Temptation Of A Governess. Sarah Mallory

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      She was surprised that his question did not offend. She replied, equally blunt, ‘I was avoiding everyone.’

      ‘Because you limp,’ he said. ‘What happened?’

      ‘A broken thigh bone, when I was very young.’ She paused to taste her wine. ‘The doctor set it badly, and although others were brought in they could not undo his incompetence. I was left with my left leg shorter than the right. It does not prevent me from doing anything I wish, but it looks ungainly and makes people uncomfortable. They do not wish to see deformity in the drawing room.’

      ‘Have you ever considered that if you were to be in society more, people would become accustomed to your...’ he paused ‘...your deformity?’

      ‘Perhaps, but I go on very well as I am. The children no longer regard it.’

      He held her eyes.

      ‘But you must take them out and about. Does that not make people uncomfortable?’

      ‘Oh, no,’ she said quietly. ‘I attract no attention at all in the street. Governesses are of no consequence, you see.’

      Fingle came in to announce dinner and Lord Davenport rose.

      ‘Shall we go in?’

      He was holding out his arm to her. Diana hesitated, tempted to tell him such courtesy was unnecessary, but he would know that. Silently she slipped her fingers on to his sleeve. It was impossible not to feel the hard muscle beneath the soft wool of his coat. He exuded strength and power, and she felt a tiny tremor of excitement at his proximity.

      ‘Oh.’

      Diana stopped as they entered the dining room. Two places were set at the table, facing each other across the width rather than at either end.

      ‘I told Fingle to set it thus,’ remarked her companion. ‘I thought it would be an advantage not to be peering the length of the table and shouting at one another.’

      He guided Diana to her seat and held her chair. She sank down, suddenly nervous. She had never dined alone with a man before. We are here on business, she told herself sternly. But when the earl took his seat opposite and smiled at her it felt strangely intimate, even though the daylight was still streaming into the room.

      The earl’s unexpected presence at dinner had certainly put Cook on her mettle and Diana decided there could be no complaint on the number and variety of dishes that appeared on the table. If the earl was not satisfied with the ragout of lamb and tender young carrots and turnips then there was a cheese pie or a fricassee of eggs and a dessert made with some of Cook’s preciously hoarded quince jelly.

      For many months Diana’s meals had been taken alone or with the children and at first she was a little nervous to be in company, but the earl was determined to please and be pleased. He was an excellent host, ensuring that she had her choice of every dish on the table and keeping her wine glass filled. He was at pains to draw her out and she was surprised how easy it was to converse with him. By the time the meal was over she was quite relaxed in his company.

      ‘I had best leave you to your brandy,’ she said, when the clock chimed the hour.

      ‘No, please. Stay and talk to me.’

      She chuckled. ‘We have talked throughout dinner.’

      ‘But not about the children.’

      She was disappointed. They had been getting on famously, and now they would argue again. She knew it. He signalled to Fingle to refill her wine glass and she did not object. She would not, of course, drink brandy, or port, or even Madeira after dinner. That would be foolish and could lead to her becoming inebriated, but a little more wine might stiffen her resolve when dealing with the earl.

      * * *

      Alex signalled to the servants to leave the room. He had enjoyed dinner, surprisingly so. He had decided at the outset that he would spare no efforts to charm Diana, but in fact it had been no effort at all. Her education had been thorough and she was an avid reader. Although she lived confined he learned that she corresponded with several long-standing friends and no one had ever cancelled the late earl’s subscription to the London newspapers, so she was well informed and eager to learn. Their discussions ranged from politics to art and philosophy, and if he introduced a subject of which she knew little, her questions and comments were intelligent and interesting. He made sure the wine flowed freely, and as he encouraged her to talk and express her opinions she began to relax, to blossom. Whenever some particular subject caught her interest she would become animated, waving her hands, challenging his views and not afraid to put her own. The one topic they had not touched upon was the children and their removal to another property, but it would soon be time for him to leave, and since that was the reason for his being here, he must make the attempt.

      As Fingle shepherded the footmen from the room Alex refilled his glass and sat back, regarding the petite figure sitting opposite him. She would never be a beauty. No coiffeuse would tame that red hair without resorting heavily to the use of pomade, her mouth was too wide and as for those freckles sprinkled liberally across her pert little nose and cheeks, any female with pretensions to fashion would have concealed them with a little powder. Having decided the freckles were a blemish, Alex found himself looking at them again. They did have a certain charm, he conceded. In fact, some men might find them quite attractive...

      Diana’s voice cut into his thoughts.

      ‘No doubt you wish we still lived in your great-grandfather’s time.’

      With an effort he forced his mind back to the discussion.

      ‘The fourth earl?’ His brows rose. ‘What has he to do with anything?’

      ‘By all accounts he was a tyrant,’ she told him cheerfully. ‘He cleared whole villages to create the park and the views we now enjoy from the house.’ She shook her head, saying disapprovingly, ‘Positively feudal.’

      ‘He provided a whole new village for his people.’

      ‘Yes, because he needed to keep them close to work on his estate.’

      ‘You are deliberately seeing the worst of my family.’

      She laughed at that. ‘The worst? Moving a few dozen villagers is nothing to the debauched and dissolute manner with which the Arrandales have conducted themselves over the years.’

      Alex reined in his temper. Who was she to criticise his kin?

      ‘The Arrandales are no worse than many other families,’ he snapped. ‘I would not contemplate displacing a whole village, but I would move two little girls! It is not as though I am throwing you on the streets. You may have the pick of my properties, if you wish I will even buy you a new house.’

      ‘I do not want a new house,’ she retorted. ‘My sister thought it best for the children to be settled in one place and I agree with her.’

      ‘I am not advocating that they should be constantly moving from house to house, Miss Grensham, merely asking that you settle them somewhere else.’

      Alex reached across to refill her glass. By heaven, but she was stubborn! He noticed that his own glass was empty. He might as well refill that, too. He had forgotten that the brandy СКАЧАТЬ