With that, she slipped away, leaving Rupert to wander back to his study, more puzzled than ever. What had she meant by whatever happens? Would he ever be able to understand this enigmatic woman who shared his home and cared for his children?
As he stared out his study window over the darkening countryside, a flicker of movement caught his eye. He recognized Miss Ellerby walking along the footpath by the river. What was she doing out at this hour? Not sneaking off to meet some man, surely. Somehow that suspicion did not seem quite as ridiculous as when he’d first hired her. Or might there be a more ominous explanation that also accounted for the changes he’d sensed at Nethercross?
Could his daughters’ governess be so unhappy here that she wanted to do herself harm? Difficult as it had been for the girls to lose their first governess in the way they had, he could not bear for them to lose a second so soon under tragic circumstances.
But it was not only the well-being of his children that propelled Rupert out of his study, down a flight of stairs and through a side door that opened onto the garden. He also felt responsible for the woman he had hired, perhaps for the wrong reasons, and then discouraged from socializing outside his household. He should have taken more care to ensure that she was settling in well at Nethercross.
By the pale light of the rising moon, he picked his way through the flowerbeds toward the footpath where he had spied the governess.
“Miss Ellerby!” he called out, rushing toward her.
She jumped back with a cry of alarm when he came bounding out of the shadows. “Sir, you startled me!”
“Forgive me. I saw you from my study and wondered what brought you out here at this hour.”
His inquiry seemed to catch her off-guard, as if she’d expected him to say something else. “The evening is mild and the hyacinths are in bloom, so I thought I would take a walk in the fresh air before I retire, to help me sleep.”
That sounded reasonable, yet Rupert sensed she had other motives. “Have you had difficulty sleeping?”
“A little in the past few days.” She began to walk away slowly.
Rupert fell in step with her. “When I saw you out here, I was worried something might be troubling you.”
“You were worried... about me?” Miss Ellerby sounded as if she could scarcely believe it. Then she inhaled sharply and her tone grew brusque. “You need not, sir. I am quite well. I told you at the beginning of our acquaintance that I enjoy solitary walks.”
Now that she mentioned it, he did recall. But was her mention of solitary walks a hint that he was trespassing on her cherished privacy? “I fear this may not be the safest time or place to walk alone, Miss Ellerby.”
“Are you ordering me back inside?”
“No.” Rupert chose his next words with care. “I am only offering to accompany you, if that would not be too disagreeable.”
The governess ignored his final question, perhaps because she did not dare give an honest answer. “But would I not be taking you away from your own pursuits? You spend all week in London attending to the business of the nation then you come home to be with your daughters and tend your estate. That leaves little time for activities you enjoy.”
What pursuits did he enjoy? Rupert could scarcely recall. Anything in the company of his late wife—riding around the estate, playing backgammon by the fire on a winter evening, reading aloud to her while she did needlework. They had brought him a sense of sweet contentment.
Rupert tried to ignore a pang that skewered his heart. “The time I spend with my children is not a duty, Miss Ellerby. I only wish I had more time to be with them.”
“Have you considered taking them to London with you?” The governess asked. Before he could protest, she rushed on. “Not all the time. I understand why you want them to be at Nethercross. But a week now and then would do them no harm, surely? Perhaps you could take them to places of interest in the city. I am certain it would please Charlotte. She is eager to see more of the world. Would it not be better for her to do that under your supervision? Otherwise I fear she may come to think of Nethercross as captivity she needs to escape.”
“For someone with whom my daughter has not gotten on, you seem to understand her very well, Miss Ellerby.”
His rueful jest seemed to fluster her. “I believe I could understand Charlotte better if she would let me.”
Did Miss Ellerby think he was criticizing her for failing to gain his eldest daughter’s confidence as quickly as she had that of the other girls?
“Do not give up on Charlotte.” Rupert advised his daughters’ governess. “She will come around in time. I fear she is too much like me in that respect, taking a while to trust new acquaintances. Once we do, I can assure you we make loyal friends.”
“Does that mean you will consider my latest suggestion, sir?”
“I suppose I will have to, won’t I?” Rupert pretended to be disgruntled. “Do you reckon you have developed a knack for managing me, Miss Ellerby? I must warn you, I do not care to be managed.”
“Not at all, sir,” she protested. “You are a perfect enigma to me. I have never met a man quite like you before.”
Did she mean that as a compliment, Rupert wondered, or a criticism? He could not be certain. He only knew he felt flattered.
His lordship was quite unlike most other men she’d known, Grace reflected as they continued their walk on that mild spring evening.
His sudden appearance had alarmed her but once she collected her wits, she’d braced to hear that Charlotte had revealed her secret. She expected Lord Steadwell to demand an explanation, perhaps even her resignation. Instead, he’d expressed concern for her welfare and offered to keep her company.
After her experiences with men, his offer had made her uneasy. But as the minutes wore on and Lord Steadwell kept his distance, she began to relax. Of course no man would think of making advances to plain, prim Miss Ellerby, she reminded herself. Yet, the better she came to know his lordship, the more she began to think he might be a man she could trust.
Even with the truth of her appearance? A reckless impulse urged her to confess and hope he might understand the reasons for her ruse. But caution was far stronger in her than courage. If she held her tongue, it was possible Charlotte might not betray her. But if she confessed, there was no way of predicting what the consequences might be.
“How did you spend your week?” his lordship asked. “Is my daughter correct that nothing exciting ever happens at Nethercross?”
Grace thrust her uncertainty to the back of her mind, determined to savor a few moments of adult conversation. “I suppose it depends upon what one considers exciting. I find it exciting that spring arrives earlier here than in Lancashire. I find it exciting that you have so many fine portraits of your ancestors. It gave me an idea for how I might make the study of history more meaningful to your daughters.”