Read Online Andrea Pickens - [Lessons in Love 01] by The Defiant Governess - Free Book Online

hiring one at all," she said softly.
    "It is necessary," was the curt reply. There was another silence. "I have also found my ward to be more... lively. I take it I have you to thank for this as well?"
    Jane couldn't resist the opening. "Oh, it is really nothing, my lord. Children naturally respond to a little love and attention." She smiled innocently. "His name is Peter, by the way—in case you have forgotten."
    A flush stole across his face, she noted with satisfaction, and his jaw set grimly. So, she had managed to effect a crack in his icy manner. But when he spoke, his voice was quite even.
    "You may go now."
    Without any further ado, he turned his attention to the papers on his desk.
    It was Jane's turn to feel the heat of anger. To be dismissed like a... a servant! But as soon as she thought it, the very irony of the situation nearly made her smile in spite of herself. She rose silently and left the room, conceding the last word to him. After all, he had had an unfair advantage in the meeting. But she felt she had held her own, and even scored a hit herself.
    Yet the whole meeting had infuriated her, only serving to confirm her suspicion that the marquess was a cold, hard man. When she reached her own chamber she was still fuming over the bored, sardonic look on his face, the way his eyes raked over her as if they didn't even see her. She made a vow that he would never intimidate her as he seemed to have done to the rest of the household. Not that it mattered. From what she understood, His Lordship never stayed more than a week or two at a time. But if he wanted to cross wills with her, she was ready!
    * * *
    The thick oriental carpet muffled the sound of Saybrook's well-polished Hessians as he paced before the fire in his library. The polished paneling glowed in the flickering light, conjuring up evenings long past when he would creep in to find his mother reading by the hearth. The memories caused a sudden lurch in his chest, a longing to make this his home again, a place of warmth, of laughter, of life rather than a place he avoided as much as possible. He loved the smell of the leather books, the familiar furniture, the carved moldings—missing one acorn that he had whittled away with a new pocket knife...
    He shook his head as if to banish the painful thoughts.
    They plagued him whenever he came back. Most of the time he was able to keep them at bay. So good had he become at hiding his feelings he could almost believe he had none, none at all. Perhaps that was why he felt half dead.
    His lips compressed. Thank God it was only a couple of weeks a year that he had to return to deal with his affairs. His steward was a capable, honest man who ran the lands well. There was no doubt that all would be in order and decisions could be made swiftly. Of course, he would inspect things himself, and see that his tenants had been looked after properly. But that shouldn't take too long.
    And Mrs. Fairchild ran the manor as well as his mother had. A poor relation from that side of the family, Mrs. Fairchild had come to Highwood when he was still in leading strings. Saybrook grimaced as he remembered how many times she had borne the brunt of some childish prank of his or Liza's—it was a wonder she did not hold him in the greatest distaste! But her good nature had never wavered and now she was delighted with the responsibility of caring for his estate and ward while he absented himself for months on end. Did she have an inkling as to his reasons? He sometime thought she looked at him with—no matter. She ran the house and servants with a gentle, yet firm hand.
    Saybrook allowed himself a small smile. Servants. Most of them had been there for years. The governess was the only new face—and a rather interesting if dowdy one at that. He almost chuckled, recalling her look of dismay at discovering her errant rider and new employer were one in the same. Oh, she had tried to hide her emotions, but her expressive features did not