Page 11 of Against the Wind

Chapter 5

Her heart beating in her throat, Kit knocked on the door of the elegant townhouse in Grosvenor Square. Surely she could do this. After all, she and Anne had several governesses over the years, so she knew the role well.

She had no choice, either. She needed a place to hide and was not afraid of hard work. Abby had been wonderful to take her in, but Kit could not stay at Willow House, particularly not after what had happened there. Images of the dark-haired man with the indigo eyes and gentle touch stole into her mind sending shivers up her spine. She could still feel his hands on her skin. She could still feel the shame of what she’d done. Like a tarnished silver pitcher, Kit worried she wore her terrible secret on her face.

Mustering her strength, she took a deep breath and forced from her mind all thoughts of the man and the night, and tried to focus on the present and the task at hand. How hard could it be to help twin sisters with their coming out? To be a finishing governess? It was in the middle of her first Season that Kit’s life had changed forever, but she’d experienced enough of the haut ton to guide another. And compared to her other options, helping two girls who’d spent years on the Continent become ladies of London society was a readily acceptable task. The woman whose name Abby had given Kit, Mrs. Pendergast, had been most enthusiastic about the opportunity.

A maid in a black and white uniform opened the door. “Lady Katherine Endicott?”

Kit nodded. Knowing of her circumstances, Mrs. Pendergast had suggested she use her name before marriage.

“Please forgive me for keeping you waiting, m’lady,” the maid said, dipping into a small curtsey and opening the door. “The butler is out this afternoon and the footman has been sent on an errand, so it will be me showing you to the mistress.” She swung the door wide to allow Kit enter and bade her follow. “My name is Gertrude, but the twins call me Gertie. ’Tis sweet, really.”

Kit smiled at the friendly, talkative girl whose ramblings about the twins became exuberant. Looking more closely, however, Kit reconsidered. The servant wasn’t exactly a “girl.” She might be in her mid twenties, older even than Kit herself. The maid’s brown hair was drawn back into a tight knot topped by a white mobcap, which Kit thought a bit severe, but the plump young woman’s blue eyes twinkled and there were lines at their edges that said she smiled often. No wonder the twins called her Gertie. She had a face that suggested her answers to all their questions would be yes.

They passed through a set of double doors opening into a large room filled with light. Red and tan Toile de Jouy fabric depicting a hunting scene covered two large sofas facing each other before a stone fireplace. On a walnut table at the far end of the sofas sat a silver tray bearing tea and scones.

“Welcome, Lady Katherine.” A middle-aged woman rose to greet Kit, and Gertie excused herself. “Please join me,” the woman said, gesturing to one of the sofas. “We are being quite casual this afternoon, and Gertie has already seen we have tea so we can be private for a moment.” As Kit accepted the seat on the sofa, the woman continued. “If all I have heard about you proves true, I expect you will suit the position just fine. Do make yourself comfortable, my lady.”

“You may call me Miss Endicott. It’s important that I not be known as Lady Katherine.”

Her would-be employer smiled, obviously relieved at not having to deal with appropriate address. “You will find the twins easy, Miss Endicott, though giddy at times, and mischievous. You’ll meet them soon enough. They are very excited about their first Season.” Glancing up at the door as if expecting her daughters to miraculously appear she added, “They’re around here somewhere.”

“Oh?” Kit accepted the cup of tea handed to her.

“Yes, dear.” Taking a deep breath as if she’d just recalled something, the woman said, “Oh, I’ve been remiss. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Madelene de Courtenay…but then you probably already know that.”

Kit thought the woman was what some would call handsome. She fussed with light brown hair streaked with gray that resisted the knot to which it was confined. Sincere brown eyes found Kit as the woman added, “We’ve been living on the Continent, you see, for several years now, mostly in Austria. My husband’s affairs of state kept us there longer than we expected. That business with the Congress of Vienna, you know.”

“Yes, I am familiar with that effort. It decided how Europe would be aligned for the future, did it not?”

“That is what my husband tells me, dear. I was not involved except for social events. Well, anyway, I have quite forgotten how it’s done in London—the Season, I mean.” The woman continued to fidget. “That is one reason we decided to bring the twins home. To London, I mean. You do understand, don’t you?”

Kit nodded, unwilling to interrupt and desperately fighting a grin. Her prospective employer was already flustered enough, perhaps at the possibility of employing nobility and, given her situation, Kit found that nervousness endearing.

“It’s time we considered husbands for the girls, and we want them to marry Englishmen. Mr. de Courtenay is a gentleman of good birth and considerable wealth owing to his many successful business ventures. I doubt not that invitations to the balls will come. He carries no title, but our daughters Priscilla and Penelope will be well dowered. It is our hope they will marry well—perhaps to members of the nobility in need of money, to be perfectly frank. They must be men of good character, however. We insist upon that. It is my fervent hope you can help prepare Pris and Pen for their Season, Lady Kather—I mean, Miss Endicott. Can you?”

She eyed Kit with such hopeful blue-gray eyes, Kit realized the woman didn’t want to interview anyone else. Whatever Mrs. Pendergast had told her, it must have been a firm endorsement. Kit was glad of it.

“Why, yes, I believe I can. There will be a need for certain tutors and a dancing master to instruct them. There are customs to be understood and observed, and a suitable wardrobe will need to be provided for each. But I shall be most willing to help.” Kit would even look forward to the task if the girls were anything like their mother. Madelene de Courtenay seemed kind and obliging.

“Whatever you need will be provided, my dear. You will find us most generous. But one last thing. While we will attend all the balls ourselves, I will want you to be with the girls for their first few to assure they follow your directions.”

It was an unusual request and Kit was instantly uncomfortable. She wasn’t worried about being recognized. Before her short half Season, she and Anne had been raised outside of London, and afterward she’d had few visitors. But she was ill equipped for such a ball. Her clothing in particular.

Setting down her tea, she gripped her hands in her lap and said, “Mrs. de Courtenay, I have no funds at present for gowns to wear to any ball. I had to leave my things behind.” Even if she hadn’t left them, her ball gowns were out of fashion.

“Don’t you worry at all, my dear. I understand you’ve had an unfortunate setback.”

Kit felt the color rise in her cheeks, embarrassed to have her rather dismal circumstances acknowledged by a gracious woman clearly intending to offer what could only be labeled as charity. “But, I don’t—”

“Think nothing of it,” Madelene de Courtenay interrupted. “We will provide all you need to comply with our wishes to attend the twins. Of course, you will have the say in all things having to do with their first Season. When you accompany them to the modiste to select appropriate gowns, I insist you select a few for yourself as well.” The woman must have seen that Kit was about to object, for she held up one finger and repeated, “I insist, my dear.”

And that, thought Kit, was that. She hadn’t been offered the position, exactly, nor had she accepted. But it appeared she had obtained it all the same.

Ormond smiled at his wife as the footman served the fish course. “Darling, if you were, as you are, a young woman of good birth but looking to hide out with no funds, where would you run to in London?”

Martin shot his friend a look of caution, but this seemed to deter Ormond not one whit from his intended inquiry. The men were having dinner after their meeting and Lady Ormond had joined them. Martin found his thoughts torn between the missing beauty with the auburn hair and Prinny’s ridiculous new assignment to spy on English spies.