B00BKPAH8O EBOK Read Online Free PDF Page B

first
coming to the house, now nearly four years past, had mistaken the pale creature
for at least five-and-thirty, though, as she later learnt, the lady fell far
shy of that mark. No doubt the strain of having such a domineering husband –
and also of having been brought five times to childbed with only three living
offspring to show for her trouble – had taken its toll upon her constitution
and nerves.
    In those former
days especially, the atmosphere at Netherfield altered perceptibly with the
master’s presence. An air of apprehension crept over the place from top to
bottom, as if the house itself held its breath in anticipation of some unknown
outburst or accident. Thus, it required nothing more than Mr. Farnsworth’s
suddenly coming into a room to start his wife and servants fidgeting and his
children forgetting how to behave.
    Mary had
observed the phenomenon from her earliest days on the premises, and she could
not help but feel fiercely sympathetic on Mrs. Farnsworth’s account.
     “So, this is
the new governess,” declared the lord and master at his first setting eyes on
Mary those years ago.
    Mr. Farnsworth
was not an especially imposing man to look at, being only a little above the
average in height and build, yet his autocratic tone made even this simple
statement of fact sound like a challenge – daring her to deny the charge.
    Rising to face
him, Mary had only nodded curtly in response.
    “Yes, my dear,”
his wife, who looked more frayed about the edges than usual, hastened to say.
“This is Miss Bennet, Miss Mary Bennet from Longbourn. You will recall that I
told you about her. She is a most accomplished and genteel young woman, and I
am sure she will do very well by the children.”
    “ I will
be the judge of that, if you please, Madam.”
    “Naturally,”
Mrs. Farnsworth murmured, dropping her eyes to her lap, where her hands were
tightly clasped.
    A maid, who had
come in with the tea tray, cringed as she set it down with more clatter than
she intended.
    “Must you make
such an infernal racket?” Mr. Farnsworth barked, darting an eye in the
direction of the offender.
    “Sorry, sir,”
said the maid as she shrank from the room.
    “The rest of
you, out as well,” he said, pointing to the door. “Mrs. Farnsworth, kindly take
your children and go. I wish to speak to Miss Bennet.”
    Mr. Farnsworth
had once been a captain in the Navy, so his military bearing did not surprise
Mary. Whilst the others scrambled to obey, she studied her new employer, taking
his features apart one by one – the bristling dark hair, the deliberately
narrowed cobalt eyes, the hard set of his mouth, and the prematurely graying
beard. The beard, she told herself with devilish satisfaction, had probably
been grown by way of disguising what would ultimately prove to be a weak chin.
Yes that must be the case.
    It was a trick
she sometimes used to steady herself when confronted with an ominous problem,
mentally dissecting it into a collection of smaller, more manageable bits. In
the brutish case before her, she perceived one part tyrant and one part
diffident boy, both covered over with a quantity of practiced intimidation. The
gentleman did not appear so alarming under this analysis. He was formidable,
not by true essence, she concluded. It was rather by considerable effort, as if
he could only bolster his own confidence by cowering others. Judging from the
prodigious scowl he wore, Mr. Farnsworth had next set himself the task of
cowering her.
    “Well, Miss
Bennet,” he commenced, slowly striding across the room with hands clasped
behind his back and a cool, sideways gaze leveled at her. “Let us come to a
right understanding at once. My wife may have engaged your services, but you
shall stay or go according to my verdict. Is that clear?”
    “Perfectly,
sir.”
    “Good.” He
turned to retrace his steps. “I must say that I was none too pleased to hear of
her selection. Although I know no harm of you personally,