The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

The Governess AffairNarrated by Rosalyn Landor

For me, this is one of those times when it’s like Christmas came early – one of my favorite authors, stories, and couples are realized in audiobook form by one of my favorite narrators.

When I wrote a review of the book at the beginning of January, I said I thought The Governess Affair was just short of perfect. As a novella, it’s a supreme example of how to craft a compelling story with a limited word-count without sacrificing anything in terms of characterization or plot; and how to create a deeply satisfying and sensual romance that evolves organically and doesn’t feel at all rushed.

Hugo Marshall solves problems. He’s ruthlessly efficient, ambitious, and without scruple – and at the beginning of the story is presented with a challenge. He is currently engaged in running the business affairs of the Duke of Clermont, a cash-strapped aristocrat who married for money and needs to keep his wife happy if he is to continue to receive regular payments from her funds. Hugo is shrewd, clever, has a good head for business, and has no intention of being at the Duke’s beck and call forever, having determined to build his own business empire as soon as he has enough capital.

At the beginning of the story, Clermont gives Hugo a problem to solve. In the square outside his London home sits a young woman – Miss Serena Barton – whom Clermont claims is accusing him of reneging on an agreement to employ her. The Duchess is currently away from home following a marital dispute, and time is of the essence. Her Grace cannot be allowed to encounter Miss Barton as this would undoubtedly lead to more marital discord.

Serena was dismissed without a reference from her post as a governess because a man was seen leaving her room one night. That man was, of course, the Duke of Clermont, and Serena has come to London to exact retribution for what he did to her. She intends to generate gossip simply by sitting in the square outside his house, knowing that is a sure fire way of making life very uncomfortable for him. But it is not the Duke she fears so much as “his man” – known as the “Wolf of Clermont” because of his willingness to do the Duke’s dirty work and get what he wants by any means necessary.

Hugo knows his employer too well to believe he’s been told the whole truth about the reasons for Serena’s presence, and so goes to talk to her, without disclosing his identity. She finds him easy to talk to and immediately senses that he’s “safe” – something she chides herself for on so brief an acquaintance, while being convinced, deep down, that she is right. That meeting is the beginning of a warm and tender romance that develops realistically and naturally between two emotionally bruised characters who are – initially – stubbornly set on attaining opposing goals.

Rosalyn Landor always seems to find exactly the right tone for her female characters. Serena’s voice is pitched in what I’d describe as mid-range, which I think gives her just the right degree of maturity. She also invests her with a slight edge, a sharpness in some of her exchanges with Hugo, and is yet able to give the merest hints at the fears and insecurities Serena is trying so hard to hide.

Her interpretation of Serena’s sister, Frederica, is also note-perfect. Freddie (she hates being called that!) is practically agoraphobic and comes across in print as rather embittered. But she is also scared and doesn’t understand Serena’s desire for revenge. In order to convey those aspects of Freddie’s character, Ms. Landor hardens her tone and gives her voice an almost brittle quality, expertly conveying the idea that Freddie is a woman who could break at any moment. Interestingly however, it emerges later in the story that she is actually much stronger than she at first seems. Those vocal qualities which Ms. Landor has used to convey her fragility – the harshness and suppressed anger – also serve very well to show that Freddie is, in her own way, possessed of as much determination as her sister.

It’s not long before both Hugo and Serena realize that they are strongly – and most inconveniently – attracted to each other. Despite his background as a pugilist and his reputation for ruthlessness, Hugo is a truly decent, gentle man. He keeps insisting that he’s not good or kind, and yet his actions where Serena is concerned continually belie his words. He tries to make her go away by making sure there’s nowhere for her to sit in the park, but ends up bringing her tea and sandwiches on a day when she’s been sitting in the rain. He offers her money, arranges for her and her sister to be evicted from their rented rooms and then for them to stay. Not only does he abhor the idea of hurting a woman, he senses there’s more to Serena’s story than the mere employment dispute which is the story given to him by the duke.

One of the things that really made an impression on me when I read the book was the fact that Serena felt partly responsible for the terrible thing that happened to her. The word rape isn’t used, but there’s no doubt that’s what Clermont did. The first time Hugo asks her if she had been forced, she tells him no. But when he asks again, she explains her reasons for saying so – she didn’t scream or struggle for fear of discovery (because she’d have been blamed) and believes her silence made her complicit. When Hugo learns the truth, the air fairly crackles with his suppressed rage, superbly communicated by the quiet menace with which Ms. Landor infuses his voice.

It’s fair to say that both protagonists are each carrying a couple of suitcases of emotional baggage. Serena and her sister have been reduced to genteel poverty, and it’s clear that Serena finds Freddie’s starchiness to be something of a trial. Hugo’s inner demons are more deeply hidden. The youngest of sixteen children, his father barely noticed him, and when he did, it was only to belittle and tell him he’d never make anything of himself. His desire to prove himself a better man and become “the richest miner’s son in England” is the driving force of his life – a force so strong that he almost loses sight of what’s truly important.  Almost – but not quite, as he comes to realize that without Serena, “being someone” is just an empty ambition, and that the someone he really wants to be is her husband.

Hugo hails from the north of England and his voice is described in the text as having a “hint of something from the north.” Sometimes the trace of an accent can be harder to imitate than a full-blown one but I think Ms. Landor has brought Hugo to life very successfully. She’s given him just a trace of gruffness and has made small alterations to her vowel sounds, but not so much as to make him sound too bluff or uncultured. There’s a real warmth in her tone that belies Hugo’s protestations of his not being good or kind, and she injects just the right note of flirtatiousness in the scenes in which he and Serena kiss and make love for the first time.

Having listened to a number of Rosalyn Landor’s audio performances, I was confident that listening to The Governess Affair was going to be an enjoyable experience and I wasn’t wrong. I fully admit to being a Landor fangirl of the highest order, and never fail to be impressed with the way she delineates all the characters she voices so distinctly and in tones that are so completely different to her natural speaking voice. Narrated passages are well paced and her inflection is always sensitive and melodic. I’ve listened to some narrators whose character voices are good, but whose narration I find flat and rather monotonous, but that’s never been the case with Ms Landor. I always get the impression that she’s not only read the book several times, but that she’s spent time learning to understand the characters and getting into their heads. In fact there have been times, listening to her, when I’ve forgotten I’m hearing just one person!

This is an audio I return to time and again when I want to listen to something I know I’ll enjoy but don’t feel like investing in the twelve hours I’d need to listen to a full-length novel. It’s a lovely story of two broken people who find each other and click, each filling a need of the other’s they never realized they had.

And if Ms. Milan is planning to make the subsequent Brothers Sinister novels available in audio format, I really hope the series proceeds using the same narrator as, in my opinion, there are very few who can better Rosalyn Landor when it comes to historical romance.

Caz


Narration:  A

Book Content:  A- (wish it were longer)

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence:  None

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publisher:  Courtney Milan

7 thoughts on “The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

    1. Thanks, Brenda. I think it’s the mark of true talent when an author can put so much into a novella, and yet not have it feel rushed. And RL is one of my favourite performers, so I’m always glad of the chance to listen to her :)

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