“It certainly must not.” Rupert felt daft repeating himself but he could not help it. Miss Ellerby’s flat apology had denied him the desired opportunity to vent his feelings. “Stables can be dangerous places. Horses are large, unpredictable beasts and you may have noticed that Phoebe tends to be impulsive and heedless. Without proper supervision, she could be badly injured.”
Miss Ellerby made no effort to deny it but accepted his rebuke with sullen self-restraint that made him suspect she was well accustomed to criticism. That thought nearly silenced him but he had more that needed to be said. “My daughter’s physical safety is not the half of it. There may be an even greater threat to her future reputation if she makes a habit of such behavior. Today it was a harmless spat with a stable boy. Five years hence it could be altogether more serious.”
That possibility had never occurred to Miss Ellerby. Rupert could tell by the way she flinched when he mentioned it. Subtle though her reaction was, it somehow satisfied him that he had impressed upon her the gravity of her lapse in judgment.
The instant he was certain of that, he began to have second thoughts. Had he been wrong to rebuke the new governess? It was a serious matter, but this was only her first day. Besides, he had not given her any clear instructions as to what was expected of her. He’d assumed that with her years of experience she would know better than he what she should do. Now he found himself questioning whether that was fair.
Still Miss Ellerby remained mute.
While Rupert tried to decide what he should say next, the nursery door swung open and Phoebe charged out. She was clad in her nightdress with her hair sloppily braided for the night.
“What are you doing out here young lady?” He tried to maintain a frosty frown, but she looked so much younger than her years just then. “As I recall, you were ordered to bed.”
“No I wasn’t,” she replied in a tone that was not insolent, only stating a plain fact. “Miss Ellerby said I should wash and put on my nightclothes, which I did. Neither of you forbade me to come out here. Since you’re talking about me, I reckon I should be here.”
“What makes you so certain we are talking about you?” Rupert demanded.
Phoebe rolled her eyes. “You have been, though, haven’t you?”
She had him there. Rupert shuddered to think what a formidable adversary she might become in another few years—a proper little rebel over whom he might have no control. “If you have been the subject of our conversation, it is between Miss Ellerby and me. You must get to bed at once.”
The child stood her ground. “It wasn’t Miss Ellerby’s fault that I ended up in the stables. I didn’t ask her permission. I just told her I was going and went. I’ve been going out to tell Jem good-night for weeks now, even before Mademoiselle went away.”
Rupert almost staggered. Phoebe’s imprudent behavior had been going on all this time without him ever suspecting? He was torn between indignation at the former governess and vexation with himself for having permitted it to happen.
“What on earth possessed Mademoiselle Audet to let you do that?” Once the question was out of his mouth, he realized it was the same one he’d put to Miss Ellerby a few moments ago. She’d remained so quiet and still since his daughter’s sudden appearance he had almost forgotten her presence.
“I knew something about Mademoiselle,” Phoebe admitted in a guilty mutter. “I saw her once on her half-day, meeting that man—the one she ran away to marry.”
“You blackmailed your governess?” This was far worse than he’d expected.
“I didn’t!” Phoebe insisted. “I wouldn’t have tattled on her the way Charlotte does. I didn’t even know she was doing something she oughtn’t. But after that she let me do whatever I wanted.”
Could he believe her? Recent events had shaken Rupert’s faith in womankind, even his young daughter. What else had been going on in the Nethercross nursery without his knowledge?
“I have heard quite enough.” With a flick of his hand he gestured toward the nursery door. “To bed with you, young lady. I will deal with you later.”
The child’s lips set in a rebellious frown, but a look of hurt flickered in her eyes. Those eyes were so much like her mother’s that he could not bear to glimpse such an expression in them.
“Miss Ellerby shouldn’t be in trouble,” Phoebe muttered as she retreated toward the nursery. “It was my fault and Mademoiselle’s... and Peter’s, the wretch.”
Before her father could bid her away again, she slipped through the door and closed it behind her, leaving him alone with Miss Ellerby. Though the governess did not move or speak, her silent reproach threatened to deafen him.
Rupert drew a deep breath and forced out the words that fairness demanded he speak. “It seems I was hasty and harsh in my judgment. I owe you an apology, Miss Ellerby.”
She gave a shallow shrug that seemed to accept both his apology and his earlier rebuke. “I should not have let her go, sir, for all the reasons you mentioned.”
Her forbearance should have made him feel less ashamed of the way he’d spoken... but it did not. Quite the opposite in fact. He pictured himself as the cruel tyrant in one of Sophie’s stories. It was not a role he relished. “I should not have expected you to remedy a situation that appears to have been going on for quite some time right under my nose.”
Miss Ellerby flicked a brief glance up at him as if she did not believe what she was hearing. Was it so difficult for her to accept that he was capable of offering an apology when it was clearly warranted?
“It was wrong of me,” he continued, “to assume you would know what I expect of you when we have never discussed the matter.”
“It would help to know what the girls are permitted to do,” she agreed, “and what they are not.”
Somehow, that made him feel better. It might provide him with an opportunity to make up for his unfairness. “In a fortnight, the new session of Parliament begins and I shall be obliged to go to London during the week. It is vital that we are quite clear about my expectations before then. Come down to the drawing room tomorrow evening after you put the girls to bed and we can discuss the matter.”
“As you wish, sir.” Behind those thick, ugly spectacles, Miss Ellerby’s eyes widened as if he had proposed something improper, even dangerous. But that was ridiculous. He must have misinterpreted her expression just as he had misjudged her actions.
This new governess was an exceedingly puzzling creature. Perhaps a meeting or two between them would help him understand her a little better, in addition to helping her understand what was expected of her. “I do wish it, Miss Ellerby. In fact, I insist. For the sake of my daughters, I believe it is vital that we confer.”
He made a polite bow. “Until tomorrow evening, then.”
As he strode away, she called after him in a quiet but insistent voice. “I beg your pardon, sir.”
Rupert halted and turned on his heel.
“Yes?” He could not fully conceal his impatience. He wanted to put this whole awkward incident behind them as soon as possible.
“I thought you wanted to hear the girls’ prayers.”
Behind her dour facade, he sensed Miss Ellerby might be secretly amusing herself at his expense. Tempted as he was to resent her subtle dig, Rupert had to admit he deserved it.