Lois Menzel (2 page)

Anne was ravenous after her long fast but would never admit as much. She silently followed the footman to her room, wishing her aunt had ordered the tea in ten minutes instead of thirty. She used the time to wash her face and hands, then exchanged her creased and dusty brown gown for a dark blue muslin. It was old and considerably worn, but it was freshly laundered and she felt better as she descended the stairs, the prospect of food raising her spirits.

As Mrs. Hodder poured, Anne helped herself to a biscuit and two macaroons. “Since you are seeking a position, my dear, I assume things were not left well?”

“Father’s income ceased when he died. There was enough money to allow me to stay on these past months, but now that is gone as well. I could not pay the rent on the cottage so I had to give it up. I hope to find a position, but I have no references or experience, and I know one must have them to secure a place in a respectable family.”

Even though Anne hoped to find work, she was fearful of going among strangers. Mrs. Nesbitt was right; she
was
a hermit. She had lived all her life with her father and was accustomed to solitude and privacy. In the back of her mind, she had allowed herself to hope that her aunt would offer her a home. Not that she wanted to be a hanger-on. Not Anne Waverly! If her aunt offered to keep her, Anne would make certain Mrs. Hodder never regretted the decision.

“You hope to go for a governess, then?” her aunt asked.

“I think I would be better suited as a companion.”

“With your education? What nonsense! You should teach.”

“I could teach history, geography, and modern languages, but I never applied myself under my own governess, and I must admit I do not excel in the womanly arts.”

“You do not excel?”

“Actually, I have none. Well, perhaps one. I sew, but I cannot play, either pianoforte or harp, and I cannot sing. My painting is atrocious, and my dancing indifferent.”

“Heaven bless me! And Max always claiming you were the best educated woman in the country.”

“I have a university education, Aunt Hodder.”

“A man’s education, you mean, girl! Which is no education for a woman to have. Music, art, etiquette, a knowledge of all housewifely duties—these are the things that make a lady.”

Anne could no longer look at her aunt, but stared down at her lap, her hands clenched tightly and her knuckles showing white. “Thus I feel I would be better suited as a companion, aunt.”

“The position of governess has never been an enviable one,” her aunt continued, “but you may believe me when I say it is infinitely preferable to that of companion. A governess at least has some say in her own schoolroom. No companion I know ever has anything to say.” Seeming to notice her niece’s dejection for the first time, she deserted that vein and added more briskly, “Nevertheless, if it is a companion’s position you seek, I will inquire immediately among my friends and acquaintances.”

Anne responded to this offer from her aunt with an offer of her own. “Until I find a position, Aunt Hodder, perhaps I might help with your boys. I tutored several young boys in our neighborhood.”

“The boys are at school, and the girls have a governess, Miss Marsh, an excellent creature in most respects, and the girls like her, though her French is abominable.”

Anne brightened. “I could help with their French—take over the French lessons if their governess does not mind.”

Miss Marsh did not mind at all. When introduced to Anne and offered relief from French lessons, she found it impossible to hide her pleasure. French had always been a bitter chore for her. When they were alone together, she confided to Anne that her own governess had not been proficient in the language.

“I should like to sit in on the lessons myself,” she admitted. “I am certain I could learn a great deal.”

“You would be most welcome,” Anne assured her. “My father started teaching me French when I was six, and I have always loved studying languages. How old are my cousins?”

“Miss Victoria is thirteen and Miss Emily eleven.”

“Are they good students?”

“They are biddable, and they try. Miss Emily’s best subject is history; Miss Victoria’s only interest is fashion. She pores over magazines and fashion plates, and her greatest concern is the arrangement of her hair ribbons.”

The following day, while Mrs. Hodder entertained morning visitors in her salon and politely inquired of her friends for a possible companion’s position, Anne met her young relatives in the schoolroom. In French, she greeted them by name and introduced herself. When she asked simple questions in the same language, they tried to understand and offer answers in return.

Their governess smiled in appreciation of Anne’s method. Without realizing it, the girls were having their French lesson. They were even enjoying it. She settled back comfortably to listen, contributing only when Anne addressed her directly.

Chapter 2

On the morning that Anne Waverly offered her first French lesson to her young cousins, only a few blocks away at a gentleman’s establishment in Grosvenor Square, an altercation was taking place between Mrs. Arelia Saunders and her son’s tutor, Mr. Osgood.

“I repeat, madam. It is impossible for me to stay!”

“But you said you would take the position for six months. You agreed to that much, at least.”

“In truth I did, but I cannot honor the agreement. It would be a waste of your money and my time. If you will take my advice, you will send your son to school. That, in my opinion, would be the best possible place for him. Good day, Mrs. Saunders.”

As Mr. Osgood left the house, Arelia stormed down the hall to her brother-in-law’s study and burst through the door.

“Tenbury! I must speak with you. He is your nephew. Surely there is something you can do.”

A fair head lifted politely, and a pair of blue eyes regarded her with interest. “I assume we are discussing our charming Thomas. What has he done now?”

“What he always does—he has driven away another tutor. The man insisted he could not stay and recommended I send the boy to school.”

“The last time Tom was sent down from school, the headmaster clearly stated that they would not consider readmitting him unless he underwent a drastic change in attitude. Has he done so?”

“Of course not. We don’t dare send him back. I cannot leave him in the country, for I never know what mischief he will be into next.” She took a swift turn about the room, her blonde curls bouncing, and the flounces of her spring-green walking dress skimming over the floor. “This must stop! I am a widow with young children. I should be attending every gathering that is held if I hope to meet an eligible gentleman—someone who can take the burden of my family from your shoulders. But am I doing that? No! Lately, it seems I spend most of my time fretting over that tiresome boy.”

“Surely you exaggerate, Arelia.”

“Do I? It took me two weeks to find the redoubtable Mr. Osgood. Two weeks of checking references and giving interviews. And how long did he last? Four days! Four short days! Well, let me tell you, I have run out of ideas. I have interviewed every tutor in this city, and I am at my wits’ end. You must help me, Nate!”

The Earl of Tenbury regarded his sister-in-law sympathetically. She had certainly had her share of bad luck. First the loss of her husband, to whom she had been devoted. Then just as she was about to emerge from a full year of mourning, her father had died unexpectedly, plunging her into blacks again. Her newest headache, young Thomas, had begun his devilment about eighteen months earlier. He had been sent down from school for a long list of transgressions, which included repeatedly putting various undesirable creatures into the beds of his classmates, writing obscenities on the slate board, and kissing a daughter of one of the masters. When one added to this mischievousness the fact that he was failing his form, the school saw no reason to permit him to stay.

“Very well, Arelia. I will look into the matter. You must not despair. I know you will find this hard to believe, but Thomas is much like his father was at the same age—and as you know, Henry turned out well.”

Arelia’s face brightened as she answered, “You are the best of all brothers, Nate. I feel sure you will succeed where I have failed, for I am convinced this matter demands a man’s attention.”

“Perhaps. We shall see. Send the boy to me tomorrow morning. Shall we say ten o’clock?”

“Certainly, Tenbury, anything you say.”

“And Arelia—please impress upon him the importance of being prompt.”

* * * *

Thirteen-year-old Thomas Saunders was inordinately pleased to have successfully routed six tutors in little more than eight months. His pleasure, however, did not survive the information that he was to present himself before his uncle the following morning.

Since the earl had never been one of Thomas’s favorite people, he knocked timidly on the door and, when told to “Come,” entered with considerable trepidation.

Tenbury had been seated reading the newspaper, but he rose at the boy’s entry. He was a strongly built man of above average height; to Thomas he had always seemed a giant.

“You are prompt, Thomas. That’s good.” The earl moved to the chair behind his desk and seated himself, while Thomas approached the desk and stood before it, his hands clasped nervously behind his back.

“Your mother tells me that Mr. Osgood has left us,” Tenbury began. “What, pray, was his complaint?”

“I believe he was displeased with my grasp of the Latin verbs, sir.”

Tenbury raised a brow at this rejoinder. The boy had more in common with his dead father than physical appearance.

“Do you
know
any Latin verbs, Tom?”

“Very few, sir.”

“Easy enough then to comprehend Mr. Osgood’s displeasure, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes, sir.”

“We both know you have no liking for your studies. But tell me this,” the earl demanded. “If you could at this moment do anything you wished, what would that be?”

“Anything, sir?”

“Anything at all,” the earl confirmed. “If I said, go where you will, do what you wish for the next two months—what would you do?”

“I would go to Tenton Castle, sir.”

“And do what?” Tenbury asked.

The boy needed no time to consider. “Fish, swim, snare rabbits, hunt badgers at night. I have a great friend there, Will Carey, the squire’s son.”

“Yes, I know Will. Tell me this, Tom. If I were to permit you to do just as you wished for two months, and if I found you a new tutor meanwhile, would you be willing to settle down to your studies when your holiday ended?”

“Could I stay at the Castle, study there, and see Will in my free time?”

“Perhaps. Do you know what a gentleman’s agreement is, Tom?” When the boy nodded, Tenbury continued, “I will grant you sixty days from tomorrow to do exactly as you wish at Tenton, if you will agree to apply your considerable intelligence to your studies at the end of that time. If you progress, and your tutor is satisfied with your efforts, you may continue to see Will, and you may remain in the country.”

The smile that had grown on Tom’s face faded slightly when his uncle added, “There are a few conditions attached to this agreement, which you must clearly understand. You must pledge to me that you will engage in no activity that is indecent, dishonest, or illegal. You will agree not to distress my people at the Castle in any way, nor cause them alarm or inconvenience. You will be certain that someone at the Castle or at the Grange knows where you are at all times. And above all, you will do nothing to disgrace my name or your own.”

He paused for a moment, watching the boy closely. Tom seemed to be considering the terms carefully, and Tenbury was pleased. Too quick an acquiescence would have worried him. “Well, Thomas,” he said at last, “Do we have an agreement?” He stood and reached a long arm across the desk to his nephew.

Tom stepped closer and took his uncle’s large hand in his own smaller one. They shook solemnly. “Yes, sir, we do,” he said.

* * * *

Barely more than two weeks after Anne’s arrival in London, Mrs. Hodder visited the schoolroom late one afternoon at tea time. She was astonished at the sounds that greeted her as she entered the room. Her niece, Miss Marsh, and the girls were partaking of their tea, all the while chattering away in an uninterrupted flow of French! She hesitated in the doorway and listened, greatly pleased with the excellent progress her daughters had made. Later that evening, when an acquaintance informed her of a possible position for her niece, she replied, “Thank you, Sally. I will be certain to tell her, though I believe she may decide to stay on with us after all. She gets on so well with my girls, and she is an absolute wizard with needle and thread.”

Cressida Hodder had discovered Anne’s proficiency in sewing only a few days after her arrival. Victoria had burst into the parlor in tears over a torn flounce, and Anne had offered to mend it. In a short time, with tiny, perfect stitches, the dress was repaired. The following day, when Mrs. Hodder mentioned there were a dozen new dinner napkins that needed monogramming, Anne offered to do them.

Almost every day thereafter, Anne found herself busy. Either her aunt would drop a rather broad hint regarding some needlework, or the housekeeper would bring it by her room saying, “Madam thought that if you had a free moment this afternoon you might like to hem these sheets, miss. No hurry though, miss.”

After a few days, even this small courtesy vanished. Anne would simply find a pile of work on her bed. Even during her French lessons she would have sewing in her lap. Finally Ruth Marsh was moved to protest. “Surely there is a seamstress in the house who can hem sheets!”

Anne looked up in surprise. “I am happy to have the work. It’s the least I can do to repay my aunt and uncle for their hospitality.”

“But you sew from sunrise to sunset. Beyond that, in fact. You were sitting up with the candles last night; I saw the light under you door. You were sewing, were you not?”

“Yes,” Anne admitted. “My aunt especially wanted Emily’s yellow dress today, and I was a long way from finishing.”