Mr. Gardiner and the Governess - Sally Britton Page 0,22

teaches a king his letters or a duke his first sums? Governesses and tutors. Without them, I think you should turn out rather poorly.”

At that moment, Miss Arlen gained a firm friend in Alice. The elegant woman had responded better than Alice could have, and with such understanding and empathy. Her every word rang with truth and reason.

Lord James, his chin tucked against his chest, did not quite meet Alice’s eye when he mumbled an apology to her. “I am sorry for my thoughtless words, Miss Sharpe.”

“All is forgiven, Lord James.”

Thankfully, the maid assigned to the nursery arrived at that moment with a heavily laden tea tray. Once everyone had been served, Miss Arlen proved to be the perfect guest. She was lively, polite, and seemed genuinely interested in coming to know Alice better.

Despite the concern caused by Mr. Gardiner’s proposition, Alice tentatively hoped she had found a friend in Miss Arlen.

Chapter 8

Normally, Rupert could count on offering a smile and kind word as enough to win him favor from a lady. Not that he sought such attention often, given that his studies consumed most of his time. Most women viewed his interest in insects as a perplexing hobby at best, and a disgusting obsession at worst.

Conversely, Miss Sharpe had seemed intrigued by entomology, but rather put off by him.

Curious.

Rupert lay stretched across the grass, sketching a leaf and the leaf-shaped beetle sitting upon it, while he considered the problem at hand.

In his attempts to soothe her concerns, Rupert had distressed her. How had that happened? She insisted his suggestion did not offend her, yet she resisted the idea of helping him. Perhaps he had completely misread her interest.

The shield beetle steadily climbed up his leaf onto the stem of the flower. Though he admired the insect’s ingenuity, he should report it to the head gardener. Agriculturally, shield bugs were pests, considering their voracious appetite for tender leaves.

He closed his sketchbook and crossed his arms upon the grass, resting his chin upon his forearm. His coat he’d cast aside somewhere behind him when he had first started hunting in the flowerbed for a different specimen to draw. It was too hot, and too impractical, to wear the coat while hunting insects.

As a man of science, he often wondered why so much of what humankind did had no practical reasoning behind it. While he bowed to convention most of the time, as one in his position must, Rupert bent the rules when they made little sense. Such as wearing stuffy, warm layers while spending time in the sun’s heat.

He had sent a note to Miss Sharpe to meet him in the gardens at her earliest convenience. It was nearing three in the afternoon and she had not yet appeared. Given his previous encounters with the governess, he had thought she might seek him out earlier.

Rupert rolled onto his back and tucked his hands behind his head, closing his eyes against the sunlight. Rather like a lizard, he enjoyed the warmth for several long moments while considering where to search for a new subject to draw.

A shadow fell across his face. Then a soft voice spoke.

“Mr. Gardiner? Are you sleeping?”

He opened one eye, then squinted upward with both. Miss Sharpe had arrived at last. Today she wore a wide straw bonnet, a gown of muted rose with a plain fichu tucked and gathered to cover every inch of skin nearly up to her chin.

“Ah, Miss Sharpe. Here you are.” He sat up, and she hastily stepped backward, putting an unnecessary amount of distance between them. “I had nearly given up hope of seeing you today.”

He noted that she clutched the handle of a basket in one hand and a book in the other. Her jaw appeared rather taut, and there were spots of color in her cheeks. “I am afraid the children were somewhat quarrelsome today, so our studies took extra time. Then I was required to join them in their music and art lessons, as their instructors needed assistance. But here I am at last, while the children take tea with their mother and grandmother.”

Quarrelsome children might explain her somewhat lackluster disposition. “I am sorry to hear about the children. I imagine it is difficult to remain inside at lessons with so many other amusements at hand.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Perhaps.” Then she squared her shoulders. “Your note did not say precisely what you wished to discuss, but as we are in the garden, I assumed you wished me to begin as