Read Online The Governess Club: Claire by Ellie Macdonald - Free Book Online Page A

up.”
    “And I’ll be sure to have my dancing shoes polished,” Jacob said. “It’s been quite some time since I’ve had the pleasure of a country assembly.”
    Claire looked at him. “Are there none in Oxford or Cambridge?”
    Jacob shrugged. “How would I know? I’m from London. Haven’t spent much time outside of the city for years.”
    Claire was confused. “Then where did you study?”
    Jacob stared at her. How could he have let such a simple mistake slip? Of course a tutor would have some university training in him. And he did attend Oxford, on paper at least.
    He cleared his throat. “Oxford, briefly, but most of my education was from my uncle. He is a rector and took a sabbatical for several years from his parish at my father’s behest. It was cheaper than university.” That, and he had been sent down so many times they refused to let him return. It was his father’s youngest brother who had taken him on and engendered a decent respect for certain studies. “And while I was there, country assemblies weren’t an activity that garnered my interest.”
    “And now they are?” Claire asked with a raised brow.
    “It’s been an age since we’ve danced at an assembly,” Lucy said. With a giggle, she grabbed Claire’s hands and pulled her up. Without hesitating, Claire bowed to Lucy’s curtsey and they began to dance a Scottish reel. Unable to resist their excitement, Jacob began to whistle a tune and slap his knees, providing music and a rhythm.
    The women laughed their way around the room, their skirts whirling with their movements. Jacob was mesmerized by the sight of Claire’s face, giddy and flushed, her eyes sparkling with delight. It was not as though she was? an unhappy person, but Jacob had yet to see her experience this kind of pleasure. It radiated off her, the waves nearly visible as they filled the room. He could feel them move around him; the hairs on his arms tingled.
    Good Lord, but he needed her. Needed to bed her. It had become more than just a spot of fun; it had grown into an obsession. He wanted her . . . presence, for lack of a better word. He was honest with himself to recognize his selfishness. He wanted it in his life to bring him happiness, to possibly bring him the fulfillment he knew was lacking in his life. If he could somehow . . . learn it from her . . . perhaps he would finally be able to begin being his own man.
    If he could somehow tie her to him, somehow guarantee that she would remain in his life, then even if he couldn’t learn it her presence would continue to enrich his life. It would mean more than just bedding her, of course. It meant marriage. Surprisingly, the thought of such a thing didn’t send chills down his spine as it had in the past. Rather, the primitive male side of him rejoiced at that thought, for it meant multiple and repeated beddings with such an amazing woman.
    And given how much she enjoyed dancing, the servants’ assembly was the time to make his move.

 

C HAPTER S IX
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    “O oee, miss, ye’ve done gone and made me look lovely.” Lucy turned her head and lightly fingered the upswept arrangement Claire had set her hair in. Dressed in a simple green dress, Lucy did indeed look lovely.
    Claire smiled at Lucy in the mirror. “Lovely enough to perhaps catch Alfred’s eye even.” She laughed as a light blush stole over Lucy’s cheeks.
    “Do ye really think so?” Lucy looked hopeful.
    “If he doesn’t,” Claire said, “then he doesn’t deserve you, dear.”
    “Oh, but miss, he’s so handsome,” Lucy protested, turning around and looking at Claire. “And he’s been lookin’ and talkin’ so sweet to me these past weeks. He even tol’ me that he’d not like seeing me dance wit’ other blokes tonight.”
    Claire sat on Lucy’s bed and looked at her friend. She knew that servants were held to a different code than the nobility; the strictures between men and women were more lax. Claire thought of Jacob and felt a