Secretly, she had hoped her grand gesture would somehow jolt her family into taking an interest in her future, or at the very least shame her grandfather into providing her with a modest income and a small dowry, but he, appeared vastly relieved to hear she was moving out of his house. Wounded, but not surprised, Isabella left, and her life as a governess began.
Isabella quickly discovered it was a tenuous existence. Technically she was an employee, but she was seldom treated as a servant. Yet she was not regarded as a member of the family either. As a governess it became necessary to learn to live somewhere between the two.
Her open nature and attractive person cost Isabella her first position. Lady Alcock did not approve of her, and when she realized that many of the young men calling at the house took more than a passing interest in the pretty young governess, she promptly dismissed Isabella.
Isabella learned from her mistakes. In her next post she took great pains to appear less attractive by wearing only modest gowns of dull colors. She also drew her hair back severely. This made her look older and more like hired help. Whenever she was called upon to supervise her charges in front of company, she always quietly removed herself to a corner of the room, taking precautions to avoid drawing any attention to herself.
The cool manner she adopted kept most of the young men at a distance. Yet the older males she chanced to encounter were more experienced, ignoring her when in the presence of others, but adept at catching her alone for a moment. Among gentlemen of society, governesses were considered fair game. It often amazed Isabella how normally civilized men could behave in such an uncivilized, boorish manner, especially when she told them in no uncertain terms that she was not interested in their scandalous propositions.
Isabella did not find all males repugnant, however. She was genuinely flattered by the subtle attention she began receiving from the eldest son of the house. He was a shy, earnest young man of twenty-two, and while she did not encourage him, she also did not discourage him. The climax of their mutual admiration was an innocent stolen kiss, unfortunately witnessed by her would-be lothario’s overprotective mother. Isabella was immediately dismissed. Without a reference.
When searching for a third post, Isabella decided to try a different route, and she became a companion to the Dowager Duchess of Osbourn. That post had the distinction of being the shortest in duration. The dowager duchess was a cantankerous old lady who proved very difficult to work for and live with. By mutual consent, Isabella left as soon as she secured the position she now held with the Brauns.
Working for the Brauns was by far the most successful experience of her career, and Isabella finally felt a measure of security. The Brauns were of the merchant class, exceedingly wealthy but not socially elite, and that suited Isabella fine. There were no young bucks of thetoncalling at the house to harass her, and the only male family member was the children’s father. Mr. Braun always treated her with the utmost respect. Isabella long suspected he was enthralled with the notion of having the granddaughter of an earl caring for and teaching his three children.
The striking of the hall clock pulled Isabella’s attention back to the matters at hand. Knowing she would be late for her meeting if she did not hurry, she quickly left her room. Summoning up her finely tuned inner discipline, Isabella succeeded in firmly pushing the emotional memories aside by the time she reached the large entrance foyer on the first floor.
She glanced briefly at the closed drawing room doors and wiped her damp palms on the skirts of her plain gray gown. Then she signaled the footman with a curt nod of her head and he opened the door.
“Miss Browning,” he announced in a bored voice.
Mrs. Braun ceased speaking the minute Isabella entered the room. Wearing an over-bright smile, she greeted her children’s governess breathlessly. Isabella could not help noticing how uncharacteristically nervous Mrs. Braun appeared.
Mrs. Braun was a middle-aged matron with an ample figure, yet she was attractive in a rather obvious way. This afternoon her black hair was dressed high up on her head, with several wispy ringlets artfully arranged around her ears. Her sea-green gown was cut low for a woman of her size and revealed more than a hint of swelling bosom. Even though it was early afternoon, Mrs. Braun wore an impressive array of expensive jewelry, attesting more to her husband’s wealth than to her good taste.
Mr. Braun was the exact opposite of his wife. Tall, fair-haired, and almost painfully thin, he was hardly the image of a successful merchant. He was dressed in his customary somber black business suit, and Isabella belatedly realized that he normally was at his office down on Market Street at this hour of the day. He, too, seemed on edge.
“Thank you for coming so promptly, Miss Browning,” Mr. Braun said. He cleared his throat loudly. “Please, do sit down.”
With a questioning look, Isabella complied with his request, taking the seat directly across from Mrs. Braun. After Isabella was seated, Mr. Braun joined his wife on the settee. Isabella shifted her gaze back and forth between the two, from the grinning face of Mrs. Braun to the somber continence of Mr. Braun, trying to read from their very opposite expressions what was happening.
“Now then, Miss Browning, I would like to ask you—” Mr. Braun began, but he was cut off by a loud gasp of astonishment from Isabella.
Isabella could scarcely believe she had missed seeing the third occupant of the room until this very moment. He was leaning casually against the wall, a glass in his hand. When their eyes met, he flashed a slow and tantalizingly wicked grin. Everything else seemed to recede into the distance as Isabella stared in appalled silence at the rude man who had accosted her in the park.
She was conscious of a sudden feeling that the room had shrunk in size. There was something infinitely more unsettling about having to face this strange man in closed quarters. Instinctively she wanted to flee, but she had far too much common sense to allow herself to act in such an irrational manner in front of her employers.
The stranger’s larger-than-life presence dominated the room. He was staring intently at Isabella, and when he caught her eye again, he gave her a mocking bow. Then he spoke.
“As you can clearly see, Mr. Braun, this woman knows me,” he stated in an arrogant voice.
“Is this true?” Mrs. Braun asked. “Are you acquainted with the earl?”
“I have seen him before,” Isabella admitted slowly, her mind whirling in confusion. An earl? This strange man who had spent the morning stalking her through the park was an earl. But what was he doing here? Was he a friend of the Brauns?
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Braun exclaimed breathlessly. “I am afraid we owe you an apology, my lord.” She turned a jaundiced eye to Isabella. Mrs. Braun looked properly scandalized. “You must believe we had no idea who she really was when we hired her.”
“Do not concern yourself, Mrs. Braun,” the earl replied in . an even tone. “I found it equally baffling to discover Emmeline was in your employ. And doing such a credible job.” He shot Isabella a hard, challenging look.
Isabella gulped, trying to marshall her thoughts. It was obvious the earl had followed her to the Brauns’ home to tell them his ridiculous story about her being some woman named Emmeline. Isabella took a steadying breath and attempted to assert a measure of control over the situation.
“Mrs. Braun, Mr. Braun, I can assure you this is all a bizarre misunderstanding,” Isabella began imploringly. “When I said I had seen this gentleman before, that is precisely what I meant. Yes, I haveseenhim. I did not mean to imply that I know him. The one and only time I have ever laid eyes on him was this morning, during my outing with the children in the park. He stared at me for a considerable length of time before approaching me. He then addressed me as Emmeline and insisted he was acquainted with me. Naturally, I told him he was mistaken. As to why he has followed me here, I cannot even hazard a guess.”
Isabella finished speaking and stared intently at her two employers, trying to read their reactions to her explanation. Mrs. Braun’s round face held a closed look, but her husband appeared to be wavering. Isabella addressed her next comments to him.
“I am not certain what the . . . umm, the earl has said about me—” Isabella began calmly.
“He told us you were his wife,” Mrs. Braun bluntly interrupted.
