Part 2. Yorkshire

Thud. Thud.

Miss Pendleton looked towards the window at the annoying noise ringing in her ears. As they entered a narrow path, the tangled branches densely hanging on both sides of the road were hitting the carriage windows with a thud.

How many hours had they been traveling? She checked the time on her modest leather-strapped wristwatch. It had been over an hour. That much time had passed since she boarded this carriage.

‘When will we arrive?’

She tightly clasped her gloved hands, trying to calm her heart that had been beating faster than usual.

Three days after accepting the governess position proposed by Ian Dalton, a letter came from him. It said to take the train to Yorkshire on the coming Monday. Mrs. Fairfax had willingly accepted her as a governess despite knowing all the circumstances.

She felt relieved upon receiving the letter, and spent the remaining few days preparing for her departure to Yorkshire. She said goodbye to close friends including the Mortons and the Fairfax siblings, packed her belongings, selected books to use as teaching materials, and acquired a few more cheap outfits.

The letter he sent included detailed directions to the train station where she should get off when arriving in Yorkshire, along with the departure time of the train she should take. Following his kind instructions, she took the train and traveled for a full day to reach Yorkshire.

Upon arriving at the station and exiting through the entrance, the carriage from Dunville Park was waiting for her as he had explained. The coachman seated her as if she were a noble young lady and slowly set off.

The coachman was taciturn. She was very tired from the train journey and thought it fortunate that he didn’t try to make conversation. Her mind was in turmoil due to nervousness, excitement, and anxiety. Her first governess job, life in a new place, new people. Everything was a first.

Her heart tightened with tension. She imagined the unfamiliar situations that would unfold before her. The awkward first meeting with new family members. Mischievous children. A small and humble bedroom. A life both free and constrained as an employee.

Being far from having a fanciful nature, she only envisioned very realistic scenarios. It certainly wouldn’t be a pleasant or comfortable life. But having made her choice, she intended to adapt to it. She could do it. If she had endured in high society, she could survive anywhere.

What really made her anxious was the question of whether she could properly fulfill her new role. It was her first time doing labor. She had occasionally taught spelling to younger students during her school days, but that could hardly be called experience. The moment of being put to the test in the role of “teacher,” which she had never properly used until now, was approaching before her eyes.

The carriage traveled through narrow forest paths and passed two or three hills. It crossed a river, then entered another forest path. It was a very long forest. They drove for so long that it seemed as if it might never end.

But every road has an end. The dense trees gradually disappeared, and an open field came into view. She could see a mansion surrounded by a forest of trees at the top of the field. Even from a distance, its enormous majesty could be felt.

Laura checked her appearance again. She adjusted her flat lady’s hat with a brown ribbon, and checked if any stray hairs were sticking out from her black hairnet that gathered her hair. She made sure there was no dust on her green tartan patterned dress and the brown shawl worn over it, and also examined her navy gloves for any loose seams.

The carriage stopped in front of the mansion surrounded by a well-maintained garden, after passing through the forest, a field covered in green grass, and a lake. She got off the carriage, taking the hand of the coachman who lowered the step for her.

Laura looked up at the mansion. It was a 4-story structure made of light brown stone. With its wide, sprawling structure, it looked sturdy enough to withstand any natural disaster.

A man standing in front of the mansion approached and bowed to her. He introduced himself as the butler of this mansion. She quickly greeted him. The butler informed her that Mrs. Fairfax was waiting and guided Laura into the mansion.

Opening the front door revealed a spacious and pleasant hall. It smelled of wood and stone, characteristic of old mansions. Laura wanted to carefully observe the interior of the house, but there was no time. She followed the butler down the right corridor. They stopped in front of a room with two doors at the end of the corridor. The butler asked Laura to wait briefly at the entrance before going inside. His voice could be heard from inside.

“Madam, the new governess has arrived.”

A soft woman’s voice was heard from inside. Soon, the butler came out of the room and told Laura to enter. Laura went in.

As soon as she entered, Laura realized it was a living room. The spacious area contained sofas that could seat about twenty people and a grand piano, and on one wall there was a small bar with liquor and an ice box.

Despite it being early summer, the fireplace was blazing. And a middle-aged lady was sitting near the fireplace, doing needlework. Laura approached the lady. She was a lady with an impressive strong jawline and black hair. She immediately curtsied and bowed her head.

“Hello, madam.”

“Welcome, teacher.”

The lady smiled comfortably.

“I am Margaret Fairfax, the mother of the two children you will be in charge of. I’m usually called Mrs. Robert Fairfax.”

Miss Pendleton nodded. Mrs. Fairfax gazed steadily at Laura’s face.

The eyes staring intently at her face were as black as her hair. She could soon remember a gentleman who shared blood with the lady before her. Though their appearances were completely different, that black color was exactly the same. Somehow, despite meeting her employer for the first time, she felt a sense of familiarity.

Mrs. Fairfax, who had been observing Laura closely, soon spoke gently.

“Would you like to meet the children first, or would you prefer to rest for now? It must have been a long journey, so I recommend the latter.”

“I’d like to meet the children first, madam.”

“There’s no need to feel pressured about your choice.”

“I think I’ll be able to rest comfortably after meeting the children first.”

Mrs. Fairfax told the waiting butler to bring the children.

While waiting for the children, Mrs. Fairfax seated Laura on the sofa next to her.

“So, this is your first time as a governess, right?”

“Yes, madam.”

“Our sons are difficult boys to handle. They’re mischievous and have poor concentration. They don’t listen well either. I can see that Miss Pendleton’s job luck isn’t good.”

“We can’t expect boys of that age to listen well to adults.”

“I don’t expect that from the start. I think it would be a miracle if those boys just sat properly at their desks.”

The butler brought in two boys. The children were dressed in clean clothes with chestnut-colored curly hair. They were taller than average for their age and seemed appropriately sturdy, but with no signs of puberty yet, they were literally just young children with no hint of masculinity.

“Let me introduce the children. This is George and Daniel.”

They bowed awkwardly in greeting. Laura smiled gently at them.

“Nice to meet you, children.”

Miss Pendleton looked at each of them. They were looking at their new teacher with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

“These two boys will be your students, teacher. My thirteen-year-old daughter Olivia has an external teacher coming twice a week for dance and painting lessons, so you don’t need to worry about her education.”

Laura nodded. And she began to gather information about the two boys from Mrs. Fairfax. Whether they’ve had a governess before, how much they’ve studied so far, which public school they plan to send them to.

Mrs. Fairfax answered frankly. She said the two boys had nothing more than the ability to write their names in the alphabet, enough math skills to calculate their share of candies on a plate, and just enough geographical knowledge to know that Britain and the European continent are separate.

“I believe in letting boys play freely when they’re young. Boys are like hunting dogs, you need to let them loose appropriately to avoid trouble. Thanks to that, those boys are sturdy as ponies without a single skinny spot, aren’t they?”

Laura nodded as she looked at the well-developed boys.

“Indeed. They look taller and healthier than their peers. They might be good for rowing when they go to public school later, madam.”

“That’s something to think about after they’re admitted. The worry is whether they can keep up with the classes, having never really studied before in their lives.”

“We’ll have to start with the basics of Latin, so there’s a mountain of work ahead. Can we start lessons today?”

“Well, there’s no need for that. How about taking this week to get familiar with the mansion? Look around the house, take walks. Dunville Park has really nice walking trails.”

She was truly a laid-back lady. With the eldest Daniel being 11 years old, there was less than 2 years left until public school admission.

“Thank you for your consideration. Then I’ll just rest today. But I’d like to start lessons tomorrow. Even if we don’t jump right into studying, I want to help the children develop the habit of gathering at their desks at set times.”

Mrs. Fairfax suddenly burst out laughing.

“Children, I wanted to give you freedom this week as requested, but your new teacher says no, what can we do? You’ll be stuck in the study room memorizing Latin verbs. Your good times are over, you two.”

Mrs. Fairfax teased her sons surprisingly mischievously. The boys, who had been looking gloomy while listening to the conversation about their lessons, wore even more dejected expressions at their mother’s teasing words.

Laura, who had been quietly watching Mrs. Fairfax tease her sons, spoke kindly to them.

“Actual lessons won’t start until next week. I just want to have time to get to know you. My biggest concern is how to spend time with you in a fun way.”

But the boys’ expressions didn’t brighten. She spoke even more gently.

“I promise. I won’t keep you sitting at your desks all day. You’ll have plenty of time to play outside, though not as much as before. I also think children in their growing years need to run and play.”

The smaller of the brothers, probably George Fairfax, asked.

“So, we don’t have to stare at the blackboard all day memorizing Latin verbs?”

“That’s right.”

“We don’t have to solve math problems every day?”

“Of course not.”

“And you won’t hang us from the ceiling and beat us with a stick every time we get a question wrong?”

Laura just blinked in surprise. Hang them from the ceiling? A child?