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Chapter 21
That afternoon, once Mary had returned home with Sarah and Miss Anne, Lady Rachel quickly sent Sarah home and called Miss Anne to the parlour. Mary knew that her stepmother simply wanted a report on the afternoon and Mary was confident that her governess would not speak a word about what had happened or what Mary and Lady Beatrice had informed her about the blacksmith.
The entire ordeal had left Mary overwhelmed and devastated, wishing that she could figure out some alternative. What she needed more than anything was the witness of someone her father would trust.
In the past years, he had been so absent, either physically or emotionally, that Mary didn’t know if he really even thought about her all that much. He had chosen to rely wholly on Lady Rachel for all things that happened in the household. He deferred to her even in this.
But if someone like Lord Hanbrooke could approach him, perhaps he would be willing to listen. Unfortunately, Mary still imagined that her stepmother would find a way around it—she could claim that Mary had found a man to confess a love affair with Charlotte.
She could say that it had all been staged. Lady Rachel was such a devious manipulator that Mary couldn’t think of a single solution that Lady Rachel would not find a way out of.
In truth, the only way was to convince Charlotte and the blacksmith to admit to the affair. Mary’s father would have to see them together. If there was a way to set it up, maybe he would finally know that there was more going on than he had believed. And then, at last, Mary would have her freedom returned to her. She would no longer be subject to the whims of her stepmother.
As Mary sat pondering these things in the library, the door opened and she turned to see Miss Anne entering, looking sombre and broken. It was not what Mary had expected and she felt a wave of nausea wash over her.
“Miss Anne? Is everything all right?” she asked, her voice breaking with worry.
“Your—” Miss Anne broke off, clearing her throat. “Your stepmother has dismissed me from my duties.”
Shock rippled through Mary’s entire body. She couldn’t believe this! How could Lady Rachel do such a thing? Miss Anne had done nothing at all to warrant such treatment. She had been nothing but the best of governesses and she had led Mary to lead a noble, proper life. There was nothing that ought to have justified this!
“No…” Mary said, barely able to breathe.
“She claims that if you have been making such dreadful decisions, it must be a direct result of my poor guardianship and that I have likely been a poor influence over you. It would seem that she has chosen to believe your stepsister—or that she is the one who has spun this cunning tale all on her own,” Miss Anne said.
“But how could she dismiss you? You have been loyal to our family and my father would never allow it,” Mary said.
“He would if Lady Rachel insisted that I am to blame for the infractions against society of which you stand accused,” Miss Anne said bitterly, shaking her head at the madness of it all. “I cannot believe that she is dismissing me and blaming you for it all in one effortless blow.”
“No, she cannot do this! I shall go to my father. I shall insist that you remain! I will not lose you, Miss Anne. You are the last person I have in this home who cares for me, who sees me as I am,” Mary said.
“And that is why she wishes me gone, Mary. She does not want you to have anyone who might defend you. She knows that you are finally at her mercy, that you are dependent upon her grace. It is a cure for her boredom to make you miserable and I was a fool to think that I might be able to stand in the way,” Miss Anne said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Mary’s heart sunk, realising that this really was the last of it. “So you are giving up on me?”
Miss Anne looked at her with wide eyes and shook her head. “No, not at all. It is only that it shall be much more difficult for me to remain in my defence of you. If I am forbidden from seeing you, there is very little that I can do aside from advocating on your behalf to anyone who will listen outside of this home.
And, in truth, there are not many who will hear me. I shall be sure to tell your father that, whatever he may think of me, you are an honest, good girl.”
“Thank you,” Mary said, softly. She was grateful that Miss Anne would still make an effort, but she knew by now that it was fruitless. There was very little point in the matter. Her stepmother would never allow for a moments’ peace in Mary’s life.
It was all coming to an end now. Whatever small helping of belief that good could still come out of this, Mary didn’t think she could hold on any longer.
She was losing her confidant and friend, someone who had been with her through a great many things and had seen her through the death of her mother and the transition to a new one. Without Miss Anne, everything that had once made Mary happy in the home would be gone, nevermore to return.
But there was nothing Mary could do. Her words had been stripped from her lips and replaced by the rumours of a jealous woman. She had lost the small faith she’d had left that there was good somewhere in Lady Rachel’s heart.
No longer could she think that such a thing existed. It was evident that Lady Rachel had no such grace or kindness. She was every bit as wicked as she seemed and it broke Mary’s heart. It saddened her both for herself and for her father.
After all, while he had never expected love from this marriage, Mary was certain that he had not anticipated a woman who was utterly wretched, as Mary was coming to see.
Still, she tried not to be bitter. She wanted to give her stepmother a chance for redemption. There would surely be a time in the future when Lady Rachel would apologise, wouldn’t she?
No, Mary knew better than that. She knew that Lady Rachel would never concede to admitting her mistakes. And now, Miss Anne was right in the middle of them.
“Miss Anne, what am I to do without you?” Mary asked forlornly.
“Dearest, I haven’t the foggiest idea what I am going to do, knowing that you are here and I am being pushed to move on. I can think of nothing more grievous than this. The idea of having to leave you behind like this is absolutely dreadful and I can only hope that we are still able to overcome the heinous attacks against you.
