A Governess for the Brooding Duke(76)
“I do not want to be employed elsewhere,” she said, tears rolling down her face.
“It gives me no pleasure, Miss Darrington, but I can see no other way,” he went on and set about writing her character reference.
She watched in horrified silence as he continued to write, almost unable to comprehend what had happened in the last few minutes. How had everything changed so dramatically and so very quickly?
When he had finished writing, he blotted the paper, neatly folded it, and handed it to her without meeting her gaze.
“I think it best you leave immediately,” he said, his voice so level that she wondered if he felt anything for her at all.
“Allow me to say goodbye to the girls,” she said, feeling herself to be shaking from head to foot.
“I am sorry, Miss Darrington, but I do not think that would be good for either you or the girls. It can only upset you further, and I would not wish it, really I would not.”
“That is appalling,” Georgette said miserably.
“I shall have my driver take you to wherever it is you wish to go. And I shall pay you well enough that you might keep yourself whilst you are waiting to secure your next position.”
“I do not want your money,” Georgette said fiercely and turned to leave the room.
“Wait,” he said and was suddenly behind her, his hand on her shoulder. “It is not my money, Miss Darrington. It is your pay, and you have earned it.”
He turned her and led her back into the room. Georgette stood miserably as he counted out the money that she knew was more than her wages due to that date. When he pressed it into her hand, finally their eyes met. Georgette felt sure she saw emotion in his and refused to look away; she wanted more than anything for him to change his mind.
Finally, he walked around her to the door and opened it. With his head bowed, he simply waited in silence for her to leave.
Chapter 27
Georgette had been staying in the small room at the inn for two days. She had made no move to get herself back to London to Mr Winstanley’s employment registry. She simply could not leave, and she knew it. Georgette had spent hour after hour thinking what she could do to change things.
The Duke’s driver, a quiet and rather kindly man, had been entirely surprised when Georgette had asked him to simply take her to the nearest coaching inn.
“But that is only two miles away, Miss,” he said with his eyebrows raised. “The Duke said that I might take you wherever it is you wish to go.”
“I do not yet wish to go far; in truth, I do not. But I thank you for your kindness.”
“You are welcome, Miss. I just do not know how you are going to get back to London when the time comes. It’s not cheap travelling by post-chaise.”
“No, indeed it is not,” she said a little wistfully. “But I shall be quite alright, I promise.”
“Have it your own way,” he said and smiled.
The driver had waited for her to secure a room at the inn and had carried her small trunk of belongings upstairs for her. He left with nothing more than a kindly nod, and yet it was enough to make her feel greatly emotional again. That nod seemed to be the final word from Draycott Hall, and she wondered if she would ever be inside that place again.
For as much as she had found it too large and too isolating from the first, as she sat in the little room at the inn, Georgette realized quite how she would miss the place. Not simply for the place itself but rather the children, and, yes, the Duke himself.
She knew in her heart that they were simply a family in distress, despite their great status and wealth. And she knew it was not simply the idea of losing the girls that was holding her back, but rather the idea of never seeing the Duke of Draycott again. And not only that, but the idea that he would suffer for the rest of his life thinking that his beloved sister despised him.
As Georgette sat down on the bed, the only piece of furniture in the room save for a small wardrobe and washstand, she remembered just how desperately sad he had been on the day that she had put her arms around him. He really had loved his sister so very dearly, and it was the idea that, in the end, she no longer loved him in return which caused him the greatest pain of all. And not only did it cause him great pain, but it left him to cause great pain in the lives of others.
If only he could see it, then maybe things would have been very different. For one thing, she might not have found herself alone in the world spending her last shreds of money on shabby accommodations as she wondered what to do next.
And that was the key to it; the Duke could think no further than his own pain, and so it was for her to do what she could to help them. Whilst Georgette did not yet know what that might be, she knew that she must try. If she simply turned on her heels and made her way back to London and into the home of a new family, everything she had suffered thus far would have been in vain.