“You lied to me,” Lord Grenton said.
“I did.”
Lord Grenton clasped his hands behind his back. “I have every reason to dismiss you, but something is holding me back.”
Georgie remained quiet.
“This orphanage was very important to my mother. She wanted it to succeed more than anything else,” Lord Grenton said, “and she was adamant that a lady should run it, causing many people to wonder if her designs were too lofty.”
Lord Grenton continued. “But here you stand. Proof that my mother knew precisely what she was doing. It takes a lady to stand up to injustice, to question the way things have always been done.”
“I just want to give these girls a better life.”
Dropping his arms to his side, Lord Grenton said, “Most women wouldn’t have given Sarah a second thought. Yet you were willing to drive across town to collect her, risking your reputation and mine.”
“No one should be forgotten.”
“How is it possible for a woman of your station to show such compassion?” Lord Grenton asked, his eyes searching hers.
“You flatter me, sir, but I am nothing special.”
Lord Grenton took a step closer to her. “You are wrong,” he said. “I daresay that you are not giving yourself enough credit.”
“I am doing my job, nothing more.”
“I want full honesty between us.”
Georgie held his gaze as she admitted, “That is one thing I cannot give you, my lord.”
“And why is that?” he asked, his voice holding a hint of indignation.
“There are some things that I dare not reveal.”
“Even at the risk of being dismissed?”
She slowly bobbed her head. “Even then.”
Lord Grenton stared at her for a long moment before taking a step back. “What is so important that you would risk your livelihood over?”
“Safety, my lord.”
Lord Grenton ran a hand through his hair. “You have put me in an impossible situation. I cannot employ people I do not trust.”
“You can trust me.”
“How can you in good faith say that to me?” Lord Grenton asked, his voice rising. “You, by your own admission, are keeping things from me.”
“I must protect myself,” Georgie said.
“From me?”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Georgie clasped her hands in front of her to keep her from fidgeting. “I do not mean to insult you, but I must be careful who I trust right now,” she said. “If my brother learned of my location, I would be at his mercy, and I cannot go back to living in fear.”
“Let me help you.”
