Augusta sighed. “Can we not do something more exciting? Something unrelated to schoolwork?” Gingersnaps took that moment to slink over. Augusta scooped the large feline into her lap and hugged him to her.
I set my elbow on the table and rested my chin in the palm of my hand. There was nothing ladylike about it at all, and I believe it was a habit I had picked up from Augusta. Mentally, I acknowledged that I should sit up, but I held my position. I needed to meet Augusta where she was at if we were ever to rise above her struggles. And now that I had Lord Camden’s approval, I felt justified in following my instincts.
“What do you have in mind?” It felt daring even saying this. My own governesses had browbeaten me into submission, and the discipline and structure had been both aggravating and comforting in their familiarity.Neither would work for Augusta—or she would not have chased away a dozen governesses.
Augusta shifted Gingersnaps into her lap, then mimicked me and hunched over the table, bringing our faces closer. “Why don’t you tell me who it is you are always daydreaming about.”
I immediately straightened. “Who says I am thinking about someone specific?”
Augusta grinned. “I do. Come now, it is a far more exciting topic than dead kings.”
I smirked. “You mean history.”
Augusta blinked innocently. “I won’t complain about continuing our lessons if you tell me.”
“You won’t complain for an entire week!” I said, pointing my finger at her.
Augusta crossed her heart. “I promise.”
Hesitant as I was, I wanted to tell her. “And you promise not to tell a soul?”
“On my father’s grave.”
I nodded my consent. I knew I could trust her the same way I knew that she would believe my tale—strange as it was. Just as she had let me into her vulnerable spaces, I knew she would be a friend who could safely walk into mine.
I leaned back in my seat, wondering where to start. Having never spoken the words of my story out loud, I found many of the details too special to share, while other details were bursting to be spoken. No one could have been more surprised than myself when the words finally tumbled from my mouth. “I think . . . I think I am in love with a stranger.”
The untested words came out with rightness and surety, and I could not take them back. Not even when a sudden image of Lord Camden smiling at me flashed into my mind.
“You mean you have never met the man you love?” Augusta stared at me in disbelief.
I shook my head. “Our meeting may not have been conventional, but there was a certain divine fate to it.” I chose to leave out the part where I had fled an arranged marriage—and the small matter of my family not knowing my whereabouts—and skipped right to the dark alley and the discovery of Mr. Long.
“I had found him on the brink of death and arranged for his care. It was inappropriate, but I held his hand and he held mine.”
Augusta leaned forward on the edge of her seat. “How romantic.”
I shrugged. “We needed each other. There was no other word for it. I willed him to heal, and he willed me to stay . . . but in the end, we had to go our separate ways.”
“And he never saw what you looked like?”
I shook my head. “His eyes were bound, and he was too bruised and swollen for me to recognize him again.”
Augusta stroked Gingersnaps with greater gusto. “Star-crossed love.”
I shrugged and a sigh slipped through. “I suppose so.”
“Oh, Estelle! It’s tragic. What if you never meet again?”
“Or worse,” I said. “What if we meet and do not recognize each other? Then we will have missed our chance.” Though even as I said it, I knew there was no chance for us. He was likely a poor servant from a different world than my own. Besides, I was already spoken for like a horse with a bid on it, waiting to be claimed.
Despite what I knew, my heart had a will of its own. My silly girlish fantasies had become quite real to me. I had felt a connection with Mr. Long, and it had to have significance.
I pushed a smile onto my face, refusing to feel sad about a special moment, no matter what it meant for my future. “My secret is out, but what of yours, Augusta? Is there a man who holds your heart?”
Augusta shook her head. “I have met a few men who came visiting my brother, and at church of course, but they were too stiff and buttoned-up for my taste. None of them would climb intoRubywithout worrying about dirtying their trousers. Indeed, they would prefer to look atthemselvesin the mirror before they would ever appreciate my appearance.”
I set my hand on hers for a brief moment. “There is someone out there who is perfect for you. I hope you find him.”
