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Emmeline wasn’t sure if she could ever look Captain Ridout in the eye again. Or even be in the same room without feeling mortification about her bold act the night before in the garden. She’d kissed him. Well, his cheek, but that was nearly the same thing. Not that she had any experience of that sort of matter.
But whatever had he thought of her assertiveness? She was his governess, and she’d crossed the line of propriety. It wasn’t like she could write it off as having sisterly affection or concern, because they were decidedly not siblings or cousins or any type of relation, other than employer and employee.
She’d finally, miraculously fallen asleep, and no one had awakened her in the morning. Thus it was noon when she finally rose, and her first thought had been that the entire household must know about the garden incident. Were they keeping away from her on purpose? Unsure of what to think about such a brazen woman?
No, no one had seen them.
No one had been about.
But Captain Ridout had been, and that was enough.
He called me Emmeline. Twice.
How her heart both hurt and soared at the same time. She didn’t know why she had thought she could kiss his cheek. Perhaps she’d been so tired that she’d been delirious. But she knew she’d been wide awake. She’d blame it on him, that’s what she’d do. All that pacing in the garden, all that brooding, all that heavy weight on his shoulders. She’d wanted to let him know that she cared, and worried, about him. That he didn’t have to stagger beneath his burdens alone.
Well, he had no doubt now.
Emmeline turned to the mirror in her bedchamber. As she pinned up her hair, she vowed to only be in Captain Ridout’s presence when the children were around. And if they had an unavoidable conversation without the children nearby, she’d keep him at arm’s length. No stolen kisses allowed.
When she arrived downstairs, dressed and ready to face whatever was needed for the day, the last thing she’d expected was to find Captain Ridout and his two wards waiting for her in the parlor.
“There she is!” Charlotte said, jumping off the settee and running toward her.
Braids and ribbons flying, Emmeline barely caught the girl before she barreled straight into her legs.
“Uncle says we can ride the ponies today,” Charlotte gushed. “And you can come watch us.”
“Oh.” Emmeline tried to find the rest of her breath. “That’s wonderful.” She didn’t raise her gaze, didn’t dare look at him.
“Will you come?” Andrew spoke next, crossing to her in a much more dignified manner, although Emmeline didn’t miss the excited glow in his blue eyes.
“Of course,” Emmeline said promptly. “I wouldn’t miss it. My afternoon is entirely yours.”
Charlotte gave a little squeal and slid her small hand into Emmeline’s.
Oh, my heart. Emmeline blinked against the sudden stinging in her eyes. There was nothing to cry about, yet her emotions had surfaced only moments after being in the Ridout family’s presence. She smiled a smile she didn’t feel and kept her focus on the children as they walked with the captain out of the house and to the stables.
“Do you ride horses?” Andrew asked, always the curious boy.
“I do ride,” Emmeline said. “It’s been a while, though. Back at home, my brother was rather stingy with his animals. Said I couldn’t touch his horses.” She felt Captain Ridout’s gaze on her, but she still didn’t meet his eyes.
“Brothers are mean,” Charlotte declared.
Perhaps Emmeline had shared too much information. “Well, your brother is pretty great,” she said, as they walked along the graveled path leading to the stables. “You’ll always share with your sister, right, Andrew?”
He lifted his chin. “Of course.”
“See.” Emmeline squeezed Charlotte’s hand. “You’ll have nothing to worry about.”
Charlotte didn’t seem satisfied, though. “I want to kick your brother and tell him to let you ride his horse.”
Emmeline held back a laugh. “Well, in my case, I didn’t kick my brother.”
“What did you do?” Andrew asked.
Emmeline wasn’t sure how she’d gotten herself in this corner. But the children’s gazes were locked on her, and she had no doubt that Captain Ridout, walking only a few paces to the side, was listening to every word.
“I, uh, did something that I now regret,” she said. “If I tell you, promise to never do it to each other.”
Quickly, both Andrew and Charlotte crossed their hearts.
Had the captain slowed his step a fraction?
“One morning, very early, I switched the sugar bowl with salt,” she said. “I hurried back to my room. Since my brother is always the first one awake and the first one to break his fast, I knew he’d be affected.”
Andrew grinned, and Charlotte’s eyes rounded.
“What did he do?” Andrew asked, awe in his voice.
They’d reached the stables, and instead of going inside, Captain Ridout stopped and turned, his gaze fully upon her. Emmeline took a peek because she wanted to know if he was upset about her confession. On the contrary, he looked as if he were holding back a laugh. Perhaps this gave her the courage that she really shouldn’t have embraced.
“My brother did nothing, at first,” Emmeline said, drawing in her audience with her hushed tone. “About three days later, I climbed into bed to find something furry and quite dead between my sheets.”
Andrew groaned, and Charlotte gasped.
“Don’t worry,” Emmeline said. “The small fox wasn’t newly dead. It was one of my father’s taxidermy projects and had been in the library for ages. I even had a name for him. Mr. Red.”
The edges of Captain Ridout’s mouth lifted.
Charlotte looked horrified, but Andrew looked fascinated.
“I didn’t scream and wake the entire household up,” Emmeline said. “Instead, I took Mr. Red and set him right inside my sister-in-law’s dressing room. When she awakened in the morning and discovered the poor fox, she did scream.”
Captain Ridout chuckled, and Emmeline tried not to blush at his attention.
“When Martha found out what my brother and I had been doing, she railed on me and then him,” Emmeline said. “Apparently wives have plenty of influence over their husbands. My brother stopped putting furry critters in my bed, and I left the sugar and the salt alone.”
Andrew folded his arms. “Did he let you ride his horse?”
“No,” Emmeline said with a shrug. “It’s all right, though. Soon after, I came here, and being your governess is more fun anyway.”
She allowed another peek at Captain Ridout then. He was smiling at her, a knowing look in his eyes—knowing what, though?
Andrew took her other hand, which couldn’t have surprised her more. “You can ride any horse you want at Branhall.”
“Even the ponies,” Charlotte added.
“Thank you,” Emmeline said, truly flattered. “I think that would be up to your uncle, though.”
Finally, their gazes connected, and neither of them said anything as both the children begged their uncle to let Emmeline ride his horses.
“On one condition,” Captain Ridout said at last, his gray eyes gleaming with amusement.
Emmeline’s pulse couldn’t have raced faster if she’d just run around the stables three times.
“What?” both Andrew and Charlotte asked at the same time.
“That Miss Finch promises never to put salt into our sugar dish.”
Emmeline laughed. She couldn’t help it; it just spilled out of her. “I promise. I don’t even know where the salt is at Branhall.”
The captain lifted a brow. “Then we should shake on it, Miss Finch. Make it official.”
Both the children tugged her toward their uncle, then dropped her hands, leaving her free to shake with the captain.
So she reached for his hand at the same time Captain Ridout reached for hers. Soon her fingers were enfolded in his. The memory of being in the garden with him was so strong that Emmeline’s body warmed from her head to her toes.
“I promise never to swap your sugar with salt,” Emmeline said, in as solemn a voice as she could muster.
“And I promise, Miss Finch,” he rumbled with amusement, “to let you ride to your heart’s content at Branhall.”