Gail Whitiker - An Innocent Deceit

“My lord, I cannot imagine why you would say such a thing.”

“Nevertheless, I have been aware of the chill in your voice from the occasion of our first meeting. Have I offended you in some way, Miss Hadley? Were you annoyed that I sought you out in the music room?”

“My lord, I can assure you that I was neither offended nor annoyed by your appearance that morning. I really do not know what else to say except…”

Carlyle placed the tips of his fingers gently against her lips. “Then say nothing. Because I would far rather imagine that you might miss me than hear from your lips that you should not.”

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Originally hailing from Pembrokeshire, England, Gail Whitiker now lives on beautiful Vancouver Island on the west coast of Canada. When she isn’t indulging her love of writing, you’ll find her enjoying brisk walks along the island’s many fine beaches, or trying to catch up on her second love, reading. She wrote her first novel when she was in her teens, and still blesses her English teacher for not telling her how bad it really was.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

‘No, my dear, I am very sorry, but I really cannot agree to the idea of your working for the Earl of Carlyle,’ Mr Hadley told his daughter regretfully, ‘and certainly not in the capacity you have just set forward.’

‘But, Papa—’

‘Why, only think what your aunt would say if she were to hear of it. Indeed, I wonder what your dear mother would have said, had she lived to see what you were about.’

Miss Antonia Hadley, recipient of this most disappointing news, shook her head in a gesture of mild resignation. While she had not expected this to be easy, neither had she expected her father to be so rigidly opposed to what she considered to be a perfectly splendid idea.

‘I venture to say that aunt Ophelia will be shocked and horrified, as no doubt you already suspect, and that she will shake her head and wonder if there is any hope for me at all. But as regards Mama,’ Antonia said, her voice softening, ‘I believe that she would have applauded my ingenuity and commended me to proceed. As I truly wish you could see your way clear to doing, Papa. After all, we did agree that I had to do something.’

Seated behind his desk Mr Hadley glanced up at his daughter in surprise. ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Well, yes. Do you not remember?’

‘What I remember is that you informed me that it was your intention to seek employment, whereupon I informed you that it was neither necessary nor fitting that you do so. Is that not more the way the conversation went?’

Antonia tried not to smile, but failed. Odious man. He might have been able to persuade others of his absent-mindedness, but he had never been able to fool her. He was now, as he had always been, in possession of an annoyingly retentive memory.

‘You may be right, now that I come to think of it, Papa,’ Antonia allowed grudgingly, ‘but that does not alter the fact that I should very much like to do something with my time. After all, I am nearly twenty years of age, yet all I seem to do is write letters and pay tedious house calls.’

‘Tedious?’ Mr Hadley frowned. ‘I thought young ladies liked paying house calls.’

‘Not every day.’

‘Well, then, what about the management of Buntings Hill? Surely that is more than enough to occupy your time, since you do it almost single-handedly.’

‘Tosh! Mrs Grenfall is in charge of the household now. All I do is review the accounts and approve the meals, and goodness knows, even that requires little enough of my time. But if I were working for the Earl, I should be required to spend…at least two hours a day at Ashdean. Which is why I think this is the best opportunity to have come along so far.’

‘The best opportunity?’ Mr Hadley chuckled as he removed his spectacles and wiped them with a remnant of cloth which deposited far more dust than it removed. ‘My dear girl, this does not even approach the designation of a good opportunity, let alone one deserving of a higher commendation. For a young woman in your position, I would have thought that an offer of employment from the Dowager Countess of Haversham would have been far more worthy of your consideration.’

‘Lady Haversham?’

‘Yes. She is looking for a companion.’

‘What, again? What happened to Miss Marchmaine?’

‘I understand the young lady left to take care of her elderly mother.’

‘But…she already has two younger sisters at home doing just that.’

Mr Hadley leaned back in his chair, and steepled his fingers in front of his face. ‘Perhaps the mother’s health took a turn for the worst and the sisters felt compelled to call Miss Marchmaine home. I really do not know, Antonia, that was all Mrs Heath was able to tell me when I chanced to come upon her in the village yesterday. However, I do think it a more appropriate position for a lady than to be a groom in the household of the Earl of Carlyle.’

Antonia’s mouth twitched. ‘I am not applying to be a groom, Papa. The Earl is looking for someone to teach his daughter how to ride.’

‘Semantics. It entails working with horses, does it not?’

‘Yes, which is precisely why I wish to apply. You have told me that I am an exceptional rider—’

‘Much as I am beginning to wish that I had not—’

‘And you know that I enjoy working with children,’ Antonia continued, ignoring his interruption. ‘This provides me with an opportunity to do both.’

‘Children?’ Mr Hadley regarded her with a suddenly hopeful expression. ‘My dear, if it is the company of children you seek, perhaps it is Lady Cruikshank’s offer you should be considering.’

‘Lady Cruikshank? But—’ Antonia paled ‘—surely you cannot mean as governess to those five wretched children of hers?’

‘Well, yes, actually, I do. Why, what have they done?’

‘Only retire three governesses in the past nine months. And last week, even the housekeeper threatened to quit!’

‘Good Lord, Mrs Mortonby? Whatever for?’

‘It seems that she found a reptile in her bed.’

‘A reptile?’

‘A snake.’

‘Oh, dear. Common garden variety, I hope.’

Antonia blinked. ‘Does it matter?’

‘Well, yes, my dear, I rather think it does. After all, one would be considerably more alarmed at finding a viper in their bed than a harmless—’

‘The fact that she found any manner of snake in her bed—and that it was put there by those dreadful children—is reason enough for me to wish to stay well away from them, Papa,’ Antonia interrupted, aware that her father was just as like to embark on a biological discussion as he was to give her a straightforward answer. ‘Goodness knows, a lady of weaker constitution might have…expired from the discovery of such a creature in her bed.’