“If one is required,” he said, shooting a glance at Charlotte.
“Do you like the pianoforte?” Emilia prompted. “If you don’t like to listen to it, you will hate playing it.”
Her face eased. “Yes, I do. I will happily try to learn.”
Emilia nodded once in approval. “Do you dance?”
“A little,” said Charlotte, looking anxious again.
She smiled. “If you can count, you can dance. Once again, practice is all most ladies require to become proficient. Perhaps Mr. Dashwood will lend himself as a regular dance partner.”
Charlotte whirled on her guardian. “Oh, will you, Nick? I do long to dance!”
Looking tense, he nodded.
Emilia noted the use of his Christian name as she smiled. “I’m sure you’ll learn quickly, then.” She chose her next words with care. “How much education have you had?”
“Plenty,” said Charlotte, to her intense relief. “I adore geography. Mathematics, not as much.”
“Any languages?”
Charlotte made a face. “I speak tolerable French, but I detest reading it. Must I learn that, too?”
“That will be up to you,” replied Emilia, “and Mr. Dashwood.”
“What languages do you speak?” the girl wanted to know.
“French, Italian, although not as well as French, and enough German to be polite.”
Charlotte’s eyes rounded in admiration. “So many!”
Emilia laughed. “It’s important for a governess to know more than her pupils.”
“What about artwork?” asked Charlotte. “Or embroidery?”
“Every girl should be proficient in embroidery and sewing, for practical reasons if no other, but I don’t consider it worth torturing a girl with embroidery if she despises it. If you want to learn painting, I’m afraid you must find another instructor,” said Emilia ruefully. “I’ve absolutely no talent for it, but I can instruct you a bit in drawing.”
“At last,” cried Charlotte with a peal of laughter. “Something you’re not brilliant at!”
Emilia’s smile faded. She was all too aware of her many shortcomings. “There are a great many things that might be described that way,” she murmured before rallying. “But I do prize diligent effort and close attention. I will happily answer any questions you have about why you must do something a certain way, but I shan’t have any patience at all with someone who doesn’t wish to learn.” She clasped her hands again. “I will take your preferences into account when designing lessons. If I cannot teach you a subject adequately, I will inform Mr. Dashwood, so that he might locate a better qualified teacher. It is your education, and you should have some say in the direction of it. But if you willfully ignore what Idoteach you, I’ll resign the post.” She raised her brows as Charlotte stared at her. “It would be a waste of my time and yours, don’t you think?”
The girl smiled nervously, glancing at her guardian again. “Yes. I do want to learn, Miss Greene.”
Emilia smiled back to put her at ease. “Then we should get on famously.”
By the time they left,Charlotte beaming as she bade them farewell, Nick felt almost ebullient.
Charlotte had laughed and nodded throughout the visit. She had liked Emilia Greene, and Emilia Greene had liked her; he could tell. He’d been more nervous than he’d thought, he realized, and now felt as though he’d just drawn an inside straight to win the pot. He gave his hand again to help Miss Greene into the carriage and tried not to think that he would be doing that much more in the future.
“You, Mr. Dashwood, are a man of secrets,” remarked his new governess as the carriage started off.
“I’m relying on you to keep them,” he replied.
“But why?” She tilted her head, a tiny frown on her brow. “She’s lovely and charming. Why should she remain mysterious?”
He sighed and ran one hand over his face. Now that the visit was concluded, he felt a nip of fatigue. He’d risen earlier than usual to make time for this. “A man of my reputation isn’t the most suitable association for a girl her age. I know our relationship will need to be explained, but... for now, teach her the usual things.”
Her brows went up. “The usual things?”
