Page 105 of Rakes & Reticules
For a brief moment she recalled dark hair and deep green eyes that spoke to her very soul. Shaking her head to free herself from the painful memory, Patience tightened her bonnet, giving her sister a parting smile. “I must go before I really am late.”
She reached the safety of the carriage Viscount Hightower had gifted them after they had sold theirs. Funds had been low after her father’s disappearance. They had to sell a great number of things that both her grandmother and mother felt important in order to save the servants.
Taking a deep breath, Patience prayed that her father would return to them soon. Either way her plans for herself would not falter and the key to everything was Maria Fitzherbert.
CHAPTERTHREE
Stepping into Stein House, the opulent home of Maria Fitzherbert, always made Patience aware of her own station in life. Being the daughter of a British soldier wasn’t a glamorous affair, but being the daughter of one who was also the bastard child of a Jamaican slave owner and a former enslaved woman added a bit of a complication.
Walking through the large white two-story home where she had been employed for the last three months as a secretary, always felt like she had entered a different world than her own. Patience moved briskly down the marbled hallway passing painting after painting. She was accustomed to seeing the vibrant artwork from famous artists like Frances Cotes and George Stubbs.
As was her daily custom, Patience stopped in front of a George Stubbs painting. Swallowing the lump in her throat and fighting the tears that always threatened to fall from the scene depicted on canvas. A helpless horse was trying to fight the predatory, hungry lion off its back. The desperation was clear in the horse’s wide eyes and the angle of his right leg up as he tried to run for his life.
It was nothing but torture that caused her to stop and stare at the picture every single day. Patience was the horse, running from her attackers, but would she truly escape?
The door to Mrs. Fitzherbert’s study opened, revealing the maid Cecelia’s smiling face. She and Patience were the same age but with slightly different stations in life.
“You better hurry, she’s waiting for you.” Cecelia walked past, her hands overflowing with a tea service, her abdomen slightly protruding as she balanced the tray in her hands. Kind gray eyes were wide as she stared at Patience.
Forcing a smile, Patience dabbed her eyes trying to ignore the weight at the pit of her stomach the painting always caused. Everything had a purpose and her position with Mrs. Fitzherbert would serve the greatest purpose of all.
Her independence.
“There you are, Miss Grant. Close the door. I have something of importance to discuss with you.” Maria Fitzherbert was younger than Patience’s grandmother and a great deal more pleasant.
Closing the door, she walked deeper into the study, with cream-colored curtains, white bookcases, and white furniture lined with brown wood. It was very lady-like, with a large ebony wood desk covered in neatly stacked papers. A smaller desk was against the window facing out toward the gardens. The breathtaking view had captured Patience’s attention from the very first moment she began working for Mrs. Fitzherbert.
Patience’s own desk was slightly more hectic, covered in the lady’s many correspondences, all waiting for Patience to reply swiftly. For a woman of her age, Maria Fitzherbert was extremely popular, receiving letters, invitations, and sometimes mail from strangers. Patience handled it all, even requesting funds from Mrs. Fitzherbert’s solicitor on her behalf. There weren’t many things that the woman did not ask of Patience.
The last three months in Maria Fitzherbert’s employ left Patience with no doubt that the rumors were indeed true. The lady was the first wife of the Prince Regent.
At first, Patience had not believed it. But seeing her correspondence, her luxurious lifestyle, and the way people treated Mrs. Fitzherbert like a queen solidified what most of the country had been speculating about for years. There was also the occasional correspondence from the Regent himself.
Patience clasped her shaking hands together, her feet hurriedly leading her deeper into the brightly lit study. Hope sprang free, rising through her body, and she couldn’t stop the wide smile that suddenly spread across her face or the rapid beating of her heart.
There was one reason and one reason only that she worked for Maria Fitzherbert, the older woman’s close friendship with Mrs. Eliza Shackleford, the head mistress of The Shackleford School for Girls. The school was known for its teaching to the daughters of the aristocracy, and for employing women as teachers. That simple fact was what attracted Patience to the school.
Through teaching, Patience would be able to instill independence and knowledge into other women. They would not find themselves without any options or hope like she did.
Mr. Fitzherbert leaned her thin body forward, the yellow day dress with brown trim shifting as she looked at Patience. Her usual calm demeanor was more excited than Patience had ever seen her. “I have decided to grant your request for a recommendation to Eliza for you to teach at her school,” Mrs. Fitzherbert said as cool hazel eyes took in Patience from head to toe.
Patience couldn’t help but feel as if she was on display for the other woman’s approval.
Finally.The air left her body. That was the news she had been waiting on for three long months. Not only would Patience be able to escape her family, but this was one step closer to her opening her own school. A school not for daughters of the aristocracy but a school for every young woman who wished to learn and become independent.
A school for girls with no connection and no hope of a future. Patience would teach them Latin, literature, art, numbers, and science. She also would equip them with skills for a trade. Skills that would provide an income for a future…a future that did not always lead to marriage and children.
Stepping forward, Patience placed her hand on Mrs. Fitzherbert’s desk, wanting to wrap her arms around the older woman. From the moment she began working for her, Patience’s only goal was for the woman to recommend her to Eliza Shackleford.
“I promise you, my lady, you will not be disappointed,” Patience panted out.
“You misunderstand. I'm not doing this from the kindness of my heart. I still have my reservations about the situation you found yourself in.” Patience bristled at the mention of the worst incident that had ever happened to her. “However, I am no stranger to scandal, often I welcome it even. That is why I hired you, one must rise above it. Though, having a liaison in the garden was foolish, it’s not unheard of.” She shook her head at Patience like she was a small child and not a grown woman. “I feel that we can help each other.”
Patience had indeed gone into the garden alone five years ago, but she did not go to meet the Honorable Walter Reeves as he had gleefully told all of Brighton and anyone who had visited since. Patience had found herself in the garden alone crying, after she lost the man whom she was sure she was going to marry, her beloved Fitz.
Her grandmother insisted that a match with Fitz was undesirable, and she pushed Patience towards Walter. A younger Patience had loved her grandmother and craved her approval. Thus she allowed the older woman to interfere between her and Fitz.
A solicitor, Fitz was unlike his school friend Walter Reeves. He valued her mind and opinions whereas Walter viewed her as chattel. The night of the Hightower Ball, her grandmother had agreed to tie Patience’s future to Walter. However, Walter’s plan did not include marriage, a family, or a home. All the things she wanted with Fitz.
