He wished he could give her what she wanted but, unfortunately, that was not what she needed, and it would be wrong of him to heed her wishes on this.
“Barbara…” he sighed regrettably, looking away from those pleading eyes. “You need someone to be with you when I am not there.”
“But Albert is-” she began but he cut her off before she could go any further.
“Albert is our butler, not your companion.” Morgan put some distance between them. He did not like to be strict with her but sometimes it was needed.
“I understand that you do not know much about the ton and their ways yet, but when you do you will see why I do these things.”
Morgan glanced over at her, expecting a response but she kept silent, refusing to look up at him.
“You say that these governesses can never be like Mother and can never take her place and that is quite all right. I do not want them to take Mother’s place.” He needed them to do the one job that he could not.
“All I want is for you to have the influence of a woman in your life. Someone who will teach you how to be a lady of your position properly,” he explained, trying to get her to understand his point.
“But I study and I practice everything that they teach me even when they are not here,” Barbara said, crossing her arms and stomping her foot in frustration.
Morgan raised his brows at the sight. This was the exact reason she needed a governess. Ladies did not stomp when they did not get their way. That and many more were the things a governess could teach her.
Still, he did not say that to her, instead he said, “I do not want them to not be here. I need you to have a governess that is present.”
Barbara dropped her arms and looked away from him for a moment before looking back at him again.
“I do not like that you keep worrying about me,” Barbara said. “Please stop worrying about me so. I am all right and I am not even that young anymore, I am growing up very quickly, see?”
She raised her arms as though to show him how much she had grown.
She was right, she had indeed grown. She was taller now than she was when their parents had died, even though it had only been five years. She was smarter as well, and a handful in some ways.
Instead of her words stilling him, it did the opposite. She was growing but not with the right guidance. He could protect her from whoever sought to harm her but that was the extent of his reach.
Morgan could not protect her from the harm the words and judgment of the ton could cause if she did not satisfy their many expectations. Despite his disappointments, he was resolved to find her the perfect governess.
“I would have grandmother take care of you but she is too old to be your guardian,” he told her even though the thought had crossed his mind every time her governesses ran away.
“We cannot saddle grandmother with me. She has lived a long time and she deserves the rest. It would not be any different if I was with grandmother and if I was in the estate alone.”
Morgan nodded in agreement. Having their grandmother take care of her was the last resort if all else failed and he ran out of governesses, which he dreaded would be soon with how the situation progressed.
There was something else that Morgan considered a last resort.
Getting married.
Perhaps it was time he looked into getting a wife during the next season so that Barbara could have a woman to look up to.
The thought caused sweat to break out on his forehead. Morgan was very busy, and that was the last thing he wanted to think of.
“Your Grace?” Albert said, rapping his knuckles against the door from where he stood just outside the open room. “A letter has arrived from the Brigpool Estate.”
“Ah, bring it here, please.” Morgan reached out for the letter, smiling at the excitement and eagerness in Barbara’s eyes.
“Is it from grandmother?” she asked, her eyes stuck on the letter as he peeled it open.
“Yes, it is from grandmother,” he said. As his eyes went over the content of the letter, the smile on his lips dropped.
Dear Morgan,
I trust you are doing fine, as is my darling Barbara. I will not beat around as to the purpose of this letter.
