The Governess Was Wicked Read Online Free Page A
Author: Julia Kelly
full height, “do not push me.”
“I’ll do what I please to you,” he said, his eyes lazing over her again, his gaze more licentious than judgmental this time.
The man was a drunk and a boor, and Elizabeth wasn’t going to stand for it. “I doubt that Mr. Norton would appreciate learning about your habit of pilfering his best spirits when he’s not home.”
It was an aggressive shot straight across the bow, and it worked. The butler reeled back and glared at her, his face a little paler than it had been a moment before.
“I’ve no wish to quarrel with you, Mr. Crane,” she continued in as level a voice as she could muster. “I merely suggest that you go about your business as I do mine.”
A wicked glint appeared in the butler’s eye, and he swayed a little as he leaned in. “That trumped-up society doctor wants to lift your skirts and nothing else. And even if he did, he’d never make you his wife, so there’s no point in trying, is there? You’re a governess, and you’re always going to be a governess.”
A slow resignation spread through her entire body. No matter that the words came from a drunken cad who cared little for her feelings; she knew them to be true.
“ Good night , Mr. Crane,” she said before turning and leaving the butler teetering in her wake.
Dr. Fellows was pacing back and forth at the top of the stairs as promised when she rounded the corner that led to the third floor’s grand landing. He spotted her and his eyes brightened, but then his forehead crinkled into a frown.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She let out a slow breath. Crane’s accusations of impropriety had shaken her, not because of the vitriol behind them—that was merely the suspicion of an inebriated busybody—but rather because she wanted to be improper with Dr. Fellows. She wished more than anything that the man would get it into his head to brand her with his lips. She wanted to sin with him if only to know what it would be like.
But he wasn’t going to do that. Dr. Fellows was in every way the gentleman, treating her with more deference than most. With him she wasn’t the seductress governess—an unmarried woman who was a constant temptation to the men of a household. Neither was she the dowdy, desperate spinster. Instead, she was a woman who deserved the same courtesy as any other lady.
“Mr. Crane was merely inquiring about the health of Miss Norton and Miss Cassandra,” she said with a forced smile.
Dr. Fellows looked far from convinced. “I hope that my presence hasn’t created any trouble for you, Miss Porter. I shouldn’t like anyone to believe there was any hint of impropriety in our search. I know how quickly rumors can spread.”
Something in his tone had shifted and he sounded almost protective. But he had the same open expression he always did. Nothing was different.
She must have imagined it. She’d just been thinking about how she wanted a little taste of the wild, and now it was skewing her perception of things.
“You haven’t created any trouble for me,” she said. No matter how much I want you to.
She’d yearned for so long for him to notice her, but governesses were supposed to be like a well-chosen wallpaper that complements its room but is hardly noticed.
“Mr. Crane’s just doing his job,” she said, stifling a sigh as they began to descend the stairs, hating that she was rationalizing the brute of a man’s behavior but unable to deny the truth in it. “You must have learned by now that Mrs. Norton is very particular that everything about her home be above reproach. Governesses in particular are the source of a great deal of anxiety, so it’s only natural that I sometimes bear the brunt of the scrutiny.”
“I can’t imagine that you’d do anything that would earn reproach.”
But didn’t he see that she would for him? How could he not know that every time he walked into a room her cheeks heated? Without her even realizing it, her body would lean
“I’ll do what I please to you,” he said, his eyes lazing over her again, his gaze more licentious than judgmental this time.
The man was a drunk and a boor, and Elizabeth wasn’t going to stand for it. “I doubt that Mr. Norton would appreciate learning about your habit of pilfering his best spirits when he’s not home.”
It was an aggressive shot straight across the bow, and it worked. The butler reeled back and glared at her, his face a little paler than it had been a moment before.
“I’ve no wish to quarrel with you, Mr. Crane,” she continued in as level a voice as she could muster. “I merely suggest that you go about your business as I do mine.”
A wicked glint appeared in the butler’s eye, and he swayed a little as he leaned in. “That trumped-up society doctor wants to lift your skirts and nothing else. And even if he did, he’d never make you his wife, so there’s no point in trying, is there? You’re a governess, and you’re always going to be a governess.”
A slow resignation spread through her entire body. No matter that the words came from a drunken cad who cared little for her feelings; she knew them to be true.
“ Good night , Mr. Crane,” she said before turning and leaving the butler teetering in her wake.
Dr. Fellows was pacing back and forth at the top of the stairs as promised when she rounded the corner that led to the third floor’s grand landing. He spotted her and his eyes brightened, but then his forehead crinkled into a frown.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She let out a slow breath. Crane’s accusations of impropriety had shaken her, not because of the vitriol behind them—that was merely the suspicion of an inebriated busybody—but rather because she wanted to be improper with Dr. Fellows. She wished more than anything that the man would get it into his head to brand her with his lips. She wanted to sin with him if only to know what it would be like.
But he wasn’t going to do that. Dr. Fellows was in every way the gentleman, treating her with more deference than most. With him she wasn’t the seductress governess—an unmarried woman who was a constant temptation to the men of a household. Neither was she the dowdy, desperate spinster. Instead, she was a woman who deserved the same courtesy as any other lady.
“Mr. Crane was merely inquiring about the health of Miss Norton and Miss Cassandra,” she said with a forced smile.
Dr. Fellows looked far from convinced. “I hope that my presence hasn’t created any trouble for you, Miss Porter. I shouldn’t like anyone to believe there was any hint of impropriety in our search. I know how quickly rumors can spread.”
Something in his tone had shifted and he sounded almost protective. But he had the same open expression he always did. Nothing was different.
She must have imagined it. She’d just been thinking about how she wanted a little taste of the wild, and now it was skewing her perception of things.
“You haven’t created any trouble for me,” she said. No matter how much I want you to.
She’d yearned for so long for him to notice her, but governesses were supposed to be like a well-chosen wallpaper that complements its room but is hardly noticed.
“Mr. Crane’s just doing his job,” she said, stifling a sigh as they began to descend the stairs, hating that she was rationalizing the brute of a man’s behavior but unable to deny the truth in it. “You must have learned by now that Mrs. Norton is very particular that everything about her home be above reproach. Governesses in particular are the source of a great deal of anxiety, so it’s only natural that I sometimes bear the brunt of the scrutiny.”
“I can’t imagine that you’d do anything that would earn reproach.”
But didn’t he see that she would for him? How could he not know that every time he walked into a room her cheeks heated? Without her even realizing it, her body would lean