Prologue
“I suppose now that I have no other choice but to take you into my home. However, it shall not be of long duration, for I intend to find a suitable match for you for soon.”
Miss Delilah Johnston sat down heavily on her bed, the letter falling from her hands to the floor. Tears flooded her vision as she tried her best to keep her composure.
It had been some years since she had last heard from her uncle. Her uncle who had inherited her father’s title when he had died, leaving Delilah without father or mother. Even though she had been entitled to her time of mourning, her uncle had refused to allow her that and had shipped her to a school where she had been meant to receive all the education that would then make her a very suitable and elegant young lady. Whilst that had happened, Delilah had found no happiness. There had been rules to follow; stark, strict rules that allowed for not even the smallest infringement. Punishments had been severe for even the slightest misdemeanor and Delilah had often had to go without luncheon and dinner in the hope that this would teach her what was expected. The established ladies, as they were known, ruled with an iron rod and Delilah had become weary under their cruel ways.
“Miss Delilah?”
She turned her head swiftly to see the only friend she had ever made at the decrepit place. “Betty,” she said, as the maid came a little further into the room. “Are you quite all right?”
Betty glanced around as though making quite certain that there was no one else around—no one who might inform those in charge that she had been speaking to Delilah.
“Your letter,” she said, gesturing to the one on the floor. “It does not make you happy?”
Delilah shook her head. “No,” she said dully. “It does not.”
“Then, you are to stay here?”
Slowly, Delilah shook her head, her heart aching in her chest. “I am to return to my uncle. He does not intend to keep me in his household for long, however. It seems I am to be wed.”
Betty caught her breath, and Delilah looked up at her miserably.
“Indeed,” she said heavily. “It will not be a match of my choosing, of course. It will be someone that I do not know and certainly do not care for. In fact, I am certain that my uncle will choose the very worst sort of gentleman and push me towards him, given how little he seems to care for me.” Her heart continued to ache as she turned her head to look down at her letter, her eyes filling with fresh tears. “I do not know what I shall do.”
Biting her lip, Betty came a little closer to Delilah, her expression one of concern. Looking steadily down at Delilah, she put one hand on her shoulder. Their friendship had formed over the years Delilah had been there, and whilst there was a great difference in their status, Delilah had found Betty to be a very loyal friend indeed.
A sudden idea came into Delilah’s mind and she caught her breath, looking up at Betty.
“You should come with me, Betty,” she breathed, reaching up to catch Betty’s hand. “You could be my lady’s maid.”
Betty’s eyes flared, staring down at Delilah with astonishment.
“My uncle would not be able to refuse you,” Delilah continued, her heart thundering with sudden hope. “If I am a proper young lady, I require a lady’s maid, do I not?”
Betty, it seemed, did not know what to say, for she continued to hold Delilah’s gaze for a long time, nothing being said.
“I know you do not like it here,” Delilah continued, pressing Betty’s hand with great fervor. “You could come with me, could be my lady’s maid and continue with me into my married life.” She gestured to the large, sparse room which held nothing more than a few beds and bedside tables and drawers. “I am sure that my uncle’s house—and my husband’s house, whoever he might turn out to be—will have a better establishment than this.”
Pressing her lips together, Betty considered for a few more minutes as Delilah waited desperately to hear her friend’s answer. It was a very foolish idea in some respects, for to steal Betty away from what was her current employment without the assurance that she would then be given a suitable position with suitable pay was quite ridiculous, but Delilah could barely think of leaving her friend behind here.
“I need my pay, Miss Delilah,” Betty said with a shake of her head. “I cannot survive without it.”
Delilah nodded, desperation flooding her. “But a lady’s maid would be given payment, would she not?” she said, grasping Betty’s hand. “And you would have a warm bed and food. And…and...if I find that you are not given the pay expected, I will make certain that you are reimbursed in some way.” Realizing how desperate she sounded, Delilah closed her eyes, shook her head, and let go of Betty’s hand. There was no assurance for Betty in this situation. It was selfishness that wanted her to accompany her as a lady’s maid: selfishness that wanted to keep Betty by her side.
“I am sorry, Betty,” she mumbled, keeping her eyes closed as shame began to fill her. “I should not even have thought of such a thing. It is foolish of me to do so, for I cannot promise you a single thing.”
“I—I think I will come with you.”
Delilah’s eyes flew open, and she stared at Betty in shock.
“I cannot even promise you that you will be paid, Betty!” she exclaimed as though she was now trying to dissuade her. “What if—”
“I do not like working here, Miss Delilah,” Betty interrupted, putting one hand out, her palm forward to quieten her protests. “When you first asked me, I was a little taken aback, but now...” She nodded her head as though reassuring herself. “Yes, I will come with you, Miss Delilah.”
Delilah did not know what to say, warring between relief and fear. She had spoken hastily and now worried that Betty might be thrown from her uncle’s house without employment or reference.
You shall have to be strong, Delilah, she told herself as Betty began to smile. You will have to insist on keeping Betty if she is to come with you. She is now trusting you for her future employment.
“Think about it a little longer, Betty,” she said slowly rising to her feet and facing the maid. “I spoke quickly and I—”
“When do you have to leave?” Betty asked as Delilah bent down to pick up her letter. “Is it soon?”
Delilah nodded. “Within the sennight,” she said quietly. “My uncle is sending a carriage on Friday evening.”
Betty considered for a moment, then smiled. “Then I shall be waiting,” she said, a bright look in her eyes. “I am sure that the established ladies of this school will not be waiting by the carriage door to wave you away!”
Despite the sorrow that was in this statement, Delilah could not help but smile, albeit ruefully. “No, I do not think they will.”
“Then I will be ready just to steal away,” Betty said, speaking in a very matter-of-fact manner. “I do not think they will allow me just to leave, so I will have to slip past them in the darkness.”
The sadness and pain that had filled Delilah’s heart ever since she had read the letter from her uncle began to lift as Betty’s sudden excitement began to fill the room.
“You will have to be careful,” Delilah said as Betty beamed at her before glancing all around the room again in case someone was about to come in and see them. “The established ladies will not allow you to leave if they see you.”