A Governess for the faithless Duke (Regency Romance) (Regency Tales Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

decide on menus.”
    “Rest assured Your Grace,” Milton said, “Lady Agnes’s visit will transpire without any incidents.  I will, of course, keep you informed of all the arrangements as they are made. Will there be a formal dinner party?”
    “I rather think Great Aunt Agnes would enjoy a party when she gets here, so yes. She so rarely goes out, these days.”
    “It will be arranged, Your Grace. I will provide an invite list based on the last gathering, for your perusal.”
    “Yes, thank you, Milton. Oh, and add Miss Williams as well.”
    “Yes, Your Grace.”
    Edmund did not miss the look that came and went in his butler’s eyes, and he sighed inwardly. His reputation had become a source of some concern for his household staff, particularly the upper servants, and he knew he would have to tread very carefully where his governess was concerned. He would allow no breath of scandal to touch his house now that she and his girls were living under his roof.
     

FOUR
     
    Eliza Roland was a little spitfire, and over the next two weeks, Charlotte found herself having to hold onto her temper as the little girl tried her patience to its limit. She refused to get up at the required hour that first morning, and when Charlotte told her that her punishment was to miss the afternoon walk with Molly, so that she could do the work she had missed, she sulked and spat at her little sister, who was the epitome of childlike charm.
    Her actions warranted further punishment, and she was sent to bed an hour earlier than her little sister. On another morning, she appeared when requested, but refused to go out for the ride Charlotte had planned. Charlotte had Molly sit with her in the schoolroom where she was required to write out the entire first two pages of the next story they were to read that day.
     
    “In your best handwriting, mind, or you won’t be allowed to have tea with your uncle this afternoon,” she told the sulking child before leaving her alone with the nursemaid.
    Later that afternoon, Eliza and Mary Anne enjoyed a gentle ride, during which Charlotte got the little girl to describe her old home, and to say what she liked about each place where she had lived. Afterwards, Charlotte gave her an apple to feed to the pony she was riding.
    The little girl had picked a posy of wildflowers for her uncle, and Charlotte asked Mrs Thomson to ensure that it was in his study when the girl went down for tea with him later.
    She took herself off for a walk during teatime, to stretch her legs, get a bit of exercise, and shake the cobwebs free. The girls were resting before dinner, and Charlotte had the remainder of the day off, until it was time to read to them before bed.
    Rounding a corner in the gardens, she found herself on the other side of a tall hedge from members of the Duke’s house party, who had been in residence for the past three days. She had not seen nor heard any of them until this very moment, and the subject of their conversation was troubling to her.
    “So Lady Henrietta, what do you think, now that you are in his home at last?” a very high-pitched voice asked the invisible Henrietta.
    “What a lovely home he has! And what a handsome gentleman he is, to be sure!” Henrietta replied. “So elegant and charming!”
    “Ah, but a bit of a rake, according to rumour,” a third voice chimed in. “A proper heart breaker!”
    “Indeed,” the owner of the high-pitched voice said. “It is being bandied about that he has left two women at the altar!” She sounded as scandalised as Charlotte felt at that piece of gossip.
    “How dreadful, if it is true, Miss Tillie!” exclaimed the third voice.
    Tillie murmured her agreement, adding, “I cannot fathom how such a handsome man could be so cruel, can you, Lady Lydia?”
    Lydia, the owner of the third voice, sadly concurred with Tillie’s opinion. Henrietta interjected.
    “Even if that were true though, I’m sure he has changed. See how sociable he has been with