The Governess Club: Bonnie Read Online Free PDF Page B

go.”
    “Not quite. Think hard.”
    Taking a deep breath, she thought about everything he said. Every word floated through her brain. When her mind honed in on a significant point, she blurted, “You said that it did not make sense on paper to retain me.”
    Triumph flared in his eyes. “Does that say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will let you go?”
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    “It indicates that there is more affecting your decisions than things you can see on paper.”
    The corners of his mouth tugged into a small smile. “Excellent. It is clear that the boys depend on you and that you have a calming effect on them. It would be a grave mistake to let you go.”
    Relief flooded through her body. Stephen could see it in the way her body sagged. As dignified as she had taken the thought of her dismissal, it had frightened her.
    The relief lasted only a minute. Anger filled her hazel eyes. “Was this some sort of a test?”
    “I suppose you could look at it that way.”
    “Is this what you do for amusement? Is this meant to make me appreciate you for not letting me go?”
    “No. If it makes you feel better, you passed.”
    “And what would have happened if I had not?”
    Stephen shook his head and answered, “I would not have trusted you.”
    Bonnie let out a disbelieving laugh. “Not trust me? What have I done since your arrival to indicate that I am not trustworthy?”
    “Nothing comes to mind.”
    “Well, I certainly feel assured that the man who has done nothing to gain our trust feels that I am worthy. If you will excuse me.” Bonnie pushed herself up and stormed around the table to the servant’s corridor.
    “Miss Hodges, I did not mean to upset you.”
    Bonnie turned and looked at Sir Stephen standing at the table. “The most important thing in my life at this moment is Henry and Arthur. It doesn’t concern me that their new guardian apparently expects everyone to earn his trust before he takes any step to show himself worthy of the same regard.”
    “Miss Hodges, calm down.”
    “With respect, my lord,” Bonnie continued. “What concerns me is that in the nine days since being here, their guardian has done nothing remotely guardian-like. And you think I am the one who needs to earn trust?”
    Stephen stared at her. “Miss Hodges, I . . .”
    “Do you understand, Sir Stephen? Do you understand that these boys need more than a man behind a desk balancing ledgers? They need more than someone who hires tutors and runs the estate. They need more than you; they need a father.”
    “I am not their father,” Stephen burst out. “He is dead. My friends are dead. I am bloody well not some sort of savior.”
    “I know,” Bonnie said, her voice sad. “But you’re all they have.”

 

C HAPTER E IGHT
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    “E nough.” Stephen slammed his hand on the desk, cutting Renard’s sentence off. “It’s been ten days, Renard. Ten days of this.”
    “Sir—”
    “No. I find it hard to believe that Darrow would let his estate get into such a mess.”
    “I understand, Sir Stephen. I assure you, I did my best, but in the last months, Lord Darrow was not himself.”
    Stephen’s attention perked up at that. “Explain yourself.”
    Renard shifted uncomfortably. “I do not wish to speak ill of the late viscount.”
    “If you know anything that will help me through this,” Stephen gestured at the piles of paper covering the desk, “then share it.”
    “Lord Darrow seemed . . . distracted in the last few months,” Renard offered.
    “Elaborate.”
    “He did not spend as much time working with me as he had in the past. When he did come into the study, the decisions and investments he made—I may as well not have been in the room for how little he listened to me.”
    “Bad investments?”
    “Yes sir. Not so much bad, but ill-advised. Companies and men seeking investors came. I advised against many of them, but he wouldn’t listen.”
    “Why do you think that was?”
    Renard shifted again.