Her gaze returning to Walter, she knew there was no denying they were irrevocably in love with each other. The vows they had just made to each other were just a symbol to the world of what they already felt.
Perhaps, one day, she would be able to share the joy of Ambrose and Felicia. But whatever the future held, she was assured Walter would always be by her side, and that was all she needed.
The Extended Epilogue
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What the Governess is Hiding-Preview
Prologue
The Flames
Six-year-old Ailsa Johnson held on to her governess's hand tight as the world burned down around her. Her four-year-old sister Davina was in Miss Kathy's other arm, cradled against her side like a baby. The younger girl was screaming and crying wildly. Ailsa wished she were a baby, or at least a bit younger, so she could sob like that too.
The water engines were working hard, water pouring out of their massive pumps. Six firemen held each hose, trying their best to save Ailsa's burning home.
"Where are my mummy and daddy?" she asked, her Scottish-accented voice trembling when she spoke. "Miss Kathy, tell me they are n’ae still inside."
“Aren't,” Kathy corrected absently, mostly out of habit, Ailsa supposed. They'd been working on elocution lately, and their father wanted them to be able to speak like English ladies, in the event they went back south. Her hand tightened around Ailsa’s. “And I don't know where they are, love. I don't know.”
“I want my mum!” Davina shrieked. “Miss Kathy! Take me back in! I dinnae care about the fire at all, I just want Mum!”
Miss Kathy's usually lovely warm voice sounded hollow and empty. “I know you do, sweetheart,” she said. Ailsa glanced up and could see how the governess's eyes were focused intently on the flames, the fire's reflection dancing on her hazel irises.
“Are they gonnae … I mean, are they going to die?” Ailsa asked, biting her lip to stop the scream threatening to break from her lips at the thought. “Mummy and Daddy? Is the fire going to take them?”
Miss Kathy didn't answer. The three of them were covered in soot, and the hem of Davina's dress was charred. Kathy had pulled them both out of the nursery, crying out about the fire, shouting as loud as she could. Ailsa was sure that if Miss Kathy weren’t there looking after them, she would have dived right into the flames to go back for their parents.
Ailsa's parents were Lucas and Isla Johnson, the Lord and Lady of Gretness, their lands situated in the Scottish Midlands. They weren't only Miss Kathy's employers – they were also her friends. She had been here as a nurse when Ailsa was young and had also been a nurse for Davina, until the two children grew up enough to have a governess.
Ailsa was six now, nearly a young lady. She didn't need a nurse, but she was glad Miss Kathy had stayed on as their governess. If she hadn’t, they might have been lost in those flames.
“What about Kitty?” Davina whined desperately. The cold wind felt strange as Ailsa looked up at her little sister, especially with the blazing hot flames of their home burning in front of them. “We need to get Kitty, and Mummy, and Daddy!”
"Kitty's just a dolly, Dina,” Ailsa tried to reassure her, using the pet name their father often called Davina. “The firemen will get Mummy and Daddy out, and then we'll get you a new one. Is n’ae that right, Miss Kathy?”
“They'll do their best,” Kathy told them again, though Ailsa saw she looked sad. “They'll do everything they can, girls. Don't worry. I'm here.”
But Ailsa did worry. She had once visited a farm on her father's land shortly after a fire had burned down the pigsty. She'd seen the destruction, and though she didn't understand it, she knew none of the pigs that didn't get out were left alive.
A large crowd of neighbors and local villagers had gathered in front of the house, trying their level best to help the fire crew, but Ailsa saw a single tear