My Lord
It is with the deepest regret that I must tender my resignation from the position of governess at Greystone Hall, effective immediately.
I have come, with much sorrow, to the conviction that my continued presence within your household can no longer serve its best interests.
The doubts and insinuations now being raised—doubts which place the children’s security in jeopardy—derive from my remaining in your employ.
So long as I do so, Lady Crane will possess a pretext, however slender, upon which to advance her objections to your guardianship.
I cannot, in conscience, permit that risk.
Please know that this resolution costs me more than I can readily express. The children have become exceedingly dear to me—dearer, perhaps, than prudence would have allowed—and the thought of leaving them grieves me beyond measure. And you…