his hand away.
His breath expelled with some force, ‘My God, you’re a grown woman … and an exquisitely formed one at that. How the hell did I miss it? You’ve been lying to me all along, missy. How old are you?’
‘I’ll be nineteen next month.’ Face flushing, she jerked the torn edges of her clothing together and turned her back on him. ‘I never suggested I was anything different from what I am. Go away; you’ve shamed me.’
The heat from his body lessened, and the tension between them cooled. He stepped back, created some space between them, but something had changed in him because his eyes held the knowledge of her nakedness.
‘Why didn’t you enlighten me on the numerous occasions I referred to you as a child? Why didn’t you tell me, Miranda?’
She shrugged. ‘I thought you might turn us out, and Lucy desperately needed help. I intended to tell you when we had our meeting.’
‘Which meeting was that?’
‘The one where you said you wanted to know everything about us.’
‘Ah … that meeting. I’ve been a bit busy of late, and it had slipped my mind. In view of what’s happened, we shall schedule that meeting for eleven o’clock tomorrow morning in my study.’
His footsteps echoed across the floor and he opened the door. ‘Now your charade has been
exposed
, there is no more need for subterfuge, is there? Nobody will learn from me of what happened here this evening. I’ll send Pridie up to help you dress. If you want to be silly and wear the remnants of your own clothing for the occasion, go ahead, but I’ll be disappointed if you do. I will expect you in half an hour at the latest. Is that clear, Miss Jarvis?’
‘Perfectly, Sir James,’ she said, wishing she’d listened to Mrs Pridie in the first place.
The door was almost shut when he opened it again. Gruffly, he said, ‘You took me completely by surprise and have nothing to feel shamed about, girl. That particular honour goes to me on this occasion.’
Five
The gown was slightly old-fashioned, its skirt flaring out over a stiff petticoat and decorated with a pretty lace trim, but it suited her. Anna arranged Miranda’s hair into a topknot, decorating it with a posy of silk flowers. Heated tongs were used to create ringlets at either side of her face.
‘There, don’t you look lovely?’ Mrs Pridie said, turning her towards the long oval mirror. ‘Sir James was right taken aback … that he was. And serve him right for seeing only what he wanted to. I tried to tell him before, but no, he wouldn’t listen.’
A stranger looked back at Miranda, and she was made immediately aware that her parents would never have been able to afford a gown like this for her.
The bodice hugged her waist, stomach and ribs, and had enough stretch in it to allow her to breathe, but not to slouch. She remembered laughing with her mother over an advertisement for one in the
Ladies Journal
– seven shillings for a waist no more than eighteen inches in circumference and sixpence per inch extra for larger ladies.
That had been before her father’s accident, when her mother’s expanding waistline was becoming noticeable. They’d been looking forward to having a new baby in the house. How swiftly everything had changed.
The young man’s portrait on the wall was reflected in the mirror, too, standing just behind her shoulder as if they were a couple. They looked so realistic together that she nearly returned his wry smile.
She ran downstairs when the clock struck half past the hour, in case Sir James took it into his head to fetch her himself. Taking a deep breath, she opened the drawing-room door.
It seemed to Miranda that every eye was upon her when she entered the room.
She shook her head, trying to dispel the younger image of Fletcher Taunt that still lingered on in her mind. It was hard to do when Sir James approached her with his similar, older face. His eyes expressed both approval of her appearance and an apology. ‘You look
His breath expelled with some force, ‘My God, you’re a grown woman … and an exquisitely formed one at that. How the hell did I miss it? You’ve been lying to me all along, missy. How old are you?’
‘I’ll be nineteen next month.’ Face flushing, she jerked the torn edges of her clothing together and turned her back on him. ‘I never suggested I was anything different from what I am. Go away; you’ve shamed me.’
The heat from his body lessened, and the tension between them cooled. He stepped back, created some space between them, but something had changed in him because his eyes held the knowledge of her nakedness.
‘Why didn’t you enlighten me on the numerous occasions I referred to you as a child? Why didn’t you tell me, Miranda?’
She shrugged. ‘I thought you might turn us out, and Lucy desperately needed help. I intended to tell you when we had our meeting.’
‘Which meeting was that?’
‘The one where you said you wanted to know everything about us.’
‘Ah … that meeting. I’ve been a bit busy of late, and it had slipped my mind. In view of what’s happened, we shall schedule that meeting for eleven o’clock tomorrow morning in my study.’
His footsteps echoed across the floor and he opened the door. ‘Now your charade has been
exposed
, there is no more need for subterfuge, is there? Nobody will learn from me of what happened here this evening. I’ll send Pridie up to help you dress. If you want to be silly and wear the remnants of your own clothing for the occasion, go ahead, but I’ll be disappointed if you do. I will expect you in half an hour at the latest. Is that clear, Miss Jarvis?’
‘Perfectly, Sir James,’ she said, wishing she’d listened to Mrs Pridie in the first place.
The door was almost shut when he opened it again. Gruffly, he said, ‘You took me completely by surprise and have nothing to feel shamed about, girl. That particular honour goes to me on this occasion.’
Five
The gown was slightly old-fashioned, its skirt flaring out over a stiff petticoat and decorated with a pretty lace trim, but it suited her. Anna arranged Miranda’s hair into a topknot, decorating it with a posy of silk flowers. Heated tongs were used to create ringlets at either side of her face.
‘There, don’t you look lovely?’ Mrs Pridie said, turning her towards the long oval mirror. ‘Sir James was right taken aback … that he was. And serve him right for seeing only what he wanted to. I tried to tell him before, but no, he wouldn’t listen.’
A stranger looked back at Miranda, and she was made immediately aware that her parents would never have been able to afford a gown like this for her.
The bodice hugged her waist, stomach and ribs, and had enough stretch in it to allow her to breathe, but not to slouch. She remembered laughing with her mother over an advertisement for one in the
Ladies Journal
– seven shillings for a waist no more than eighteen inches in circumference and sixpence per inch extra for larger ladies.
That had been before her father’s accident, when her mother’s expanding waistline was becoming noticeable. They’d been looking forward to having a new baby in the house. How swiftly everything had changed.
The young man’s portrait on the wall was reflected in the mirror, too, standing just behind her shoulder as if they were a couple. They looked so realistic together that she nearly returned his wry smile.
She ran downstairs when the clock struck half past the hour, in case Sir James took it into his head to fetch her himself. Taking a deep breath, she opened the drawing-room door.
It seemed to Miranda that every eye was upon her when she entered the room.
She shook her head, trying to dispel the younger image of Fletcher Taunt that still lingered on in her mind. It was hard to do when Sir James approached her with his similar, older face. His eyes expressed both approval of her appearance and an apology. ‘You look
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