Also in the room was a large piano, positioned just under the windows for maximum light. Georgette smiled as she looked at it and remembered her own governess as a child teaching her how to navigate what seemed to her then to be giant keys. In truth, she rather looked forward to the idea of teaching a little musical accomplishment to the children.
“You must concentrate, both of you.” The nurse had rather a deep voice, something akin to a man’s. “Eleri, please read the word I have written there,” Mrs Wells said, sounding rather agitated.
Since Georgette and Mrs Griffin had entered the room, the nurse had, quite unsuccessfully, attempted to get the child called Eleri to read the word. Again, she was greeted with silence.
Georgette turned her attention to the table and the little scene which had obviously been set up for her benefit. No doubt it had been meant to show her that the services of the governess were not required since the nurse had everything working like clockwork. However, the plan likely had not been made to cover the fact that the children had not been taught properly and to simply write a word, thrust it beneath the child’s nose, and expect them to know it was hardly a constructive lesson. Georgette bit back a smirk of amusement.
“Read it,” the nurse said, clearly feeling a little foolish and taking the whole thing out on the child.
“I cannot read it, Mrs Wells, for I do not know what it says,” the little girl responded in a surprisingly clear voice, despite the tremor it held.
Not only was the little voice quite clear, but the accent was not English. Georgette had heard the wonderfully lyrical tones of a Welsh accent before now in London, many times, in fact, but never from such a small child. It sounded truly beautiful to Georgette, and she smiled as she looked at the little girl.
“Eleri, I have already shown you a picture of a horse. You knew what that was,” the nurse said, her tone quite unforgiving. “Now I am showing you a word. Is it not obvious that the word I am showing you is horse?”
“No, Mrs Wells,” came the beautiful little Welsh voice.
“Well, you look long and hard at that word, my girl, because it says horse. Now you remember that; you learn it so that you know it in future.”
Georgette had to bite her tongue for fear of exclaiming aloud. Whatever system of learning was the dreadful nurse hoping to show off?
“Good morning,” Georgette said, keen to be ignored no longer and certain that she wanted to put an end to the little girl’s misery. “Forgive me for interrupting your lesson, Mrs Wells, but Mrs Griffin rather told me that you were expecting me.”
“Yes,” the older woman said, scowling for all she was worth.
In truth, she had made a fool of herself with her pathetic attempt at undermining the governess before she had even started, and it was clear to Georgette that the woman knew it.
“Tell me, have you been long without a governess? I see that you yourself are helping to teach the children.” Georgette smiled as she spoke, keen to give the impression that she was simply interested.
“It has been some weeks since the last one left,” the nurse said, her face a picture of disdain.
The nurse looked to Georgette to be well into her fiftieth year, if not beyond. She was rather a large sort of a woman, with broad shoulders and big hands and eyebrows which, quite disconcertingly, seemed almost to meet in the middle. The eyebrows gave her the impression of perpetually scowling, and Georgette could not help thinking that her very countenance must frighten the children.
“Oh dear, that must have been a sore trial to you, Mrs Wells.”
“It certainly was. I am only supposed to work with the children at mealtimes and getting them into and out of bed. Since the last governess left, it has been down to me to spend all day with them also.” Mrs Wells seemed entirely put out by that.
Georgette could not help being perplexed by the curious behaviour of the upper-level servants in the house. It would appear that Mrs Wells was to be no different. While she resented the fact that she had been forced to work all day, instead of her rather more comfortable hours as nurse, still she was keen to point out that the services of the governess were not needed. Were all of the servants this contrary, Georgette wondered, or was it simply a little handful at the top?
“Then you must be pleased to relinquish the extra duties which have been dropped upon you, are you not?” Georgette said, rather painting the woman into a corner.
“Well yes, of course,” Mrs Wells said, quickly realizing that the new governess had blown their little plan clean out of the water.