A Governess for the Brooding Duke(65)

She felt absolutely sure that he had decided the matter would go no further.



“You need not look at me like that, Miss Darrington. I shall return it below stairs,” he said, rather forcefully. He stared straight into her face, and Georgette struggled to get her breath. Something seemed really rather different about him, and she could not help thinking that it made him ever more handsome. “And you need not worry that you will be served anything that looks like this again. As long as you live under this roof, Miss Darrington, you will eat as well as any of us,” he said and took the tray from her.



“Thank you, Your Grace,” she answered, feeling a little guilty that she had doubted him.



“If you will excuse me, Miss Darrington,” he said and, despite holding the tray, he bowed before turning to leave her.



For some moments, Georgette simply stood and watched him leave, reminded a little of the day in the woodland when, finding his conversation blundering most dreadfully, he had taken his leave suddenly.



Something a little wicked within her wished to be within earshot of the servants’ area for the next few minutes, and yet she knew that it was not possible. Unless Daisy was able to hear the whole thing, it seemed likely that Georgette would never know what was about to pass between master and servants below stairs.





Chapter 23



Georgette had been quite unable to concentrate for the rest of the day, eventually giving into her own distraction and putting an end to their lessons. Instead, she had taken Eleri and Ffion out for a nature walk on the estate. She had tasked them with collecting little stones that they might use for their arithmetic lessons instead of continually hunting under the schoolroom table for stray beans which had rolled and bounced their way there from above.



When half past three came, she found herself handing the children over to a subdued and rather contrite Mrs Wells.



“Thank you, Miss Darrington,” Mrs Wells had said, reaching to take the girls’ hands rather gently. “We’ll see you in the morning.” She finished with something that she probably assumed to be a genuine smile.



“Thank you, Mrs Wells. Do have a pleasant evening,” Georgette said and was keen to make her tone rather a neutral one.



In truth, she did not want Mrs Wells to be under the impression that she was forgiven for her poor behaviour. But, at the same time, if the dreadful woman was trying to put in some effort, she did not want to agitate her in any way that might affect the children throughout the evening.



The two hours that she waited in her room for dinner to arrive had seemed to last for days. She was anxious to see Daisy and find out what she knew or what she had heard. By the time the young maid was on her way down the long corridor, Georgette was already waiting for her in the doorway of her room.



“Oh, Miss, you just ought to have been there,” Daisy said, wasting no time on greetings of any sort. She put the tray down on the table, hurriedly lifted the lid to show Georgette what a perfect meal resided beneath, and replaced it again and continued to talk. “I do not know what you said to His Grace, Miss Darrington, but he was furious.” Daisy was smiling from ear to ear, and Georgette fought an urge to hug her. She did not want to interrupt Daisy’s tale in any way.



“Go on,” Georgette said hurriedly, smiling equally broadly.



“I have never heard His Grace shout so loudly in all the time I have worked here, Miss Darrington. He came marching through the servants’ area carrying your tray, and he had such a look on his face.”



“Please tell me that he did not admonish the cook. I know it is not her doing,” Georgette said, fearing the worst.



“No, he didn’t even go in to see the cook. He marched straight into Mrs Griffin’s office and slammed the tray down on her desk.” Daisy’s eyes were wide. “We didn’t see it, Miss Darrington, but we could hear it.”



“Good heavens,” Georgette said, her heart pounding with excitement.



“And he left the door open, Miss Darrington. I really think he wanted everybody to hear what he had to say. And it’s been a very different place down there ever since. They all heard it, you see.”



“And what did His Grace say?” Georgette said, unable to hide her curiosity.



“If you wish to keep your position here, Mrs Griffin,” Daisy began, doing a rather comical impression of a male upper-class English accent, “then I strongly suggest that you do not serve Miss Darrington another meal that looks like this.” Daisy chuckled. “And Mrs Griffin tried to defend herself. She tried to make out that she had never seen the meal and had no idea it had been sent to you in such a state. But he wasn’t having any of it,” Daisy said, looking over her shoulder as she always did when the two of them were alone. “Do not lie to me, Mrs Griffin,” Daisy resumed her imitation of the Duke, “not if you wish to keep your position here. Do not say anything further, just listen. For as long as Miss Darrington resides under my roof, you are to afford her every respect. She is governess to my nieces, and you will be mindful of that in future. You will not continue this mischief in any way, shape, or form or you will find yourself turned out without references. Do you understand me?” Daisy was breathless and clearly excited. “And I think Mrs Griffin must have nodded because we didn’t hear her say anything else. And then the Duke came out and closed the door and made his way straight round to the butler’s room. Although he closed the door this time, so we could not hear exactly what he said, but it was still fairly loud, and it was clear that Mr Pearson was getting a good telling off as well.”