How to Claim a Governess’s Heart - Bridget Barton Page 0,93

shove her out onto the streets of London.

There would be no hope for her to ever get another position as a governess after such a stain on her character. With the leaves already starting to litter the park paths, she knew that winter was soon to follow. She may have endured a less than pleasant childhood at the hand of her ladies' seminary, but even that was nothing compared to the horror of London’s cold streets in the winter.

Betsy sensed that something was amiss in the house, even if she was too young to understand what it was. She did her best to play quietly by the fire of the parlour while Bridget stared out of the window to the streets beyond.

“A letter came for Constance Brown just now, Miss Thatcher,” Mrs. Smith announced and shaking Bridget from her wandering.

Bridget blinked in surprise. She had been watching the window but had somehow missed the gas lighters and sunset.

“What do you suppose we should do with it? Should we wait for Lord John’s return? I know it’s the publishing agent. What if it’s urgent?” Mrs. Smith continued as she paced the room.

“I can take it,” Bridget put a hand out. “It’s a lady’s hand he will expect in the correspondence as I am sure Lord John didn’t tell him the full situation before leaving in his haste.”

Mrs. Smith handed the letter over and Bridget scanned it. She was glad for such an open household. She was sure in other situations the housekeeper wouldn’t have been privy to all the information that Mrs. Smith received in regard to Lord John’s affairs.

“It says that he received the contract and is ready to begin the process of printing. There is a list of items that he asks Constance to respond to. A few suggested corrections need to be approved, some information needed for front matter, and information on the author for the back matter. He also asks for a meeting to discuss the marketing of the book at Constance’s earliest convenience.”

“Well, what shall we do? Should we wait for Lord John to return?” Mrs. Smith asked.

“I can write back to him. I can go through the tasks and see them done. I will meet with him and do my best to schedule things that I think Lord John would agree with. I fear if we wait, the company may lose interest. The agent did suggest he wanted to have the book ready for the upswing of sales that often comes in the autumn.”

“My dear, it is a lot to do. It might be too much. You have your hands full here already with Betsy and your mind full with other things,” Mrs. Smith started to say delicately.

“No,” Bridget cut in. “I’ll be glad of the distraction, actually. I can’t bear this sitting and waiting to know what my fate is, to know if he…”

“He still cares for you, I know it,” Mrs. Smith said, putting a hand on Bridget’s.

Bridget’s eyes began to well with tears again. She hated how much her heart seemed to break every time she considered that Lord John disbelieved her. She wished she had never allowed herself to consider love and marriage for herself. It had been easy before to live knowing it wasn’t in her cards, but having found love and now knowing she had lost his trust forever hurt far more than she could ever imagine.

The added work preparing the book for publishing would give her a distraction and perhaps pass the time. As much as she dreaded the moment this would all come shattering down around her, she was also finding the waiting to be far more torturous than she could have dreamed possible.

“Whether he does or not,” Bridget did her best to blink back her tears, “I can at least help him in this small way and make up for the hurt I have caused.”

“I don’t think you did anything wrong. You wanted Betsy to have a piece of her mother with her always. I have known Lord John most of his life, and I know that he would agree with me on this matter. You have nothing to fear on his account.”

“Even if you are right and he does believe I wasn’t just stealing from the Smeltings, how could he ever tie himself to me? It would be bad enough to marry a governess. But I cannot ask a man to marry a governess with no family connections when the Duke and Dowager Duchess of