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Authors: Nicole Jordan
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Academy for Young Ladies as she discussed the premise.
“I and my two sisters started the academy several years ago with the help of our patroness, Lady Freemantle,” Lady Danvers explained. “But we are more a finishing school than a typical boarding school. We teach the daughters of the wealthy working class how to fit into the drawing rooms and ballrooms of the Beau Monde.”
“What subjects do you offer?” Madeline asked curiously.
“Most of our pupils have been educated by private governesses, so by the time they come to us, they are usually proficient in the typical subjects, but they lack the polish and grace expected of a lady. So for the final years before they make their comeouts, we instruct them in deportment, manners, speech, conversation, and also genteel accomplishments such as riding and driving, dancing, archery, and how to give musical performances with ease. Our goal is to expose them to the kind of culture and refinement they will find if they marry into the gentility.”
Madeline hid a frown, realizing that the curriculum Lady Danvers described was quite different from what she’d expected. But she made no comment as Lady Danvers continued.
“In the past, my sisters and I usually taught at least one class a day, but since we all three married this year,we were required to revise our instruction schedule. Moreover”—the countess smiled softly to herself—“I am in the family way, and after the baby comes next spring, I expect I will have even less time to devote to our academy. We have a headmistress who manages the daily operations of the school. And I recently hired another full-time teacher to oversee most of the classes, plus a close friend of mine also teaches there frequently. But with twenty-seven pupils, we could use someone of your qualifications to supplement our instruction, Miss Ellis.”
Madeline decided it was time to speak up. “I am not certain my qualifications match what you need for your academy, Lady Danvers. Growing up, I was privileged to have an excellent governess, so I am well versed in such subjects as drawing, embroidery, history, geography, and even a smattering of accounting, since we owned a farm and I managed the books. But I am not musical in the least, and my knowledge of culture and refinement is severely lacking. I have certainly never moved in your elite circles. The closest I have come to the haute ton is my late employer, Lady Talwin, and during her final years, she was confined to her sickbed.”
Lady Danvers smiled. “Miss Ellis, I think you may have a mistaken impression of my own social qualifications. Until this past year, my sisters and I lived under the cloud of a family scandal, so we were utterly shunned by the ton. And since we were virtually penniless, we had to work for our livings. Fortunately, the academy provided us livelihoods and a measure of independence so we were not compelled to wed unless we chose to.”
“I see,” Madeline said, surprised and relieved by thecountess’s confessions of her former modest circumstances. And by her desire for independence as well. Madeline herself had always gnashed at the limiting boundaries that genteel ladies had to face, and she had never wanted to marry simply to survive.
“You are obviously well-spoken and reportedly extremely well-mannered,” Lady Danvers added, casting a lively glance at Lord Haviland, who was seated in a wing chair across from them. Their unspoken communication made Madeline surmise that in his message requesting an interview, Haviland had mentioned her insistence on observing proper etiquette. “And if you dealt well with your ill employer, you can likely handle our pupils.”
“What would be my responsibilities, do you expect?”
“Haviland says you are fluent in French, so I would like to make the most of your particular skills. Your primary duties would be to teach French and therefore English. In my experience, learning a foreign language improves one’s
“I and my two sisters started the academy several years ago with the help of our patroness, Lady Freemantle,” Lady Danvers explained. “But we are more a finishing school than a typical boarding school. We teach the daughters of the wealthy working class how to fit into the drawing rooms and ballrooms of the Beau Monde.”
“What subjects do you offer?” Madeline asked curiously.
“Most of our pupils have been educated by private governesses, so by the time they come to us, they are usually proficient in the typical subjects, but they lack the polish and grace expected of a lady. So for the final years before they make their comeouts, we instruct them in deportment, manners, speech, conversation, and also genteel accomplishments such as riding and driving, dancing, archery, and how to give musical performances with ease. Our goal is to expose them to the kind of culture and refinement they will find if they marry into the gentility.”
Madeline hid a frown, realizing that the curriculum Lady Danvers described was quite different from what she’d expected. But she made no comment as Lady Danvers continued.
“In the past, my sisters and I usually taught at least one class a day, but since we all three married this year,we were required to revise our instruction schedule. Moreover”—the countess smiled softly to herself—“I am in the family way, and after the baby comes next spring, I expect I will have even less time to devote to our academy. We have a headmistress who manages the daily operations of the school. And I recently hired another full-time teacher to oversee most of the classes, plus a close friend of mine also teaches there frequently. But with twenty-seven pupils, we could use someone of your qualifications to supplement our instruction, Miss Ellis.”
Madeline decided it was time to speak up. “I am not certain my qualifications match what you need for your academy, Lady Danvers. Growing up, I was privileged to have an excellent governess, so I am well versed in such subjects as drawing, embroidery, history, geography, and even a smattering of accounting, since we owned a farm and I managed the books. But I am not musical in the least, and my knowledge of culture and refinement is severely lacking. I have certainly never moved in your elite circles. The closest I have come to the haute ton is my late employer, Lady Talwin, and during her final years, she was confined to her sickbed.”
Lady Danvers smiled. “Miss Ellis, I think you may have a mistaken impression of my own social qualifications. Until this past year, my sisters and I lived under the cloud of a family scandal, so we were utterly shunned by the ton. And since we were virtually penniless, we had to work for our livings. Fortunately, the academy provided us livelihoods and a measure of independence so we were not compelled to wed unless we chose to.”
“I see,” Madeline said, surprised and relieved by thecountess’s confessions of her former modest circumstances. And by her desire for independence as well. Madeline herself had always gnashed at the limiting boundaries that genteel ladies had to face, and she had never wanted to marry simply to survive.
“You are obviously well-spoken and reportedly extremely well-mannered,” Lady Danvers added, casting a lively glance at Lord Haviland, who was seated in a wing chair across from them. Their unspoken communication made Madeline surmise that in his message requesting an interview, Haviland had mentioned her insistence on observing proper etiquette. “And if you dealt well with your ill employer, you can likely handle our pupils.”
“What would be my responsibilities, do you expect?”
“Haviland says you are fluent in French, so I would like to make the most of your particular skills. Your primary duties would be to teach French and therefore English. In my experience, learning a foreign language improves one’s
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