The Impossible Governess Read Online Free PDF

Georgeanne and gave a stiff and formal greeting to his young niece. “Where have you been so early in the day?” he asked Marissa, eyeing the picnic basket Georgeanne carried.
    “We went to the park, Uncle Tony.  And I had ever so much fun,” answered the child, her large doe eyes warily trained on his austere countenance.
    “How nice,” he commented dryly as they entered the house.  He stopped in the act of removing his gloves and turned to Georgeanne.  “Miss Forsythe, I’d like a few moments of your time in the library.  Perhaps when Marissa takes her nap,” he added almost as an afterthought.
    “Can I come, too?” asked his niece, pleading with her velvety brown eyes.
    “Not this time, Marissa.  I need to talk with Miss Forsythe about your studies.”
    “But I want to come,” she replied, her pink lips set in a stubborn pout.
    Georgeanne recognized the earmarks of a full fledged tantrum brewing.  She grabbed Marissa’s shoulders and quickly steered the child ahead of her.  “I will come down later, my lord, when Marissa does not need me.”  She didn’t wait for his concurrence but hurried up the stairs, pushing a very disappointed Marissa ahead of her.
    In the course of divesting her charge of her short jacket and chip straw bonnet, Georgeanne enthusiastically reviewed their little excursion in the park.  Marissa had made new friends with a dowager’s furry lap dog and the footman walking it.  This diverted the child’s attention.  The little girl seemed to have a special fondness for dogs and soon forgot the slight she’d suffered from her uncle as she chattered merrily with Hattie, describing all the tricks the dog had performed.
    Later that afternoon, after sending Marissa and Hattie to the kitchen for a gooseberry tart, Georgeanne, feeling not an ounce of trepidation, stood before the library door.  This was her first interview since the unfortunate episode in the schoolroom and her hastily scribbled missive.  However, his lordship hadn’t bothered to check on his niece before now, nor so much as send a note to remonstrate Georgeanne for her actions.  So he must have something else on his mind, she decided, knocking on the door and entering the room after hearing him call out gruffly.
    She stepped inside as Lord Raynor rose from behind a desk covered with papers.  He motioned for Georgeanne to be seated in one of the wing chairs facing the front of his imposing desk.  As she took her seat, she regarded him closely.  He really was quite one of the handsomest men she had ever met.  Well, maybe not handsome precisely, she thought, for his nose was too long, his jaw was decidedly square, and his eyebrows were bushy. Still, she definitely found him most appealing.  When he suddenly stopped speaking, she realized she’d not been paying attention and had missed what he had said . .  .or asked?
    Raynor had watched Georgeanne demurely position herself on the edge of the cushion.  Her back was ramrod straight and her hands were folded in her lap, reminding him that until recently she had been a member of the ton.  “About your note, Miss Forsythe?”  He waited for her response but instead received a sweet smile.  “Miss Forsythe?”
    “Oh, dear.”  She met his eyes and colored prettily. 
    “Are you all right, Miss Forsythe?” he asked solicitously, observing her perplexed expression.
    “Yes, my lord.”
    “Then, perhaps you will answer me.”
    “Yes, my lord.”
    When nothing more was forthcoming from the flustered young woman in front of him, he tried again.  “Miss Forsythe, I asked you a question.”
    In obvious embarrassment, she bowed her head.  “Would you be so kind as to repeat it, my lord?”
    He arched a dark eyebrow at her request but acquiesced.  “I am concerned about Marissa.  I take it she has sustained no lasting effects from her, er, dousing?”  As Georgeanne’s chin came up, he saw the sparks flashing in her vivid green eyes. 
    “If you are