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The flame in her blue eyes dared him to dismiss her then and there.
“Oh please, sir,” Michel said, addressing Edgar. “May we keep Miss Perkins? She’s not like the other ones. She’s much prettier. With rosy cheeks and interesting freckles.”
And that was the bloody problem, now wasn’t it?
“Has Miss Dunkirk left?” asked Adele.
“You know very well that you chased her away,” said Miss Perkins.
“We called her Miss Dungheap,” announced Adele.
Miss Perkins frowned. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. How unkind.”
“Well she was quite odiferous,” said Michel. “And that means smelly.”
“Those who can see the faults of others sometimes cannot discern their own,” said Miss Perkins. “To my nose, there are two odiferous children in my near vicinity. Children who need baths in the very worst way.”
Again she turned a questioning glance at Edgar.
All eyes were on him, awaiting his decision.
He found he didn’t have the heart to send her away.
Not with the children gazing at her with such interest and none of the antipathy they’d shown toward their previous governesses.
Her smile faltered. A crack in her confident façade. He sensed that she wasn’t quite as bold as she pretended to be. Somehow he had the feeling that this employment meant the world to her.
She’d said she just arrived from Derbyshire. What if she had nowhere to stay in London? What if she had an ailing father and five sisters to support back in the countryside?
His mind revolted at the thought of Miss Perkins abandoned to the tender mercies of London. A cheerful country girl like her would be swallowed alive.
He cleared his throat. “One week’s trial, Perkins.”
A smile bowed Miss Perkins’s lips, touching her eyes with relief. “I swear you won’t regret it, Your Grace.”
He already regretted it. The twins might be momentarily disarmed by her, but they’d turn on her soon enough and chase her away.
And then he’d be right back where he started. Governess-less and racing to finish a design that required finesse, focus, and, above all, a clear head.
“I knew you’d make the right choice, darling.” India planted a kiss on his cheek. “See you at the exhibition.”
She left him standing by the stairs and shook Miss Perkins’s hand. “Welcome,she-who-charms-snakes-and-children.”
“That’s a jolly nice dagger you’ve got there, Lady India,” Adele said admiringly.
“Why, thank you, Adele. It’s a replica of an Egyptian ceremonial dagger.”
“Have you been to Egypt?”
“I returned from there only one week past. Your father is hosting an exhibition of the antiquities I discovered. Should you like to attend?”
“May we?” asked Michel.
“I don’t see why not. Unless there’s some ducal objection?” India quirked an eyebrow at Edgar.
“I think having something for the children to look forward to would be a wonderful idea,” said Miss Perkins.
What she meant was that it would keep the twins from running away if they had a reason to stay.
