The Governess Gambit - Erica Ridley Page 0,2

old, sometimes young. It was impossible to fathom what mischief she’d been in the midst of when the knock came at the door.

Next to Mrs. Pine sat a young girl, anywhere between eight and twelve years of age. She looked healthy, but childhood malnourishment often made it difficult to determine age at a single glance. At least she was with Mrs. Pine now. The motherly woman would do everything in her power to keep the girl safe.

“You’re here!” Mrs. Pine sprang up from the sofa and rushed to greet Chloe. “I knew you’d come to the orphanage soon—we are all forever indebted to your family for the quarterly donations—but I’m afraid this couldn’t wait. I’m in... I have... a bit of a pickle.”

“She has me,” the skinny little girl on the couch said defiantly. “Again.”

“And with me you’ll stay,” Mrs. Pine assured the child. “That is, I hope so. I haven’t any authority to... but that’s why we’re here. Chloe’s family solves hopeless cases for the desperate. I never thought to become a hopeless case myself, but... Well, here we are. You’re my last resort and my only hope. Please tell me you can help.”

“We’ll do our best,” Bean promised. “No matter what it is. Please, take your seat and tell us about it. Leave nothing out.”

Chloe settled into an empty armchair between Bean and Mrs. Pine.

“The problem is... Well, no, you’re not a problem, darling, I don’t mean it like that. I’m just trying to... This is Dot.” Mrs. Pine placed her arm reassuringly about the child’s shoulders. “She came to us as a foundling nine years ago. Last month, she was fostered by a wealthy family outside of Benson.”

Chloe and her siblings exchanged raised eyebrows. A rich benefactor was an unlikely achievement for an orphan. Finding Bean was the single greatest thing that had happened to them. But despite this stroke of good fortune, something must be gravely wrong.

“Being placed with a family of means is lovely,” Chloe said. “Congratulations.”

Dot glared at her.

Mrs. Pine winced apologetically. “She sneaked back.”

“Sneaked... back?” Chloe repeated.

Baron Vanderbean had been the best thing to happen in any of the Wynchester siblings’ lives. They wouldn’t be siblings if he hadn’t found them and adopted them, giving them a name and a family and a purpose.

She knew from experience that a kindhearted philanthropist such as Bean was the exception to the rule, but Chloe also knew how it felt to try to fall asleep in a narrow lice-ridden cot whilst her stomach twisted painfully in hunger. She would have traded anything for a clean bed and a warm meal.

The orphanage was less dreadful now—due in no small part to the Wynchesters’ gifts and donations—but all the same, it was an orphanage. Something awful must have happened to make Dot run away from her new family.

She turned to Dot and spoke gently. “Tell me about it.”

“They said they wanted me. They didn’t.” Dot crossed her arms and held Chloe’s gaze despite the sudden glossy sheen reflecting in her eyes. “They tossed me away.”

“To a boarding school,” Mrs. Pine explained quickly. “Except it wasn’t. I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“It’s all right,” said Chloe. “Start at the beginning. We have as much time as you need.”

Mrs. Pine nodded gratefully. “The family consisted of a mother, a father, and a daughter, who had begged endlessly for a sibling to play with. After years with no luck, they decided to foster an orphan about the same age as their daughter, in order to give her the playmate she’d always desired. Dot seemed perfect. Dot, you are perfect. Don’t let small-minded people—”

Dot turned away with her nose in the air, blinking rapidly.

“The daughter decided she could not abide sharing her parents’ attention after all,” Mrs. Pine said with a sigh. “The parents were too well bred to give a child they’d promised to raise back to the orphanage she’d come from. They felt an obligation to see to Dot’s future, and meant to make good on it. So they sent her to boarding school.”

“It is not a school,” Dot said darkly. “It’s a workhouse.”

Mrs. Pine let out a sigh. “It was for you, and for that I am sorry.” She turned back to Chloe. “Sarah Spranklin’s Seminary for Girls is an institution just outside of London that accepts boarders year-round.”

Dot hugged herself tight. “My ‘family’ didn’t want me back.”

“The school has a special program,” Mrs. Pine explained. “At a discount in tuition, the child helps with chores and is later placed