Turning in her seat to face her friend, Emilia replied, “No, I am not. I am disappointed, but not with Mrs. Anderson. I feel as if that door has closed, and that part of my life is over.”
“Is that necessarily a bad thing?” Lily asked.
“No… yes… I don’t know,” Emilia admitted. “Teaching was familiar.”
Lily gave her an understanding look. “Don’t try to hold on to your past; embrace your future.”
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation, and Lily crossed the room to answer it. A maid entered the room and announced, “Mr. Calvin Livingston and Miss Clarissa have arrived, Miss. They are waiting for you in the drawing room.”
“Thank you,” Emilia said as she rose from her seat. “Inform them I will be down shortly.”
The maid tipped her head before departing to do her bidding.
Lily remained near the door as she asked, “Would you like me to join you?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Emilia replied. “I can entertain Calvin and Clarissa on my own.”
In a hushed voice, Lily said, “I heard that Miss Clarissa was rather haughty at the beginning of the tour at the boarding school.”
“She had her moments,” Emilia admitted.
“Mrs. Anderson said that Miss Clarissa seemed rather emotional when she met with the girls,” Lily said. “I assured her that she was mistaken.”
Emilia shrugged. “I don’t know. It seemed rather genuine.”
Lily didn’t look convinced but she didn’t attempt to argue with her. Instead, she said, “I should be going myself. The girls should have finished their breakfast at this point.”
“Do you wish to take a coach?” Emilia offered.
“That won’t be necessary,” Lily said. “I am not a proper lady like you are. People tend to leave me be on the pavement.”
After Lily departed, Emilia headed towards the drawing room on the main level. She found that she wasn’t dreading meeting Clarissa and Calvin. They were her family, and it would be best if they became better acquainted with one another.
She entered the drawing room and saw Clarissa and Calvin standing in the center of the room, engaged in conversation.
“Good morning,” Emilia greeted.
Calvin promptly bowed. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.”
Emilia waved her hand in front of her. “We are family, are we not?” she asked. “Shall I request some tea to be brought up?”
“Tea would be lovely,” Clarissa replied. “I haven’t had a good cup of tea since we moved to Cheapside.”
“Allow me to inform Dalby,” Calvin said before he went in search of the butler.
Crossing the room, Emilia sat down on the settee and asked, “Would you care to sit?”
Clarissa came to sit down across from her and asked, “How are the girls at the boarding school?”
“I am not quite sure since I haven’t visited with them since we toured the school,” Emilia replied. “I am hoping they are well.”
A furrow formed on Clarissa’s brow as she shared her impressions. “They didn’t look at all how I perceived them to be.”
“How was that?” she asked, slightly afraid of what the answer might be.
“Poor.”
Emilia frowned. What could she say to that?
