When a Duke Loves a Governess (Unlikely Duchesses #3) - Olivia Drake Page 0,70
Angel, and Carlin might not appreciate hearing too forceful a criticism of them. At the same time, he must be made to recognize how harmful they were to his daughter.
Choosing her words carefully, she reported what had been said during the visit, leaving out certain parts pertaining to Annabelle, except those times when Sophy had been compared unfavorably to her mother. “I don’t mean to be a tattletale, Carlin, but I saw how Sophy was hurt by their careless talk. Yet she also seemed to crave their love and attention.”
“Yes, I noticed her strong attachment to them when I returned from my voyage and went to bring her home.” He stared into the fire a moment as if looking into the past. “Needless to say, she did not wish to leave and fought me every inch of the way.”
It was clear that the memory pained him, and Tessa longed to give him comfort. “In Sophy’s view, she was being wrenched from the only home she’d ever known and sent off with a stranger. It would have been far less alarming to her had she trusted in your love for her. But she had been led to believe that her papa despised her.”
Carlin sprang to his feet and prowled back and forth by the hearth. “Blast Mooney. I told the Norwoods to get rid of that bitter old woman and hire a younger nursemaid.”
Tessa collected her courage. He wouldn’t like what she had to impart, but it needed to be said. “Are you sure it was really Mooney who filled Sophy’s head with lies? After today, I can’t help but think there’s more to the story.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wonder if it’s Lord and Lady Norwood themselves who are to blame. If it was they who turned Sophy against you.”
He aimed a scowl at her. “They’re my daughter’s grandparents. What reason would they have to do so?”
“I can’t say, it was just the way they spoke about you, Carlin.” Refusing to be intimidated by that ducal stare, Tessa kept her gaze steady on him. “When Sophy asked about Mooney today, they said it was your fault that she’d been forced into retirement and that you’d refused to have her in your house. Then your daughter cried out that you were mean, and that she hated you. Lady Norwood didn’t correct her. Instead she told Sophy that her bad temper had come from your side of the family.”
“That can’t be true.”
He looked genuinely startled and she hastened to add, “It is indeed true. I clearly heard every word. That was when I put a stop to the visit.”
Carlin raked his fingers through his hair. “Good God. They always seemed to me to be just silly fribbles. It was Mooney who openly resented me.”
“How so?”
“As an old family retainer, she was given more latitude to speak her mind than most servants. She made plain her disapproval of my courtship. She thought Annabelle deserved a title, and at the time, I was a mere mister.”
Tessa was of the opinion that too much emphasis was placed on noble monikers. “Then I daresay Annabelle must have loved you more than a title.”
He flicked her a slight frown as he continued to pace. “Mooney also never missed a chance to complain that I was luring Annabelle from her home at too tender an age. My late wife, you see, made her bows at seventeen. Since I myself was a stripling of two-and-twenty, that didn’t seem too young to me. I was drawn to her beauty, and we wed just after her eighteenth birthday.”
Yet it was Lord and Lady Norwood who had allowed their daughter to enter society when she was barely out of the schoolroom, Tessa reasoned. Judging by their actions today, they must have been the sort of parents who had given in to Annabelle’s every whim and then blamed Carlin for it all. “Well, it seems to me that they might have put a stop to Mooney’s criticisms. The fact that they didn’t only suggests that they agreed with her.”
His brows drew together in a considering look. “Perhaps.”
Tessa hoped to hear more, but he didn’t offer any further insight. He tossed a few more coals onto the fire and used the iron poker to stir the flames. Then he resumed his seat, swirled the wine in his glass, and stared down into its dark red depths. He looked like a man who was still tormented by his past.