A Governess for the Brooding Duke(60)

“Please do not leave us, Miss Darrington,” Ffion whispered almost noiselessly into the side of Georgette’s neck.



“Goodness me, Ffion, I will not leave you,” she said, wishing the Duke could have found some other way to speak to her without upsetting the girls so much.



By the time she had reached the door of the Duke’s study, Georgette felt quite nauseous.



She could not forget the look on Mrs Griffin’s face and felt sure that there had been some mischief set against her. But surely the Duke had come to know her a little now and would not take Mrs Griffin’s part in things.



Horrified to note that her hand was shaking just a little, Georgette reached out and knocked the door.



“Enter,” the Duke called, and she hurried in. Her heart sank when she saw Mrs Wells standing in front of the Duke’s desk. She turned to look at Georgette and gave her such a look of loathing that she quite shuddered in the face of it. Why was it that that woman found it so very easy to hate?



“Miss Darrington, thank you for coming along so promptly,” he said, although his tone suggested that he was far from pleased to see her.



“Your Grace,” she said in acknowledgment and feeling, rather than seeing, Mrs Wells looking at her.



It was of some amusement to Georgette to note that the Duke had not asked the doughy nurse to take a seat and had rather left her standing in front of his desk. A small victory as that was, it was a victory nonetheless. But on that day, it was likely not a victory at all since she herself stood at the side of the woman, the both of them awkward in the face of the seated Duke.



“Mrs Wells has brought a matter of some concern to me, Miss Darrington, and I thought it something best dealt with immediately,” he said a little shortly, his eyes fixing upon hers for a moment.



Without hearing a word further, Georgette felt the weight of a great injustice. After all, when she had taken a matter of genuine concern to the Duke herself, a matter which affected the children greatly, he had not sent immediately for Mrs Wells. In truth, he had simply brushed the whole thing off, never once bringing Mrs Wells to heel. Now, based on nothing more than mischief, she had been dragged from the schoolroom and brought before him. Georgette rather thought that it would not be one of the days when she saw the best in the Duke and not the worst.



“A matter of some concern, Your Grace?” Georgette said, her throat growing ever drier.



“Yes, it appears that Mrs Wells has observed you continuing to converse in Welsh with the children,” he said and rather glared at her.



Although Georgette had, indeed, continued to allow the girls to speak Welsh, she knew she had done it in such secrecy that the dreadful nurse would never, not for one moment, have overheard a thing. It was simply a lie based on an earlier truth. Mrs Wells was rather banking on the fact that the Duke would believe her tale since he himself had already found cause to speak to Georgette on the matter.



“And when was this?” Georgette said, turning to look at Mrs Wells.



She thought it rather telling that Mrs Wells chose to continue to stare at the Duke’s desk, rather than meet her eyes.



“Mrs Wells?” the Duke said, firmly.



“On a number of occasions,” she said, still staring at the desk. “It seems to me like every time I approach the schoolroom door to collect the children after their lessons, I hear Welsh words drifting out.”



“Miss Darrington?” the Duke said, raising his eyebrows, clearly indicating that now was the time to defend herself.



“No, after all, it would be rather a foolish thing to do, would it not, knowing that the children’s nurse might arrive at any moment to collect them?” she said, turning to stare at the side of Mrs Wells’ face. “So, I can tell you most conclusively that I have not heard the children speaking any Welsh words whilst waiting for their nurse to come and collect them from the schoolroom at half-past three in the afternoon.”



Georgette was telling the absolute truth. She had not suggested that she never allowed the children to speak in Welsh, but she was keen to highlight Mrs Wells’ obvious lie.



“You’d say any clever thing, wouldn’t you?” Mrs Wells sneered.



“Mrs Wells!” the Duke said, irritably.



“Your Grace, this woman completely ignores your instructions. It is as if you have not spoken at all, Your Grace,” Mrs Wells said in an attempt to ingratiate herself.



“Miss Darrington, you are absolutely sure that there is no truth in Mrs Wells’ assertions?” he said, holding her gaze so steadily that Georgette knew she could not lie.