“Are you new too, then?” Somehow that made Georgie feel better.
“We all are.” Lottie gestured to the other two. “We four make up half of the new cohort of first-years.” She included Georgie in the next sweeping gesture, and that made her feel better still. Part of something when she hadn’t been anything but alone in forever. “We all arrived on Saturday, but Miss Prentice told us to leave a quarter of the wardrobe free for you, as you’d be coming later.”
“You drew the short straw, I’m afraid, as you have to share a room with us for the next few years—or most especially, me. I shall apologize in advance as I am bound to drive you all to distraction.” Kitty smiled and pointed to the windows on the third of the four stories. “That’s our room right there. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze with all the beds, but at least we get a good view of all the comings and goings of Mayfair and Piccadilly.” She jerked her thumb in the direction of that busy thoroughfare, which was within spitting distance, and pulled a joyfully scandalized face, unaware the thought of staying in the same room for the next few years sounded like absolute heaven to Georgie. Thanks to the colonel, she had been forced to uproot and move every few months since the age of five. “It all seems to go on in Piccadilly.”
“We should move you in before Miss Prentice returns.” Lottie threaded her arm through hers. “She was expecting you tonight and will be most upset that she wasn’t here to greet you personally—but she will be thrilled that you are here for afternoon tea. Afternoon tea is apparently sacrosanct here at this school and happens on the dot of three every day. Cook puts sultanas in the scones.” Her new friend sighed as if she could taste them. “Miss Prentice insists upon it, asshe is of the humble opinion that a plain scone is too dry. Now that I’ve tasted one stuffed with sultanas, I concur.”
None of that sounded bad at all to Georgie. If anything, things definitely seemed to be looking up. She would have a permanent bed—apparently at least for the next few years—and seemed to have friends already. Three of them! All while being spared the depressing and oppressing sight of the colonel!
Kitty and Portia grabbed the handles of her trunk and led the way up the four neat steps to the house, leaving Georgie to follow, arm in arm with the lovely Lottie.
“Who is Miss Prentice?”
The three girls stopped on the threshold and blinked at her as if she had gone mad before Kitty answered, wafting her arms around the neat hallway. “Why, she is the proprietor and sole benefactor of this school. I’d have thought that you would have known that, seeing as she personally handpicked you to receive one of her coveted scholarships.”
That was more news to Georgie. “She… picked me?”
“Of course she did,” said Portia as she and Kitty dragged her trunk upstairs. “Miss Prentice’s protégés-in-training are always handpicked, that is what makes them so special, so you should feel very honored to be one of us.”
“That is Miss Prentice.” Lottie paused on the stair before a portrait of a kindly faced woman with a profusion of silver curls. “She was an exceptional governess in her day, then in later years, went on to be a lady’s companion and did such a good job of it that the old lady she worked for left her this house and all of her money. So obviously she set up a school to pass on her wisdom. By the time you leave here as a full-fledged protégé, Georgie, she’ll have equipped you with all the skills you need to earn your own decent living. Everyone whois anyone knows that a protégé of Miss Prentice can command twice the salary of any of the other governesses, ladies’ companions, or secretaries out there. Once we graduate, the world will be our oyster as we shall be the crème de la crème and highly sought after—just as she was. But that’s because we are taught the FourD’s and all those other girls won’t bein the know.” She winked and patted the side of her nose. “It is the secret of Miss Prentice’s unique success.”
Lottie smiled at Georgie’s baffled face and pulled herself upright to mimic the commanding air of what Georgie assumed was the mysterious Miss Prentice. “The FourD’s are the cornerstones of this school’s proud ethos and every girl who leaves here epitomizes them to her very core—duty”—she counted them off on her fingers—“decorum, diligence, and discretion at all times.” Her new friend giggled. “Although I have absolutely no idea why Miss Prentice handpicked me, as I currently possess none of those proper attributes.”
Neither did Georgie, who was now more confused than ever by this strange, but seemingly fortuitous, turn. “But how could she handpick me when I’ve never heard of her, let alone met her?”
Portia shrugged. “So far, that remains one of life’s great mysteries. I was stunned when my letter arrived out of the blue a few months ago. We all were, weren’t we, girls?”
As they all nodded, Kitty took up the tale.
“All we know is that Miss Prentice is selective about who she teaches. Scholarships to this school come via her exclusive invitation only, and absolutely all her protégés have two distinct things in common.” She held up her arm and pointed to it as if that held all the answers. “We all have blue blood lurking somewhere in our impoverished veins but possess none of the dowries or prospects or connections that usually go with it…”
ChapterTWO
MISSPRENTICE’SSCHOOL FORYOUNGLADIES, MAY1820…
“I think it is time to face facts.” Miss Prentice glanced at the latest rejection letter lying on her desk with a pained expression. “Interviews are not your forte, Georgina.”
Unfortunately, that was a statement Georgie could not argue with. Eighteen months after graduating as a fully-fledged protégé, thirty-three interviews, and thirty-three similarly depressing rejections, it was looking increasingly likely that she would never secure a position as a governess anywhere decent. Or anywhere at all for that matter, as the current curt but cruel missive on her beloved mentor’s desk was testament. The Steadman family weren’t particularly goodtonand didn’t even reside in London, but desperate times had called for desperate measures, so Miss P had put her forward for the job in the hope that they wouldn’t be too picky.
While that was humiliation enough, the uppity Lady Steadman hadn’t tried to be polite in her rejection either. Instead, she had statedplainly that she hadn’t given Georgie the job, not because there was a better candidate who had pipped her to the post, but because “regrettably, and despite her glowing references from the school, Miss Georgina Rowe had too much to say for herself and did not pass muster at all.” Theat allhad been underlined.
Twice.
“What on earth did you say to upset this family?” It was clear Miss P’s legendary patience was wearing thin.
“I am not entirely sure…” Which was a lie because Georgie had felt the palpable and frigid change in the wind the moment Lady Steadman had brought up the touchy subject of discipline early in the interview. “I very definitely did try to bite my tongue, exactly as you cautioned.”
Two wily blue eyes locked with hers. “You tried.”
“I most definitely did. I tried really hard to curb my regrettable and rash inbred tendency to speak my mind.” The eyes were relentless now, boring into her soul to get to the whole, unvarnished truth. “I genuinely tried my best this time.” Which she had—right up until the moment that she hadn’t and the real Georgie had spoken.
But the most galling thing was that she had been working hard on suppressing that rebellious aspect of her character because there really wasn’t a need for it now that the sanctimonious colonel and all his ludicrous rules were very much in her past. Georgie hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her stepfather since the day he had dispatched her to Miss Prentice’s, and she had no reason to rebel. Here, within these calming walls, were reason and affability. Voices were rarely raised because they did not need to be, and everyone treated everyone else with respect, no matter their age. Yet still, Georgie could not tolerate unfairness. She abhorred injustice, ignorant stupidity, and pointless rules. The slightest whiff of any of that and, as her friend Lottie wasso fond of saying, she instantly turned into Joan of Arc. Fully armed and ready to march into battle.
“Triedimplies that you tried—then failed.” When Miss P glared, it was too potent a weapon to ignore. Georgie instantly began to wither beneath it until she could stand it no more.
“All right… we had a minor disagreement about the phrase ‘spare the rod and spoil the child.’” An overused quote of the colonel’s, usually before he threw something at her, which never failed to raise her hackles.
“Not again.” Miss P’s palm slapped her forehead before she huffed out a sigh of resignation. “How many times must we have this same conversation, Georgina? How many times do I have to tell you that vocalizing your principles aloud and acting upon them quietly in the background are two entirely different things? When the simple truth is a family hire a governess to keep their offspring from being underfoot and frankly do not care what methods that governess employs to keep the little dears quiet while she does it.”
