His Bewitching Jewel (A Regency Holiday Romance Book 7) (6 page)

She demurely shook her head, and then, popped her head back under the covers. He resisted the urge to laugh, and went to sit on the end of Miranda’s bed. If he sat on Cordelia’s bed, he would scare her half to death.

“Hmm…let me see…let me think of a story…let me tell you the tale of how your mother and I first met the Queen of the Pixies.” He could tell them a few ghost stories, but he didn’t want to chance giving Cordelia nightmares.

No, a magical little tale it was.

“You and Mama met Queen Joan?” Miranda raised her eyebrow slightly, and he could see she was unconvinced.

“Aye, we did. We were playing in the nearby woods on the Estate when we came upon her. She had been captured by a giant who had placed her high atop a tree, hanging from one of its branches in a little birdcage. When we approached her, she started to speak to us in Cornish, and then, once we started to speak in English to her, she magically altered her voice, and suddenly, she was speaking English, as perfectly as you please. She told us who she was—as if we didn’t already know. She had…”

“Was she naked, Uncle?”

“Oh, no,” he laughed. “Never listen to those fanciful tales about pixies, Miranda. They do not run naked through the moonlight…well, not that I know of, anyway. Queen Joan wore a gown of emerald green. Her eyes were the shade of the loveliest amethysts, and her hair was the colour of silver, and she glowed with an arcane light. Atop her head sat a crown of rubies and diamonds, and the rubies glowed…they glowed like firelight. She could have kept the space lit if darkness had fallen upon us. She begged us to release her, and in return, she would bless us with good luck and give us each one wish. She said that from that moment on, we and our descendants would have the protection of the pixies.

“She was the most beautiful will-o-the-wisp that I have ever seen. She told us that the giant wanted her to use her magic to bless a bunch of beans that he wanted to plant in the Earth to open the portal back to his homeland, where the giants lived. He believed if he did, they could once again attempt to invade our beloved Cornwall.”

“Oh, no, how terrible for her! Did you release her, Uncle? Well, you must have done,” Miranda said sensibly. “Had you not, the giant might have used her magic to bring a Giant Army to Cornwall.”

“Isolde and I were wary of her. Our parents warned against following the fairy lights. We had been warned that pixies were wont to spin fantastical tales that were not always the truth. Our parents warned us that pixies could have mercurial tempers, and could bestow upon us bad luck, as easily as they might bestow upon us good luck, and the day was growing short—we knew had to head home quickly, lest we be missed.”

“Oh, you didn’t leave her there, did you? Why the giant might have gobbled her up for dinner, after he had used her to bless his beans,” Miranda gasped.

He looked over and saw Cordelia’s bedclothes rustle again, as she peeked her wide brown eyes up above the sheet.

He smiled, glad to see the endearing sight.

“No…no, of course we didn’t. Though your Mama told me in her no nonsense way that I was to climb up the tree and free Queen Joan.”

“And of course you obeyed,” Miranda said, giggling.

“I could never say no to your mother,” he chuckled. “Aye, I climbed the tree, and narrowly avoided falling to my death. Once I was up high enough, I reached and unlatched the little door on her cage, and she crawled onto my outstretched hand, and then, onto my arm, and finally settled herself on my shoulder. She sat perched there like the little queen she was, until I had climbed back down the tree, and gingerly placed her on the ground. Once she was on the ground, a most curious thing happened…” he paused to take a deep breath.

“Oh, Uncle, do tell us…what happened? Did she give you your one wish?”

He chuckled. “Who is telling this story, Miranda?”

Properly chastised, she looked away from him. “You are, Uncle.”

“Aye, indeed I am. Once her little feet were on the ground, sparkles of her pixie dust flew in the air around her, and as we watched, startled beyond belief, she grew so she was just a little over five feet tall, and oh, how majestic she looked. She smiled at us, and opened her palm to show to us two sparkling purple jewels coated in her magical pixie dust. She told us to each take one, and that whenever we needed her help, or if we had decided what our wish was, that we need only hold the gemstone in the palm of our hand, and say her name three times, and she would appear before us ready to grant our wish. She told us she couldn’t give us anything that might cause harm to another, and that she had no power over life or death. She said she could not perform miracles, and that her magic was only to be used for good.”

“She wouldn’t give you your wish that day?” Miranda asked, completely crestfallen at the thought.

“She said…she said we were not old enough yet to know what our hearts wanted. She said, should we leave the living world without making our wish, our wish would then be bestowed upon our closest kin.”

“Did Mama ever make her wish?” Miranda asked breathlessly.

“No,” he sighed heavily. “After that last blissful summer together, we lost our brother, Randall, and our life never did return to the way it once had been. I went off to school, and I had a lot of growing to do. I wasn’t ready or prepared to become the duke, and my father…well, my father died when I was still quite young.

“Fortunately, I had my mother to help me manage the Estates, and our other interests, and to show me what I had to know. Your grandmother was a formidable woman, and she could pretty much do anything she set her mind to, including managing all of my interests in my absence. Far too fast, Isolde and I grew up. Our carefree days of running like wild little fairies were gone.”

“And shortly after that, Mama married our father,” Miranda said, sighing heavily.

“Aye,” he said, suddenly feeling quite melancholy.

“So, do you still have the purple pixie wishing stones?” Miranda asked, shaking off the sadness that had briefly marred her serene countenance.

“Aye…I have them both, now that I think of it. Isolde gave me hers when we returned home. She said she never thought she would ever have need of it…and she was afraid to use it so she entrusted it to my care. I keep it in my valet case in my bedchamber. They are tucked in a little silk satchel inside of the case, and I haven’t looked inside of it for years.”

“Oh, Uncle, you should use it, and make your wish. Maybe you could wish for true love.”

“Hmm…maybe someday I will. Right now, I have all that I could ever want.” Now that Ruby had come into his life, he had everything he had ever desired. He looked to the clock, “now, it is time for you two sleepyheads to go to sleep, and dream of fairies, pixies, and the giants that try to catch them so they can use their magic for ill.”

He stood up, and bestowed a kiss upon Miranda’s forehead. The kitten let out a sleepy purr, as it moved to sit up on Miranda’s pillow, next to her head.

“I hope that little beast had a bath,” he said, eyeing it warily.

“Aye, Uncle. One of the footmen gave Joan a good scrubbing, Mr. Chegwin saw to it himself. He said she screamed and screamed, but they finished the deed, despite her caterwauling.”

“Good, good. I can always rely upon Mr. Chegwin.” He moved over to Cordelia’s bed, but she didn’t seem keen on the thought of a goodnight kiss. Sighing heavily, he gave a curt nod to their nursemaids. “Goodnight, Girls. Sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight, Uncle,” Miranda answered. He waited, hoping to hear something from Cordelia, but she remained silent.

Sighing heavily again, he wished that his sister was still around to help Cordelia. He walked to the nursery door, and softly closed it behind him.

Standing out in the hallway, he had the strongest urge to continue onward to Miss Massey’s chambers. Would she be asleep yet? She had probably locked her door. She was a young woman in a strange house, and she would be worried about her safety. He wouldn’t walk in on her, he wouldn’t dream of invading her privacy like that, but he yearned to talk to her, and see her once again.

He longed for companionship of someone older than six and nine years old.

Maybe it was finally time to consider finding himself a wife. He wouldn’t have to look far…as he had already found her.

Now, all he had to do was court her and convince her to take a rapscallion like him.

Ruby was buried beneath her bedclothes, and while she had fallen fast asleep when she had first gone to bed, she was now wide awake. She wagered that she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep again. She was too bloody scared.

By her clock, it was half past midnight. The sound of something rattling outside of her bedroom had startled her awake, and now…now, she could hear scraping at the door.

Fear clutched at her being. It caused goosebumps to raise along her skin. She shivered despite the fact that it wasn’t that cold in her bedchamber. The scratching had continued for nearly fifteen minutes. It was an ungodly sound. It seemed to start at the bottom of the door, and go upwards. She wanted to get out of bed, and see what was on the other side of the door, but her nerves wouldn’t let her. They were completely and utterly shot. All she could do was remain frozen under her bedclothes.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

She put her head beneath her pillow, in an effort to drown out the dreadful noise. She had securely locked her door, so she knew that nothing physical could get into her bedchamber, and yet—she suspected that whatever it was, wasn’t a part of the living world. It wasn’t a dog or a cat…as it went up and down the door. Every five minutes, she heard a crazed laugh that made her want to scream.

No animal could do that.

“Go away,” she said, stifling a sob. “Whoever you are, whatever you are, go away, please! I can’t take it anymore. I mean you no harm…I never used to believe in ghosts, but now I know they exist, and the thought terrifies me. I can’t see where anything that haunts this house could be evil, so if you are good, why not go away and leave me in peace? I am ever so tired. You might not remember what it is like to have to sleep, but I do still require rest.”

A bright white light engulfed her bedchamber, and then, she felt something sit on the end of her bed. She cracked one eyelid open, and saw no one. There wasn’t anyone in the room that she could see with her naked eye—and yet, something had sat down on the bed, as the mattress had creaked beneath the extra weight, and the entity’s weight was heavy on her feet. She couldn’t look. She couldn’t bear to. The thought of what she might see scared her too much. The scent of bergamot wafted through the air. Her father had loved that scent.

The sound of thunder rumbled around the house, and rain started to spatter against her window, as the wind howled mournfully.

She let out a shattering sigh. Maybe the white light had been lightning. That had to be it. It was lightning. It was nothing supernatural, only lightning.

Yes. Yes, that was it.

Closing her eyes, she sighed again, as the scraping sound suddenly stopped. The comforting noise of the rain pouring down around them and hitting the window lulled her back to sleep.

*****

Ruby awoke the next morning, with a dull thud in her head, and her body ached from remaining curled up in her bed in a frightened little ball. She used some cold water out of the water jug and splashed it into the washbasin sitting on the dressing table to freshen herself up a bit, and then eyed the dark circles beneath her eyes ruefully, in the dressing table mirror. She looked like death warmed up.

Sighing heavily, she did her own hair, and came to realize over the time since she had left home that she rather relied on her personal maid that her uncle paid for. She couldn’t do her hair nearly as well, as Henderson could, and she had to opt on simple hairstyles that made her look severe. She stuck her tongue out at her image, and then, pinched her cheeks in an effort to put some colour into them.

She was as pale as a ghost.

The dress she wore today was from her mourning wardrobe. It was a somber black, and she wore a modest chemisette, and kept her hair unadorned. She considered wearing some sort of a cap, she bought a few before she left Sussex, but she did not like the feeling of it on her head. She hoped she looked plain enough.

She stared at the simple gold cross she had decided to wear. Taking a black ribbon from her collection, she put the key to her traveling trunk on it, and tied it around her neck. She hadn’t taken her things out of her trunk yet, and wanted to keep most of them in there as some of her belongings, like her jewelry case, she wanted to keep concealed from prying eyes. She had put the money she had been given in the secret compartments in the trunk. Even if someone did pick the lock, she doubted they would be able to find where she had hidden the money.

She whirled about at the sound of someone knocking on her door.

This was it.

She would pray the children would accept her. It seemed as if they had taken to her the previous day, but she couldn’t be sure, and her nerves were rioting.

Walking briskly to the door, she opened it to regard a maid, of short and stocky stature, holding a tray filled with her breakfast.

“Mrs. Chegwin, thought you might like a simple breakfast on your first morning here. She has prepared you a nice soft boiled egg, some toast, and there is some lovely marmalade here, if you don’t like to dip your toast in the egg. The pot is filled with tea, she hoped you would prefer that instead of hot chocolate, but if you would like hot chocolate or coffee tomorrow morning you’re supposed to let me know,” the maid paused. She had obviously carefully memorized her speech. Dragging in a large gulp of air, she continued, and the last little plate is filled with some ginger biscuits.”

“That was terribly thoughtful of her,” Ruby murmured.

The kitchen maid looked furtively about her, and then, continued, “Normally, a footman would bring your meals to you, but Mrs. Chegwin sent me because she wanted to tell you that if you and Mrs. Teague don’t get along, then you and she will get alone splendidly. She will make sure you get some nice cuts of meat, and other tasty treats in the future.”

“Uh…thank you,” she murmured, reaching to take the tray.

“Oh, no, Miss, that is my job. Show me where you would like it placed,” she said, walking into her bedchamber. “Would you like to take it in bed, or over there at the table?”

“Since I am ready for the day, I will have it at the table, thank you.”

The maid set the tray down on the table, and then, turned back to her. “Are you in mourning, Miss?” she asked frankly.

“I…no, I thought this would suit my responsibilities as the governess. I thought they would make good working clothes, as they are quite plain.”

“Ah, I see, Miss. Well, you look awfully pale in the black, maybe if you had something brown or grey, or perhaps a pretty shade of lavender.” She stopped, and her cheeks bloomed with redness. “I’m getting above my station again, ain’t I, Miss? Mrs. Chegwin tells me that all the time. She chastises me for gabbing ever so. She says I could talk a pixie out of a wish.” The maid smiled, “I hope you have a good day, with the two little ladies. They are ever so polite to us. They are jolly good girls, and we have all come to love them dearly, and I hope you treat them better than the last governess did. She was a terribly frightful woman.”

“Mrs. Teague seemed to approve of her,” Ruby said softly.

“She would, wouldn’t she? The two of them were two peas in a pod. They were thick as inkle weavers when they were here. I am so happy His Grace discovered how awful she was. His Grace is awfully relaxed when it comes to dealing with those who work for him, but he shan’t hear anyone speak unkindly about his nieces, or treat them in an ill manner. The last governess couldn’t control her temper around her charges, and I heard she said something dreadful to His Grace about Lady Cordelia. I shudder to think of what she might have done to Lady Cordelia had it not been nipped in the bud.”

“What…” Ruby felt quite unsettled, and yet her stomach growled hungrily, and the maid heard it.

She smiled kindly at her. “I shall leave you to your breakfast, Miss,” she said, smoothing down her apron, and walking back to the door. “If you need anything else you need only to ring for help.” 

“What did she do to Lady Cordelia?” Ruby asked softly. 

“I…I have been talking out of turn again, Miss Massey. Pay no mind to me. We all just wanted to welcome you, and tell you how happy we were to see that someone as good as you will be taking care of our girls. Cause they are our girls, ain’t they? We have to take care of the wee little things.”

“Yes, they do look like little gems. I…I would like to know why Cordelia doesn’t speak.”

“She…well, if you would like an answer to that, Miss, you would have to ask His Grace.”

“What is your name?”

“Oh,” the maid coloured up again. “My name is Jenny, Miss.”

“Thank you, Jenny.”

“I should go now, Miss.” Jenny looked one last time at her. “You should think about wearing some colours, Miss. Black just doesn’t suit you at all.” With those parting words, Jenny left.

Ruby walked back over to look at herself in the mirror one last time before sitting down to eat. Jenny might be right. Maybe she did look horrid in black. Tomorrow, she would wear her puce coloured frock. She had never cared for the colour, and also had a puce green frock in her wardrobe courtesy of her mother that might wear well in her role as governess.

She didn’t feel like changing, so she ate her breakfast and contemplated how she was ever going to get Lady Cordelia to open up to her. The only person she seemed willing to communicate with was Lady Miranda, and if she were to teach her, she would have to be find a way to reach the child.

Somehow, she would have to break through to her, while avoiding her uncle. He interested her far too much for her own good, and she couldn’t get to close to him—if she did, her feelings for him would continue to grow, and that was dangerous territory to fall into.

Once she had eaten, she found her way to the nursery, and discovered Lady Miranda and Lady Cordelia sitting and playing with the beautiful dollhouse they had in the play area of the nursery.

Joan was scampering around them, trying to catch the sunbeams as they filtered through the window. Ruby laughed at the playful kitten, as she pawed at the air, jumped, and landed without having caught the sunbeam. Not to be deterred, she jumped back up and continued her hunt for the sunbeams, finally finding her way into one of the nannies knitting baskets, filled with yarn.

From what she could see, the girls were properly spoiled. They had a play area allotted to them in the nursery, and an area that would serve well as her schoolroom. The adjoining room was where they slept, and it looked as if the nursemaids also had a room that was theirs.

The nursemaids sat quietly watching them, one was sitting on a beautiful rocking chair busily knitting away, and completely oblivious to Joan who was in her knitting basket, while the other looked as if she was doing repairs to the girls playing frocks.

When they saw her, they both stood up and set aside what they had been working on. The kitten pushed the basket onto its side, and then came bouncing out of it, after a runaway ball of yarn.

“Ah, Miss Ruby Massey,” the elder of the nannies said, coming forward. She looked approvingly at her. “You look like you will fit the position of governess, a wee bit better than the last one did.” This woman had cheerful blue eyes, and a welcoming air to her that put Ruby instantly at ease. “My name is Miss Lettice Hammett, and my quiet friend over there, is Miss Dorcas Bolitho.” Ruby looked over at Dorcas who looked up shyly at her. Dorcas smoothed her hands almost nervously over her white apron, as she regarded Ruby steadily.

“It is nice to meet you both,” Ruby said softly.

“Ah, yes, yes, you shall certainly do,” Lettice continued. “You look like you are a lovely girl. Not at all like what I had imagined.”

“I…thank you,” Ruby stammered.

“You shouldn’t have a hard time with the little ladies. They can be a little wild at times, but they have good hearts. And while Lady Cordelia can be quite quiet, her sweet personality cannot be equaled. They are very easy children to look after. Not at all like some of the little lords and ladies, I have had the privilege of caring for.” With those words, Lettice stepped closer to her, and dropped the tone of her voice. “You will have to get used to having the Duke look in on you. He will do it several times a day, and he might even attempt to engage you in civil whiskers, as he tries to see what sort of a person you are. He didn’t like what he found with the last governess, but then, most of us didn’t like her when she first walked into this grand old house. She was far too much like Mrs. Teague, and I have never approved of her. She would make our life difficult if the Duke didn’t take such an interest in us. I am quite certain she would have dismissed us weeks ago, as she doesn’t believe that we are strict enough with the children. There are a few other things you should also know…” her voice drifted away as the door to the nursery opened. “Ah, there is His Grace, right on time. He is nothing if not punctual,” she whispered beneath her breath, looking over at Ruby and winking at her encouragingly.

They bobbed into curtsies, as the Duke acknowledged them.

Ruby’s eyes went immediately to the duke. She couldn’t keep herself from it. He was a man that commanded everyone’s attention. One couldn’t fight it. He had such an authority to him that one couldn’t possibly ignore his thrall. He entered the room without a word, and went to stand by the children.

“It is time to stop playing, my ladies. Your lessons are about to start, and Nanny Bolitho and I are about to take our leave, and get some chores done,” Lettice said.