“Do not worry, Miss Percival, I shall see that she makes her way off the property,” Mr Burns promised her with a respectful bow before he disappeared to follow Lady Florentia from the room. Suddenly feeling drained, Matilda dropped down onto the nearest couch and placed her head in her hands.
She was more grateful to Mr Burns than she could ever let on, knowing from his words and the way he had looked at her that although he had likely overheard the conversation, he did not judge her harshly for it.
I’m lucky that he was not one of the maids,Matilda thought, knowing just how judged and ridiculed she would be if one of the maids had learned of her relationship with the Duke.I must return to work,Matilda told herself firmly after several moments moping in her own misery. She quickly tried to shove away all the sudden doubts she had toward Watson, reminding herself that if any such thing had happened between him and his previous governesses then she was absolutely certain that Helen would have given her some kind of warning, not to mention the fact that a couple of the governesses he had employed had been practically twice the Duke’s age.Do not be ridiculous, Matilda!
Yet even as she headed out of the drawing room and through the house to the garden in order to find Lady Amy, she could not help but wonder whether there might be some truth to the woman’s words. After all, Watson had made no attempt to begin courting her publicly. She could not really say that she blamed him. After all, she was only a governess, as the lady had said, and he was a grand duke with a wonderful reputation and a multitude of other things in his favour.
He never mentioned our future until I mentioned Lady Florentia,said the small voice of anxiety in the back of her mind. It was slowly growing in power, coming up with worse facts every day, and she could not help but feel as though her world was suddenly falling apart all around her.
Even as she found Lady Amy and returned her to the drawing room to continue their lesson, she struggled to keep her emotions and her anxieties in check. The last thing she wanted was for Lady Amy to pick up on everything that was going on.
“What did that vile monster want?” Lady Amy asked when they had been at the pianoforte for only a minute or two and she had replaced the sheets on the stand. Matilda cringed. She did not need a reminder of Lady Florentia’s visit, nor did she fully know what to tell the young girl in order to answer her question without arousing her suspicions further.
“I do believe that Lady Florentia has a great deal of trouble on her mind,” Matilda said softly, placing a reassuring hand on Lady Amy’s shoulder, “She just needed someone to talk to that she could trust.”
When Lady Amy looked at her with a big, beaming smile, Matilda could not help but feel a little guilty. “Then she came to the right person, Matilda, for you are the easiest person to talk to in the world.”
Later that day, the Duke had not yet returned, but there was a knocking at the door that made both Matilda and Lady Amy perk up from where they had been sitting in the library reading a book or two. The both of them had been through such a long day that they were half-dosing on the couch, stunned the moment they heard the doorbell ring.
“I wonder who that could be,” Matilda commented even as she closed the book she had been reading carefully onto a book mark. Lady Amy looked just as curious as she felt, and the two of them stood up, preparing to greet whomever had come to visit. Matilda heard the telltale signs of footsteps that suggested Mr Burns had gone to answer the door and then heard the muffled sounds of voices.
Though she could not quite tell who the second belonged to, she was certain that it was not a woman, and she became most relieved that Lady Florentia had not returned for round two. All day she had been on edge and she was not sure she could take much more, least of all another guest.
Part of her even hoped that it was the Duke returned and unable to get in and she would soon be able to step into his arms for comfort. Yet another part of her wondered whether that would be such a good idea.What if what Lady Florentia had said was true?
“Miss Percival, Lady Amy, Mr Hayman has arrived and requests an audience,” Mr Burns said the moment that he appeared in the open doorway.
“Oh, good! Has he brought me more books?” Lady Amy exclaimed immediately and she started to hurry toward the door only to stop in her tracks as the handsome teacher stepped into the room past the butler without awaiting the permission required to do so. Matilda huffed with affection and struggled to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She had grown quite used to the teacher’s lack of following simple rules and etiquette when it came to his meetings with Lady Amy.
“Of course, I brought books,” Mr Hayman announced, holding up a basket in his hand, “And I even brought one or two I thought Miss Percival might like.”
Instantly, she felt her cheeks beginning to burn at his kindness. After all that had happened, she was not at all sure she deserved it, though she was definitely grateful to him. So much so that she felt instantly overwhelmed with emotion and she struggled to stop herself from beginning to sob. She could feel the tears she had stopped from falling earlier that day beginning to prick the corners of her eyes once more.
“Do come in and sit with us, Mr Hayman,” Matilda suggested, knowing that it was expected of her. She could not very well ask him to leave the moment he arrived after having tried all this way just to deliver a few books. “Mr Burns perhaps you might supply us with some refreshments?”
“Of course, Miss Percival,” Burns said, bowing and removing himself from the room immediately.
“I am unable to stay too long though I would be happy for a cup barley water,” Mr Hayman said with a smile, and he crossed the room at the urging of Lady Amy to sit beside Miss Percival. Feeling a little on edge, the governess sat back down on the couch at a steady distance from the teacher.
Lady Amy quickly lost herself in a magical world brought on by the new books that Mr Hayman had supplied her with leaving the teacher with little to do but examine Matilda as if she were a science experiment.
“Forgive me, Mr Hayman but what are you staring at?” Matilda asked perhaps a little more bluntly than she had been meaning to. The teacher’s brow rose and for a moment his lips pursed as though he had no intention of answering her.
Then he asked, “Miss Percival, is something the matter?”
The lump that had been stuck in Matilda’s throat all afternoon suddenly grew to twice the size and, for just a moment, she felt as though she was unable to breathe. Ever since Lady Florentia’s visit, she had been struggling to keep a handle on her thoughts and her insecurities, barely managing to keep them from showing in front of Lady Amy, but to be asked outright if there was something wrong by a man who had become quite a close friend was entirely different.
“I…I am fine, Mr Hayman,” she insisted, barely able to get the words out. Her entire body trembled. Even Lady Amy glanced up as if she sensed the lie in her tone. Matilda was relieved when she quickly turned her attention back to the pages in her book.
“Amy flower, why do not you follow Mr Burns and see if he requires any help with his tray?” Mr Hayman suggested suddenly, “He is getting on a little after all.”
For a moment, the girl looked as if she was going to protest, as if she might remind the teacher that she was a lady and as such, she was not expected to help the staff do anything whether they needed it or not. Then, with a quick glance at Matilda, she seemed to notice the real reason for his asking her to leave and she quickly collected up several of the new books.
“It shall take me a few minutes to get to the kitchen and back,” she announced with a happy smile before curtseying and hurrying away with the books wrapped tightly in her arms. Matilda guessed that she would not make it to the kitchens and that she would seclude herself away in a quiet alcove in the hallway in order to read her books undisturbed.
“Has Lady Amy been a particular terror today?” Mr Hayman asked almost as soon as the girl was gone from the room. He looked at Matilda with a gentle smile and concern darkening his gaze.
“Oh no, it is nothing like that,” Matilda responded, shaking her head and able to feel the tears still threatening. “It is nothing at all, really.”