underwhelmed by. As the numbers of people on the busy thoroughfare increased, Kate was pressed to his side and he wondered how she found the hustle and bustle in comparison to a Yorkshire town.
“ Weather such as this would be much improved were it not for the number of people enjoying it. Don’t you think?” he asked. Kate rolled her eyes in acknowledgement of the masses around them.
“ Believe me, Miss, the great unwashed of London have seen far more of a bar of soap than in Harrogate or Leeds.”
Avery smiled, he hardly ever thought about what life Kate had before she had joined the household. She had appeared without references just as Avery had dispatched the last in a long line of useless girls. He knew from experience that she disliked talking about her previous life and he was encouraged by her mentioning her home cities to enquire further.
“ Tell me, how do you find London?”
He knew that most of her free time was spent around this area and he himself had noticed that she was no longer inclined to look up at the buildings in the same wonder but rather seemed to hurry on to make the most of her precious liberty. She had one or two friends she had made in service and these she would meet with occasionally, to walk in the parks or share ice cream or tea with. There was little about these meetings that he did not know, so prone was she to gabble constantly whilst she was busying herself in his rooms or around the house. During her first month, she had kept her head down and busied herself at her post being almost wary of Avery. She had seemed a morose girl and he had wondered if in fact she might not be a little slow. He had found her guardedness a challenge and he remembered how stunned he was when she unexpectedly confided in him. Aware that her strange accent made her stand out, one of the local girls had made fun of her and he had found her in his room that evening, folding clothes into his press with a face like thunder.
“Miss Ward? Are you alright?”
She seemed to have been waiting for his arrival and she answered simply and honestly.
“No, Miss Silver. I’m not.”
“It looks for all the world that those clothes have slighted you Miss Ward and by all accounts you are giving them what for.” She had not smiled. He closed the door behind him and moved to the chaise longue beneath the window. Seating himself awkwardly, he had tipped his head to one side and offered the seat beside him with a well placed hand. It was a gesture that invited intimacy and evidently was all that Kate was waiting for.
“ Do you know, sometimes I can barely understand every second word that Mary-Ann utters but I hold my tongue. I don’t think her slow, I don’t think her stupid and I don’t think myself better than her.”
Avery had not expected any such outburst and hardly knew how to respond before she continued with her rant as she strode around the room.
“ I’ve put up with it for weeks now and today they tried to get me in hot water. I don’t go in for tireless gossip Miss Silver. Never have and never will. I won’t get into trouble because they see fit to talk about their betters. I’ve worked hard here, haven’t I? Its not fair if they get me into trouble just because I was born a hundred miles away.”
“ Kate. Kate,” Avery had had to repeat himself to halt the flow. “You’re not making any sense. What on earth has happened?”
Kate had drawn herself up on the spot and turned to face him properly. She hesitated, some of her own anger had dissipated in her own little tirade and she may have been content to apologise for the outburst and disappear without a further word, but Avery was intrigued by this other side to the quiet young girl.
“ Please. Don’t stop. Just tell me what has happened?” he nodded for her to continue, an encouraging smile upon his lips. He tapped the seat beside him again and, with some of
“ Weather such as this would be much improved were it not for the number of people enjoying it. Don’t you think?” he asked. Kate rolled her eyes in acknowledgement of the masses around them.
“ Believe me, Miss, the great unwashed of London have seen far more of a bar of soap than in Harrogate or Leeds.”
Avery smiled, he hardly ever thought about what life Kate had before she had joined the household. She had appeared without references just as Avery had dispatched the last in a long line of useless girls. He knew from experience that she disliked talking about her previous life and he was encouraged by her mentioning her home cities to enquire further.
“ Tell me, how do you find London?”
He knew that most of her free time was spent around this area and he himself had noticed that she was no longer inclined to look up at the buildings in the same wonder but rather seemed to hurry on to make the most of her precious liberty. She had one or two friends she had made in service and these she would meet with occasionally, to walk in the parks or share ice cream or tea with. There was little about these meetings that he did not know, so prone was she to gabble constantly whilst she was busying herself in his rooms or around the house. During her first month, she had kept her head down and busied herself at her post being almost wary of Avery. She had seemed a morose girl and he had wondered if in fact she might not be a little slow. He had found her guardedness a challenge and he remembered how stunned he was when she unexpectedly confided in him. Aware that her strange accent made her stand out, one of the local girls had made fun of her and he had found her in his room that evening, folding clothes into his press with a face like thunder.
“Miss Ward? Are you alright?”
She seemed to have been waiting for his arrival and she answered simply and honestly.
“No, Miss Silver. I’m not.”
“It looks for all the world that those clothes have slighted you Miss Ward and by all accounts you are giving them what for.” She had not smiled. He closed the door behind him and moved to the chaise longue beneath the window. Seating himself awkwardly, he had tipped his head to one side and offered the seat beside him with a well placed hand. It was a gesture that invited intimacy and evidently was all that Kate was waiting for.
“ Do you know, sometimes I can barely understand every second word that Mary-Ann utters but I hold my tongue. I don’t think her slow, I don’t think her stupid and I don’t think myself better than her.”
Avery had not expected any such outburst and hardly knew how to respond before she continued with her rant as she strode around the room.
“ I’ve put up with it for weeks now and today they tried to get me in hot water. I don’t go in for tireless gossip Miss Silver. Never have and never will. I won’t get into trouble because they see fit to talk about their betters. I’ve worked hard here, haven’t I? Its not fair if they get me into trouble just because I was born a hundred miles away.”
“ Kate. Kate,” Avery had had to repeat himself to halt the flow. “You’re not making any sense. What on earth has happened?”
Kate had drawn herself up on the spot and turned to face him properly. She hesitated, some of her own anger had dissipated in her own little tirade and she may have been content to apologise for the outburst and disappear without a further word, but Avery was intrigued by this other side to the quiet young girl.
“ Please. Don’t stop. Just tell me what has happened?” he nodded for her to continue, an encouraging smile upon his lips. He tapped the seat beside him again and, with some of
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