the day. He had not seen her that morning but did not plan to be away for long. He would simply go to Theodore’s home, find out what he needed to know, and then return.

However, that would require him to do the one thing he had not done in over a year. He would have to ride in a carriage. His hand faltered on the door, and he wondered if he could do it. He was terrified that something might happen to him, leaving Ella alone, but he steeled himself and climbed inside, telling the footman to leave before he could change his mind.

His heart raced as he travelled along, and a part of him waited for an accident to occur. To distract himself, he thought of Miss Pembroke, who he decided was better to be called Euterpe, and how, even though he felt betrayed by the lies she had told him, he still yearned for her.

He should have given her a reason to stay, he thought, and then he would not have been so miserable, and Ella would not have the same faintly tearful look in her eyes.

He arrived at Theodore’s residence, briefly acknowledging that nothing bad had happened, and then going immediately to the door, he pounded on it.

His mother opened the door and was quite surprised to see him.

“Your Grace!” she gasped, quickly grasping her blue skirts in her hands and curtseying. “What a pleasant surprise. Theodore will be just a moment.”

“My apologies for that,” he said quietly, mildly ashamed that he had frightened her. “I had expected your butler.”

“I was closer to the door.” She laughed gently. “It is no trouble at all. Please, take a seat in the drawing room.”

Theodore practically fell into the room soon after, a look of desperation on his face.

“You have some explaining to do,” Edward said firmly, Miss Fletcher’s letter in his hand.

“I do, I know.” He nodded, breathing heavily. “I should have told you long ago, but I had made a promise, and I did not dare to break it.”

Edward’s eyes widened, and he did not say another word. Instead, he waited for his friend to join him on the settee, which he did very quickly. A plate of biscuits was delivered at that moment, but Edward did not want to eat anything. Theodore took one in his hand, though he did not eat it.

“Before I begin, you must know that I did everything I could.”

“You always do,” Edward nodded. “I am not angry with you, for I can see you are troubled by this. Please, tell me what you must.”

“Do you remember when you spoke to me at your dinner? You could see that something was on my mind, but I could not tell you what it was.”

“Yes, vividly. I have been quite concerned for you.”

“It is not me that you need to be concerned for. It is Miss Pembroke.”

“You mean Euterpe?”

Theodore bit his lip.

“You know that much, then?”

“That and nothing more. Your cousin wrote to her, and I opened the letter without thinking.”

Theodore took a breath, daring to take a bite of the biscuit he had been holding.

“Euterpe is my cousin’s greatest friend. She arrived here the day before I brought her to you. She had been forced to leave her home as her sister had eloped with a commoner. In response, her mother and father decided to marry her off to a friend of theirs, an awful duke who will never be good to her. She felt she had nowhere else to turn, so she came to us.”

“That is why you brought her to me, isn’t it?”

“I would never have done so if I thought she would not be good for you.”

Edward rose from his seat, pacing. He hated that he did it when troubled, but it helped all the same.

“I simply thought that if she could find a stable place to stay, she could be safe and not have to marry him. She was terrified, Edward.”

“I can imagine. I could never do that; marry off my own daughter to a man she did not know.”

“A man that is twice her age, at that. I know that I should have told you the truth, but you did not see the fear in her eyes when she swore me to secrecy. I did not want her to feel that she could not stay with you, so it was better that you did not know. I did not think it would matter, but then I saw that she was falling for you and–”

He cut himself off, but it was all Edward needed to hear.

“Do you truly believe that?”

“I do.”

“Then you know what we must do, don’t you?”

“We must find her.”

“Find her?” Edward asked, though he did not want to hear the words he knew were coming.

“She has gone to Somerset,” Theodore said quietly. “She left with Charlotte while I was with you. Her sister Eloise and the man she has fallen for are with her, too. I can only imagine they are taking her to marry the Duke of Somerset, the man she is betrothed to.”

“The man she does not wish to marry. We cannot allow this.”

“But Edward, that will mean you must ride in a carriage on the road for hours, days.”

“I do not give a damn,” he snapped. “If Miss Pembroke– Euterpe– is in Somerset, then I am going to Somerset. If you wish to apologize to me for keeping this secret for so long, then you will join me.”

Theodore seemed to believe in his resolve in an instant, nodding firmly and leaping from his seat. They both left the drawing room, only to be met with Theodore’s mother in the hallway.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“I must go with Edward for a while. I will return soon.”

“First Charlotte and now you. My household shall soon be completely empty.”

“You are not quite as fortunate as that,” Theodore joked, embracing his mother tightly before saying his goodbyes.

They boarded the carriage, and it pulled away in an instant. Edward found that he was not as afraid this time and wondered if that was simply because of where he was going.

“What did your cousin tell her when she left?”

“I do not know. That is why I have been trying to avoid her. I did not wish to say the wrong thing, as it is not possible that Charlotte told her the truth.”

Edward sat back, resting his head against the window and trying in vain to steady his nerves.

They were doing all they could to reach Euterpe. He only hoped they were not too late.