The Uncommon Life of Mr. Adam Archer, Contralto

GOVERNESS AT STANDSFIELD HOUSE

GOVERNESS AT STANDSFIELD HOUSE“Reality continues to ruin my life.”

Bill Watterson

It had been a warm and pleasant summer and most of the time that afternoon, they had been lying on the grass, under the shade of the trees surrounding the shooting hut near the stream marking off the property. The dog had been jumping in and out the water all afternoon running after the stones thrown by the kids or or lying simply spellbound by some golden reflection captured when he was half asleep and too tired to run anymore.

The late afternoon air was becoming cooler and at a distance the servants could be heard collecting the wood logs that would be used during the winter. Soon enough Helena the governess would start teaching again to Luce, while her brother Drake would be sent back to school. The evenings would grow long in front of the fireplace and the morning fogg would reappear dense and static, dispelled only by the pouring rain.

The three started to move slowly to reach the house, pulling along the heavy cloths on which they had lain on, plus a few tin boxes used for the food. Even the dog was tired and was walking slowly with his tongue hanging out. Helena stayed behind and watched the other two. They had both grown up during the summer and the clothing did not fit anymore: Luce’s dress was short and left her ankles in sight while Drake, feeling uncomfortable in his shoes, was walking bare feet. They were quickly losing their puppy faces and clumsy movements while their attitude was turning into a natural and refined elegance. Everything in them called youth and energy.

They also were the nearly perfect copy of their parents Thomas and Flora Stansfield: dark hair and deep black eyes for Drake the 15-year-old heir, on whose cheeks could nearly be detected a slight darkness due to a new coming beard; the exact opposite of Flora and her daughter Luce, both with long dark blond hair and a regal bearing that sustained a tall and slender body. As any son and daughter coming from a rich family, each one would be now put in the compulsory direction due to his or her s*x: Drake would be going back to Eton, while Luce would stay home under the control of Helena.

Helena, who had just gone through the turning point of her thirtieth birthday, had dedicated her life to their education since they were small and would never have dreamt of anything better than her role in the Stansfield family. As a governess, and also because Mr. and Mrs. Stansfield were often away in London, she had been free to deal with all the educational issues she prefered and was soon considered reliable and thoughtful by everybody. During the last ten years she had developed deep affection towards Luce and Drake as if they had been her own children, the ones she would never be able to have since the fatal destiny that killed her family ten years before. Once her parents and her two brothers had been wiped out by a small pox epidemic, she could do nothing else than prepare herself to go wherever she would be called. Often she had asked herself why fate had spared her but now, having been peacefully included in the Stansfield familiar context, pain and sadness had vanished naturally, leaving only from time to time a devastating sense of melancholy when a scent, a sound or a flavour brought her back to her youth and family.

Helena was born in a family of musicians. Her father, as long as he was alive, had been the organ player and choir master of his church, himself composing music and choral works for most special occasions, and also a music teacher. Helena and the rest of the family always helped him by copying his manuscripts and playing the parts. This was to become one of the winning elements of her calling card when, in the most critical moment of her life she was asked to look after the two young Stansfield, thanks to the parish of her church who, worried about her future, intervened and settled her destiny.

Years went by peacefully and Helena, well aware to get the best out of the little she got, had not lost a single frame of what was happening around her, adapting herself to the environment like an actor and learning her part to perfection. As for all women in her same condition, even if she had free food and lodging, the pay was very low and she had to put away as much money as she could for when she would become old or when the grown up children would not need her anymore. Helena had no illusions about that. As long as Drake had been home, she taught reading, writing and mathematics to both of them. Now that he was studying at Eton, she was left alone with Luce and her only task was to groom her into the perfect spouse and housewife for a man coming from a similar environment.

Another bonus that Helena possessed was that she knew French and was able to teach it. Many young English male aristocrats were starting to travel around the "continent", on the other side of the Channel, and were fascinated by the French ladies able to talk about music, art and literature. This was not the case of most English young women whose education was limited to balls, gossips and parties and whose conversation was reputed boring. The result was that many proud mothers, Flora Stansfield’s included, had decided that time had come to educate their daughters in order to put them in a more competitive position in the vast wedding trade. But to employ a French governess was out of question due to the different religions practised in the two countries. Helena was then the perfect answer to the problem. So her teaching to Luce was based on music, French, Shakespeare readings and the correct Christian values that a young girl had to internalize as a woman and future spouse.

Helena knew all too well that Luce would never have any problem in getting married. She was a beauty to look at and probably intelligent enough to learn over the next years not to exceed in intellectual feats. She would soon attract some young heir within the sons of her father's friends and easily get married. Her fate looked already settled and she did not seem willing to take any alternative direction.

The three proceeded back to their rooms and got ready for dinner.

CHAPTER TWO