Governess Alice Bennet meets Viscount Roth

*Please bear in mind that none of these chapters are final edits unless otherwise noted.*

At eight years of age, Miss Julia Hayden was already softly feminine, having all of the qualities that one would find stunning in a grown woman. She had soft, golden curls that fell around her face and shoulders with a curl or two pulled back and pinned at the sides with small bows made of the same material as her dress. Her cheeks were beginning to finally lose the baby roundness that girls seemed to hang onto for longer, and her long, gentle fingers deftly worked the canvas with an accuracy some professional seamstresses would envy.

As Miss Julia stitched and the governess, Miss Bennet, crafted, Julia recited some of the poetry they had been examining earlier in the week and then attempted to translate the poem to French at Alice’s request. After some time, Master Thomas rejoined them, his cherubic cheeks flushed from the afternoon sun, their baby roundness still noticeably present. His medium brown hair fell into gentle curls around his forehead and ears, his hazel colored eyes bright from the excitement of being out of doors.

“How was your ride, Master Thomas?” Alice questioned, smiling up at him from her desk. “Is the afternoon as lovely as it looks?”

“I did! And it is, Miss Bennet. You will not believe it, but some of the trees have begun turning!” Thomas smiled broadly, his diction entirely indicative of the society in which he had lived his short six years.

“Have they really?” Alice was surprised, it was only the end of August now. Perhaps this meant an early and harsh Winter.

“They are - and the pheasant are out. Father has said he will take me hunting later this week when Uncle Roth arrives.” Thomas was so excited that he crossed the room to where his older sister sat in the window sill so he coul look outside again. “Mother says that Uncle Roth should be here this evening, Julia.”

“I look forward to seeing him,” Julia acknowledged her brother but did not bother to glance up from her work, attempting to replicate the look of serene sophistication her mother wore when hearing things for the first time.

“I am certain he looks forward to seeing you both again as well,” Alice commented. “Now, my pupils, shall we turn our attention to French? I have created a game with which we can practice our subject-verb agreement.”

While neither Julia or Thomas were thrilled to study French subject-verb agreement, the idea of playing a game intrigued them; they were always willing to try new games. Alice spread the cards on the floor in a large circle around the children and sat on the floor in the center of the circle to watch as they walked around her, locating the necessary verbs and subjects for the sentence that Alice asked them to correct. They were entirely enthralled in the process when there was a sharp rap on the door and it was immediately opened.

Aware of her position, Alice moved to stand from the floor, reaching to steady herself with a hand on the chair nearest her so she wouldn’t be caught sitting like a child by whomever should walk in. In her hurry, however, she accidentally placed a foot on the hem of her dress and when she stretched into a standing position, the resistance she met from her own dress pulled her forward onto her face and into an even more undignified position; she lay prostrate on the floor with French verbs strewn about her.

As she fell, she heard the children cry out in delight at the individual who stepped through the door. “Uncle Roth!” All of Julia's prior composure evaporated.

This was immediately displaced with a surprised “Oh, Miss Bennet!” from Master Thomas and an urging, but gentle, “Uncle Roth, you must help her!” from a concerned Miss Julia.

Before she had the chance to right herself, she could see an immaculately shined pair of black riding boots appear suddenly before her face and a hand gloved in a soft white suede stretched out to help her. She accepted the hand and used it to pull herself into a standing position, careful not to look at the face of the man who had helped her, knowing that as soon as she did it would be impossible to stop the flush of embarrassment from being recognized. A stray lock of honey colored hair had become loosed from the beaded net that covered her chignon and fell down the let side of her face, curling slightly.

“Are you alright, Miss?” The gentleman asked, his tone one of genuine concern, and of a timber deep enough to spark curiosity within Alice. She looked up at him.

He was tall, with dark brown hair falling in waves over his forehead, cut shorter on the sides of his head and longer near the top. His face clean shaven, his lips a soft. Soft to the touch, I'd wager, Alice thought and then immediately chastised herself internally. A small smile on his face hinted at an inwards amusement.

His eyes, turned up in mirth at the corners, were a shade of blue and gray not unlike a Spring sky threatening rain. His arms and chest were muscled enough to be recognizable through the white linen shirt he wore, a marigold colored vest over that, covered in a silver brocade, a white ascot around his neck. His jacket and pants a muted dark gray, though the jacket had been removed earlier and was lying on the chair beside the door. A matching hat rested in the crook of his right arm, a cane in the same hand.

“I am fine, thank you,” Alice said, her voice surprising her with how even it sounded – as though she had not just been sprawled out on the floor before this magnificent man.

“Miss Bennet, however did you fall?” Julia was truly perplexed.

“Never mind that. I am not the most graceful creature on my best days,” Alice smiled at her student, attempting to brush off their concern with amusement. She then turned her attention to the gentleman before her. “You must be the Uncle Roth that I have heard so much about.” She knew his real status in the peerage, but was attempting to maintain the comfortable tone the conversation had thus far held. If they had met anywhere besides this school room, this would have been a faux pas. 

“I am,” he smiled in return. “Allow me to introduce myself; I am William Talbot.”

Thomas jumped at the opportunity to practice what he had recently learned of his family and of the English Peerage; he had understood immediately that his Uncle was dramatically downplaying his status. “Uncle is Viscount Roth, son of the Earl of Shrewsbury. We call him Grandfather, though.”

Lord William Talbot smiled down at his nephew, “You’re learning quickly, Thomas. You’ll be ready to take on your father’s title in no time at all.”

Thomas beamed at him in return and Julia stepped closer to her uncle before dropping into a poised and graceful curtsy. “It is wonderful to see you again, Uncle Roth.” 

Returning the greeting, Lord Talbot bent at the waist in her direction, holding his hat steady against him, “And you as well, Miss Julia. My, how you both have grown in the last year or so.”

Alice smiled at the scene before her; it was not often you saw such a gentleman react so cordially to children who were obviously making attempts to impress their Uncle. It was obvious that he had a great affection for them.

As she smiled, Lord Talbot turned to her again and held out his hand to her in way of formal greeting, “I am so sorry. I have failed to ask for your name.”

She accepted his hand, lightly touching his with her own. “I am Alice Bennet, Governess.”

“Enchanted”, he said as he bent slightly over her hand and then dropped it gently. “You must be Viscount Grafton’s Goddaughter. I have heard of you from my sister’s letters. To be both a governess and a Goddaughter to a Viscount is an unusual occurrence.”

“I prefer to seek my own way,” Alice explained, “rather than relying on the kindness of my Godfather.”

“A noble goal,” he assured her and then turned back to the children. “I must be off, small ones. I will see you after dinner to bid you a good night. Thomas, I hear from your father that we have a hunting trip planned. I look forward to it. Miss Bennet, it is an honor to make your acquaintance. Will I be seeing you at dinner?”

“You will, sir.”

“Excellent. Very well, then, children, I will see you later this evening,” and with that, Lord Talbot turned and left the school room, stopping to collect his coat from the chair by the door. When it opened, Alice could see that the under-butler, Mr. David, had been standing in the hallway next to a collection of trunks that undoubtedly belonged to Lord Talbot. This made sense; it did not seem like Lady Torrington to allow an unplanned meeting to happen. Lord Talbot probably asked the under-butler where his niece and nephews could be found and did so without his older sister’s awareness. 

Again, Alice smiled.

Anyone who could make things happen under Lady Torrington’s nose was clever and reckless; perhaps Lord Talbot’s stay at Ashwick Park would liven things up considerably.