Read Online The Sergeant Major's Daughter by Sheila Walsh - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Sheila Walsh
Ads: Link
how you appear, sitting there in your neat black gown with your eyes cast down and your hands clasped demurely in your lap? You are the very picture of a submissive young woman.”
He brought his hand down on the desk with a suddenness that made her jump, and came to his feet. “But you are a sham, madam!” He stood before her and took her chin between finger and thumb. “There is no trace of submissiveness in you—not in this chin, which can set itself so stubbornly against me—nor yet in your eyes. Ah! There—you see? It is your eyes that are your undoing every time! They fizz and smolder with yellow flames the moment your temper is tested—as now!”
“Then why must you provoke it?” she protested, her chin still firmly imprisoned in his clasp.
“ I have no idea, Miss Vale. Mayhap I see your persistent refusal to be cowed as an irresistible challenge.” His fierce glance, now frowning, swept over her. “Why do you wear your hair in that ugly knot?”
Felicity found this sudden shift disconcerting. She said breathlessly, “It seemed ... appropriate to my circumstances, sir.”
“ It may well be the accepted mode for aspiring governesses and schoolmarms, but I cannot think it necessary in your case—and it don’t become you.”
The Earl released her abruptly and walked to the window, leaving Felicity to wonder if she would ever wholly u nderstand him. Yet she found herself smi li ng as she stood up.
“I confess I should be very glad to change it, my lord, ” she said — and hesitated. “About Ester Graham, sir?”
“Ah yes — Ester Graham.” He swung around. “Well, my tenacious young friend—what am I to pay your proposed assistant?”
“I believe thirty pounds per annum would be f air, ” F elicity said firmly.
“Do you now? And you are doubtless of the opinion that I can well afford such a sum!” She thought she detected a gleam in his eye. “So be it. You have your assistant.”
“Thank you, sir. Ester will be overjoyed.”
As she turned to leave he added dryly, “You are not likely to increase your staff still further, I trust? Should you find any more lame ducks, I feel bound to warn you that I am by no means the soft touch you seem to think me.”
Ester refused to take the news of her appointment seriously and needed to be convinced that it was not cha ri ty. Once satisfied, however, her face lost much of its haggard look; there was a new lightness in her step and she began to look much nearer to her twenty-seven years. She had security within her grasp—something she had not thought possible.
And so have I, thought Felicity, as she brushed out the despised knot for the last time. Lord Stayne might be exasperating, infuriating even, and at times downright overbearing, but that she could cope with. It was infinitely preferable to the dreaded prospect of some Mrs. Lipscombe-like dragon to whom one would have to be pleasant for fear of losing one’s place.
She gazed pensively at her reflection and wondered whether his lordship ever saw Lucinda Lipscombe in the guise of a challenge. Surely not, for she would have been schooled to show only the most biddable and pleasing side of her nature in the presence of so eligible a prospect. I bet she sulks like the very devil when she is crossed, Felicity decided uncharitably.
The school was going to be a resounding success. Felicity was sure by the end of the first week. She had nineteen boys and fifteen girls ranging from seven to twelve—a variation in both age and capabilities which challenged her resources to the utmost. In spite of their initial reluctance, all but a few were quickly won over by Felicity’s cheerful, matter-of-fact approach.
She was well aware that the Earl was watching her progress with an uncomfortable degree of interest—he had several times dropped in on them quite without warning, thus putting her on her mettle.
It was particularly galling when he arrived a few weeks before Christmas accompanied by
He brought his hand down on the desk with a suddenness that made her jump, and came to his feet. “But you are a sham, madam!” He stood before her and took her chin between finger and thumb. “There is no trace of submissiveness in you—not in this chin, which can set itself so stubbornly against me—nor yet in your eyes. Ah! There—you see? It is your eyes that are your undoing every time! They fizz and smolder with yellow flames the moment your temper is tested—as now!”
“Then why must you provoke it?” she protested, her chin still firmly imprisoned in his clasp.
“ I have no idea, Miss Vale. Mayhap I see your persistent refusal to be cowed as an irresistible challenge.” His fierce glance, now frowning, swept over her. “Why do you wear your hair in that ugly knot?”
Felicity found this sudden shift disconcerting. She said breathlessly, “It seemed ... appropriate to my circumstances, sir.”
“ It may well be the accepted mode for aspiring governesses and schoolmarms, but I cannot think it necessary in your case—and it don’t become you.”
The Earl released her abruptly and walked to the window, leaving Felicity to wonder if she would ever wholly u nderstand him. Yet she found herself smi li ng as she stood up.
“I confess I should be very glad to change it, my lord, ” she said — and hesitated. “About Ester Graham, sir?”
“Ah yes — Ester Graham.” He swung around. “Well, my tenacious young friend—what am I to pay your proposed assistant?”
“I believe thirty pounds per annum would be f air, ” F elicity said firmly.
“Do you now? And you are doubtless of the opinion that I can well afford such a sum!” She thought she detected a gleam in his eye. “So be it. You have your assistant.”
“Thank you, sir. Ester will be overjoyed.”
As she turned to leave he added dryly, “You are not likely to increase your staff still further, I trust? Should you find any more lame ducks, I feel bound to warn you that I am by no means the soft touch you seem to think me.”
Ester refused to take the news of her appointment seriously and needed to be convinced that it was not cha ri ty. Once satisfied, however, her face lost much of its haggard look; there was a new lightness in her step and she began to look much nearer to her twenty-seven years. She had security within her grasp—something she had not thought possible.
And so have I, thought Felicity, as she brushed out the despised knot for the last time. Lord Stayne might be exasperating, infuriating even, and at times downright overbearing, but that she could cope with. It was infinitely preferable to the dreaded prospect of some Mrs. Lipscombe-like dragon to whom one would have to be pleasant for fear of losing one’s place.
She gazed pensively at her reflection and wondered whether his lordship ever saw Lucinda Lipscombe in the guise of a challenge. Surely not, for she would have been schooled to show only the most biddable and pleasing side of her nature in the presence of so eligible a prospect. I bet she sulks like the very devil when she is crossed, Felicity decided uncharitably.
The school was going to be a resounding success. Felicity was sure by the end of the first week. She had nineteen boys and fifteen girls ranging from seven to twelve—a variation in both age and capabilities which challenged her resources to the utmost. In spite of their initial reluctance, all but a few were quickly won over by Felicity’s cheerful, matter-of-fact approach.
She was well aware that the Earl was watching her progress with an uncomfortable degree of interest—he had several times dropped in on them quite without warning, thus putting her on her mettle.
It was particularly galling when he arrived a few weeks before Christmas accompanied by
Similar Books
