But not on her watch.
“And do you usually receive similar incentives from your parents to do all the things that you should?”
While the two eldest shared another telling look to gauge how to answer that leading and potentially damning question, Grace shook her head emphatically, and they both winced. “No—of course not! Just Uncle Harry.”
“Interesting…” Georgie gave them all a conspiratorial smile before she stared directly at Felix. “WhyjustUncle Harry?”
“Because he likes things to be just so and gets all…” He looked to Marianne for the right word to explain it.
“Twitchy.”
“Yes… twitchy when they aren’t.”
The plot thickened—but still she smiled as if she wasn’t absolutely horrified by the manipulative skulduggery she was hearing, even though she was strangely comforted by the sublime new knowledge that even the impeccably, effortlessly perfect captain possessed an Achilles heel. “So, let me guess, you all work together to ensure that he gets as twitchy as possible whenever you visit to reap the rewards?”
“Not always.” Felix shrugged. “Sometimes we make him twitchy without actually trying to.”
“But still reap the rewards regardless, I’ll wager.”
As Felix grinned, Georgie rested her bottom on her desk and folded her arms, allowing her smile to slide from her expression and be replaced by a look of utter disappointment. “Do your parents knowthat you’ve basically been conspiring against, and then shamelessly blackmailing your poor uncle for years by misbehaving unless he pays you what is tantamount to a bribe?”
The silence was deafening, but she let it stretch until all three of them hung their heads in shame.
“Am I to assume then, that you intended that he hear all about your misbehavior this week from me, or Simpkins, or Mrs. Rigsby, or Polly, so that he would feel obliged to incentivize you a bit more?” Marianne stared at her hands and Felix chewed his bottom lip guiltily while little Grace’s started to quiver. “Are you proud of being so underhanded to a man who so obviously adores you?”
Three bent dark heads shook in unison. But because Miss P had taught her that it was always best to allow the wrongdoers time to contemplate their actions, Georgie waited some more until one of them panicked and broke ranks. Interestingly, the one who broke first was Marianne, but she did so in a way that attempted to mitigate the consequences rather than face them.
“You are right, Miss Rowe. We’ve been bad. Very bad and we are heartily ashamed of ourselves.”
Felix nodded too with mock solemnity. “You should absolutely send us all to bed without any supper again tonight as punishment because we deserve it—and then we can all draw a line under it.” He also clearly feared any potential repercussions from the other adults in the family more than he did from Georgie.
In solidarity with her brother, Marianne wrung her hands, contrite. “We won’t misbehave for you again, Miss Rowe, will we?” The other two nodded. Much too readily. “We have learned our lesson.”
For a split second that she wasn’t proud of, Georgie considered accepting the children’s sworn compliance. It would certainly make her life easier. It would also ensure that the captain would have nocause to dismiss her between now and August, and thus end her concerns about not getting a decent reference at the end of her tenure. However, she dismissed that self-serving thought as fast as it entered her mind, as it was morally wrong. She might not particularly like—correction—particularlywantto like or be attracted to her clearly two-faced stickler-for-the-rules employer, but she would not make a bargain with the devil simply because it made her life easier.
What sort of a governess would she be if she willingly allowed these children to learn the lesson that misbehaving and manipulation was acceptable? That taking advantage of the two-faced stickler’s big heart was something they should continue? It went against everything she fundamentally believed about justice and fairness, and her entire educational ethos.
“I am afraid that, unlike your poor uncle, I cannot be blackmailed and will not be incentivizing your good behavior under any circumstances. At least not with material rewards. I am also, frankly, shocked and disappointed that you think such duplicity is acceptable and suspect your mother and father would be too.” They all hung their heads at the mention of their parents, confirming that the way they behaved at home was clearly very different to the way they behaved here. “However…” She would throw them one bone, as they were children and this situation wasn’t entirely their fault. “I also do not think that it is my place to punish you for all the wrongs that you have plainly done to your poor uncle, nor do I think that a punishment from me will right them.”
Felix exhaled with relief first. “Then you won’t tell him?”
She also refused to make any promises that she couldn’t keep. “I prefer to believe that you will all be decent enough to do the right thing and tell him yourself the next time you see him, as I think you all owe him a huge apology. Don’t you?” When they responded with only dejected silence, she pushed them again. “Well, don’t you?”
“Yes, Miss Rowe,” said Felix and Marianne in unison while Grace’s bottom lip trembled again.
“Is he going to punish us?”
Georgie sincerely doubted it in any way near what he should because he was a soft-boiled egg through and through with these tiny terrors, but she shrugged and let them think they were in some jeopardy. “He should, because you have all treated him very ill in the face of his generosity and kindness toward you over the years. A man who goes out of his way to purchase spears and ballet shoes and dolls’ houses and puppets—the absolute most perfect gifts for the three of you—does not deserve to be blackmailed.”
She would leave that final thought to marinate in their consciences until he reappeared. By which time she had high hopes they would feel so wretched about it, their confessions and their apologies would be heartfelt and she wouldn’t have to force them out of them.
“But that is between you and he. In the meantime, I think we can all agree that your atrocious behavior of the last few days cannot continue. So, I propose we declare a truce.” As three pairs of ears pricked up, she clarified with a wag of her finger. “A truce and not a bargain, and I know that you are all too clever to know that there is a distinct difference between those two things.”
Georgie smiled then and unfolded her arms. “The terms of the truce are simple. If you all make the effort to behave as well as I know that you can, from this moment forth, I shall return to teaching the sorts of lessons we all enjoyed last week.” Like Mrs. Rigsby had, it was time Georgie put her foot down. “I am not suggesting thatallof those lessons will be fun, of course, because I am your teacher and sometimes I will need to test you to check that you understand things. And sometimes you will have to learn things that you do not particularly want to, or find difficult or boring, because they are important things that all children need to learn. But I will always domy best to make those lessons as engaging as I can, so long as you try your best to be engaged.” There was also a distinct difference betweenwillandtry.
“You’ll notice that all I expect is for you totryyour best. I do not expect you to be little angels all of the time, for none of us are perfect.” Not even Captain Kincaid, although that splendid revelation shouldn’t buoy her in quite the way it had, nor make him two-fifths more likable than he already was. She offered them her most benevolent smile. “Do you agree to the terms for our armistice?”
Three dark heads nodded as one.
