Protection (16 page)

“We’re very grateful to be allowed this opportunity and only want to be of service,”
Lisa said, hoping to put her at ease.

“That’s good, my lady,” the matron said. “Very good, indeed.”

While morning tea was served by a wide-eyed maid whose gaze kept darting between Nathaniel
and Hugh, Miss Wright catalogued the services provided by the home.

“Why don’t we let them speak for themselves?” she suggested when Rebecca and Lisa
began asking questions about the girls who made their home in the well-kept but sparsely
furnished residence. After a brief tour, they were shown a large, sunlit classroom
filled with young women engaged in learning skills that would increase their chances
of gaining respectable employment.

Miss Wright introduced their group to the class, who stood and made their curtsies,
then she indicated Rebecca, Margaret, and Lisa could mingle amongst them. Nathaniel
and Hugh stayed in the hallway, but they still caused something of a stir. While most
of the girls seemed apprehensive at their presence, some, who were quietly spoken
to by the matron, sent openly flirtatious glances the men’s way.

Lisa could hardly blame them for taking note of two such handsome gentlemen. She was
glad not all of the girls’ spirits had been dampened by their experiences, but her
attention was drawn to the ones who shied away. Privately questioning the director’s
assertion the gentlemen’s inclusion in this part of the tour was necessary, she wished
there was some way to reassure the class of their good intentions.

A group of young women engaged in hat decorating caught Rebecca’s eye, and she complimented
them on their efforts. Shy at first, the girls quickly warmed to Rebecca’s cheerful
manner, and Lisa inwardly applauded her future sister-in-law. The girls were all very
taken with her bonnet and gown, and Rebecca eyed Lisa pointedly. She merely smiled
and pulled up a seat beside a golden-haired girl who looked to be little more than
a child. The girl was making rosettes out of satin ribbon to use in decorating the
hats. Lisa admired her needlework, and after a faltering start, the girl summoned
the courage to speak. “Are ye really the princess wot worked as a maid?” she whispered,
her eyes wide in her pale face.

“Indeed I am,” Lisa said. “But I’m not really a princess, though I will be a marchioness
when I marry Lord Marsden.”

The girl flinched, her eyes darting to where Nathaniel stood stiffly to attention.

“There’s no need to be afraid. He’s a good man,” Lisa said, hoping to assure the frightened
child. “He helped me when I was in trouble.”

“ ’E’s certainly ’andsome, not that it means anythin’.” Hunching her shoulders, the
girl focused on her work, and Lisa complimented her on her stitching.

“It’s much better than mine,” she said with a rueful smile, recalling her woeful attempts
at embroidery.

“ ’Ow’d ye manage as a maid, my lady?” the girl asked, and Lisa explained how she
had found work assisting the pastry chef in the kitchen at Worthington. She kept her
tales light, managing to inspire a giggle or two at the revelation of her incompetence
at tea pouring and flower arranging. One by one, the other girls crept closer, listening
in.

“Did ye find the work ’ard and the ’ours long?” a thin, mousy-haired girl asked.

“Very.” Lisa admitted with an exaggerated slump of her shoulders. “My muscles ached,
and it felt like my head had just hit the pillow at night when it was time to arise
the next morning and start all over again.”

A few of her listeners smiled, though one girl’s wistful response brought a lump to
Lisa’s throat.

“I wouldn’t care ’ow ’ard I ’ad to work or ’ow long my days were if it was respectable
employment and I wasn’t being bovered by one fella after another all night long.”

“Or beaten,” another girl added.

Their words were echoed by the majority of the girls in the room. But when the slender
young girl beside her quietly added, “Me neither.” Lisa felt a vice grip her heart.

A noise from the hallway caught her attention, and she looked up to see Nathaniel
and Hugh’s stricken expressions. Rebecca had gone to join them, her shoulders shaking
with silent sobs.

Blinking back her own tears, Lisa wondered what she could possibly say into the silence
that followed. Then one of the girls asked if it was true she was related to the King,
and the mood lifted as she was peppered with questions about her experiences as both
maid and newly discovered member of the aristocracy. The girls were particularly taken
with the tales Lisa told of dancing at the King’s ball, so she did her best to describe
the glittering event.

“And ye really made friends wiv a maid?” one of the girls asked. “Ye a proper lady
and ’er a servant?”

“Very good friends,” Lisa said. “Her name is Ruth, and she’s working as my lady’s
maid. Hopefully you can meet her when I return, as I shall insist she be allowed to
accompany me.”

“Why’d she want to meet us?” The girl eyed her warily. “Ye know wot we are or
were
.”

“You are girls who have been dealt a terrible hand in life and are now making a new
and hopefully much brighter future for yourselves,” Lisa said with feeling. “While
I’m not at liberty to share Ruth’s story, I can assure you she would be the last person
to judge a single one of you.”

“Wot about ye, my lady?” the mousy-haired girl asked. “Why are ye ’ere?”

“Because, while I can only imagine what you’ve suffered, I do know what it’s like
to be afraid and in fear of my life.” Lisa spared Nathaniel a quick glance, unsurprised
to find him watching her intently. “I promised myself if I was ever in the position
to do so, I would help girls such as yourselves. Which brings me to a question of
my own. How can I be of service?”

Her question engendered a variety of expressions—astonishment, wariness, and curiosity—
but no response.

“What? You have no dreams for the future? There’s nothing you would like to do or
become?” She kept her tone light, hoping she wasn’t overstepping the mark.

“I’d like to be a seamstress and make beautiful dresses like yer golden ball gown,”
the young, fair-haired girl said, and Lisa smiled her encouragement.

“I want to be a cook.”

“I want to be a pastry chef like Lady Anneliese.”

“I want to learn to be a midwife and bring bairns into the world.”

“I want to be a maid, but in a house where the master won’t expect me to . . . well,
you know.”

A number of girls murmured their agreement, and Lisa swallowed the lump that had returned
to her throat.

“I want to marry and ’ave a family of me own, but who’d ’ave me after the life I’ve
led?”

The girl who voiced the question looked no older than Lisa, except for the hardness
around her eyes. Lisa had no answer and was relieved when Mrs Morley stepped forward
to reply.

“Now, Mary, I’ve told ye afore there are plenty of good men, farmers and miners and
the like, who’ll take on a capable lass who knows ’ow to tend ’ouse and will make
a good mother.”

“Aye, but not without a dowry. I ain’t got nuthin’ to offer, not even me virtue.”

“How much is needed for a respectable dowry?”

Mrs Morley named a modest sum, and Lisa blinked. One of her new bonnets would supply
the dowries for several girls, and the cost of her new wardrobe could have furnished
the entire contingent of girls with a fresh start in life, whatever their dreams might
be.

Mrs Wright indicated it was time for them to leave, and Lisa thanked the girls for
their candour, promising to return.

“What you are thinking?” she asked Nathaniel after dinner that evening, relieved not
to have a function to attend. Like the rest of their group, he had stayed quiet on
the journey home.

He took so long to answer that she wondered if he’d heard her, his gaze seemingly
captivated by the twilit view out the window. Lisa was considering whether she should
repeat her question when he heaved a sigh and turned to face her.

“I thought I knew what to expect, but I was ill-prepared for what I heard and saw
this afternoon. What those young women, just girls most of them,
have been through . . . not to mention the dangers they must have faced to escape.”
He swallowed hard and stared down at their joined hands. “God knows, I understand
why you have taken this particular cause so much to heart, but I’m worried about your
putting yourself in harm’s way.”

Her father had said much the same thing, and she knew Thomas concurred, but Lisa couldn’t
remain silent. “It’s the girls without such protection I am concerned about.”

“I know.” Nathaniel shuddered. “When I think of what might have become of you . . .”

She squeezed his hand. “But it didn’t,
because of you.”

“You have my support in this endeavour, but you must promise
me you’ll be careful. I couldn’t bear it if something were to happen to you.”

“Nothing’s going to happen.” Ignoring their chaperones, Lisa cupped his cheek with
her hand. “I promise to be discreet . . . and careful,” she added at his scowl. “But
you’re worrying needlessly. What harm can I possibly come to with you as my protector?”

Chapter 15

Reputation

“Drink?” Hugh raised his glass when Nathaniel joined him that evening at their club.

“God, yes.”

Both men sat in silence for a while, nursing their brandies while lost in similar
thought.

“Did you ever . . .” Hugh shrugged a shoulder. “With
younger
girls?”

“No! Well, not that I know of. I was only eighteen the first time. The girl was about
my age, or so I assumed, older around the eyes. She seemed eager enough, but damned
if I know whether it was an act or what had compelled her to such a calling. But I
certainly never suspected any of the girls might be being held against their will.”

“Nor I.” Hugh grimaced. “But there were a couple of times when I was concerned the
lassies were too young. Not ones I chose, as I had no desire to bed a child. I questioned
a madam about it once, but she just laughed and offered me two girls for the price
of one if I kept my mouth shut.”

“Did you say anything?” Nathaniel sat forward, curious to hear his friend’s response.

“I told some more senior gentlemen, but they made sport of it. I should have reported
my concerns, but to whom? I doubt the girls were younger than ten, so no laws were
being broken.”

“Lisa’s right.” Nathaniel slumped back in his chair. “The laws need to change, though
I can’t see it happening in a hurry.”

“We’d be laughed to scorn for suggesting it.”

“Which doesn’t mean we should do nothing
.
” Ignoring the problem was no longer an option. Nathaniel’s conscience had been well
and truly exercised listening to the girls tell Lisa their tales, though Hugh was
right. Decades of struggle had yet to accomplish the abolishment of slavery abroad,
despite concerted political will. Seeing girls protected from exploitation wasn’t
even open to discussion.

“What do you have in mind?”

Nathaniel shrugged. “Supporting the charity home, of course.” After what they’d both
witnessed, it was a given. “We’ll need more homes and in places where security won’t
be such a nightmare.”

Hugh nodded thoughtfully. “We’ll have to be discreet, as there will be opposition
from every quarter. The powers-that-be fear change, and the perpetrators won’t take
kindly to the loss of income. If Anneliese’s name is linked to this undertaking, she
could find herself in danger . . . more
danger than she’s already in from Edgeley threatening to reveal what he knows.”

“Don’t remind me,” Nathaniel muttered.

“You’ve not told her about the blackmail?”

“No, and I’ve no intention of doing so. She has enough on her plate with this damned
spectacle of a wedding the King is insisting upon without having to worry about her
reputation being besmirched. She’s already apprehensive about living up to her new
role as my marchioness.”

Hugh smirked. “Unnecessarily so. She has the society mamas eating out of her hand,
the debutantes mimicking her every choice in fashion or interest, and half the gentlemen
of the
ton
professing undying admiration. As for the other half . . .” He waggled his brows,
and Nathaniel scowled. “The public have taken her to their heart, and the press adores
her. Upon reflection, I believe she would have made an excellent queen.”

“Oh, shut up.” Nathaniel threw an embroidered cushion at his friend.

Laughing, Hugh caught it easily. “However did we mistake her for a maid?”

“God only knows.”

“At least you had the insight to recognise her potential.”

“From the first glance.” Nathaniel smiled at the memory. “She attracted ne’er-do-wells
like moths to a flame and was blatantly ill-equipped to deal with the dangers inherent
in a life of servitude. I held out for an entire month before making her mine, resisting
until I deemed it the only way to protect her.”

“A great hardship on your part, if I recall,” Hugh added dryly.