Epilogue #2
I turned to Molly, helpless.
Molly swallowed and glanced at Mother, who gave a quick nod.
With slow, tentative words, Molly explained.
“It seems Miss Addie and Mr. Baxter were discovered in a—” She hesitated, but Mother’s soft cry was enough to push her to continue.
“A compromising situation. Damien’s family is demanding that he marry Addie, but Addie refuses. Everyone is talking about it.”
“What?” I rose from the sofa. “Is this true?”
“It is true,” Mother said quickly, “but that’s not really how it happened. Addie swears that Damien tricked her into the situation and then had two of his friends—a man and a woman—discover them.”
“Oh, Addie.” I sighed. She had always had a penchant for getting herself into trouble.
“And it threatens all of us now,” Mother continued.
“If this isn’t resolved, Margaret’s chances of marrying Matthew Schermerhorn are ruined, not to mention Addie’s prospects.
Damien Baxter is a horrid young man, and even if Addie insisted that she wanted to marry him, which she does not, I would not let her. ”
“Are you certain it was all set up?” I asked Mother.
“Yes, quite certain. Addie may be a little reckless and headstrong, but she would not compromise herself, especially with Damien Baxter. She despises the man.”
“Is there a chance this will blow over? And that given a little more time, Margaret and Matthew may find a way forward?”
Mother slowly lowered herself to her chair. “That is my hope, and the reason I sent them to Newport.”
“But Newport is full of the same people who populate New York society,” I protested. “How will she be out of sight and out of mind there?”
“Where else could she go, Lily?” Mother asked, holding up her hands. “I have nowhere else to send her. I fear that Damien will follow her, regardless where she goes.”
“Then she must go somewhere he cannot find her.”
“Where do you propose?”
“She will return to England with us.” I glanced at Ames, who was entertaining Fletcher, and he gave me a brief nod of agreement. I knew he would support me.
“Even if she goes to England,” Mother protested, “Damien could still find her there. If he is determined to have her, he will go anywhere.”
“What if she goes under an assumed name—perhaps for a few months, just until Margaret can secure a proper proposal from Matthew? Surely Damien Baxter will not go after her if she is far removed from London, living under a different name.”
Mother frowned. “What are you talking about, Lily?”
An idea began to form, making my pulse speed up. “What if—what if Addie takes on a position in a household, a respectable position, not far from my watchful eye?”
“What do you have in mind?” Ames asked me, adding his frown to Mother’s.
“Your cousin George,” I said to him, excitement mounting at the idea. “He is always looking for a new governess, and he’s had abysmal luck for many years now. What if we send Addie to Raven Hall?”
“George will never approve of a socialite governing his children, least of all the Duchess of Severton’s sister.”
“Then we will not tell him Addie is my sister, nor will we give her real name. No one in Ravenscar, outside of your brothers and their wives, knows her identity. She could help with the children for a few months, a year at most, until Margaret is engaged, and then she can leave. By then, this scandal will blow over. He’s gone through half a dozen governesses, at least, since I’ve met him.
And they’re all old and cantankerous. George’s children deserve a fun, energetic young woman in their lives like Addie.
She would be wonderful, for all of them. ”
Ames glanced at Brant, who shrugged and nodded in agreement.
“George’s children have suffered a great deal since Fannie died,” Brant said. “What has it been, five years now? The governesses he’s hired are all the same, and he has the same outcome. Perhaps a young woman like Miss Addie would be just the thing.”
“And if it doesn’t work out?” Ames asked me. “What if Addie can’t control the children and is asked to leave, like the others?”
“Then we would find another suitable place for her,” I told him, placing my hand on his arm. “Please, Ames, I believe this is the answer.”
“It’s not me you have to convince, but your mother and Addie,” he said. “I trust you, Lily, and if you think this is the best solution, we will do whatever it takes to make it work.”
I squeezed his arm. “Thank you.” Then I turned to my mother. “What do you think?”
Mother leaned forward in her seat, her face serious.
“This discussion does not leave the room. If Addie is agreeable to this plan, then no one, besides us, should know where we’ve sent her.
Not even Margaret. I want her innocent in all of this, so she can face the Schermerhorns and Astors without pretense of guile.
I hate to think of your sister as a governess—but it would be worse for her to marry Damien. ”
“Of course,” I agreed as the others nodded.
Mother briefly closed her eyes and then said, “I do not see any better solution. I will send for Addie and have her meet us here as soon as possible.”
“Leave the plans to me,” I said. “I will write to George and tell him I have the perfect governess for his children, and we will take her with us when we return to England.”
“I pray this works.” Mother reached for her teacup. “For I fear if it doesn’t, everything we’ve done for the sake of our place in society will crumble.”
What I was most concerned about was Addie’s happiness and the future of George Stafford and his children.
Perhaps they could help each other.