“Do you carry a pistol?” Miss Ashmore asked.
Georgie gave her a blank look. “For what purpose?”
“To protect yourself,” Miss Ashmore replied, removing a muff pistol from a fold within her gown. “You need to become acquainted with one.”
“I have never handled a gun before,” Georgie admitted.
Miss Ashmore extended it towards her. “I will teach you,” she said. “But you will need to adapt to the weight of the pistol.”
Georgie looked down at the muff pistol in her hand. “I don’t know if I could shoot anyone.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but it is best to be prepared for the unexpected,” Miss Ashmore said.
Lady Hawthorne cast her sister an amused look. “You must excuse Evie. She can be quite the misanthrope.”
“I merely want to keep Georgie safe from her brother, if it comes to that,” Miss Ashmore asserted. “Besides, she is living in the rookeries and is surrounded by ruffians. She must learn to protect herself.”
“I am safe in the orphanage,” Georgie said.
Miss Ashmore walked over to the window and peered out. “You are backed up to an alley, and an assailant could easily climb through this window.”
“We keep it locked at all times,” Georgie shared.
“It doesn’t matter,” Miss Ashmore responded as she ran her fingers along the edges. “With the right tools, it would take mere moments to get in.”
Georgie turned her attention more fully towards the window, aghast. “Surely it couldn’t be that easy?”
“It is,” Miss Ashmore said. “I have gotten into much more secure buildings than this.”
Georgie’s expression didn’t change as she turned to her guest. “For what purpose?”
Miss Ashmore waved her hand dismissively in front of her. “Sometimes they wouldn’t let me enter by way of the main door.”
Georgie opened her mouth to ask another question, but Lady Hawthorne spoke first. “We should be going,” she said, ushering her sister to the door. “We don’t mean to occupy all of your time.”
“You are always welcome,” Georgie replied as she haltingly offered the muff pistol back to Miss Ashmore.
Miss Ashmore put her hand up. “I want you to keep it,” she said. “Our training will begin tomorrow before our trip to the market.”
“Our training?” Georgie questioned.
Lowering her hand, Miss Ashmore replied, “Good day, Georgie.”
After Miss Ashmore and Lady Hawthorne had departed from the room, Georgie set the pistol down carefully on her desk. She hadn’t remembered Evie being so intense, and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of her.
But the thought of learning how to protect herself did have some appeal.
William sat near the fireplace in his study with a drink in his hand, his cravat hanging loosely about his neck. He had spent most of the day meeting with his man of business, who never seemed to run out of things to talk about where his estate and business interests were concerned. William was tired of the monotony of his life. It was the same thing every blasted day. He worked tirelessly, but for what purpose? He was all alone. It was a cruel twist of fate that he was even alive. If there was a God, then he would have died alongside his sister so many years ago, but instead, he was forced to go on living.
He brought the glass to his lips. He hadn’t thought about Eleanor in some time, but there was something about Miss Lloyd that had brought memories of his sister to the surface. If Eleanor had still been alive, she would have been of a similar age as his headmistress. Would they have been friends?
What was it about Miss Lloyd that gave him pause? She was undeniably beautiful, but there was more to it than that, he was certain of it. But that didn’t mean he would let her shirk her responsibilities. Her job was simple. If she couldn’t stop setting her sights on these outlandish notions and just handle running the orphanage to his specifications, then she would be dismissed.
Perhaps he should just dismiss her and be done with it. He had spent far too much time dwelling on her as it was.
Hawthorne’s voice came from the doorway. “You look like you have had better days.”
“I have.”
