The Secret Desires of a Governess by Tiffany Clare

asunder.
    He’d have to settle for watching her from afar, because he refused to ruin another perfectly good woman. It would do him well to remember that he was a brute. His wife had hated his constant attention and coddling. Had spat hated and cruel words at him on a daily basis.
    Miss Hallaway might prove no different if she understood just how simpleminded a man he was. Dumb as the day he was born.
    He shook his head, turned away from the stable, and went to retrieve Jacob. He found the boy standing under a tree in the west courtyard, staring at the ground. Could it be the source of Jacob’s morning excitement and agitation?
    “Jacob,” he called when his son didn’t raise his eyes from the ground at his approach. “Miss Hallaway is waiting for you up at the house.”
    His son turned to him with sad eyes. “I don’t want lessons. What if a bird comes?”
    His son had his heart in the right place.
    Elliott stared down to the squirrel that held his son’s attention rapt. The animal hadn’t fallen far. There was a hole in the trunk about eight feet up. He knelt down next to Jacob.
    “Shall I put it back?”
    Jacob’s eyes widened. “Would you?”
    Instead of answering, he picked up the little ball of red fur and reached high on the tree to put the critter back in its place. It nipped his finger in the process, but its teeth were new and its bite weak.
    Task complete, he wiped his hands on his trousers and turned back to Jacob.
    “Now up to the house with you. Miss Hallaway is not to be kept waiting again.”
    Jacob wiped his nose on the cuff of his shirt before saying, “Do I have to?”
    “Yes.” Elliott turned to walk back to the main house, knowing his son wouldn’t be far behind.
    Her need to be behind closed doors and in the relative safety of the main house where Lord Brendall was less likely to catch her off guard and put her in another compromising position was a spur to her flanks.
    She was not so lucky to completely escape Lord Brendall. After taking her spot behind the desk, he was minutes behind her and led Jacob into the room. Of course he would know where to find his son, where she had failed, though it was through no fault of her own.
    Well, she supposed, it seemed she was well set with the boy attending lessons— at least for today.
    Lord Brendall had shown no interest in staying to test her knowledge or the basis of her curriculum, both of which were without fault.
    He left shortly after asking his son to sit in a chair and stay put till lessons were over and he was dismissed for the day. Jacob nodded in agreement then focused on her.
    Abby did her best to ignore Lord Brendall’s retreating form. She wasn’t very successful until he was completely gone from her sight.
    “Good day to you, young master.”
    The hostility with which the boy gazed upon her could probably set flame to rock. How like his father he was.
    They both seemed so angry at the world. She would uncover the reason for that as time wore on.
    For now, her sole focus was Jacob. There was no room for Lord Brendall in her mind. She’d worry about him when she faced him later; they would have to discuss Jacob’s lessons, and the sooner the better.
    “Since I’m not sure where your last governess left off, we’ll start with some light arithmetic.”
    Jacob crossed his arms over his chest. “Math’s dull.”
    “Would you prefer we read something aloud, then?”
    She raised one brow in question. It mattered not to her what they worked on first.
    With a huff of annoyance, Jacob slid his chair closer to the desk. Paper and pencil were already spread out for him. She’d set this room up on her second day here. It was nice to finally have a student to fill the quietness.
    “Can you chart out a multiplication table up to fifteen?”
    He nodded and set his pencil to the paper. Abby leaned over him, interested in how fast he worked the numbers into the chart. He didn’t pause to count, or think about what the numbers were, as