Page 100 of A Treacherous Bet to Win a Duchess

She heard a young man’s voice ask her in a kindly tone, “Would you like some help carrying those baskets, madam?”

Tabitha turned to face the young man. He was quite a bit taller than her and dressed in a loose shirt and badly-scuffed pants and boots.

“That’s very sweet of you to offer, young man. You’re not from around here, are you?”

He sheepishly shook his head, “No, madam. I’m afraid I’m not.”

Her heart broke for the young man. He seemed nervous and uncomfortable. So she decided to invite him in.

“Here you go, lad. Maybe I could use your help after all. We’re cooking a big luncheon for a special guest today. I’m sure we have more than enough room for you to join us. But you’ll have to earn your place at the table.” She smiled as she handed him the baskets. “Come along, then.”

She opened the gate and led the way through the front garden. “You might want to think about replacing the gate, madam. The rust is eating away at it.”

Tabitha nodded, “I suppose you’re right, er— I beg your pardon, but what’s your name, lad?”

“Anthony, madam.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Anthony. You can call me Ma’am Tabitha if you like. That gate may seem out of place now that you’re looking at this beautiful home, but let me tell you, it used to be the least of our problems.”

“Is that so, Ma’am?”

She placed her hand on the front door of the house and turned to him.

“You wouldn’t believe the state that things used to be in, Anthony. We barely had anything to eat or wear. But now— well, let me show you.”

She pushed the door open and led him to the parlor.

“Usually, the children spend their mornings playing in the garden or here in the parlor. But since we are expecting someone important today, they’re all washing up and getting ready.”

“Are all of them old enough to dress themselves?”

“No, no, we also have some very young children. But Joyce can dress them while you and I do our duties in the kitchen. I used to have another girl helping me, you know, Meredith. But she’s been living abroad for about two years now.”

“I see.”

The young man appeared to be frozen in front of the fireplace.

“The kitchen’s this way, lad.”

“Yes, sorry! It’s just that this is framed watercolor painting. May I ask where you got it from?”

Tabitha stepped closer to get a better look—her eyes weren’t what they used to be.

“Oh! That’s a great story. Meredith brought that for us. It was a gift from one of the children she was in charge of. She’s a governess, you see.”

“I see.”

“Come along now, we better start cooking. We have about two or three hours until Ian and the patron get here.”

* * *

Meredith checked the time once again, half past eleven.He’s late, she sighed to herself.

Meredith wasn’t angry, however. She viewed this as an opportunity to realign herself to the English sights and sounds for it was only her second day back. In fact, she still hardly believed that she was actually standing here, on a real-life English high street.

As the Venturis’ business had taken off, she found herself visiting various European countries and coastlines in a sort of haphazard tour as Mr. Venturi expanded his supply chain of textiles. But to her eyes, this crowded high street seemed more beautiful than all of those sights combined.

She was going to pay a surprise visit to the orphanage today. A month ago, she had originally tried to make arrangements to visit the orphanage with Ian, but he wrote back to regrettably inform her that he was occupied with other obligations.