Chapter 3

The household had settled into a pattern which was not too different from that which was usual with guests, except for the focus on Sasha.

Sasha had her nursery upstairs, with Miss Banks and Nurse Walters taking turns to care for the child. Rosie was proving an excellent nursery maid and Nurse Walters was openly saying she wanted to offer her a position working with her at Clairville Hall.

Jude continued to conduct business from his library on the ground floor and had often taken to sleeping on one of the sofas there.

One sadness was the interment of Sasha's mother with only his attorney, Daniel Young, in attendance as the duke's representative. Jude vowed that one day the gravestone would have the poor woman's name engraved upon it, until then it would say "an unknown lady, beloved mother of Sasha."

He had found he could ride each morning, and this had made a difference to his spirits. He could keep away from others, and Barton and Jake were both able to accompany him if they wished.

He wrote to his mother every day and received at least one letter back. He smiled, thinking of a groom riding continually between Clairville Hall and his townhouse in Cambourne Place.

He was aware that the only reason his mother, the Dowager Duchess of Clairville, had not descended on them, was the need to keep his younger sisters safe. She had sent Nurse Walters at his request, and he thanked her for her confidence in the capable skills of their old retainer.

His mother was sensible enough to know that Nurse Walters could take the pressure off her, despite his mother's larger-than-life personality and desire to be in charge. At the moment, Miss Banks was playing with the little girl while Nurse Walters was going through an audit of his shirts, sitting with Rosie and a pile of them, white linen, and thread. Mrs. Driscoll was keeping them happy, supplying them with everything they needed, and he was giving them a wide berth.

Jude had told his mother about the little girl's progress, and the advice of the doctor. It was still a surprise when later that morning there was the welcome sound of barking and he recognized Tess, his spaniel. What surprised him even more was the sound of raised voices.

It sounded as though there was an altercation between Barton, Mrs. Driscoll, and Nurse Walters. Reluctant to get involved, but knowing it was necessary, he rose and walked slowly to the door, hoping the matter, whatever it was, would be resolved by the time he reached the hallway.

As he approached, he noticed Miss Banks approaching with Sasha from the other direction. He noticed the elegant way she carried herself and how, when she spoke to Sasha, she bent down to talk at the same level as the little girl.

He was aware he had been going out of his way to avoid Miss Banks, ever since the episode when she had agreed to stay on and take care of Sasha. However, he could not help but notice her, and was always drawn to watch her, whenever she passed close to his library window, or during the close confinements of shared meals.

Jude had flashbacks to the emotional and physical reaction of his mind and body when he had held her hand after dinner. If nothing else, the extreme sensations had reinforced that maybe he did need to marry, and at least once that happened, his mother might leave him alone.

Jude still couldn't work out what had come over him to be so familiar with Miss Banks, but he blamed it on the informality instilled in him by the way Father had raised all the children.

In her latest letter, his mother informed him that she had "found the perfect match" for him. He had already replied, asking her to stand back and stop meddling, but smiled wryly as he knew nothing would stop her trying to secure him a match. Until now, he had not been interested in that life, but perhaps now, as he caught sight of a smiling face with dimpled cheeks and bright eyes, he wondered if he might be able to adjust to a bride and family life in due course.

As he approached the kerfuffle in the hallway, he bent down to welcome the rasping tongue of his spaniel, Tess, by his side, licking his hand and raising her head to look with concern at Barton who was holding a bundle of blankets.

"I'm sure we can accommodate this little fellow," came the soothing tones of Mrs. Driscoll.

"I don't know what Her Grace can have been thinking of," Nurse Walters was muttering.

"Now Nurse, Her Grace can't be here and so she wanted to send something to alleviate the situation," Mrs. Driscoll continued.

"A puppy, not yet house trained, most probably will not help the situation. I shall discuss this with Her Grace when we return home…" an obviously unhappy Nurse Walters replied.

"But wait," said Jude, "Nurse, look, I think Mama may have got it right this time."

While Nurse was busy venting about the situation, Miss Banks had taken the puppy and had crouched down on the floor to show Sasha.

Sasha was spellbound, staring at the tiny puppy. "Can I touch her? It is a her, isn't it?"

"I don't know," said Miss Banks, but it looks like a little girl dog. "Yes, I believe you can touch it and stroke it very gently."

A little snuffling nose looked out from the blanket, followed by caramel-fudge colored eyes. Sasha almost jumped on the spot with excitement.

"Careful, Sasha," whispered Miss Banks. "You need to be gentle and not startle her." Miss Banks leaned forward. "Here I'll show you." She gently stroked the dog, copied almost immediately by Sasha.

As little squealing puppy noises came from the bundle, Miss Banks raised her head and met Jude's eyes. "Please tell Her Ladyship she has found exactly the right thing to help in our situation here." Miss Banks was choosing her words carefully.

Jude nodded and smiled. "I believe it is one of a litter from Mama's spaniel, Cassia. My own dog Tess is another of her daughters." He turned to Nurse Walters, who had seen the same scene, and despite her dragon-like persona was always devoted to her charges.

"Perhaps so, Your Grace," Nurse Walters admitted.

Tess, hearing her name, trotted over and stood near the tiny bundle, nudging it with her nose.

"Can we go and find Flossie a bed and a blanket?" asked Sasha excitedly, already giving the young pup a name.

"Of course," laughed Miss Banks. "Let's go and see what we can find for Flossie. Perhaps Mrs. Driscoll will help us find something."

"Erm… Miss Banks," Jude said quickly. "'Will you join me for tea later? I'd be interested in knowing how our young charge is progressing."

He watched as the little troupe of child, governess, nurse, and housekeeper made their way to the boot room, closely followed by Barton carrying the young puppy.

There was a letter from his attorney on his desk. He'd been trying to find out any information about Sasha's family and so far, had no success. No one seemed to know how Sasha and her mother had got to the Bell Inn, or where they had been before that. Miss Banks thought there was a strong possibility they were French, and he suspected she was correct in that theory.

Seeing the tiny child with the puppy brought it home to him that she was most probably now an orphan. The weight of a responsibility which he had never sought hung heavy on his shoulders. Well, he had found her, and she would not end up in the poor house. Eventually, there may be some trace of one of her relatives, even if that were in many months' time.

The letter from Daniel, his attorney and friend, only put him into a bad humor. Of course, his friend had only read an account of the events leading to Sasha and Miss Banks staying with him, and Jude was sure Daniel's response would be different if he could meet the child, and the new governess.

Daniel urged him to find other accommodation for the child as soon as possible. He confirmed he had widened the net as far as enquiries were concerned. Despite the complicated situation in France, he had still managed to conduct some enquiries there. He warned Jude against giving house room to strangers and someone else's child.

Daniel could not be sure how others would view the situation, and it was possible they would think the child was his. What did Jude know about Miss Banks, and this lost child? Daniel ended the letter cordially, wishing him well and hoping the quarantine would soon be at an end.

Jude could see that Daniel was just looking out for him and his reputation, and he always trusted his friend's advice. They were usually on a wavelength, but in this case a strong sense of his friend and adviser's disapproval was unavoidable.

Had he done the right thing by taking Sasha and Miss Banks into his house? He thought back over the steps he had taken and knew he had been thoughtful and compassionate with every decision he had taken. Reputations were safe in the house, with the presence of Mrs. Driscoll and Nurse Walters.

There was a knock on the door, and he called to enter. There stood Miss Banks, notebook in her hands.

"Ah, Miss Banks. Come in and make yourself comfortable by the fire. You'll take tea?" he asked her.

"Yes please, Your Grace," she replied with a nod.

"I'll go and ask Mrs. Driscoll to bring some." He left Miss Banks on her own as he went off to arrange for refreshments.

Returning, he found Miss Banks had already taken a seat, so he took the chair opposite her.

"Well, Miss Banks," he began, "how is our young charge progressing? It is still early days since she lost her mother."

"She has begun to talk to the puppy, to Flossie, just this afternoon. I heard her speaking some French and some English to the puppy. Until now she has only spoken with me about our activities apart from asking me about her mother that first morning," Miss Banks replied.

Jude smiled as he thought about the arrival of the puppy, and Sasha's excitement at seeing it. "My impression was that she was submerged so deeply under shock and grief, that she rarely spoke to anyone. She has experienced a traumatic death and I've heard children can go into a shell when that happens. Today, there were signs of her coming out of it," he commented.

"It has been lovely to hear her talking with the puppy," agreed Miss Banks. "Please thank your mother for thinking of it."

"And Nurse?" he asked. "Has she now accepted the puppy?"

"Indeed, she has. As soon as she saw Sasha bonding with Flossie, she made it a little bed in the corner of the bedroom and started talking to Sasha about Flossie as if the dog is a member of the family." Miss Banks paused, looking thoughtful.

"What is it, Miss Banks?" queried Jude.

"I'm only a little worried what will happen if her family are traced and there is no place for a dog in their life."

He looked at her intently, and remembering the report from Daniel, replied, "I think there is little chance of that. All enquiries so far have led us nowhere. There are no leads, no trace of the woman. My attorney has widened the search to France, but you will be aware of the chaos there." He paused. "If we fail to find her family then I am of a mind that she will be adopted by myself or my family and live on our estate at Clairville. There are so many dogs there it will be part of her life."

As if on cue, Tess, who had been sitting in the corner, came to sit by him. Almost automatically, he tickled the dog's ears.

"She's a lovely dog," said Miss Banks.

"She's a springer spaniel, a little larger than the one Mama sent to Sasha, but she is older," Jude replied, smiling.

"We always had terriers," Miss Banks replied. "I also had a whippet once," she said nostalgically.

Jude thought it unusual for a governess to have a dog, but then many of that profession were young ladies who had fallen on hard times. He made himself a mental note to ask more about her past at some point in the future. What was clear was that she knew dogs and was easy around them. He was confident his mother had done the right thing in sending the puppy to town.

As they talked, Jude felt the same pull to be informal in conversation, and a desire to know more about her life, her interests, and her personality. He craved a level of intimacy with the governess which was forbidden by all normal moral and social standards. He pushed those desires aside, annoyed that he could be so easily distracted by a woman he hardly knew, and who was now in his employ.

He must overcome this attraction to Miss Banks, he just needed to work harder and keep distancing himself from her. The need to have her close, to glimpse her in the hallway, to see her playing with Sasha around the garden was beginning to frustrate him.

It might be for the best if Daniel locates Sasha's family soon, and then the distraction of Miss Banks will be gone, and mother can help her find a new position, Jude thought to himself.

He looked up, almost having forgotten Miss Banks was still there, sitting opposite him, near the fire.

Jude was conscious he had become a mass of contradictions, he had wanted her to go a few minutes ago, now he didn't want her to leave the library. He was relieved when Mrs. Driscoll arrived with the tea. He asked her to join them, and the three of them talked together about Sasha and her reticence to speak, and their delight that she was saying more and speaking to the puppy.

"It will be good when we are out of this quarantine period," said Mrs. Driscoll. "Nurse wants the child to be at Clairville, where she can get fresh air and spend time with the other children. I think she is right, but we cannot travel yet.

"You'll like Clairville," Mrs. Driscoll told Miss Banks. "It is one of the most beautiful places in England."

This is fine,thought Jude. I can deal with this. It is just going to be best if I am never alone with Miss Laetitia Banks. That is too dangerous.