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Chapter Three
Oh no! Oh no! What have I done!
Hurrying back down to the kitchens, Louisa tried her best not to trip over her feet in her rush. She had just barged into the Duke and his guest’s private conversation like a bull.
The memory of both shocked faces stayed with her and the sinking sensation that she had probably gained a reason for the Duke to dismiss her sank her stomach to her feet. First, she had brazenly looked him in the eye and now, she had run into his private conversation.If those were not grounds for dismissal, she did not know what was.
She wanted to find the darkest closest and hide, but she could not. As calmly as she could, she went back to the empty kitchen and rested the tray there. The best she could do was to find a room in the farthest reaches of the manor to clean and hide away.
Hopefully, His Grace will be more occupied with his guests and will pay no attention to me. I cannot lose his placement.
Louisa was almost at the doorway when Cook Morna asked, “Miss Stone, is His Grace not finished?”
She turned, “No, His Grace and his guest are not finished.”
Nodding, Cook Morna turned and headed back to the pantry while Louisa hurried off, praying with everything inside her that His Grace would not say anything to Mrs. Wickham.
She made to hurry off to the left wing of the manor house that always needed cleaning, but a ringing in the kitchen stopped her. Cook Morna looked at the bell and said, “It’s the breakfast room, Miss Stone. I think you will need to go back there.”
Fear settled into Louisa’s stomach like a rock, but she nodded, “Yes, Miss Morna.”
Taking the tray, she set back upstairs with heavy feet, but she could not linger and got to the door—this time she knocked and waited for the Duke’s sharp command to enter. She went inside to see His Grace alone, and he was folding his newspaper.
“I truly apologize for my mistake earlier, Your Grace,” she said, nervously. “I did not realize that you and your guest were still inside.”
He stared at her, long enough for her knees to start feeling weak; she felt nailed to the square of floor that she stood on, and internally begged the Duke to say something—anything.
“Please sit, Miss Stone,” he said.
No—no! Please, don’t dismiss me!
“Yes, Your Grace,” she said, while folding her skirt and taking a seat. Her eyes dipped to her lap andher heart threatened to leap out of her chest while waiting for him to speak.
“I have not had a chance to speak with Mrs. Wickham lately, but I feel that I do not need to. Instead, I would prefer to hear my questions answered from you. How old are you, Miss Stone?”
Louisa blinked, “I am one-and-twenty, Your Grace.”
“Where did you come from?” he asked. “And please, look at me when you answer me.”
Lifting her head, Louisa said, “Lady Gershom’s Orphanage for Girls in South London, Your Grace. I left the hostel a year ago because they were short of helpers and I was temporarily employed as a teacher and helper for the youngest children.”
His head slanted.“What did you teach?”
“Reading, and basic arithmetic,” Louisa replied. “I helped them bathe, taught them prayers, and I read to them before they went to bed.”
He cocked a foot over his other knee and rested his arm on the chair’s wooden arm.“How did you find me?”
“Lady Gresham goes out of her way to search for employee opportunities for her best dependents, and she found your house, Your Grace,” Louisa replied, then the worry inside her shattered her calm, “I have nowhere in London to go to. I need to stay here. Please do not dismiss me. I will do anything to—’
He lifted a hand to stop her, and Louisa’s mouth shut so quickly that her mouth clicked.
“I am not going to dismiss you, Miss Stone, not unless you give me a reason to. I sense that you are young and zealous, and I applaud you, but I feel that you are constantly looking over your shoulder, expecting one mistake to ring doom for you. Why so restlessly vigilant?”
Because I know how cruel people of the higher class can be against people like me, penniless orphans.
“I—”
“Isaac, dear, are you—” The older lady from last night came in, then stopped. “—oh, pardon me.”
