“I’m sleeping in Frances’s room,” she said, just in case he got the idea to find her in her bedchamber.
“Good idea. I trust you to keep her safe.”
Genevieve backed out of the library and then took the stairs two at a time, handfuls of her damp skirts in her hands. Once in the nursery, she leaned back against the door and attempted to catch her breath. But every time she closed her eyes, she saw his brandy-colored eyes and his soft mouth and felt his capable hands on her shoulders. She shivered.
How would she ever refuse him?
*
He was gonethe next morning, squashing any hope she had that she had merely imagined or dreamed the events of the night before. When she inquired after him, Mrs. Mann said he had left early to see the Archbishop of Canterbury. The housekeeper raised her brows meaningfully, showing she knew exactly why gentlemen of his stature hied off to Doctors’ Commons in London in the wee hours of the morning. Genevieve wondered what the woman would think when she discovered it was a governess, not some fortunate daughter of the local gentry, Lord Emory was planning to marry. That wasifthe special license was granted. Oh, who was she fooling? Lord Emory could convince anyone of anything. He’d all but persuaded her to marry him, hadn’t he?
Fortunately, Genevieve didn’t have leisure to mull over Lord Emory and what could have possibly gotten into him. She needed to have a very serious conversation with Frances. She’dallowed the child to finish her porridge and dress before she mentioned that, since the ground was still wet and muddy from the previous day’s rains, they might spend the morning in the music room.
Frances readily agreed, and after a half-hour practicing pianoforte, Genevieve sat on the bench beside her, took the child’s small hands in her own, and said, “Shall we talk about yesterday?”
The girl shook her head. “No, thank you.”
Genevieve smiled. “It wasn’t really a question, sweetheart. We need to talk about what happened yesterday. You can’t run away like that. You know my rule.”
“You broke the rule. You ran away too!”
Genevieve took a breath. “I went to visit my mother. I told you she’s been ill, and I need to see her sometimes. I told you I would be back.”
“Yes, but Papa said if I was naughty, then you wouldn’t come back.”
Genevieve took another breath and squeezed Frances’s hands. “He shouldn’t have said that. I know he didn’t mean it. Haven’t you ever said something in anger that, later when you are no longer angry, you regret?”
“What’s regret?”
“It’s like when you wish you had not done something you did.”
Frances shrugged.
“Your Papa had to, er, attend to some business today, but when he returns, I know he will want to discuss what he said with you. I’m sure he will tell you he did not mean it. But…”
Frances looked up. “But?”
“But even if he had meant it, and I wasn’t coming back, that is still not an excuse to run away. Your papa was worried aboutyou, and so was I. The entire household was searching for you. We were all very scared, even Admiral.”
“Oh.” The little girl looked down at her skirts, lifting the material and plucking it between her fingers. “I was scared too.”
“You mustn’t ever run away like that again. If you ever do something like that again, there will be serious consequences, Frances. Do you understand?”
The girl looked up at her and nodded.
“I don’t know what the future holds.” Never had a statement been truer. “But one thing I do know is there will be difficulties. You might disagree with your father or become angry at me. You might be scared, or something might happen that makes you very angry. Whatever the problem may be, running away from it is not an option. Avoiding a problem won’t solve anything. You must confront adversity, face it, and be brave. Can you promise me that, from now on, there’s no more running away from problems?”
Frances nodded.
“I need you to say the words, Frances.”
“I promise.”
“Good.” Genevieve rose. “Now shall we go play with Harriet and Marcella before our spelling lesson?”
Frances nodded but didn’t rise from the bench. Genevieve sat back down. “What is it?”
“Is it running away if I go with Papa?”
