Carola Dunn [Miss Hartwell's Miss Hartwell's Dilemma (retail

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.And if she has not the time, why, I daresay there must be dozens of unemployed governesses who would jump at the chance.”“Oh yes.I am sure you are right.But I do think it very noble of you, my love, to promote Miss Tisdale’s happiness when you rely on her so.”“Fustian, aunt.I rely on both of you, but I hope I shall not stand in your way when you choose to look about you for a second husband.Now I will leave you to rest, for I have a hundred things to do.” She went to the window, flung up the sash, and breathed deep.“I do believe we shall have a fine evening after all.The air is fresh and clear as a mountain spring, and Ned is out already tying up the plants the rain battered down.”Amaryllis went downstairs with a slow step.It was true that she relied on Tizzy.There was a hollow space under her ribs when she thought of losing her.Her enforced departure from Hart Hall had come just at the moment when she might be thought to have outgrown the need of a governess, but she remembered with a shiver the anguish with which she had begged her father to let Tizzy stay.Of course, dear Papa had laughed and agreed without the slightest argument.London would not have been bearable without Tizzy.She loved her aunt and realised with gratitude that Mrs.Vaux had not only guided her through the pitfalls of Society without a misstep but succeeded in turning a country miss into an elegant young lady.Yet it was to her governess she had turned when troubled or unhappy.She owed her more than could ever be repaid, and if she cared for Mr.Raeburn she should have him.Miss Hartwell spent the next two hours dealing with her correspondence.It was gratifying to be able to turn down so many requests for places in her school.Had there been room in the house, she might easily have employed another teacher.They dined, as usual, at six.Cook, having recovered her composure and being anxious to make amends for the teapot, had done wonders with the lamb.Ned, the gardener and handyman, had provided fresh, tender runner beans and a baby vegetable marrow.Ned preferred to let his vegetables grow as large as possible before he picked them, however tough or bitter they became, but the storm had torn his vines to pieces so the ladies profited by the destruction.After dinner, Amaryllis took a pruning knife and went into the front garden to tidy the rain-battered rosebushes.The setting sun caught the scattered petals in its golden glow and turned them into a carpet finer than any out of Turkey.Pink, crimson, yellow, and a dozen shades of green, all the colours in the garden seemed exceptionally vivid.Amaryllis concentrated on her task, carefully cutting off the petal-less heads, breathing the mingled scents of flowers and rich brown earth.“Miss Hartwell.”“Ouch!” Startled, she stabbed herself on a thorn, and turned to greet the vicar with a finger in her mouth.“Mr.Raeburn, it is most ungentlemanly in you to surprise a lady who is surrounded by rose thorns.Did you wish to see Miss Tisdale?”“No, no, I have only a moment.Augusta expects me back for dinner.I hope you will not think me interfering, Miss Hartwell, but I feel I must warn you.”“If you mean to warn me against pruning rosebushes, you are too late.”“More serious than that, I fear,” he said with an unwontedly agitated look.“I greatly dislike speaking evil of anyone, but I cannot reconcile it with my conscience to leave you in ignorance.”“In ignorance, sir? You must not accuse a schoolmistress of ignorance, you know.”“It pleases you to tease, ma’am.I well know your playful humour, but I beg you will be serious.What do you know of Lord Daniel Winterborne?”“Little enough.Only that he is, as I surmise, the son of Lord Bellingham and that he means to send his daughter to the Castle Hedingham Academy.”“He is a rake, Miss Hartwell.I have known him by reputation for many years though I have never met him before today.I have heard tales of him that I cannot repeat to a young lady of gentle birth.”“I thank you for your warning, Mr.Raeburn, but do pray be easy.It is my intention to teach his daughter, not to flirt with him.Besides, I did not like him above half.I am surprised to hear that he has the least success with females of any sort, since his manners are far from ingratiating.He was, in fact, abominably rude.”So, she thought as she watched him trudge down the muddy lane in his galoshes, Lord Daniel is a rake.She had best keep an eye on the older girls when he came to visit Miss Isabel.Chapter 3With two weeks to go before the beginning of term, Mrs.Vaux set in motion her last-minute preparations.Several women were hired from the village, in addition to the two regulars, to clean the house from top to bottom.Sheets were counted, darned, ‘sides-to-middled,’ replaced, hemmed, and re-counted.Vast quantities of coal and candles were ordered and delivered and arrangements made with a local farmer to supply almost equally vast quantities of milk, butter, and eggs.Two housemaids and a kitchen maid returned from spending the summer with their families and set to with a will polishing silver and furniture.One fine day, Miss Hartwell and Miss Tisdale escaped from the excessive domesticity by hiring a gig and driving into Colchester.Amaryllis enjoyed her rare opportunities to take the ribbons, even though the Bell’s plodding nag could not have been more different from the matched greys she used to drive in Hyde Park.She did not miss them near as much as she did her favourite riding mare, but she had not ridden in six years.She sometimes wondered if she ever would again.Miss Tisdale visited every bookshop in Colchester and returned to the gig, stabled at the Red Lion, followed by two boys laden with weighty packages.Miss Hartwell went straight to her banker and, after a half hour’s consultation, emerged smiling.She proceeded to the best dressmaker in town, spending there considerably more time than she had with her banker and again smiling when she left.She was followed to the gig by a single boy—not that she had any fewer packages than Tizzy, but they did not weigh so heavy.The ladies treated themselves to a late luncheon at the Red Lion.Miss Hartwell ordered cold chicken and bread and butter.Miss Tisdale, as usual, insisted on having half a dozen oysters because they were a local specialty, although she did not care for them in the least.She was swallowing the last of these, with a wry face, when Amaryllis made an announcement in a portentous voice.“Tizzy dear, I have been extravagant.”Miss Tisdale choked.Red-faced, tears in her eyes, she coughed and spluttered, then reached for her cup of tea and recovered her breath.“Oh dear,” she said guiltily, “so have I.”Amaryllis was skeptical.The governess’s ideas of extravagance were unlikely to break the bank.“What have you bought?” she asked.“Five novels! And then I saw a copy of Tom Jones, and I fear I simply could not resist it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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