The Governess Club: Louisa Read Online Free PDF Page A

even shoot a look of irritation in her direction for being the cause of such a clipped command; he simply accepted it and returned to his duties.
    “That was unnecessary,” Louisa began.
    Mr. Taylor cut her off, placing his fists on his hips. It made his presence in the room increase, if that were possible, taking every available inch as his own. “Mrs. Brock, you may have little regard for your own safety, but I will not have your injuries or your death on my conscience. So long as you work here, if there is any task that may risk your health and well-being, you will seek assistance.”
    “I don’t need—”
    “This is not negotiable,” he clipped out. “If you feel you will have difficulty meeting this expectation, pack your things now.”
    Louisa hated him in that moment. Hated that he was commanding her, hated needing this position for the shelter it provided, hated knowing he was right. This hatred was visceral, bleeding from her bones and through her pores until she could almost feel the hot slime of it on her skin, burning her. The hatred wasn’t a stranger, but it had been so long since she felt it that it took several moments for her to gain control of it.
    She swallowed and nodded. “I will do as you say.”
    Mr. Taylor visibly relaxed, his arms and shoulders lowering. “I am glad to hear that. I should not want any harm to come to you.”
    Louisa gritted her teeth. “I am not your responsibility, Mr. Taylor.”
    “So long as you are in my employ, you are.”
    For a moment, she was in serious contemplation of leaving. True, here she had a roof over her head, food—despite how questionable it was—in her belly and something to occupy her days. But Giant Johnny was turning into a domineering man, one used to ordering people about and not anticipating any refusal, merely taking what he saw as his right. She had spent her past few years fighting against such men, leaving when it was a better option than losing. She had no desire to find herself in yet another situation like that.
    She thought she had found her sanctuary with her friends and their Governess Club. For a brief time, they were their own masters, making their own decisions regarding their lives and their futures. True, Jacob Knightly lived at Ridgestone with them, but for the most part he remained out of the Governess Club’s business. The estate and his marriage were his concerns; the Governess Club, the ladies’.
    And it had been wonderful. Difficult, but wonderful.
    But now she found herself yet again in the situation of submitting to a man. Did she need this position that much? Would she be able to survive like this? Odds were low, as she had yet to succeed in that. How long would she be able to suffer this? How long before he would demand the sacrifice of her dignity, her self-respect?
    Did she want to find out?
    Mr. Taylor continued speaking, his tone more gentle now that he had gotten her to accede to his wishes. “I just want you to be safe. I would feel horrible should anything happen to you. It’s for your own good.”
    She couldn’t stop the snort. “Of course it is. Isn’t it always?”
    He was taken aback by the sarcastic vehemence of her tone. “What?”
    She couldn’t stop herself, didn’t know if she wanted to. “Men like you are always making decisions for a woman’s own good. We’re too weak minded and flighty to be considered capable of determining what our own good is, so we must depend on men to determine that. Why does no one recognize that men are selfish and will manipulate the situation to serve their own needs? At what point did ‘what’s best for the woman’ become entire acquiescence to man’s desires? Why is it that no one can see that disparity? And those who do are scoffed at, ridiculed and shunned for being ‘unnatural’ females, merely for wanting the acknowledgment that they are in possession of a working mind and are capable of using it just as effectively as a man.”
    John blinked,