“You must be lonely, surrounded only by children.”
“I am fond of my charges.”
“But you long to escape them for adult...company.”
“No.”
Mansel, clearly undeterred by her cold responses, pressed his knee against hers. Carina shifted her position. Beside her, Mr. Berry—formerly Captain Berry of the 95thRifles, she had established—was talking to the lady on his other side, so Carina ate in silence, waiting for Mansel’s next attack. Berry, when he turned his attention back to his own food, cast a quick glance past her to Mansel, as though he had guessed the situation, or just the tension of her person.
“So, you have had an adventurous life, sir,” she said to Berry in desperation as Mansel’s hand landed on her thigh. She moved her legs away from him, but his hand remained.
“I have,” Berry said cheerfully. “I was invalided out of the army and was travelling for my health when I was apparently mistaken for a highwayman and forced to flee from Bow Street runners.”
“Seriously?”
Mansel’s fingers began to stroke and pinch and move higher. Carina snatched up her fork abruptly enough to draw attention to it. Mansel withdrew his hand, and Carina speared a piece of beef instead.
The meal was interminable, almost like a military campaign, alternately hiding from and facing the enemy, invoking the reinforcements of Mr. Berry, and then resisting enemy fire alone. She refused to even glance up the table to Durward and Harriet. Did they notice? Did they blame her for Mansel’s attentions? Surely Durward would not, and he should not matter anyway, but Harriet was to be her employer... Carina’s headache built and she looked forward desperately to escaping this torture.
At last, everyone stood up, as Lady Grandison led the ladies’ departure. Mansel drew back Carina’s chair in such a way to ensure she had to pass him to follow. Of course, as soon as she did so, he moved, shrinking the space between them. Keeping her gaze straight ahead, she brushed past him and only just prevented herself from bolting ignominiously.
Her head pounded. She walked quickly among the other ladies to the drawing room, her one aim now to seek Lady Grandison’s permission to return to the nursery. Gaining her ladyship’s attention was another matter.
As she stood patiently at her employer’s elbow, a young lady addressed her. “Miss Jasper, is it not? I’m Eve Wolf. I gather you too are a friend of Miss Cole’s?”
“I’m the governess,” Carina said bluntly. Lady Wolf did not appear to mind. She possessed a face of character rather than conventional beauty, her features strong but attractive.
Carina knew who Lady Wolf was from all the pre-wedding gossip—the daughter of a cit and married for her money, her husband had apparently fallen in love with her when she was hurt and temporarily lost her memory during a robbery at this very house.
Intrigued, Carina allowed herself to sit beside the other woman, who, it seemed, was also acquainted with Mr. Berry.
“Is it true he was once misidentified as a highwayman?” Carina couldn’t help asking.
“Why yes. That was partly my husband’s fault too, but it is all sorted out now.”
“Good grief, itisyou,” drawled an amused female voice.
Chapter Eleven
Carina glanced up to see Lady Mansel, together with a very poised and beautiful young woman.
Habit made Carina want to jump to her feet, but Lady Wolf’s arm suddenly seemed to hold her in place, and Lady Mansel and her acquaintance took the chairs next to them.
“Have you brought the children to the drawing room?” Lady Mansel asked, looking about her as if she expected small people to appear from beneath the furniture.
“No one has yet asked me to. Lady Wolf, do you know Lady Mansel?”
Apparently, she did not. Lady Mansel’s eye twitched with dislike at being introduced to a baroness by her one-time employee. And she quite clearly didn’t want to introduce the governess to her own companion.
The companion, however, removed the necessity by casually offering Carina her hand. “I’m Tabitha Sark.”
So this was the somewhat scandalous countess now betrothed to the Duke of Isbourne. It all felt quite unreal to Carina, whose headache was now throbbing.
Lady Grandison swept past her and this time, she did jump up. “Lady Grandison, might I return to the children?”
“Oh no, not yet. They’re fine with Mildred. And I shall need your help with the tea. Sir John will not let the gentlemen linger tonight.” She beamed around Carina’s companions as she bustled off. “We have a wedding to attend tomorrow morning!”
“One does love Lady G,” Lady Sark drawled.
