His face softened. ‘Come, Becca. Let’s get your former governess’s wages and send them with her trunk. Once she is paid, we will never have anything to do with her again.’
‘If you’ll come with me, Miss Nemo?’ Lady Frederica said, walking to the door.
Nodding, she followed the young woman out of the room. They were quiet until they reached a bedchamber at the top of the stairs. It was an opulently furnished room, with a grand four-poster bed with scarlet hangings. One wall held a large tapestry and the floor was carpeted. A fire burned in the hearth. Such luxury Louisa had never experienced.
‘I hope you don’t mind if I act as your lady’s maid?’
Louisa found herself blushing again. Even though she was the daughter of an earl. ‘Oh, I couldn’t allow that, Lady Frederica.’
The young woman began to unbutton the back of the too-large gown. ‘We’re only formal when there’s company. Not to say that we don’t consideryoucompany... Do you think you could stay on and be our governess? I agree with Helen. I already like you better than Miss Young.’
Louisa stepped out of the dress. ‘You—you don’t even know who I am.’
Lady Frederica shrugged. ‘Becca likes you. That’s enough for us.’
‘And the Marquess?’
‘Wick?’ Lady Frederica laughed. ‘You’ll soon see that Becca’s got the big lump wrapped around her little finger.’
Louisa watched the bold young woman take a beautiful emerald silk gown trimmed with golden string out of her bureau. She couldn’t help but gasp when she saw it. Not even Aunt Rockingham had a dress so fine. Instinctively, she put her arms up, and Frederica pulled the dress over her head. Like Miss Young’s, the dress was a little too large in the bodice. Lady Frederica, although several years Louisa’s junior, was already very well endowed.
‘And your parents?’ Louisa asked. ‘Won’t they mind?’
She laughed. ‘They’re in Africa, freeing captive animals back into the wild. By the time they might mind I dare say we will have solved the mystery of your identity and helped you find your rightful place in the world.’
Louisa went still and let her arms hang loosely at her sides. ‘Are your parents really in Africa?’
The younger woman laughed again. ‘If you are an adventuress, you’re also a fantastic actress. Don’t you know who we are?’
Louisa could only shake her head, not trusting her tongue to speak.
‘My parents are the Duke and Duchess of Hampford,’ Lady Frederica said. ‘My father is a famous naturalist, who doesn’t believe in taking animals from their natural habitats, and my mother owns a world-renowned perfume house on Bond Street in London.’
Louisa knew that her mouth was hanging open. But she couldn’t quite believe her luck. She had somehow, by the help of Providence, landed in a loving family like the one she’d always dreamed of. But no doubt such fashionable people would know Aunt and Uncle Rockingham. She briefly considered asking them for a ride to her Uncle Laybourne’s home, but thought better of it. If the Marquess knew her true identity, he might try to return her to Greystone Hall and she could not bear it.
She yelped as Frederica stuck her with a pin.
‘Sorry! But now you don’t look as if you’re wearing your older sister’s gown.’
Louisa turned and gazed into the full-length mirror. Somehow, with a few pins, Lady Frederica had tucked and pulled the bodice so that it appeared to have been made for her. ‘It’s beautiful.’
‘Come!’ Lady Frederica said, laughing. ‘But don’t eat too much at dinner or you’ll get poked.’
Louisa followed her back down the stairs, wondering if she was somehow in a beautiful dream.
Chapter Six
Wick woke up with a pounding hangover. He didn’t recall drinking that much the night before, but he’d been dashed thirsty, and so angry that he hadn’t been able to see straight. Perhaps it was for the best that he had never met Miss Young. He still wanted to wring her neck. How could a woman who was supposed to be a teacher and a mentor treat a pupil with such callousness? Especially one so winsome as Becca?
He knew that Becca struggled with reading, writing and arithmetic. For her, the numbers and letters didn’t stay in their right places. But it didn’t mean that she was stupid. Becca had a great memory. Once someone told her something, it was there to stay. Like the Latin word forno one. He’d told her that over five years ago, and she had popped out with it as if it were yesterday.
No. His Becca was not stupid. She simply learned differently from most girls, and any governess worth her salt should have realised it.
Unbidden and unwanted, the image of Miss Nemo in that emerald gown the night before filled his mind. She had looked magnificent. He had almost believed his sister’s opinion that the young woman must be a missing princess. He had never seen a more vibrant and beautiful woman in his life. His hands had twitched throughout the entire meal. He’d wanted so badly to touch her again. To feel her slender body against his. To kiss her senseless.
He shook his head to clear away the image. For all he knew she might be already married. They didn’t know her name, her family, or where she was from. Her manners suggested that she was well born, but perhaps she’d been a servant in a grand house. Or the base-born daughter of an aristocrat. He’d always been glad that his own father wasn’t like that. Papa didn’t have a mistress, and nor was he unfaithful to his wife. A smile grew on Wick’s lips. Not that Mama would have stood for it. She’d probably have poisoned Papa if he’d tried.
His parents weren’t at all alike, but there was a deep and abiding love between them. A love that they freely shared with their children. Growing up, Wick had always wanted to find a similar match for himself—but that had been before he had buried two of his siblings in the cold family crypt. Before he’d learned that love wasn’t always enough.