To Bewitch A Beast

III. A Trip to Madam Vernice

"So, can a governess marry a lord?" Emma impatiently asked.

"If she is titled, yes, she could without causing society to raise its brows with disapproval."

"Then can she marry a gentleman if she is untitled?"

"Yes."

Ysabella and Emma snapped their heads to face each other and giggled with excitement. Benedict frowned and studied them thoughtfully. "Are you two planning to find your governess a husband?"

They both coughed and he knew it would not stop until one or both of them had thought of the best reply. It was Emma who finally swallowed and looked him in the eye. "Yes, of course. She ought to be married as much as any eligible women everywhere."

His eyes narrowed to slits and he saw the twins started to grow anxious. "Are you doing this because she is leaving?"

They blinked and shook their heads. He cocked one brow higher. The direction of their heads changed and they nodded. "She ought to be married. She cannot spend her entire life being a governess, can she?" asked Ysabella.

Agatha Blair wearing a white wedding gown and walking down the aisle was a picture Benedict could not entirely put to mind anytime soon. "But it is not your place to decide what she does with her life."

"We are not going to force her to marry anyone, Benedict," Emma stated as though the situation had reversed and he was the one being reprimanded. "We merely wish for her to have a chance in a life far different from what she has thus far."

"You mean you merely wish to do something you always do-meddle into people's affairs."

"Of course, not!" both young ladies cried out. "We are not meddling into yours," Ysabella pointed out as Emma said, "We do not even tell you we do not like your fiancé!" to which Benedict finally had enough and he fixed his sisters a stern look and they bit their lips in silence.

Frances Highmore was a respectable and proper lady, one of the reasons why he asked for her hand in marriage. His sisters ought to know their place. "I do not want to hear anything bad said against my future wife, Emma, Ysabella." He narrowed his eyes at them, making them see that he was utterly serious. "And if I happen to know that the two of you have yet again come up with something devious, you shall be transported to Devonshire at once and you will miss the entire season."

Their eyes widened with horror.

Satisfied that he had made himself clear, Benedict ordered, "Finish your breakfast and I do not want to hear a single word from either of you. Someone here, other than your governess, ought to put you in your proper place. You are both seventeen and ought to act and think like ladies and I demand that you start today." While saying those words, he had come to realize that his sisters were indeed ladies and could soon very well be receiving offers for marriage. That, of course, would be another mischance he would have to face.

As the ladies resumed their breakfast in a highly exaggerated proper manner, Benedict had to wonder why the two chits were too engrossed in matchmaking. The first of their many projects was the cook who had fancied their previous butler. The two married after a year. That was followed by two more servants marrying two of their footmen. Their fourth and their biggest accomplishment was their fifth governess, Lady Belinda Carrington, now Haverston. That, too, was a success after Ysabella and Emma addressed a letter to McKenzie Haverston in Willowfair, telling him that their governess was marrying their eldest brother-him, Benedict-and pushed the poor man to travel for two straight days on horseback to claim his lady. Lady Belinda was replaced by Agatha who was recommended by the Haverstons themselves and as the sixth governess, she was currently beeing planned to marry a gentleman without her knowledge.