His intent stare quickened her heartbeat. “Should I discover you’ve told me any other lies, it shall be grounds for immediate dismissal.”
Chapter 5
Several afternoons later, a footman delivered a note to the schoolroom along with the tea tray. Tessa waited until he was gone before she broke the wax seal. To her surprise, it was from Sukie at the millinery shop. Before she could do more than frown at the brief message, the tapping of footsteps distracted her.
Miss Knightley stepped through the doorway. Tall and slender, she wore a modest gray gown with a starched spinster’s cap on her chestnut curls. Her mouth was curved in a smile that lent a quiet beauty to her classic features.
“May I come in, Miss James?”
Tessa stuffed the note into her pocket where she kept the scissors. “Of course. Was there something you needed?”
“Only a bit of company if you’re not too busy. Lady Victor is napping, and I’d hoped to discover how you’ve been getting on here.” Walking closer, Miss Knightley glanced around the nursery with its little tables and the tidied stacks of books and toys. “Where is Lady Sophy, by the by?”
“Napping as well. I’ve found that an afternoon rest makes for a happier child. The only problem is convincing her to remain in bed for an hour.”
“I’ve often faced a similar situation with Lady Victor. Tell me, what is your trick?”
“A promised treat if she’s good. I’ll read her a book, we’ll play hopscotch in the garden, or her favorite, create a circus with her toy animals.”
Miss Knightley laughed, a sparkle in her green eyes. “Alas, none of those things will work with my mistress. But often Lady Victor takes a draught of laudanum to help her sleep soundly, and I am free to do as I please.”
Delighted by the prospect of having a friend in the house, Tessa waved at the tray. “I was about to have tea. Will you join me, Miss Knightley?”
“Why, I’d love to. But only if you’ll call me Avis. It seems forever since anyone has addressed me by my given name.”
“I’m Tessa. And I do understand how one can feel alone even when surrounded by a company of people.” She wistfully recalled chatting with Sukie and Nell as the three of them stitched in the back room of the millinery shop. Conversing with a child and the nursery staff just wasn’t the same.
Tessa fetched another chair and they sat down at the sturdy oak table that served as a desk for the governess. She poured tea into a porcelain cup for Avis, using for herself an extra mug stored on a nearby shelf.
She offered her guest a dish containing a lavish array of pastries. “I must thank you for saving me from stuffing myself. The kitchen always sends far too much for one person. It’s so delicious, I’m tempted to eat every bite.”
Sampling a piece of gingerbread, Avis gave her a curious glance. “Did you not have a decent cook at your previous post, then?”
“It was a smaller place, so I’m not accustomed to luxury,” Tessa said with careful vagueness. “I’d never have stood a chance of working in a ducal household had not Lady Sophy driven off the more qualified governesses.”
“Why, you must be perfectly qualified! His Grace would never have employed you otherwise.”
Avis didn’t know she was drinking tea with a fraud, Tessa thought guiltily. She had the precarious sense of living on borrowed time, especially in light of the disturbing note she’d just received from Sukie. It seemed Madame Blanchet had been spreading the word among the other milliners in London that Tessa had stolen a hat.
Her stomach churned. She’d only taken the chip-straw bonnet as compensation for the month’s salary she was owed, and after Madame had scorned her design. But now she had been branded a thief.
Lud, how could she clear her name? Would it affect her ability to open her shop? Worse, what if she lost her post here as governess before finding her father? How would she earn a living if no hatmaker would hire her?
The duke’s sharp words needled her memory. Should I discover you’ve told me any other lies, it shall be grounds for immediate dismissal.
That mustn’t happen. Carlin must never, ever learn the truth about her past. Now, more than ever, it was vital for her to guard that secret.
“You’re frowning,” Avis said in concern. “Are things so difficult here in the nursery? I was hoping you might be the one governess who will