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Jacqueline walked slowly down the lane, trying to time her ‘inadvertent’ meeting down to the second. The boy and his nanny usually took a stroll down this path from three o’clock to three-thirty in the afternoon before heading back to the huge manor house where he lived. This routine had not varied for the last five days and she was hoping it would not today.
Jacqueline had with her a basket of cakes, freshly baked, the aroma wafting tantalizingly into the air. By her reckoning, there was not much that was refused the boy and she was quite sure he would want her cakes. It was not only her looks that she employed to obtain information. Her baking was helpful in that regard as well.
She sighed with relief as she caught sight of the boy, skipping merrily, his hand held securely in that of his nanny. With a smile, she set out to meet them.
“What a lovely child you have there. What is your name, little boy?” she asked as she drew up next to them, bending down to the boy’s height so that he could smell her wares. True to her prediction, his nose rose in the air and he sniffed, craning his neck to see in the basket.
“What’s that?” he asked.
She looked down at her basket as if surprised to see it there. “What? This?”
“Yes. What do you have in there?”
Jacqueline smiled. “Nothing, just some cakes.”
“George! Leave the lady alone,” his nanny said sharply, trying to pull the boy away. But he was stubborn and refused to move.
“I want to see the basket!” he cried.
The nanny looked at Jacqueline, apology in her eyes. “I’m sorry, he’s usually more well-mannered than this.”
Jacqueline gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about it. Few can resist my cakes.” She reached into the basket and extracted one, handing it to George.
“Here you go, then.”
She reached in again and extracted another, extending it to the nanny.
“Oh no, I couldn’t.”
Jacqueline watched the nanny eye the cake.
“I absolutely insist.” She waved the cake beneath the nanny’s nose.
The nanny took it reluctantly but ate it in two bites.
“May I have another?” George asked.
Jacqueline’s lips turned down. “Oh, I would like to give you another but I am on the way to the baker to see if he might buy from me. I am in search of employment, you see. My father is gravely ill and—”
“But I want another!” George cried, interrupting her story.
Jacqueline shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, but no.”
George’s pale face reddened with anger and he looked on the brink of throwing a tantrum.
“Why don’t you come home with us instead? I’m sure Cook can find a place for you in the kitchens,” the nanny said quickly.
Jacqueline frowned at her. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t like to—”
“Give me another!” George cried, his hand reaching for the basket and pulling it towards himself.
“Yes, yes! I’m sure.” The nanny looked frantic and Jacqueline affected to look uncertain.
“Please, Miss, the Duke pays us well. You will have a bed to sleep in, food to eat. It’s a much better job than the bakery.”
Jacqueline let her eyes gleam with interest. “Is that so?”
“Yes. Come with us.” The nanny tugged gently at her sleeve and Jacqueline allowed herself to be reluctantly led.
