the girl from her petulant silence. “Keep me home from the Cadmores? You wouldn’t dare! I would tell Papa the instant he returns from London and he would dismiss you at once for treating me like that.”
Might this action cost her the position she was coming to enjoy more every day? Charlotte’s threat made Grace hesitate. Up to this point Lord Steadwell had been surprisingly supportive. But that support must have limits. Past experience warned Grace that parents always came to the defense of an aggrieved child, without a thought for how difficult it made her job. Why should her new employer be any different?
Yet she could not bring herself to back down. She was not asking anything unreasonable, after all. Charlotte’s attitude was not only causing trouble for Grace, but also upsetting her sisters. It was also for her own good. If Charlotte continued on, expecting to have her own way without regard for the feelings of others, she would one day find herself much worse off.
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Grace chose her words with care. “But I must stand firm. I do not mean this as a punishment but a choice you are free to make through your actions. If you wish to accompany us to the Cadmores, I have made clear what sort of behavior I expect from you. I hope you will make the wise choice.”
Charlotte gave an angry “Hmph!” Then she pitched down onto her bed and turned her back on Grace with as much noise as possible.
“That didn’t sound very promising, did it?” Grace whispered to Sophie.
The child shook her head.
“Thank you for speaking up for me,” Grace pressed a kiss upon Sophie’s forehead. “That was kind and brave of you.”
First Phoebe, now Sophie—not since her friends at school had others come to her defense like that. Surely she owed them and herself the same. She only hoped that standing up to Charlotte would not cost her this opportunity to care for children she was rapidly coming to love.
* * *
After a tumultuous week in Parliament, Rupert was more eager than ever to get back to the peace of the countryside and the loving company of his children. Having ignored the danger of Napoleon’s return to power, the government had finally come to its senses and committed to putting troops in the field. Rupert feared their reluctance to act might have given the little tyrant a worrisome advantage.
As his carriage drew up to the house, he spied Charlotte waiting by the front door. She must have been watching for his arrival so she could come out to meet him, bless her heart.
When he climbed out of the carriage, however, he was not greeted with the warm smile he expected but by a pale countenance and flashing eyes.
“What is wrong, dearest?” He held his arms open to her. “Is one of your sisters hurt or ill?”
The thought of harm coming to any of his daughters threatened to rip his heart out.
“Oh, Papa!” Charlotte hurled herself into his arms, her slender frame heaving with sobs. “It’s M-Miss Ellerby. She’s…h-horrible! Why did you h-hire her?”
So this tearful outburst was Miss Ellerby’s fault? All Rupert’s earlier misgivings about the governess came roaring back.
“There now.” He sought to comfort his daughter. “What has Miss Ellerby done to upset you so?”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and ushered her into the house. It took little encouragement for Charlotte to unburden herself. The upshot seemed to be that the governess had denied her the opportunity to visit Dungrove.
“Surely it was not her place to say whether I could go. You were the one who accepted the invitation for all three of us, weren’t you, Papa? Miss Ellerby should never have forced me to stay home without consulting you.”
What could Charlotte have done to merit such punishment? In the past, his eldest daughter had always been impeccably behaved, never giving Mademoiselle Audet any trouble. Missing out on that visit would have been a severe deprivation for her.
Might this action cost her the position she was coming to enjoy more every day? Charlotte’s threat made Grace hesitate. Up to this point Lord Steadwell had been surprisingly supportive. But that support must have limits. Past experience warned Grace that parents always came to the defense of an aggrieved child, without a thought for how difficult it made her job. Why should her new employer be any different?
Yet she could not bring herself to back down. She was not asking anything unreasonable, after all. Charlotte’s attitude was not only causing trouble for Grace, but also upsetting her sisters. It was also for her own good. If Charlotte continued on, expecting to have her own way without regard for the feelings of others, she would one day find herself much worse off.
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Grace chose her words with care. “But I must stand firm. I do not mean this as a punishment but a choice you are free to make through your actions. If you wish to accompany us to the Cadmores, I have made clear what sort of behavior I expect from you. I hope you will make the wise choice.”
Charlotte gave an angry “Hmph!” Then she pitched down onto her bed and turned her back on Grace with as much noise as possible.
“That didn’t sound very promising, did it?” Grace whispered to Sophie.
The child shook her head.
“Thank you for speaking up for me,” Grace pressed a kiss upon Sophie’s forehead. “That was kind and brave of you.”
First Phoebe, now Sophie—not since her friends at school had others come to her defense like that. Surely she owed them and herself the same. She only hoped that standing up to Charlotte would not cost her this opportunity to care for children she was rapidly coming to love.
* * *
After a tumultuous week in Parliament, Rupert was more eager than ever to get back to the peace of the countryside and the loving company of his children. Having ignored the danger of Napoleon’s return to power, the government had finally come to its senses and committed to putting troops in the field. Rupert feared their reluctance to act might have given the little tyrant a worrisome advantage.
As his carriage drew up to the house, he spied Charlotte waiting by the front door. She must have been watching for his arrival so she could come out to meet him, bless her heart.
When he climbed out of the carriage, however, he was not greeted with the warm smile he expected but by a pale countenance and flashing eyes.
“What is wrong, dearest?” He held his arms open to her. “Is one of your sisters hurt or ill?”
The thought of harm coming to any of his daughters threatened to rip his heart out.
“Oh, Papa!” Charlotte hurled herself into his arms, her slender frame heaving with sobs. “It’s M-Miss Ellerby. She’s…h-horrible! Why did you h-hire her?”
So this tearful outburst was Miss Ellerby’s fault? All Rupert’s earlier misgivings about the governess came roaring back.
“There now.” He sought to comfort his daughter. “What has Miss Ellerby done to upset you so?”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and ushered her into the house. It took little encouragement for Charlotte to unburden herself. The upshot seemed to be that the governess had denied her the opportunity to visit Dungrove.
“Surely it was not her place to say whether I could go. You were the one who accepted the invitation for all three of us, weren’t you, Papa? Miss Ellerby should never have forced me to stay home without consulting you.”
What could Charlotte have done to merit such punishment? In the past, his eldest daughter had always been impeccably behaved, never giving Mademoiselle Audet any trouble. Missing out on that visit would have been a severe deprivation for her.
Similar Books
