Morgan put his hands down, his head falling to the side in confusion.I threatened to throw her out? When?
In his memory, the only thing he said to her when she first arrived was that many governesses had come before her and that they never lasted long when they crossed paths with him, so she should not be the same and work hard.
Wait... did she consider that to be a threat?All he meant was that the others were all scared and would all run away from him. He was trying to tell her that she should not be scared like them and just work…
He could see Albert massaging his forehead out of the corner of his eye. It seemed the old butler had put two and two together as well and understood what Lady Anne was misconstruing.
The governess was not about to stop her rant, however, it seemed she had made up her mind. She had her head in her hands, looking like years were taken off her life. Her frustration was evident in her eyes.
“It has been a trying time, but I kept telling myself that I could persevere! I could not even walk around the house for fear of being scolded. I thought I could avoid you all the time, but even that has been leaving me stressed! My hair is falling out!”
The woman snatched up her skirts and marched to the door. “Instead of me waiting for you to relieve me of my services, I will just do it myself before I go bald!”
With that, she hurried past Albert and stormed down the hall, leaving the three in shocked silence.
That’s it... she’s gone as well.Morgan placed his hands on his hips and heaved a heavy sigh.
A snicker reached his ears and he turned to find his sister laughing. “Goodness, that’s the quickest one yet, is it not?” She looked around Morgan at Albert.
The old butler nodded curtly once. “Indeed, young miss. The previous lasted a month and two sennights, leaving the very next morning. Lady Anne has only been here for thirty days,” Albert said accurately.
Morgan narrowed his eyes at the two, his sister who laughed at her predicament and the old butler, who enabled her, keeping count of the days for her.
“This is no laughing matter, you two,” Morgan scolded. It was getting ridiculous at this point. Albert bowed and saw himself out, leaving Morgan with Barbara.
Morgan settled heavily into the chaise lounge and Barbara took up the space beside him.
“It’s not really all that bad, brother. My education is going very well, despite all the breaks,” Barbara said, trying to comfort him.
It was true. His sister seemed to know that he worried about her education given how many governesses he had chased away, so she stayed on top of things and excelled. She read and practiced in her own time when there were no governesses.
“Still, little one, you need a stable teacher with you… a woman… now that mother is not here…” he said tentatively.
As she always did, Barbara frowned once he brought it up. “I told you I only need you! Those governesses will never be like Mother!”
She pouted and turned away from him.
Morgan sighed. Barbara always said he was enough for her, but he knew that was not true. She was all alone whenever he was out of the house, and that was most of the time. He knew it must be lonely. He didn’t want her lonely.
Despite how strict his upbringing had been, his parents had been present, so he was never alone.
Morgan sighed once again. He walked over to her and took her hand in his, his other hand smoothing her hair. The action had felt foreign to him in the beginning but he had long since gotten used to doing it.
“Do you remember after Mother died?” he asked. “You would cry at night and I would not know how to comfort you-”
“That is not how I remember it, brother,” she cut him off, removing his hand from her hair. However, she did not move from his arms.
“What I do remember are all the nights I felt too sad to go to bed, so I would come to your room to stay with you. You would always pat my hair until I fell asleep.” She smiled up at him.
The corners of Morgan’s lips tilted in a smile. Yes, she was right. He did not forget about that. Although it was true, he remembered how uncomfortable he used to feel back then.
His discomfort had nothing to do with her, instead, it had more to do with the fact that he knew nothing about comforting a child, much less raising one.
“Yes, but I was still way out of my depth.” Morgan had done all that he knew to do, but even with that, he knew that he could have done better and that she needed a woman to help her transition into a proper lady and give her the care she required.
“I think you did a good enough job of it, brother,” she told him convincingly.
Morgan looked at her. He knew that she believed her words to be true but he also knew she was trying to show him they needed no external influence.
