“You will? Why?” The child rolled toward Grace. Her eyes and nose were red and swollen and her hair a horrible tangle. Somehow it was a more endearing sight than any pampered, perfectly groomed youngster. “And why did you try to take part of the blame after I told Papa the truth?”
“For the same reason as you, I suppose—because it was fair and true.” A thought popped into Grace’s mind of a lesson she’d learned at school—one the teachers had surely not intended to instill. “And perhaps because I thought your father could not be quite so angry at either one of us if he was angry at both.”
Phoebe seemed intrigued by that notion. “It worked... a little at least. Do you reckon you can persuade Papa about Jem?”
“I’m not certain.” The last thing Grace wanted to do was disappoint the child. “Your father seems to be a very strong-willed man with firmly fixed ideas—especially when it comes to the welfare of you and your sisters. But I will try.”
“Papa treats me as if I’m no older than Sophie,” Phoebe grumbled, “when I’m almost eleven.”
Brooding on grievances against her father would not help the child sleep well.
“Why don’t you sit up and let me fix your hair,” Grace suggested. “I’m sure you will rest much more comfortably if it is a bit neater.”
Phoebe heaved herself up, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her nightdress while Grace fetched a hairbrush. “I hope you will not be like Mademoiselle, always harping at me about my looks. There are lots more important things.”
“There are, indeed,” Grace agreed fervently as she brushed out the girl’s wild dark locks and twined them into a pair of neat braids. “All I will ask is that you try to keep tidy. You wouldn’t want to have your pony going about with his coat uncurried and his mane and tail all matted, would you?”
Phoebe shook her head violently as she lay back down. “Then people might think I didn’t take proper care of Jem.”
“Just so.” Grace tucked the bedclothes around her new pupil. “I know I would hate to have people think I did not take proper care of you and your sisters—your father especially. You can understand that, can’t you?”
Phoebe gave a vague murmur of agreement.
“I thought you would.” Grace had an urge to kiss the child good-night but sensed it might be too soon for such familiarity. Instead, she settled for resting her hand on Phoebe’s head. “That is the good sense I would expect from a young lady of nearly eleven.”
Her comment seemed to please Phoebe, who snuggled into her pillow with a little grin.
As Grace retired to her own quarters and began to unpack her meager possessions, she congratulated herself on having made progress with at least one of Lord Steadwell’s daughters. She knew better than to suppose the other two would be so easy to win over.
As for their father, she would feel a great deal more comfortable at Nethercross once he went away to London.
Chapter Four
“YOU SEEM TO be settling in quite well at Nethercross, Miss Ellerby.” Rupert motioned her toward a brocade armchair in the drawing room. “After that regrettable incident last evening, I hope Phoebe is minding you better.”
“Yes, sir.” The governess took the seat he had indicated, her posture as prim and stiff as her ugly starched cap, with her hands clasped tightly in her lap. “We are getting on quite well. She is a delightful child.”
A note of genuine warmth crept into Miss Ellerby’s voice.
“She is?” Rupert sank onto a nearby chair. “I mean, of course she is. Though I must admit I did not expect you to see that side of her quite so soon. Mademoiselle Audet found her something of a handful. And I have had more difficulty with Phoebe than with her sisters. You may have noticed she is strong-willed and not particularly biddable.”
“Phoebe has great spirit.” Though Miss Ellerby seemed to agree with him, she put a rather different emphasis on his daughter’s temperament. “She is open, brave and truthful. Not many girls her age would have risked your displeasure on behalf of a stranger as she did for me last night.”
“I suppose not.” He’d been so concerned with Phoebe’s heedless behavior that he had not stopped to consider how admirable it was of her to confess the truth. “Still, I hope she has obeyed my orders to stay out of the stables in the evening. You made certain she did not sneak out?”
Miss Ellerby’s pale brows knit together in an indignant frown. “I do not believe Phoebe would ever do that, sir. She might be pushed to outright defiance but not deception.”
“Pushed? Are you insinuating that I provoke my daughter to misbehave?” Rupert bristled at the thought. “I have known Phoebe from the day she was born. You only met her yesterday.”
The sharpness of his tone made Miss Ellerby recoil slightly, but she refused to back down. “That is true, sir. Perhaps your memories of her as a young child may have blinded you to the fact that Phoebe is growing up. When you give her orders or impose punishment without respecting her feelings, she thinks you are treating her like a much younger child and she resents it a good deal.”
“She does?” Much as he would have liked to dismiss Miss Ellerby’s comments, Rupert could not deny their ring of truth. “My daughter needs to realize that respect must be earned.”
The governess’s tightly pursed lips relaxed a little. “That is what I told Phoebe, and she seemed to understand. Do you not think her truthfulness last night merits some respect? I certainly do.”
“Perhaps.” Rupert wondered where all this might lead. “What do you propose?”
Though Miss Ellerby seemed pleasantly surprised by his question, she had an answer ready. “I believe you should demonstrate your respect by giving Phoebe a little more freedom and allowing her to prove she can make responsible use of it.”
“What sort of freedom?” Rupert could not hide his reluctance. He wanted to keep his daughters safe. Freedom brought risks.
“Give her permission to visit her pony before bed.”
“Out of the question.” Rupert sprang to his feet and began to pace back and forth behind his chair. “Did you not heed a word I said last night about the trouble it could lead to?”
“I certainly did.” Miss Ellerby sounded rather intimidated by his resistance but determined to prevail all the same. “That is why I would suggest a firm time limit, which might be extended if Phoebe proves she can abide by it. Of course, she would have to be accompanied by a trusted servant to make certain she does not come to any harm or get into fights with stable boys.”
Rupert clenched his jaw in an effort to conceal any sign that he might be weakening. How was it that this mousy governess tested his stubborn resolve? Could it be because he sensed they both wanted the same thing, only their approach to the problem differed? Even then, she seemed to understand his concerns and tried to address them.
“I will give the matter some thought.”
“Thank you, sir.” Miss Ellerby’s tight-pressed lips blossomed into a radiant smile that disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving Rupert to wonder if he’d only imagined it.