The thought was instantaneous and terrifying.
She’d never seen them before, at least not as far as she could remember. However, Augusta didn’t know if there had been sketched of her published in the papers, if the group could have recognized her from the time her name was plastered in nearly every gossip rag along with that of her father.
The women closed ranks and drifted over, their approach coordinated as a cavalry charge. Her heart pounded faster in her chest as they moved closer. Her mouth was dry, her shoulders stiff.
“My, my,” said the black-clad one, offering a smile sharp enough to draw blood. “Lady Cassandra, what a pleasure to find you in such excellent company.”
Cassie responded with a minimum of politeness. “Thank you, my lady. We’re just walking Pippin. He needs more exercise than the garden allows.”
Lady Falstone’s gaze flicked to Augusta. “You must be Miss Norton. The new governess.” She extended a gloved hand, palm-down and expectant.
Augusta curtsied. “Yes, My Lady.”
Lady Falstone’s eyes raked over her, taking in the cut of her coat, the quality of her gloves, the width of her hat-brim.
“How fortunate young Lady Cassandra is to have such an attentive governess.” She turned to her companions, her smileunwavering. “One hears so many stories about what happens to young ladies without proper guidance.”
“I’m hardly a young lady,” Cassie countered. “And Miss Norton is more a friend than a jailer.”
“Oh, but friends can be so dangerous, can they not?” drawled the woman in violet, her words lilting and false.
“Yes, sometimes friends are much more dangerous than enemies,” Cassie replied, perfectly deadpan.
Lady Falstone gave a laugh, all pearls and calculation. “You are your brother’s sister, aren’t you?”
Cassie’s jaw set. “What do you want, Lady Falstone?”
“Only to inquire about the health of your dear brother. The Duke of Oakhart is much in demand this Season, I hear. Quite the eligible bachelor.”
The implication hung in the air, heavy as the London fog.
Augusta felt invisible yet acutely exposed.
Cassie seemed to sense her discomfort. “I’ll tell him you asked after him,” she said. “Maybe next time, I could send you a schedule of his next walks in the park. You could lie in wait behind a shrub.”
The lady in ice-blue coughed, masking a laugh.
Lady Falstone’s smile stretched but did not break. “What a clever girl.”
Cassie curtsied, the gesture so exaggerated it might have been mocking. “We should go, Miss Norton. Pippin gets nervous in crowds.”
Augusta followed her without a word.
The two of them retraced their steps along the path, Pippin trotting between them. Only when they were far away did Cassie slow down, and then she grinned.
“Did you see her face?” she asked, breathless with glee. “She wanted to ask you a thousand things but couldn’t say any of them out loud.”
“You don’t like Lady Falstone,” Augusta said, though it was not a question.
“She’s a toad,” Cassie scoffed, kicking a stone off the path. “She’s always nice to me in public, but only so I’ll say something good about her to Hudson. Every time, it’s the same. They ask about him, not about me. Or you. Or even Pippin, and he’s the best of us.”
Augusta bent down and gave the dog a scratch behind his ear. “That’s the way of the world, I’m afraid.”
Cassie shrugged. “If that’s the world, I’d rather have Pippin and you.”
Augusta smiled at her, her heart filling with warmth.
Cassie smiled back, brighter than the sun through a cloud. “Let’s walk by the lake. There are always fewer people there.”
