The Governess Was Wanton by Julia Kelly Page A

This is a volatile time.”
    The earl rubbed the back of his neck. “Things were so much easier when she was a child. I could kiss away the scrapes and soothe every other worry with the promise of tea, a bag of boiled sweets, and a book.”
    Mary smiled and shook her head. “She’s a lady now. Her life is infinitely more complicated.”
    He let out a long breath. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. You’ve seen this all before.”
    â€œI don’t think this is just the usual stress of the season though,” she conceded. “Something’s bothering her.”
    And not just Lady Laughlin, she added silently. There was more to it than Lady Eleanora disliking her chaperone.
    The earl’s head snapped up and his eyes brightened. “You could ask her.”
    â€œMe?” she asked, more than a little surprised.
    â€œShe already trusts you. Look at how she appealed to you earlier,” said the earl, clearly growing more fond of the idea by the minute.
    Still, Mary hesitated. “It’s not really my place, sir.”
    It felt like something a mother who was more nurturing than Mary’s own had ever been would do, but then Lord Asten took her hands in his and clasped them together, stealing her breath from her. The surprising calluses on his palms set the soft skin of her hands ablaze. It was so intimate, so unself-conscious a gesture, and it almost felled Mary. She was afraid that if he let go, she’d dissolve away, leaving behind nothing more than a pile of crinoline wire and linen. Even worse, his expression held nothing but trust. That’s why when the earl asked again, “Will you please go speak to Eleanora and find out what’s really the matter?” all she could do was nod.
    â€œThank you,” he said, a crooked little smile quirking up the corner of his mouth. “You’re already proving yourself to be indispensable, Miss Woodward.”
    Indispensable. Not desirable. Not ravishing.
    All the secret hopes and illicit thoughts that had been building Mary up and up until she could almost touch the moon crashed down to earth once again.

Chapter Five
    â€œOf course he didn’t mean anything by it,” Mary muttered as she ascended the stairs in her quest to find her charge. She was quite confident that Lady Eleanora would be in her hidey-hole behind the bookcase in the library. It was a good thing too. Mary was too wound up to put any real thought into tracking down an inventive girl who didn’t want to be found.
    â€œSuch a typical man,” she huffed as she walked into the library and made a beeline for the bookcase.
    She could blame Lord Asten for gripping her hands in such an improper way, but she couldn’t blame the rest of it on him. The moment he touched her it was as though the whole world fell away. All that was left was him. He wasn’t responsible for the way she’d parted her lips, inviting him to kiss her like a silly girl of sixteen. First the drawing room and now this? It had to stop, otherwise Mary was going to make a fool of herself, destroying all of her hard work in one fell swoop.
    She tugged on One Thousand and One Nights and the secret door swung open. Sure enough, Lady Eleanora sat on a mound of cushions, her nose buried in Chaucer’s soft fur.
    â€œHello there,” Mary said, stepping into the room but making sure to leave the door open. One earl’s daughter could fit with the door closed, but the room was a little too close for Mary’s comfort.
    â€œI want to be alone,” said Lady Eleanora.
    â€œAnd I’d like to have tea with Queen Victoria, but I doubt that will ever happen.”
    â€œAm I never going to be left on my own again?” asked her charge in annoyance.
    She crossed her arms. “I’m saying that we can’t always get what we want. Besides, I’m not entirely convinced you do want to be left alone.”
    â€œWhy do you