Governess Wanted
It was a difficult decision for Veld to make, admitting that he needed help. To his credit, he had made it a full year with only the help of the milkmaid but the boys were getting to be an age where they needed some education, and the village school was too far to consider and a boarding school was not an option. He had lost his wife and he wasn't about to lose his two sons as well.
So he had placed an ad in two large papers, one for Glasgow, and one for London, asking for a capable woman who could teach a little and manage a lot, and who wouldn't mind the isolation of the Highlands. The pay wasn't perhaps as much as a a large estate might pay, but his farm was prosperous and he had no debt.
He could provide fifty pounds a year, to the right candidate.
So the advertisement went out, and he went back to work, leaving Alistair in care of the milkmaid, while he herded sheep with Beric in the lamb pouch on his shoulder. He had doubts if anyone would reply... the location was less than ideal and there were few comforts up here, even if his stone house was warm and comfortable.
@exsiliumductoris
The three young people sat in the parlor, for once at a loss for anything to say. The news Marie Dufresne had come to the house with hung heavy in the air.
I’m engaged.
It wasn’t the news of an engagement exactly that troubled them so (the two that sat opposite were quite happily engaged to each other), but it was her intended that caused the distress. One Colin Devereaux.
It was Feliks who spoke first.
“We could kill him,” he suggested.
To his right, his fianceé, Victoria, smacked his arm, “this is no time for levity, Feliks,” she scolded, worried hands folding beneath her chin.
In an attempt to stop her chin from trembling, Marie reached for her tea. “a bit of humor is exactly what I need, I think.”
Murder, though appealing, was not an option. Colin was far too powerful a man, and much more cunning than the three in the parlor that afternoon.
“A fall from grace?” Victoria suggested then, reaching for the day’s paper, “we could entangle you in a scandal or—“ she flashed the fine print in the back, “find you a job.”
Feliks let out a little snort of laughter running his hand through his thick chocolate curls, “Marie, a working woman.”
“Here,” Victoria offered, lifting her chin and casting her glance towards the blonde, “a governess in the Scottish Highlands. It even pays—ooh, fifty pounds a year.”
Though her two friends tittered with giggles at such a paltry lifestyle, Marie leaned forward, snatching up both the newspaper and the magnifying glass, slowing making her way through the advertisement.
“…what if…I do?”
Victoria his a sneeze behind her wrist, eyes wide. “Do what?”
“What if I answer this advertisement,” she pressed, “No one would ever suspect I’ve gone to work as a governess and even if they did, I don’t think anyone would dare challenge a widower Highlander just to drag me back home?”
The stares from her friends forced her to press on.
“A scandal and a job together. All in one.”
“That’s not—“
“Parchment and ink, please Feliks.”
Feliks looked to Victoria who in turn looked to Marie, but the blonde didn’t waver. Finally, he sighed, standing to cross the room and retrieved what she asked, sitting and the writing desk, quill poised.
“Alright, dictate.”
“No, no,” she said, shooing him up, “I’ll write it myself.”
Eyes narrowed in suspicion, he backed up, allowing her into the chair and muttered, “I’ll supervise.”
In answer to your advertisement,
I hope this letter finds you and yours well. I am interested in taking up the position as governess in your great household. While I will not pretend to be a great lover of literature, I am fluent in French, English, and Latin. I get by in Italy when the need arises.
I am proficient in mathematics and music. My preferred instrument is the harp, but am of course able to teach the pianoforte, should you prefer that for your boys.
I have a great love for children and despite what is expected of me, have acquired a skill for many facets of the culinary arts. I am adept at handicrafts, particularly embroidery. I do enjoy lawn games and picnics by the rivers and am ready to adventure wherever two little ones take me.
I am ever appreciative of your consideration,
Marie Dufresne
It took her four times to re-write it, corrections made by both of her friends over her shoulder, though neither of them seemed to think she sounded much like a governess. Still, she folded it, sealed it, and with her gloves on her dainty little hands, ran it down to the post master.
