His Bewitching Jewel (A Regency Holiday Romance Book 7) (3 page)

They come to an abrupt stop, and she looked down at them. She had never seen such spirit in children. Someone allowed them to play wildly inside of the house. Two harried looking women that had to be their nursemaids followed them closely, and came to a stop, right behind them, gasping for breath. It looked as if they were simply there to make certain the children did not break their foolish little necks.

Dressed like little ladies, the youngest child wore a blossom pink dress, and clutched a doll to her chest, and the older child wore an azure blue dress that matched her eyes. Their hair was done in ringlets, although they had mussed it up quite a bit. They wore pantalets with their dress, and each had a lovely sash to match their dress tied around their waist. Obviously, someone in the family pampered them.

The eldest child couldn’t be more than ten, but she had an authority to her, and didn’t seem to mind that the youngest one viewed her as her protector. It looked as if she had been playing bilbocatch at one point in time, for she held the child’s toy in her left hand. Though they looked like proper young misses, they didn’t seem the part right now. The eldest had blond hair, and the youngest had black hair. Their hair was askew, and their eyes were bright with the fun they had been having. The eldest girl had lively beautiful blue eyes, and the smallest, and youngest girl had bright brown eyes.

As their eyes settled on Ruby, the smaller of the two moved behind the larger child, hiding behind her, and peeking out cautiously every few seconds. The little one was timid, and shy, painfully so. Her large brown eyes widened innocently, and a look of apprehension filled her gaze.

Ruby could sympathize.

“Lady Miranda, Lady Cordelia, this is your new governess. Her name is Miss Ruby Massey. You shall call her Miss Massey,” Mrs. Teague instructed in a calm, yet no nonsense voice.

They each curtsied in unison, as if they had rehearsed this moment several times, and Ruby dipped into a curtsy as well, which earned her a smile from the eldest child.

Lady Cordelia whispered something to Lady Miranda that Ruby couldn’t quite catch.

Lady Miranda nodded her head. “Yes, Cordelia, I will ask her. Are you named for the jewel, Miss Massey?”

She smiled. “Aye. I am,” she confessed.

Lady Cordelia’s look of hesitation vanished, and she gave Ruby a tentative smile, which lit her whole face up.

“Cordelia loves gemstones, Miss Massey. She particularly likes rubies. She was born in July, you see. Uncle gave her a lovely gold cross with rubies and diamonds in it, but she never wears it when we are playing.”

“That is a lovely month to be born in,” Ruby said softly.

“I am a child of Nos Kalan Gwav, known in English, as Allantide,” Lady Miranda said boldly. “My Mama used to say I behaved like a wild little pixie, and that I had a hint of the Otherworld about me. She said that my fiery nature was a result of me being born during a time when bonfires were held, and the spirits freely roamed the land. She said that someday I would be quite the handful, and I fear I already am.”

“Allantide?” Ruby asked, now completely flustered.

Lady Miranda surprised her with her spunky nature. She was as bold and as strong willed, as Lady Cordelia was not. She seemed to be the one who communicated for Lady Cordelia, and Ruby wondered if the girl was ever forthright enough to ask her own questions, or if she relied on Lady Miranda to do all of that for her.

“It is a Cornish Festival celebrated on the 31
st
of this month. I suppose, as you are not Cornish, you would know it as Halloween or Samhain,” Lady Miranda said.

“I understand, my lady,” Ruby said smiling.

“You will have grand fun around here. We shall give out big red beautiful apples to each other at the end of October, on Allan-Night, and if you put it under your pillow before you go to sleep, legend says that you will dream of the man you are meant to marry, and you will like the other traditions we have. We have an apple orchard, and a cherry orchard right on our grounds. The locals adore our apples. They think they bring them extra good luck—even if ours hasn’t been so charmed lately.” At this confession, Lady Miranda’s eyes grew sad, and then, she smiled. The cloud that had passed over her face quickly lifted, and she was back to being the cheery little girl again.

Ruby knew that they had recently lost their mother, but she didn’t know what had taken her from this world. Their uncle hadn’t divulged that particular to her in his correspondence, and she had not asked.

“I have always liked a good bonfire,” Ruby admitted. “As a child, I did enjoy bobbing for apples.” 

Lady Miranda smiled at her. “Well, we don’t exactly bob for apples here. Mama used to like to do it that way, as she said it was much safer than the Allantide apple and candle game. She was ever so worried we would get hot wax on us. As long as you are up for some good old Allantide merriment, you shall fit in fine here, Miss Massey,” Lady Miranda said. “We like to have fun, don’t we, Cordelia?”

The guarded expression in the girl’s eyes faded away, and though her sister still stood behind her, Ruby was glad that she had at least won over one of the children she was to educate.

“I think that Uncle has finally found us the right governess, Cordelia. Come along, why don’t we go and tell him that we approve of Miss Massey? We will probably find him in the Library,” Miranda said.

“Find me where?” A deep booming voice asked, as it echoed throughout the beautiful house. Ruby looked to where a handsome man dressed mostly in black walked toward them. Most of the residents here seemed to be in mourning, and yet, the little girls were still dressed in merry colours.

Lady Cordelia let out a little petrified gasp, and clung even closer to Lady Miranda. Ruby watched, captivated, as a man strode into view.

It was the Duke.

He had a commanding presence, and he was tall, as he had to be at least six foot three inches. When his eyes settled on her, Ruby was stunned to see that they matched the colour of Lady Cordelia’s. Lady Cordelia resembled him in an uncanny manner. His black hair was also a little unkempt, and he had a natural wave to it. His voice was low, and had a strength to it, she hadn’t heard in any other man. It was like velvet. It caressed her softly. It enchanted her, and set her heart to pounding wildly in her chest.

“You silly goose. You are going to have to get used to him soon. He is all we have now, Cordelia, without him, we would be orphans. And, he really isn’t all that bad,” Lady Miranda whispered. “You must admit, he does tell grand bedtime stories.”

As she continued to steel herself under his penetrating gaze, Ruby fervently wished that she had an older sister to hide behind. Feeling suddenly warm, she dropped her portmanteau, and reached for the hood on her cloak.

*****

The governess pulled the hood down to reveal her face. This was no spinster. This was a young lady of incomparable beauty.

Finn’s heart stopped, as their gazes collided. She was quite simply the prettiest thing he had ever laid eyes upon. Her eyes were bright and wide like the darkest most sensual emeralds. Her lips were ruby red, and invited a good kissing. Her hair was almost black, and looked as if it would cascade over her shoulders in soft ringlets, if he loosed it from where it sat, piled atop her head. Her skin contrasted sharply with the scarlet hue of her lips, and looked like a white rose against a red one.

If he never laid eyes upon another woman in his life, he would die a happy man, for she had stolen his heart with just one look, and she seemed completely unaffected by it. He was now her servant for life. He would do her bidding. Anything she wanted, he would give her. She was guileless, and that quality intrigued him even more. He had never met a woman with such an honest quality to her.

Finn could not quite believe what he saw. Was she an apparition, or was she real? She looked like a vision from a dream, and he had the uncanny feeling he had seen her once before. Whether he had dreamed of this woman standing before him, or whether he had seen her once, a long time ago, he did not know. All he knew was that she bewitched him. He was enamored with her after just one sight of her, and he knew that if he could not look upon her for the rest of his days, he would be a heartbroken man. The only thing that baffled him was this, why had she represented herself as an old maid?

She was nothing of the kind. She was a maiden. He knew one thing with the utmost certainty, this maiden had just caught him. She still had a youthful blush to her cheeks, her face had not one wrinkle, and her hair…her hair was completely devoid of any white or grey strands. She stole his breath with her loveliness. She was an unblemished gemstone, and he had to possess her.

She was his bewitching jewel, and God help him, but he had fallen madly hopelessly in love. One look was all it took for him. She had captured him—now he had to capture her.

“Your Grace, this is the new governess,” Mrs. Teague said nervously. “This is Miss Ruby Massey. Miss Massey, this is His Grace, the Duke of Camblesforth.”

“Your Grace,” she said, bobbing into a curtsy, and looking up at him with her shining green eyes. He felt quite undone. He felt as if everyone else had left them…and they were alone because he only had eyes for her.

She looked completely shattered. She looked fagged to death. She looked as if she could sleep for a sennight. He resisted the urge to step forward and sweep her up into his arms, and take her up to his bedchamber.

He nodded his head curtly. No matter how he felt on the inside, he would keep a rein on his emotions. He would not let her, or anyone else, see how terribly affected he was by her presence.

His words suddenly dried up in his throat. He was a fool. He had no reason to be tongue tied around her, and yet, she had rendered him without the ability to speak. Now, now, he knew how Cordelia felt.

When her cloak meowed, he contained a chuckle, and kept his face completely devoid of the smile he wanted to give her. He looked down, and suddenly noticed the little black kitten she had clutched against her chest.

“It would seem our Miss Massey brings us good luck,” he mused.

The housekeeper’s eyes flew to the small kitten. “I…I...” Ruby stuttered. He could see that she was trying to come up with something quickly, before Mrs. Teague found a way to take the kitten away from her.

“Oh, it is a lovely kitten,” Miranda breathed. “Can we have it, Uncle?”

“Only if Miss Massey wants to part with it, and you shall have to find someone to give it a good bath. I don’t want it carrying anything to my dogs.”

“Aye, Uncle,” Miranda said. “Might I have it, Miss Massey?” Ruby looked hesitant. “We can call it Joan, for Joan of the Wad, Queen of the Pixies.”

“I…I suppose so,” Ruby said, reluctantly handing the kitten over to her.

“Mind what I said, and make sure it is given a proper cleaning, Miranda.”

“I always mind you, sir,” Miranda said, a cheeky glint in her eyes. Cradling the kitten gingerly, Cordelia looked as if she wanted to step out from behind Miranda to pet the little thing. Though rowdy when playing, his girls were sensitive souls.

Cordelia still looked frightened half to death of him. He didn’t know how to break through her fear…he wanted her to warm up to him, he wanted her to throw herself at him, and let him pick her up, but she would not. She was far too frightened, and it broke his heart.

Miranda looked over at Ruby. “Don’t be scared of my Uncle Phineas, Miss Massey. He only looks frightening. He is not as bad as he looks. He cannot help that dour expression he wears all of the time. He has not smiled since Mama died, and we cannot really blame him. Still, it would be nice if he did smile once in a while, don’t you think, Miss?”

His heart sunk. Ungrateful child. “Thank you, Miranda,” he said.

His eyes swept over to Ruby. She looked as frightened as Cordelia. He did not know how she would fare in Penryn House, as they didn’t always have peaceful nights, and the floor where her bedchamber was, was the center of some particularly stubborn supernatural activity.

Perhaps, if she didn’t fare well during her first night here, he would move her. However, that would be tricky, as she was located on the nursery floor, and though the activity might bother Ruby, it would not disrupt the children, at least, it had not so far.

“I told Miss Massey she would get her Allan apple at the end of October, Uncle, on Allan-Night.”

He nodded his head. “Quite right. That day will be here before we know it. And with it, comes a certain young lady’s tenth birthday.”

Miranda smiled. “Come along, Cordelia. Let us go and play outside, before it is time for us to have our dinner. Why don’t we go and skip some rope, or play Battledore and Shuttlecock?”

Happily, they scampered away, their nursemaids following them closely.

Finn should have told them it was too late for them to continue their merry little games, but he didn’t have the heart. Their nursemaids had little power over them. Miranda and Cordelia hardly listened to anything they said, and he supposed he was to blame for that as well.

Their nannies feared retribution from him, should they ever rebuke the children, as he had expressly forbidden it. As such, they basically ran wild. He never had the heart to scold either one of them. Not that Cordelia really needed it. She minded her manners. Miranda was capable of making mischief, and her stubbornness, and strong will could prove to be trouble, if left unchecked.