He was annoying, flirtatious, beautiful, and a troublemaker.He was a grown man and a troubled boy, driven to explore the dark side of life if she could believe the twins’ gossip.He needed to grow up.
She could help him.She was used to troubled boys and their megrims.Brat was scarcely older than she was, but she felt wise and ancient next to him.She could be the making of him.
But that was a fairy tale, and she was too old and wise for such things.She’d forget about him as soon as she was gone from this place, and Aunt Dorothy would provide a welcome respite.In a month, she would look back on this interlude with amusement.
Of course she would, she told herself with all her governess-y firmness.If she could be stern with her charges, she could be stern with herself.It was nonsense.
ChapterSix
The twins spilledinto her bedroom, dressed in party frocks .“You aren’t dressed yet!”Horry, a vision in yellow, said accusingly.
“I’m not joining you for the dancing.You know perfectly well how to behave yourselves in company—you no longer need me looking over your shoulder.”
“But we want you there!”Penelope, in pale blue, said.“Besides, we heard Cousin Brat say he wanted the first dance.”
“I’m not going to dance with anybody,” Jenny said.“It’s not my place.If I come down, I’ll sit with the dowagers and watch, but it seems unnecessary.”
“Jenny.”Horry, the more strong-minded of the two, came over to her.“Don’t you realize Brat is attracted to you?I’ve never seen him like this.If you play your cards right, you might end up our cousin and we wouldn’t have to lose you.”
“Trust me, it’s not marriage your cousin has on his mind.”
“Well, then, have a fling with him!”she said impatiently.“Flirt with him, dance with him, and then leave him flat.You’ve always told us not to be prey to gentlemens’ whims, and you could do the same thing.”
“A governess has to be above reproach,” Jenny replied.“And where did you get such ideas?I thought I taught you better than that.”
“You taught us to use our brains and not be a slave to society,” Penelope piped up.“I would just die if Brat looked at me the way he looks at you.”
“I’m staying here tonight,” she said firmly.
But no, she wasn’t.
She could tell the girls a flat no, telling their mother was a different matter entirely.“You’ll just sit in the back and make certain the girls are behaving themselves.Not that I worry about my two precious babes, but I want to be sure they dance enough and I’m counting on you to see to it.”
Since Annis’s precious babes seldom caught their mother’s attention, Jenny took her orders with outward acquiescence and inward seething.She dressed in a sober gown of deep maroon, a color she’d never particularly liked, and fastened her hair in a tight knot.If she was to fade into the background, which she certainly hoped to do, she reminded herself, then she would dress the part.
The salon was crowded with the guests milling around, and the adjoining parlor was cleared for dancing.She estimated there were about twelve or fifteen strangers, none of which should matter to her except that Miranda made sure to introduce her to every one of them, mostly elderly squires and their wives and offspring.Only one person stuck in her mind.
Miss Caroline Ridgely was, to put it bluntly, almost excessively beautiful.She had a halo of blond curls, limpid blue eyes, a cupid bow’s mouth, and the kind of trim figure to make men drool.There was no sign of Brat in the salon, but Jenny was content to wait.He would take one look at the glorious Miss Ridgely and forget all about her, and she could enjoy the rest of her time here in peace and quiet.
Miss Ridgely seemed to have the same idea.She treated the introduction with disinterested politeness, then turned back to her hostess.“James will be here, won’t he?”
“He wouldn’t miss it.”
“Because he owes me a dance from last Christmas, and I intend to collect.”
Jenny decided then and there that she did not like Miss Ridgely, even if the girl was saving her from…what exactly was she saving her from?Brat’s flirtations.His sly innuendos.The look in his dark eyes when they turned in her direction.
But Miranda had turned back to Jenny, a sunny smile on her face.“You must dance as well, Miss Lancaster.I’m certain you won’t lack for partners.”
At least she’d lack for a certain black sheep.Let the divine Miss Ridgely see if she could handle him.
But the evening went on and there was no sign of the scion of the house, and Jenny’s agitation grew.He was hardly going to be distracted if he didn’t even see Miss Ridgely, and she’d just about given up hope when he appeared at the end of the room at a little past ten.His eyes were glued to Miss Ridgely as she waltzed divinely in the arms of a spotty young gentleman.
Jenny had danced a fair amount herself, with the spotty young gentleman, with the landowners and fathers and elderly widowers, one of which was even worse than Brat in his attentions.She was dancing with an arthritic baron when the prickling on her skin told her Brat arrived, and she watched as his eyes devoured Miss Ridgely.
And then he pulled his gaze away and surveyed the rest of the room, seemingly bored.Ducking her head, she let the wheezing old baron steer her around, doing her best to keep them lost in the crowd of dancers.If Brat saw her, he would no longer be interested in a plain governess in a shabby maroon dress, but he already had his partner picked for the night.She just hoped she wouldn’t have to listen to Miss Ridgeway’s high-pitched, annoying laugh.
But then he was there, directly in front of her, with no visions of Miss Ridgely dancing in his eyes.“My turn, I believe,” he murmured, and deftly snatched her from the baron, who muttered something like “whippersnapper” as she was pulled into Brat’s arms.And they were out of the dance floor, away from the corners and the shadows, and she felt as if she were flying.
