“Very good, Miss Clearwater,” Evander said, from where he was sitting across from her in the parlour. He ran through the list of interview questions he had duly prepared in his head, though found he had asked the potential governess all that he could think of. (He had done many interviews and questionings in his career, but never had he felt quite so out of depth in any as in this one.) “I am quite out of questions for you - so unless you have any? - I suppose I ought to introduce you to the charge you would be taking on.”
The interview had been cordial enough - Evander was certainly trying his best to be pleasant - for Miss Clearwater, as her references had predicted, came across quite as accomplished in person, and indeed so much better than the other candidate who had written that he was keen that it all go smoothly. Perhaps this was, in part, out of a slight edge of desperation: Charity had only been here a few days, but there had been so much to do and such a grand adjustment for them both that he had had to take the time off work to deal with it all, and he did not think he would feel well spending his days at the Ministry until Charity had someone like a governess to be with her (... for company as well as supervision, though he would not say it).
But, painstaking and pedantic as he would like to be in hiring anyone, Evander privately felt Miss Clearwater had known better what answers to give than he knew what to listen for... and compared to the other candidate who had written, some girl just out of school with little experience at all, Miss Clearwater was near faultless. Unfortunately, she was rather more prepossessing in looks than he had expected. This was bad because it did not discount the possibility she would one day still abandon her station to marry; this was worse because Evander was already finding himself distinctly uncomfortable at the idea of having to share the house with her.
But needs must. “Shall we?” He added as he stood, gesturing her to the open door so he could bring her upstairs to meet Charity (who was hopefully waiting in her room, the picture of a perfect angel).
The interview had been cordial enough - Evander was certainly trying his best to be pleasant - for Miss Clearwater, as her references had predicted, came across quite as accomplished in person, and indeed so much better than the other candidate who had written that he was keen that it all go smoothly. Perhaps this was, in part, out of a slight edge of desperation: Charity had only been here a few days, but there had been so much to do and such a grand adjustment for them both that he had had to take the time off work to deal with it all, and he did not think he would feel well spending his days at the Ministry until Charity had someone like a governess to be with her (... for company as well as supervision, though he would not say it).
But, painstaking and pedantic as he would like to be in hiring anyone, Evander privately felt Miss Clearwater had known better what answers to give than he knew what to listen for... and compared to the other candidate who had written, some girl just out of school with little experience at all, Miss Clearwater was near faultless. Unfortunately, she was rather more prepossessing in looks than he had expected. This was bad because it did not discount the possibility she would one day still abandon her station to marry; this was worse because Evander was already finding himself distinctly uncomfortable at the idea of having to share the house with her.
But needs must. “Shall we?” He added as he stood, gesturing her to the open door so he could bring her upstairs to meet Charity (who was hopefully waiting in her room, the picture of a perfect angel).
