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Authors: Madeline Hunter
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that he might have an ally after all.
“I lived with my father in his house near his mill, and played in the fields beyond. He did not notice that I was growing up for many years, so I enjoyed a childhood longer than some other girls.”
“And when he did realize it?” Sebastian asked.
“He did what any father with a motherless girl would do. He brought in a governess.” She made a little face of distaste, and appeared like that girl for a moment.
“And the drills began, no doubt,” Hawkeswell said.
“In triple force, to make up for lost time,” Verity admitted. “She took her charge very seriously to educate me. She lectured daily on how the better world behaves and the social consequences of sin.”
“I could have saved your father a lot of money,” Audrianna said. “There are books to be bought for less than a shilling that explain all that. You remember those books, don’t you, Sebastian? The ones your mother gave to me?”
Sebastian looked to heaven with resignation, hoping for deliverance from reminders of his mother’s insults. Audrianna laughed. Verity did too, finally, for the first time in three days.
Her eyes sparkled. A little dimple formed on one cheek. It was a very feminine laugh, but not silly and high-pitched. Soft, and a pretty sound.
“Anyway,” she said, relaxing into her story, “I was not the best student. I confess that I gave her a bit of trouble at times. If I found the lessons too horrible, I would sneak off to Katy’s house where I could still be a child again for an hour or so.”
“You may have hated the lessons, but you learned them well,” Audrianna said. “Even Celia assumed that you were born a lady, and she is not easily fooled.”
“I suspect that she was not fooled by me at all,” Verity said. “She noticed, I believe, that I was reciting school lessons, and not speaking the beliefs and knowledge of my own world.”
Hawkeswell did not miss how Verity slipped that in. Once again, she was reminding him that they “did not suit each other,” as she put it. It caused him to wonder if she feared always being thought the unsuitable wife, by society and himself.
That would be unpleasant for her. Even now, sitting with Sebastian and himself, it must be trying to rehearse every word and action before speaking or moving.
“Have you written your letter to Katy?” he asked. “She was Mr. Thompson’s housekeeper for many years,” he explained to Sebastian and Audrianna.
“It is almost finished. I would like it posted tomorrow, Audrianna.”
“Certainly. Is there anyone else to whom you should write?”
Verity pondered that. “Mr. Travis, to be sure. There are things I would like to know, that I have worried about, and he would answer my questions honestly. I should wait, however, until I know exactly what my situation is.”
Your situation is that you are married . This little slip was the most obvious indication that she thought she could still cause that situation to change. He would have to explain to her, very firmly, that she wasted her time on that idea.
“Who is Mr. Travis?” Audrianna asked.
“He is the real manager of the ironworks. He is also the only man my father trusted with the complete secret of the metal boring lathe that he invented. He is surely still there. Bertram cannot get rid of him.”
“That is a dangerous risk to take,” Sebastian said. “What if something happens to Mr. Travis? That entire part of the business will cease.”
Verity accepted some tea from a servant. “I said that he was the only man whom my father trusted. While that governess drilled on etiquette, my father was drilling me on something else. I know the secret too.”
H awkeswell sealed the letter to his aunt. It explained simply that he had been delayed and would not be down to Surrey for at least a week or more. The one beside it on the writing table, to his cousin Colleen, was not any more forthcoming.
Deceiving his aunt about the
“I lived with my father in his house near his mill, and played in the fields beyond. He did not notice that I was growing up for many years, so I enjoyed a childhood longer than some other girls.”
“And when he did realize it?” Sebastian asked.
“He did what any father with a motherless girl would do. He brought in a governess.” She made a little face of distaste, and appeared like that girl for a moment.
“And the drills began, no doubt,” Hawkeswell said.
“In triple force, to make up for lost time,” Verity admitted. “She took her charge very seriously to educate me. She lectured daily on how the better world behaves and the social consequences of sin.”
“I could have saved your father a lot of money,” Audrianna said. “There are books to be bought for less than a shilling that explain all that. You remember those books, don’t you, Sebastian? The ones your mother gave to me?”
Sebastian looked to heaven with resignation, hoping for deliverance from reminders of his mother’s insults. Audrianna laughed. Verity did too, finally, for the first time in three days.
Her eyes sparkled. A little dimple formed on one cheek. It was a very feminine laugh, but not silly and high-pitched. Soft, and a pretty sound.
“Anyway,” she said, relaxing into her story, “I was not the best student. I confess that I gave her a bit of trouble at times. If I found the lessons too horrible, I would sneak off to Katy’s house where I could still be a child again for an hour or so.”
“You may have hated the lessons, but you learned them well,” Audrianna said. “Even Celia assumed that you were born a lady, and she is not easily fooled.”
“I suspect that she was not fooled by me at all,” Verity said. “She noticed, I believe, that I was reciting school lessons, and not speaking the beliefs and knowledge of my own world.”
Hawkeswell did not miss how Verity slipped that in. Once again, she was reminding him that they “did not suit each other,” as she put it. It caused him to wonder if she feared always being thought the unsuitable wife, by society and himself.
That would be unpleasant for her. Even now, sitting with Sebastian and himself, it must be trying to rehearse every word and action before speaking or moving.
“Have you written your letter to Katy?” he asked. “She was Mr. Thompson’s housekeeper for many years,” he explained to Sebastian and Audrianna.
“It is almost finished. I would like it posted tomorrow, Audrianna.”
“Certainly. Is there anyone else to whom you should write?”
Verity pondered that. “Mr. Travis, to be sure. There are things I would like to know, that I have worried about, and he would answer my questions honestly. I should wait, however, until I know exactly what my situation is.”
Your situation is that you are married . This little slip was the most obvious indication that she thought she could still cause that situation to change. He would have to explain to her, very firmly, that she wasted her time on that idea.
“Who is Mr. Travis?” Audrianna asked.
“He is the real manager of the ironworks. He is also the only man my father trusted with the complete secret of the metal boring lathe that he invented. He is surely still there. Bertram cannot get rid of him.”
“That is a dangerous risk to take,” Sebastian said. “What if something happens to Mr. Travis? That entire part of the business will cease.”
Verity accepted some tea from a servant. “I said that he was the only man whom my father trusted. While that governess drilled on etiquette, my father was drilling me on something else. I know the secret too.”
H awkeswell sealed the letter to his aunt. It explained simply that he had been delayed and would not be down to Surrey for at least a week or more. The one beside it on the writing table, to his cousin Colleen, was not any more forthcoming.
Deceiving his aunt about the
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