Page 17 of When She Was a Governess
I trust you will be pleased that I have fulfilled both my uncle’s requirements and your expressed concerns regarding Amelia’s welfare.
Lady Montrose and I will be at home to visitors in due course. I shall write again when we are prepared to receive callers.
I remain your dutiful son,
Henry
When both letters were complete, he folded them with precise movements, dripping wax onto each seal and pressing his signet ring into the crimson pools.
He rang for Grimshaw. The butler appeared within moments, tall and lean, his posture as straight as a soldier’s, not a wrinkle in his black coat. “My lord?”
Henry stood, clasping his hands behind his back. Best to simply say it plainly. “Grimshaw, I have some news that will likely come as something of a surprise to the household. Two pieces of news, in fact.”
“Yes, my lord?”
“First, Miss Ford is not who she appears to be. Her true name is Miss Sophia Ashford. She is the sister of His Grace, the Duke of Ashford. Her family’s title and fortune were recently restored by the Crown, but she chose to maintain her anonymity while in my employ.”
Grimshaw’s eyes widened fractionally. “Miss Ford is… a duke’s sister, my lord?”
“She is. And second, she has done me the great honor of accepting my proposal of marriage. We are to be wed within the week.”
The effect was immediate and spectacular. Grimshaw’s mouth fell open. His eyes went wide as guineas. His ramrod-straight posture actually wavered. In fact, he gripped the back of a nearby chair as though he needed it for support.
“You’re… marrying… Miss Ford?” The words came out strangled.
“Miss Ashford,” Henry corrected gently. “Yes. Seven days from today.”
“But she’s… You’ve…” Grimshaw appeared to be struggling with basic speech. “The governess. You are marrying the governess.”
“The very same. Though as I’ve just explained, she is rather more than a governess.”
“A duke’s sister,” Grimshaw repeated faintly, as though testing the words. “Living in the nursery. For two years. Sleepingin the governess’s room. Eating her meals upstairs with the child.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’re marrying her.”
“Also correct.”
“In a week.”
“Yes.”
Grimshaw closed his eyes briefly, as though praying for strength. When he opened them again, he appeared to have recovered some of his professional demeanor, though his voice still carried a note of wonderment. “My lord, might I inquire, when did you discover her true identity?”
“Yesterday. She revealed it when she tendered her resignation. Her brother has summoned her to London for a Season.”
“And you proposed, when?”
“This morning.”
Grimshaw’s composure cracked again. “This morning? But my lord, you’ve barely… that is, you and Miss Ash—Miss Ford—Miss…” He gave up on the name entirely. “You’ve scarcely spoken to one another beyond matters concerning the child.”
“That has changed recently,” Henry said carefully. “The prospect of losing her made me realize certain feelings I had been neglecting to acknowledge.”
“Feelings.” Grimshaw said the word as though it were foreign to him. “For the governess.”
“For Miss Ashford, sister to the Duke of Ashford and the woman I intend to make my wife. The chambers adjoining mine should be ready for Miss Ashford after the wedding. In addition, she will need a new wardrobe. I shall ask Mrs. Bromley to help in that regard.”
