Free 103. She Wanted Love by Barbara Cartland

looked up when Eleta walked in, then sprang to her feet and stood at the window with her back to her.
    Eleta closed the door behind her and, when she was halfway across the room, the child then turned and said,
    “Go away! I am not doing any lessons! I hate – ”
    Before she could say any more, Eleta interrupted,
    “Hush! Hush!”
    She put her fingers to her lips and the child stared at her and she said again,
    “Hush! Hush!”
    Then, walking across the room, Eleta opened the door nearest the window.
    She was right in thinking that it was the child’s bedroom. It was a pretty room and well furnished.
    Eleta looked in and then again she put her fingers to her lips before she said in a low whisper,
    “We will not be heard in here. I have something to ask you.”
    Lady Priscilla was staring at her in amazement and, as she hesitated, Eleta whispered,
    “They might be listening at the door.”
    She went to the bedroom, saying again quietly,
    “Please come in.”
    Slowly and as if she could hardly believe what was happening, Lady Priscilla followed her and, when she was inside, Eleta breathed,
    “Shut the door.”
    The child obeyed her and Eleta sat down on the bed and, pulling off her hat, she threw it behind her. She then loosened her cape and let it fall down around her.
    Then she said again in a whisper,
    “I want your help.”
    Lady Priscilla, from just inside the door, asked,
    “ My help?”
    “Hush! I want to ask you something very secret.”
    Almost as if she was mesmerised by the way Eleta was behaving, Lady Priscilla moved towards the bed.
    “I want your help,” Eleta murmured again.
    “My help?” the girl repeated, “but why?”
    “I will tell you, but first I want you to promise to keep everything I tell you absolutely secret.”
    Lady Priscilla just stared at her, as Eleta went on,
    “So secret that I can only beg of you to help me, please, please help me, I need it so much.”
    “I don’t understand. How can I help you?”
    “Come, sit down and I’ll tell you why it’s secret.”
    Lady Priscilla sat down at the end of the bed.
    “If you will help me, I will be very very grateful. But, as I have just said, it is something very secret that no one must know except you.”
    “Why is what you are going to tell me so secret?”
    “I will tell you why and then you will understand, but first you must promise me on your honour that you will tell no one what I am going to tell you.”
    “I promise.”
    “Then cross your heart like this,” Eleta said, and she crossed her own heart with her first finger.
    Rather slowly, because she had not done it before, Lady Priscilla followed her.
    “Now you have promised me, I will tell you the truth, which you will understand is so very secret.”
    “What is it?” Lady Priscilla asked.
    “I have run away,” Eleta whispered.
    “Run away! But why?”
    “My father and mother are dead and my horrible stepfather wants me to marry an old man simply because he is important and will help him in with his business.”
    She spoke slowly so that Lady Priscilla would not miss a word and after a moment the child enquired,
    “So you ran away and they don’t know where you have gone.”
    “That is true and it is very clever of you to realise it, but if they find out where I am, I will have to go back and marry this terrible old man.”
    “So you want to stay here?” Lady Priscilla muttered as if she was working it out in her mind.
    “I would like to stay here,” Eleta said, “but I am not really a Governess, I never have been one and, if they find out that about me, I will be sent away at once.”
    She drew in her breath before she added,
    “Please, please help me. Only you can help me by pretending I am a Governess.”
    “How can I pretend?”
    “I was thinking about that as I was coming down from London. As I cannot teach you anything, you will have to pretend you are learning from me.”
    “How can I do that?” Lady Priscilla asked.
    “The first thing I