didn’t pause for breath. She turned to Mrs Eldersley for help.
At once the older woman took the signal. “Come, come, Miss Robinson, I must show you your room.”
“Lord, yes, I’m near dying from thirst. I’m sure I have swallowed more grit than a camel in a dust storm.” Meg followed their landlady out, but at the door she quickly turned back to Nicola. “See you downstairs for high tea, Miss Douglas.” She put her gloved finger to her lips and gave Nicola a grim look. “What is your first name? I cannot call you Miss Douglas all the time, that would be too tiresome.”
“Nicola.”
Meg grinned and her rounded cheeks developed two identical dimples. “That’s a pretty name. It suits you.” She tossed her head and her black curls bounced. “My mother gave me a mouthful of a name and I will never forgive her. Margaret Helen Alice Mary Robinson, can you imagine?” Meg laughed. “She was most put out that at the age of five I insisted on plain Meg.” She sobered for a moment and looked thoughtful. “Mother spent the vast majority of her time and mine being put out over something I had done.” Suddenly the grin returned wider than before. “Still, parents must be disappointed in their children at one time or another, otherwise it spoils their old age, nothing to whine about see!”
Nicola closed the door on Meg’s laughter. Exhaustion dragged at her bones. She slipped her belongings off the bed and then laid down without taking her ankle boots off. A sigh escaped as she relaxed and snuggled further into the mattress. Images and people fluttered behind her closed eyelids. Meg’s laughter filtered through the walls. Nicola smiled. What on earth would happen to her next?
Chapter Three
The wind gusted down the street chasing papers along the gutters. Nicola held onto her black hat with one hand and with her other struggled to hold her parcels. Unable to gather up her skirts, she staggered against the battering gale. Constant cold, windy days grew tedious. Mrs Eldersley mentioned that on this side of the world late August was known for its wind and gales. Privately, Nicola would be glad to see spring, which if she looked closely enough at the trees she could just see the hint of blossom opening.
Suddenly, she was bumped and jolted to the side as a gentleman exiting a shop knocked into her.
“Forgive me, please.” He made a small bow to her just as the wind took hold of his hat, sending it trundling off along the paved footpath.
Nicola turned to watch him chase after it and couldn’t help but chuckle at the spectacle. With a smile on her lips, she continued her journey back to the Eldersley’s Lodging House, which although only a few miles from Cordell’s Hotel, was in a much more influential area on the edge of Double Bay.
She hoped a letter waited for her on the small table in the hall. Since coming to Eldersley’s she’d had two interviews, but no appointment as yet. For a moment her smile faltered and then disappeared altogether to be replaced by a frown. If there wasn’t a governess role for her at present then she could manage for a few weeks more on the money she brought with her, as Mr Belfroy insisted she pay no rent until she had work, but after that she’d have to find alternative work. So far, she’d managed to sell three of her drawings, two to Mr Belfroy friends and one in Mr Price’s shop. Mr Belfroy suggested that she should send them to England to be sold, but she had no agent and knew no one well enough to trust with such a task.
Turning up the street, she squinted against the wind to see a gig outside the lodging house. Curiosity made her hurry. Maybe someone had come about the new advertisement she put in the paper two days ago.
She opened the gate and lightly ran up the path to the front door. The blustery gale helped her to open it and nearly wrenched it out of her hands as she stepped into the hallway. A vase of flowers positioned on the cedar hall table teetered dangerously at the sudden gust and Nicola steadied it before shutting the door and then placing her parcels beside the vase. A quick glance showed no envelopes with her name on them and her spirits plummeted.
Hearing voices in the front sitting room, she quickly unpinned her hat. Taking off