Free The Reluctant Governess by Maggie Robinson

others, too, of course. But she’s had a lot of upheaval lately, and getting sick is no picnic. Maria would have known how to cheer her up. Her old nurse, you know.”
    Eliza nodded, reminding herself not to be offended. It wasn’t as if she
wanted
to cheer children up all day long, after all. She was
not
a governess. “The one who died.”
    â€œRight next to her, if you can believe it.” Mr. Raeburn’s voice rasped with emotion. “On the train. Sunny’s had enough loss in her life. I want to make sure she doesn’t suffer any more.”
    â€œAn admirable goal, but we all suffer one way or another, Mr. Raeburn. It’s a sad fact of life.”
    â€œBut one needn’t go actively looking for suffering. I’ll not have Sunny raised as a martyr, keeping her head down and her opinions to herself.”
    My goodness. He
was
a revolutionary. “I’m not sure you’ll be doing her a service. Outspoken women are not very popular.”
    â€œIs that why you’ve never married?” he quipped.
    Eliza felt her cheeks grow warm. “My marital prospects, or lack thereof, are none of your business, sir.” She would not divulge that her only offer had come from a man old enough to be her grandfather.
    Eliza had led a sheltered, middle-class life, caring for her mother and running the household for her father, then training to be a secretary and working after his death. She didn’t have time for friends, hadn’t had any since her school days, and they all had married almost immediately upon graduation just as they were supposed to do. She had nothing in common with them now—they had children of their own while she merely minded the Hursts and now Sunny. Eliza quashed a pang of self-pity and focused on the Chinese jars on the mantel instead of the good-looking, disheveled devil in the bed.
    â€œWell, you’re pretty for an Englishwoman. Has no one ever noticed?”
    â€œI thought I wasn’t your type,” Eliza said, wishing to bite her tongue. She didn’t want to let him know she hadn’t forgotten his careless statement and how it annoyed her. Not that she wished to appear affected by him.
    Not at all.
    â€œIt’s true I’ve always been partial to brunettes. And as there seem to be so many red-headed models since the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood made them all the rage fifty years ago, they have been inescapable. I can’t recall the last blonde I—”
    â€œAnd I’m sure I could not be less interested,” Eliza said quickly. “Really, Mr. Raeburn, even if you are ill, your deportment in regards to conversation with a decent lady wants improvement. I don’t see how the agency is going to be successful in finding a governess for you if you continue to discuss your ramshackle philosophy and lack of morals.”
    Mr. Raeburn lifted his unstitched eyebrow. “Ramshackle?”
    â€œYou know what I mean.”
    â€œI don’t believe I do, Miss Lawrence. Explain.” There was a mischievous glint in his dark brown eyes.
    â€œYou are—you are discussing your
conquests
. It’s very improper.”
    â€œAm I? I thought I was discussing subjects for my paintings and photography.”
    â€œOh.” Could this day get any worse? “Then I misunderstood you. I’m sorry.”
    He waved a hand. He had long fingers, the nails of which were not quite clean. “Apology accepted. I’m not a total villain, you know. After all, I believe in women’s suffrage—why shouldn’t you vote? I daresay, despite jumping to conclusions, you are reasonably intelligent and can make as good a decision as any man.”
    Reasonably intelligent
. How condescending could he be? “I don’t jump to conclusions!”
    â€œOh really? What was I doing last night, Miss Lawrence?”
    â€œNo jumping is necessary. I know perfectly well what you did—after all, I found you