Even if she’d been a more successful liar, her little brother was no help in this matter.
“But what about thebig bug?” he asked, awe in his tone on these last words. Cordy shushed him as Letitia hid a shudder.
She did not want to see any insect that might inspire such a tone in the little boy.
“We would never touch a bug, Patrick!” Cordelia said very loudly, for an audience only she could see. “Bugs are not clean, and we are staying very clean for our voyage!”
Even from several paces away, Letitia could see that Cordelia’s stockings were smudged with dirt already from beneath her short skirts. Letty could only hope that it was a… clean sort of dirt. Not the kind that smelled. Not when they would be trapped together in a carriage for however many hours.
Patrick was visibly confused, but willing to follow his sister anywhere.
“Yes,” he said, nodding around the fingers he’d jammed in his mouth. “Clean.”
Letitia suppressed a sigh. She had not intended to lose sight of the children for even a moment after getting them tidy and ready for their trip, but a maid had asked her a question about where to pack the children’s trunks, and that was all it took for these two. One moment of distraction, and a morning’s work was lost.
Letty didn’ttrulymind, and the little lord and lady knew that perfectly well, judging from the way Patrick came and wrapped himself around her legs, sticky fingers still in his mouth.
“Sorry, Miss Knightley,” Cordy said, with the kind of youthful contrition that was genuine but which Letitia knew would vanish the very instant Cornelia thought of some other mischief.
“Are the two of you being good for Miss Knightley?”
The woman who spoke with a Northern accent was Helen Lightholder, the Godwin. She was a short, cheerful woman with round cheeks and a provincial accent, one that led members of thetonto scoff at her… right up until they learned what vengeance her enamored husband would enact if they dared insult his wife in the slightest.
She was also one of the best employers Letitia had ever had—and the only reason she wasn’t the singular best was that Letty’s previous employer, Clio Ferrars, now the Duchess of Metford, was one of Letitia’s closest friends. Helen was Clio’s cousin by marriage, and Letitia was so grateful for her positive experiences with the expansive and powerful Lightholder family.
She knew perfectly well, after all, that not all nobles acted asnoblyas they were meant to.
She pushed those painful thoughts away and turned to the duchess with a smile, helping Patrick keep his balance as he detached himself from Letitia to grab onto his mother.
“We arealwaysgood, Mama,” he said seriously.
Helen reached down to rub a smudge of dirt from his cheek. “I see that,” she said dryly. Cornelia was now occupied by swishing the hem of her skirts around her ankles, back and forth, back and forth. Letitia might normally have reminded Cordy that young ladies weren’t meant to fidget, but at least this was acleanactivity. Besides, they would all be crammed into a carriage for long enough. Best for Cordy to burn off her energy before that.
“I am sure you are, darling,” Helen said, smoothing back her son’s hair with a warm, maternal smile. “And guess what? You and your sister are going to have a special treat today!”
If Helen produced a new book or toy for the children, Letitia would kiss her right on the mouth. Letty had, of course, packed a large satchel full of the children’s favorite activities—she’d been a governess long enough to know that bored children and confined carriages were a recipe for disaster. But nothing was so entertaining as novelty, and she might gethoursof distraction out of them with something new. Anything to delay that first whined inquiry of, ‘When will we be there, Miss Knightley?’
Helen did not produce a parcel, however. Instead, she gestured behind her, to where her husband was standing, looking as important and ducal as he always did.
“You two are going to get to ride with Papa today,” she told her children, to raucous cheers. “Miss Knightley and I will go in the other carriage together.”
Letitia felt her smile freeze on her face. On the surface, this was, of course, a blessing beyond measure. She had traveled in all kinds of circumstances across England and the Continent and could say with confidence that riding in a ducal carriage with no children present was the absolute best way to do so. Having a pleasant companion was even preferable to being entirely alone.
But this was unexpected, and Letty had long since learned not to trust the unexpected. She tried to act cheerful about it as she helped settle the children beside their father, who, for all his affection for his children, had the look of a man shipping off to war. Mentally, Letitia wished him luck.
Helen didn’t look like she was about to bear bad news as they settled into their own cushioned, spacious, well-sprung carriage. This reassured Letitia just a little; the Duchess of Godwin was not a subtle woman, and her expressions tended to be perfectly visible on her face.
Still, Letitia loved her position. She loved the children. If everything was going well, why would her employer endeavor to get her alone for this long trip?
It took nearly all of Letty’s self-control not to probe for answers as they began rumbling down the lane. She was grateful that the main house of Godwin Estate was still in sight when Helen folded her hands neatly in her lap.
“So, Miss Knightley,” she said, a smile still on her face. “I am sure you’re wondering why I asked you to ride with me today.”
Letitia gave her a sheepish look. “I am, Your Grace,” she confessed.
“It is good news, I promise,” Helen said, which told Letitia that she had not been as good at hiding her worry as she might have hoped. It was hard to care about that now, though, not with the relief that was sweeping over her. “There is just something Iwanted to discuss with you. The plans weren’t set until recently, and then, with our departure, I didn’t have time to discuss it until now.”
This still sounded like change, and Letitia did not like changes. Still, she clung to the wordsgood news.
