Page 33 of The Governess and the Rogue

“Yes, yes,” Mrs. Rawson said dismissively. “But do your parents know of this, sir? Surely Lord and Lady Allendale⁠—”

“My parents are certain to be overjoyed, ma’am,” Jack said. “They have long wished for me to be settled.”

Bea wondered if that was true.

“They will surely be surprised,” Mrs. Dimsdale pronounced darkly.

Mrs. Farraday stepped forward. A rigid smile graced her features. Only her eyes betrayed her lack of good humor. They were exceedingly hard. “We must act in their stead,” she said, “as both companions and chaperones.”

Bea felt Jack’s hand tighten on hers.

“For though you might be engaged, you are not yet married,” Mrs. Farraday continued. “It wouldn’t be seemly if you were left too much alone with each other during the remainder of the journey. Isn’t that right, Mrs. Rawson?”

“Too right,” Mrs. Rawson agreed as Benjamin squirmed under her arm. “Your parents will be grateful to us, I wager, for delivering you home without the taint of scandal marring your good name.”

“A generous impulse, to be sure,” Jack said. “But I have no fear of scandal at this late stage. I’m a man of four and thirty, not a stripling lad.”

“And I am six and twenty.” Bea was amazed by the steadiness of her voice. “I know my own mind.”

“As do I.” Jack tucked Bea’s hand in his arm. “Miss Layton will be ample company for me. You may trust that we will observe all proprieties.”

“But Colonel—” Mrs. Farraday began.

“Which reminds me,” Jack said, addressing Mrs. Rawson. “I understand you have a maid you might be willing to hire out for the purpose.”

“Pearl?” Mrs. Rawson resettled her now thrashing little dog. “Why yes, sir.”

“But I have been given leave to make use of her,” Mrs. Dimsdale objected. “The girl is looking after my children since Miss Layton—” she broke off. “That is to say… since I find myself without a⁠—”

“Naturally it would be my honor to loan Pearl to you for what remains of the sea voyage,” Mrs. Rawson interrupted. Benjamin gave a plaintive yap. “And may I say, the very least Lord and Lady Allendale might expect from one whom I hope might dare to call herself their friend.”

Bea had never witnessed such an outright display of toadying. Then again, she’d never before been in company with anyone so exalted as the son of an earl. Perhaps this sort of behavior was normal? If it was, it went a long way to explaining why Jack had been pursued so relentlessly.

“Excellent,” he said. “My batman will be arranging a stateroom for Miss Layton. You may direct your maid there once all is settled.”

Mrs. Rawson beamed. “I shall, sir. With my compliments.”

“Ma’am.” Jack inclined his head to her. “Ladies.” Having effectively ended the conversation, he steered Bea away.

“But what about the children?” Mrs. Dimsdale’s plaintive query sounded shrilly behind them. “Who is to look after them?”

Bea descended the stairs with Jack, unable to hear the answer to Mrs. Dimsdale’s question over the roar of the wind and sea.

“I trust you’ve regained your appetite,” Jack said cheerfully. “Because I’m famished.”

Chapter Eleven

Bea wished she could eat. But though her stomach was hollow as an empty gourd, she found herself unable to manage the smallest morsel.

Never in her life had she felt so much under a microscope. Every eye in the dining saloon seemed to be trained upon them. Some diners were sneaking fascinated looks. Others stared openly. A few were even whispering behind their hands, by heaven.

Not that Jack appeared to notice. He sat beside Bea at the linen-draped table, inhaling his enormous breakfast like a man breaking a ten-day fast. The rasher of bacon he’d heaped on his plate was gone. So too the eggs, fruit, and bread rolls.

She toyed with her own meal with her fork as she observed him from the beneath her lashes. One might think he hadn’t a care in the world. And perhaps he hadn’t, now that she had been enlisted to protect him from the scores of ladies who wished to trap him into marriage.

Bea wasn’t entirely unsympathetic to their aims.

What woman among them could set eyes on Jack and not be lured into daydreams about having him for her own? The temptation was palpable, even for Bea. Even now, sitting beside him, subjected to only his unrelenting silence and his strongly chiseled profile.