Page 4 of A Loving Governess in Disguise

Chapter 4

Edward had not taken his friend seriously, not enough to expect the arrival of a lady the following day, at least.

“This is Miss Cecilia Pembroke,” Theodore introduced, “Miss Pembroke, this is Edward Balfour, the Duke of Cambridge.”

“It is wonderful to meet you,” she greeted.

Her tone was too perfect, too rehearsed. She was a lady of respectable enough upbringing; that much was clear.

“Likewise,” he nodded. “I suppose you are here to enquire about becoming a governess?”

“Yes, Your Grace. I would very much like to help you.”

“In which case, we ought to go to my study.”

She was a pretty young lady, far prettier than the other candidates had been, but he would not allow that to sway his decision. He demanded perfection from the lady who would care for Ella, although he had to admit that it had made finding someone difficult thus far.

Even so, sitting across from the young lady in his study, he wondered if Theodore had been playing a trick of some sort. She seemed far too young to be a governess, especially one with sufficient experience to care for Ella. She seemed clueless, and if he were honest, he had to admit that she also seemed quite afraid.

“How old are you, if you do not mind my asking?”

“Three-and-twenty, Your Grace.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, thinking she seemed younger, but she did not falter.

“Very well. Miss Pembroke, why do you think you would be right for my niece?”

“Well, I like to try to understand children. I think they are far more intelligent than we think, and it does a disservice to them to believe we know best. It is, perhaps, not the best way to perceive a child, but it makes them happy.”

Ella’s happiness was, of course, paramount.

“And so you are prepared to care for her? She is not an easy child to handle. I would not say that to just anyone, but you must know that she is a deeply unhappy child.”

“As is to be expected for a little girl in her position. It is quite alright, for I can see past that.”

Edward wanted to believe her, but something about her put him ill at ease. She seemed to be keeping something from him, and it wasn’t something he liked to sense, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what that was.

“Would you mind meeting her?” he asked. “I have told Ella that she shall have the final decision.”

She nodded in silence, her cheeks pink. Truly, she seemed very youthful. He ignored the thought, instead leading her to Ella’s room. He knocked on the door, and she opened it at once. She had made it her own, insisting on pink walls and furnishings. It was the perfect room for a little girl. He stepped inside, beckoning Miss Pembroke to follow, but her feet remained planted in the hallway.

“Come along now, Miss Pembroke. You must meet her.”

“My apologies, Your Grace,” she replied, “but I know far better than to enter a room without permission.”

“You have my permission,” he explained, an eyebrow raised.

If anything, she was disobeying him.

“I didn’t give her mine,” Ella said softly.

Edward turned to see his niece looking at the lady in the doorway. He felt stupid, truly stupid, for not considering that.

“You may come in.” Ella nodded, and at last, Miss Pembroke entered, thanking her.

“This is Miss Cecilia Pembroke,” Edward explained, and Ella sat on her bed, watching her.

“Do you like playing tricks?” she asked.

“It is not something I have ever done, no. Do you?”

“Yes. I am very good at them, too, aren’t I, Uncle?”

“You are, though I am hoping that ceases eventually.”

“It will not. I play a lot of tricks on everyone. Does that scare you, Miss Pembroke?”

“No, my sister did the same as a girl. She was brilliant. I would tell you about some of her best ones, but that would only give you ideas.”

She gave the little girl a quick wink, and it was as though, at that instant, Ella was enamoured. She leapt from her bed, running to the young lady and looking up at her with her big blue eyes.

“This one!” she instructed. “I simply must have this one as my governess.”

And so, despite his reservations, Ella had made her choice, and he had to keep his promise. Miss Pembroke would be the new governess, and despite himself, he was smiling. Part of that was because he hadn’t seen his niece so happy in a long time, but another part was that he could not imagine just what Ella would do when her new governess made her angry.

“Very well. The position is yours if you want it,” he said, and the young lady smiled.

“It would be an honour, Your Grace. Thank you!”

“Do not thank me, thank Ella. She knew the rules.”

“Yes.” The little girl nodded, her eyes sparkling. “And I have so many ideas for things to do.”

Theodore was, of course, quite ecstatic about the decision. According to him, this was a friend of his cousin, which made Edward more at ease with her ability. He had met Miss Fletcher, and she could be quite the handful when she wished to be.

“I am still not certain of her,” Edward confessed that evening as they shared a drink.

Miss Pembroke and her handmaid had been sent back to Theodore’s home for the evening, and she would return the following day while her handmaid stayed with the Swansons.

“You are always wary. I believe that this lady is a good one. You will see that for yourself soon enough, but you would do well to give her a chance in the meantime. Ella likes her, after all, and you should trust that.”

“I want to, but I also know I am often right about these things.”

“Often does not signify always. Regardless, she will be here tomorrow and will earn your trust in time. For now, do try to make her feel welcome.”

“I always do with my staff.”

“Yes, except that you watch the governesses perhaps a little too closely.”

Edward sighed, finishing his drink in one motion.

“I have to. I must know that Ella is happy.”

“And, for now, she is. Do not give her a reason not to like her, not when you are in such a precarious situation.”

Edward knew that Theodore was right. Ella was yet to like a governess immediately like she had with Miss Pembroke, and that had to mean something. If she were indeed trustworthy, he would eventually come to see that himself. In the meantime, however, he didn’t see any harm in ensuring she was the sort of lady he could have near his niece.

And so, the following morning, as the young lady was helping to move her things to her room, he pulled his valet, Thomas, to one side.

“Yes, Your Grace?”

“Would you like to earn a little extra money for a while?”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

“In which case, could you keep an eye on this new governess? It is only for a short while so that I can ensure she is the right choice, but she mustn’t know about it.”

“I can certainly try. Do you want to know anything in particular?”

Edward thought for a moment. He did not know what made him uncertain of her, so he did not know quite what to say in response.

“No, only that she is good for Isabella.”

“Very well. It is done.”

Edward already felt immeasurable guilt as Thomas walked away. He had never instructed anyone to spy on his staff, especially not someone he so terribly needed.

The first day was eerily quiet. Too quiet, he thought, for Ella had usually voiced dislike for something by the first afternoon, but there had been nothing, not even a whisper that she had been unhappy at any point that day. He wanted to feel good about that, but it only made him wonder just what the new governess was doing that was so different.

He searched the manor for the two of them, but they were nowhere to be found. At once, his mind thought the worst possible things: that Ella had been taken away and was in some dark corner somewhere, too frightened even to scream, or she had tried to play one of her tricks, and it had gone terribly wrong.

However, as he neared the front door, he heard laughter ringing out. It was a bright sound, one that Ella hardly ever made. He followed the voices, continuing to approach them until he found them in the gardens. Hiding behind a hedge, he strained to listen in on their conversation.

“And this,” Ella explained, “is the rose garden. They were my grandmother’s favourites, and they are mine too. I especially like them because, once, I managed to make Uncle Edward trip and fall into them!”

Her anecdote had made Miss Pembroke laugh, and Edward remembered the exact situation very well. He was actually rather convinced that he still had a thorn or two implanted in him even then. What struck him was that she was not lecturing Ella, telling her that such behaviour was unbecoming.

Instead, she was laughing along and enjoying the company. That was not what she was employed to do, but more than anything, he wanted his niece to be happy, and judging by the fact that he could see her smile even from the distance he was at, she was very happy indeed.

Suddenly, he felt eyes on him.

“I shall reach that hedge before you!” Ella proclaimed and broke into a sprint, Miss Pembroke giggling and following behind her.

Surely, he thought, she did not mean–

But she did. Somehow, she had found his hiding place and was sprinting towards him. He could not run himself, for they would only see him anyway. He had been caught, and he had to accept his fate.

When they reached him, he tried to pretend that he had simply been walking, but even at seven years old, Ella knew better than that.

“I know,” she sighed in a very haughty tone. “Cecilia and I are supposed to be having my lessons. You mustn’t blame her, Uncle. I simply know how busy Mrs Smythe can be, so I thought I would give her the tour myself.”

“That is very thoughtful of you, but it is the housekeeper’s duty. I think Mrs Smythe may be excited to show Miss Pembroke the household.”

“Actually, she said that I could if I wished.”

Edward wondered if it had, indeed, been for the best that he had instructed his staff to allow his niece to do as she pleased so long as it did not endanger her.

“In any case,” he continued, clearing his throat, “Miss Pembroke is here to take care of you, and I would prefer it if you allowed her to do that.”

“My apologies, Your Grace,” Miss Pembroke said gently. “I simply couldn’t say no to her. She loves her home, don’t you, Isabella?”

“I have already told you to call me Ella. Everyone else does.”

The words rang in his ears. She had never allowed a governess to call her that. Just what had this lady done that made Ella so amiable? No longer wanting to argue, as Miss Pembroke had agreed with him, and there was no use arguing with Ella, he accompanied them back to the household.

The first week came and went with no issues, which was not what he had expected at all. By this point, Ella had usually played three tricks and caused at least one minor injury.

With Miss Pembroke, however, she had not stepped out of line even once. It was as though her instinct had been to impress her, but her governess was not frightening. Edward refused to believe that his niece was afraid of her, for she would have said something if she were.

Besides, he thought with a chuckle, Ella did not respond well to being scolded and punished even if that was Miss Pembroke’s approach.

But there had to be something that she respected.

That evening, he summoned Thomas to the library. In his time keeping an eye on them, he had not seen them going to the library that late, so he thought it safer than the study; Ella was, after all, allowed to go there whenever she wished.

“What have you found?” he asked.

“In truth, Your Grace, I have found nothing. I have been watching them, but there have been no incidents worthy of report. Ella is her usual self, more herself if anything, and the governess seems quite happy, too. They have a sort of bond.”

It was precisely what Edward had wanted when he was searching for someone to fill the role, but he didn’t like it. If anything, it irritated him that she had so easily had Ella take to her. He scolded himself for that and did not know why it had affected him so much.

He reasoned that it was because he had found several governesses, and none of them had been good enough, yet when Theodore had brought one, he was right on his first attempt. He envied him for that, so he decided that had to be it.

He thanked Thomas for his help and gave him his leave, but when he left himself, he bumped shoulders with none other than Miss Pembroke.

“Oh! My apologies, Your Grace. I was going to read for a while, and I wasn’t watching my step.”

“It is quite alright. I was doing the same. Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes. I simply have a lot on my mind at the moment.”

“Would you like to tell me about it?”

“It is nothing for you to worry about; I just had something important happen today. Or, rather, it should have.”

“Ah, have you missed a celebration? A family member’s, perhaps?”

“Yes, something like that.”

Silence fell between them, and she was again putting him in a strange position. He did not know what to say to her, but he could see that she was being secretive. He hardly knew a thing about her, and if she had something to hide, then he intended to know what it was.

“Miss Pembroke–”

“Would you mind calling me Cecilia?” she asked.

She was looking up at him with her big grey eyes, and despite himself, he found that he could not say no to her.

“Very well,” he nodded slowly, “Cecilia.”

He forgot what he was going to ask her.