Note: Posting Chapter 2 along with Chapter 1. Hopefully I will write more soon depending on the feedback I get.
Bella's POV
Taking a deep breath, I pressed the button and rang the doorbell next to the wrought iron gate. I straightened the caramel leather hat on my forehead. My clothes were not the best, but they were the best I had to offer. Clearly not enough to impress a prominent navel captain, but he could hardly expect much from a governess coming from the Abbey.
Suddenly the door swung open. "Hello, here I am!" I smiled, this was my chance to make a good impression. The man before me was lanky and old. He wore gray slacks, a black vest, and tie. He was exactly what I expected in a naval Captain. Prim, proper, and a bit of a grump. He stares at me in disbelief. "I'm from the convent, " I explained, "I'm the new governess, Captain."
"And I'm the old butler," he responded. Thank goodness. I sighed in relief. Hopefully the captain wouldn't be so uptight. Surely no one who had seven children could be so devoid of life.
"Well, how do you do?" I responded, reaching out and shaking his hand. He swallowed deeply and ushered me inside. I gripped my only suitcase. and followed him through the rich, ivory doors of the house into an open hall filled with marble columns. A crystal chandelier hung overhead, sparkling in the sunlight.
"Wait here," the butler groaned, wandering off into the house. My eyes could scarcely take in the sight before me.
Nothing at the Abbey had prepared me for a home such as this. It was a palace! The furniture was exquisite, and the hall lined with doors piqued my interest. Slowly I made my way across the baroque wooden floor and opened one of the doors. Behind it was something I never expected. A ballroom! Lined in textured golden panels. It was something straight out of one of the fairytales Mother Cope and forbidden me to read as a child.
I walked to the center of the room and glanced around. I couldn't help but lift the edge of my ragged, gray, woolen skirt. In my mind I was a princess, curtseying to a dashing prince. A small smile skirted across my face as my imagination began to run wild. When I lifted my head, the prince's eyes and mine would meet and-
Suddenly the door swung open. Startled, I dropped the edge of my skirt and twisted to see who had caught me in my embarrassing fantasy. An imposing figure stood in the doorway, having burst through and thrown both doors aside. His figure was trim, the light from the hall illuminating his impressive stature. He must have been well over 6 feet tall, with his arms spread, he blocked the entire doorway.
I reached down and soothed my skirt. His hands dropped to his side. I didn't dare speak a word. My heart was beating rapidly. Was this Captain Cullen? What a horrible way to make a first impression, being caught sneaking around his house and curtseying to invisible strangers! Certainly not the impression to make if I wanted to show that I was fit to be the governess of not one, but seven of his children.
He turned to the side, implying that I should quickly make my way out of the ballroom. I rushed out, so quickly that I almost missed the distracting scent of his cologne. Mother Cope never let us entertain such frivolities at the Abbey. I had never smelled something, or someone, whose scent was so enticing. I wanted to step closer and breathe more deeply, but the grim look on the man's face clearly sent the message that I should stay away.
"In the future, you will kindly remember," he grimaced, "there are certain rooms in this household which are not to be distrurbed."
"Yes, Captain." I dipped my head in a nod as he reached back behind himself to close the doors to the glamorous ballroom. It seemed a pity to hide such beauty behind closed doors. I craned my neck to take one last look at the sight.
"Why do you stare at me that way?" He growled.
"Why... you don't look at all like a sea captain, sir." I responded. Immediately I felt a tell tale blush running up my neck. Soon it would creep up into my face and be impossible to hide.
His eyes lit with the smallest spark of curiosity. I might have imagined it. "And you... don't look at all like a governess." He smirked. " Turn, turn around," he ordered, motioning his finger in a circle. In my surprise, I found myself following his order. "Hat off," he barked. I reached my arm up to pull the offending object from my head.
"It's the dress," he sighed. "You will have to put on another one before you meet the children."
"But I don't have another one!" I piped up in indignation. "When I moved to the Abbey, we gave up all our worldly clothes to the poor."
"What about this one?" He muttered.
"The poor didn't want this one," I shot back, realizing only as the words left my mouth that they didn't do me any favors. Captain Cullen swallowed deeply, his eyes taking measure of my person as he scoffed. "I would have made myself a new dress," I argued, "but there wasn't time. I can sew my own clothes!" I smiled, eager to share at least one way he might not find me completely useless.
"Then we'll see that we get you some new material. Today, if at all humanly possible." He glanced in disdain out of the corner of his eyes. "Now Fraulein…"
"Isabella," I filled in as he snapped his fingers trying to remember my name. "But my friends call me Bella."
"Fraulein Isabella, I don't know what the mother Abbess has told you , but you are 12th in a long line of governesses. I trust that you will be an improvement on the last one. She stayed only two hours."
"What's wrong with the children?" I questioned, trying to ignore the snub of my preferred name. Surly there had to be some explanation why no governess had lasted in a place such as this. Captain Cullen's head snapped back to look at me. His eyes, deadly cold. I swallowed.
"There is nothing wrong with the children." He explained, "it's the governesses." I highly doubted all twelve governesses could be found so severely lacking, but I bit my tongue and kept my mouth shut. Captain Cullen didn't seem like one who would take kindly to correction, especially about his own children.
"They were completely unable to maintain discipline." He continued, slowly marching his way around the room. "Without discipline, this house cannot be properly run. Each morning you will drill the children about their studies, I will not let them dream their summer away, and then each afternoon you will march them across the grounds, breathing deeply. Bed time is to be strictly observed, with no exceptions and-"
"But, sir, when will they play?" I couldn't help but interrupt. I had planned on being a governess until the children returned to school in the fall. I never imagined I would become some sort of heartless drill sergeant in the Captain's household.
"You will see that they conduct themselves with the utmost decorum at all times," he continued, completely ignoring my question. The man was navy through and through, and it seemed he thought of his children no differently than his seamen. "I am placing you in command." He concluded.
"Yes, sir." I responded without thinking, my hand snapping to my forehead to give him a salute. His emerald eyes shot open wide as I stunned him out of his speech. He carefully raised a whistle to his lips, his gaze never leaving mine, and began making an absurd series of tweets.
Suddenly, movement could be heard from upstairs. Children began pouring out of bedrooms and forming a line along the balcony. In step, they marched down stairs, forming a line facing their father. They wore an odd sort of gray uniform, as if they were in school and not on summer vacation. One young girl slowly joined the line, having left a room on the main floor, which I could only imagine to be a library, with a book still clutched open in her hands. A smile lit my face, a kindred spirit! Reading had been one of the things I missed most about life before the Abbey. Mother Cope encouraged our studies, but not with the sort of books I longed to read.
I watched in amazement as the girl closed her book, her eyes meeting her father's. She glanced down in shame and held the book out to him. Without recourse, he took the book as she turned to join the line of children, then slapped her backside with the cover. Imagine spanking your children for having the desire to read! This was too much! Of all the crazy, hairbrained things I had seen in my life, this was the absolute worst. In fact-
Abruptly the whistles changed, destracing my from my inner rage. Captain Cullen walked down the line of children, straightening their clothes until they stood the epitome of bland perfection. "Now," the Captain barked, tossing the book he had confiscated on a credenza, "This is your new governess. Fraulein Isabella. As I sound your signals, you will step forward and give your name. You Fraulein, will listen carefully," he paused pointing his hand holding his whistle at me. "Learn their signals so you can call them when you want them."
Signals? Did he not realize this was a house and not a ship? I certainly would not be calling the children by- tweet, tweet! The sharp staccato interrupted my thoughts. The tallest girl at the end of the line, perhaps the eldest of the seven, stepped forward abruptly.
"Alice," she stated, stepping back just as quickly. Her short, dark hair framed the sharp cheekbones of her face. Another short series of chirps.
"Michael," the blonde haired boy next in line stepped forward. He could scarcely be fourteen. More chirps.
"Jane," the next child, a blonde haired girl with her hair in a tight braid, stepped forward, introduced herself, and stepped back. More chirps
"Jake,"the fourth child, with a puggy, baby face shouted seriously. He was adorable. More chirps.
"Angela," the fifth child, the one who had been reading the book, stepped forward. More chirps.
"Heidi," the sixth child, a small girl with hair in dark, twin braids marched more timidly forward. More chirps.
The smallest girl at the end of the line stared at me. The chirps continued. She jumped forward. The had light brown fair, wrapped in buns on either side of her head. She won my heart instantly. I was amused when she stepped back in line without saying her name.
"Bree," the Captain said, turning to me. For a second I thought he might scold his daughter, but then noticed a small smile on his face. He was clearly just as enchanted by his youngest daughter as I was. Perhaps he had a heart after all. The smile didn't last long before turning into a grimace. He cleared is throat.
"Now, let's see how well you listened. He pulled a whistle out of his coat pocket and extended it to me. Did he mean for me to call the children by their whistles? I scarcely captured their names in such a brief introduction!
"Oh, I won't need a whistle for them, Captain. I mean, I'll use their names. Such lovely names," I went on trying to lighten the mood. The children tried to pretend not to be listening to the exchange.
"Fraulein," the Captain sighed, " this is a large house and the grounds are very extensive and I will not have anyone shouting. You take this please and learn how to use it." He turned away, dismissing the conversation, and held the whistle back out to me. I stared at the offending object in his hand. He shook the whistle, encouraging me to take it, "the children will help you," he assured.
Tentatively, I reached out and took the whistle from his hand. Our fingers barely brushed, but it sent such a buzz up my arm that I almost dropped it. He yanked his hand quickly away.
"Now, when I want you, this is what you will hear." He lifted his own whistle to his lips, and proceeded to let out the loudest, most obnoxious series of tweets. I wanted to throw my hands over my ears and yowl in pain.
"No, sir! Sorry, sir!" I yelped. "I could never answer to a whistle. Whistles are for dogs and cats. Not for children, and definitely not for me." I took a deep breath. "It would be too... humiliating." The Captain stared at me, his eye piercing as if trying to evaluate my soul.
"Fraulein," he started slowly, "were you this much trouble at the Abbey?"
"Oh much more, sir." I responded without thinking. It was the truth, but the Captain seemed to make me lose my mind before I spoke. Surely there was a more tactful way I would have worded that without sinking into subterfuge.
"Hmm.." He responded shortly, walking away in clear dismissal. Never had I been treated in such a way. Not knowing what else to do, I raised the whistle he had given me to my lips and let out a fervent cry. He stopped abruptly in his tracks.
"Excuse me, sir," I opened somewhat cheekily. "I don't know your signal." I glanced at the whistle in my hand, trying not to grin.
"You may call me Captain." He glanced away and then back at me, looking directly in my eyes. I sensed that I both troubled and amused him. But that was all I got before he strutted out of the room leaving me with his seven children.
The children looked down and tried not to giggle. I turned to face them and straightened my shoulders. The gigges subsided quickly, and they echoed my pose, shoulder back, stomach in. "At ease," I started, "now that it's just us, would you please tell me all your names again and how old you are." I gestured softly to the eldest girl. I thought her name started with an A or something.
She stepped forward quickly, "I'm Alice, I'm 16, and I don't need a governess." Her eyes shot daggers in my direction.
"Well, I'm glad you told me Alice. we will just be good friends." My heart broke for this young girl who was clearly punching everyone away who might remind her of the love of her mother.
The next child stepped forward. "I'm Michael, I'm 14, and I'm impossible."
I stifled a laugh. "Oh really, and who told you that?" I smiled.
"Frauline Victoria, four governesses ago." He responded earnestly. My laughter dried up as I realized this young boy really did believe that he was impossible. Had no one taught him to believe in the good of himself?
"I'm Angela." The next girl said shortly.
"You didn't tell me how old you are, Jane." I bit my lip. I was starting to see what I was up against.
The next girl jumped up in line, skipping her older brother. "I'm Angela, that's Jane. She's 13, and you're smart. I'm 10, and I think your dress is the ugliest dress I ever saw." So much for Angela and I being kindred spirits.
"You shouldn't say that," the adorable, baby-faced boy argued.
"Why not," Angela responded, "don't you think it's ugly?"
"Of course," he nodded, "but Fraulein Irina's was ugliest." He swiftly stopped forward, "I'm Jake, I'm 11 and I'm incorrigible. "
"Congratulations," I grinned and moved down the line.
"What's incorrigible?" Jake asked somewhat vulnerably.
"I think it means you won't be treated like a boy." He nodded in agreement.
The second to last stepped forward and tugged on my dress. "I'm Heidi, and I'm going to be seven on Tuesday, and I'd like a pink parasol."
"Well, pink's my favorite color too." I couldn't help but grin. The last in line, Bree, I believe, stomped her foot twice impatiently awaiting my attention. "Yes, and your Bree?" I asked. She nodded her head fiercely and held up all five fingers on her right hand. "And you are five years old?" She nodded again. "My, you're practically a lady," I smiled widely. Her responding grin lit up the room.
"Well I have a confession, " I said, turning to the whole group. "I have never been a governess before."
"You mean you don't know anything about being a governess?" Jane questioned slyly.
"Nothing," I opened my arms widely, "I'll need lots of advice." This was my chance to see what the children really thought of having me as a governess. Jane was already showing her true colors, as was Alice. Jake and Bree seemed to be on my side, but the rest were up in the air. I watched as the children glanced at each other, silently calculating their next move.
"Well, the best way to start," Jane began, "is to be sure to tell father to mind his own business."
"You must never come to dinner on time," Michael blurted out.
"Never eat your soup quietly," Angela added.
"And during dessert, always blow your nose," Jake stated, trying not to laugh. Okay, maybe he wasn't on my side yet.
"Don't believe a word they say, Fraulein Isabella," Bree piped up, a frown on her angelic face.
"Oh why not," I asked, trying to distance myself from the children who were beginning to swarm me with their helpful advice.
"Because I like you," Bree responded innocently.
Suddenly an elderly woman, gray hair pulled tightly back in a bun, came clapping into the room. "Alright children, now outside for your walk. Father's orders. Now hurry up, hurry up! Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick. The children bowed their heads, begrudgingly being herded out the door, slowly climbing the stairs that led outside.
"Fraulein Isabella, I'm Frauer Stanley, the housekeeper. " I reached out to shake her hand.
"How do you do?" I questioned.
"How do you do," she responded quickly. "I'll show you to your room. Follow me." She walked over to the stairs, reached down and grabbed ragged luggage, and hustled up to the second floor. I bent down and picked up my forgotten black leather guitar case, the material torn but still protective. The children lingered at the door as I followed Frauer Stanley.
"Poor little dears," I said to Frauer Stanley. Being sent outside to march around the grounds breathing deeply. Was the man planning to fall the walls of Jericho? Suddenly a wiggling began in my pocket. Something was moving! I reached down into the fabric, not sure what I would find. My hand hit something...slimy! Startled, I pulled a frog out of my pocket! My heart leapt in surprise. Not that frogs are scary creatures, but one scarcely expects a frog to make a habitat out of your clothing.
"You're very lucky," Frauer Stanley commented with a sharp nod. "With Fraulein Victoria it was a snake."
"Ugh," I sighed into the banister stairs and watched as the children made their way sheepishly out the door. I figured the culprit must have been Michael, but was certain he hadn't acted without their knowing. Not that a frog would scare me away, mind you.
I turned and followed Frauer Stanley up the remaining stairs and to my room. She gave me the briefest of tours and left me to unpack, stating she was sure I wanted time to settle in. I had all of a handful of belongings to "settle," but I didn't argue. She seemed like a woman set in her ways.
I eyed the sweet comfort of my new bed. It appeared much softer than any that could be found at the Abbey. After a long day of travel, a short rest was overdue. As soon as my head hit my pillow, I realized just how truly exhausted I was. It took little time for sleep to wash over me and pull me into it's gentle embrace.
