Page 34 of The Governess and the Rogue

As she looked at him, the bewildering emotions Bea had felt when he’d kissed her hand came back to torment her.

She refused to let them.

This wasn’t a romance. This was only another job. She’d had enough of them over the years. Through it all she’d done whatever was required of her. This would surely be no different.

Except that she wasn’t acting as a servant any longer. She was acting as a lady. Jack’s chosen lady, to be precise.

Bea’s stomach roiled in protest at the flagrant deception. She set down her fork, giving up on her breakfast altogether.

Across the dining saloon, the unmistakable shriek of a Dimsdale child rose above the din. “I’m not finishing that!” one of the twins cried. “And you can’t make me!”

Bea flinched at the sound. She hadn’t seen Pearl and the children when she’d entered the dining room. It had been too crowded. But Pearl had undoubtedly seen Bea.

Good lord, what must she have thought?

Bea discreetly craned her neck, scanning the other side of the room until she found Pearl seated at a low table with Lilith, Albermarle Jr., and the twins. Pearl’s expression was harried as she attempted to keep the intractable brood in order.

“Can’t you see we’re done already?” Lilith demanded of Pearl in tones dripping with condescension. “Stupid girl!”

Bea gritted her teeth. She had wanted to be free of the Dimsdales. But not at the expense of her friend. Her only friend.

Coming to a swift decision, she stood from her chair.

Jack immediately moved to rise.

“Don’t trouble yourself,” Bea said. “I shall be back directly.” She didn’t wait for Jack’s objection, or his reminder that she wasn’t meant to leave his side. Some things were more important than promises to pretend fiancés.

She marched across the dining saloon with single-minded intent. This time, she didn’t care if every eye was upon her. She was too angry to regard it. All that mattered was Pearl.

Lilith had already risen from the table, along with Albermarle Jr. Pearl was attempting to wrangle the twins. Brent had just taken her hand when Bea approached, while Damian remained seated, smacking the flat of his spoon into his scrambled eggs, so that they splattered all about him.

“Good morning,” Bea said to Pearl. “If I may intervene?”

Pearl stared at her, her black hair frizzled about her face and her dark eyes vaguely accusing.

Bea didn’t wait for her friend’s permission. “Put that spoon down, Damian,” she commanded the twin. “Now. And do as Pearl tells you.”

Damian stilled, visibly confused by the unfamiliar edge in Bea’s voice. She’d never been permitted to address to them so forcefully when she’d been their governess. To do so would have been to risk dismissal.

“You can’t tell him what to do,” Lilith retorted sharply. “You’re not our⁠—”

“And you,” Bea said, turning on the imperious little girl. “Your voice can be heard all the way across the dining saloon, and on the upper deck too, I don’t wonder. What do you suppose your Mama and Miss Farraday will think to hear you screaming like the veriest fishwife?”

Albermarle snickered. “A fishwife! Ha!”

Lilith’s face mottled with fury. “I did not sound like a⁠—”

“Up from your seat, Damian,” Bea said. “No more dawdling, or I shall have one of the stewards carry you out like a sack of laundry.”

The little boy bolted up, dropping his spoon to his plate with a clatter.

“You can’t speak to us like that!” Lilith declared shrilly. “You can’t⁠—”

“Be quiet,” Bea said. “Or the steward will have two children to carry out.” She addressed Pearl before the little girl could reply. “After you return them to their mother, I hoped you and I might speak in our quarters.”

Pearl’s lips compressed as she took Damian’s sticky hand. “Very well.”

Bea nodded. And turning on her heel, she walked back to the table where Jack was waiting for her. He watched her come, frowning.