The Deception Read Free Page A

housekeeper,” Louisa said. “They don’t call me that, of course, but that is what I am. And then, because I am not an employee but a dependent of theirs, they can ask me to do all kinds of other things.”
    A girl’s high voice came from one of the tables around us. “Oh, la, Mr. Wetmore! You are such a jokester!”
    “What kinds of other things?” I asked Cousin Louisa.
    “Oh, I go to the village on errands, sit up with the children if they are ill. That sort of thing.”
    “Do they pay you?”
    She smiled forlornly. “They give me a home, Kate.”
    I put my spoon down on the table’s white cloth. The ice had all of a sudden lost its flavor. “Why do you put up with such treatment?”
    “I have no husband and I have no money of my own,” Louisa said. “I have to live, Kate.”
    “You couldn’t earn your own money?” I asked.
    Louisa shook her head. “The only position open to a lady with no means of her own is to become a governess, and that is not a life I aspire to. At least now I am considered a member of my brother’s family, no matter how ill-used. Believe me, Kate, the life of a governess is much worse. You are not family and you are not a servant. It is a wretched existence.”
    I thought it sounded much less wretched than the life she had just described to me. At least one got paid for one’s labor! I drew concentric circles on the tablecloth with my fingertip and asked thoughtfully, “Just what credentials does one need in order to become a governess, Louisa?”
    My cousin didn’t answer, but I could feel her looking at me. I glanced up, my eyes full of innocence.
    “Don’t even consider it, Kate,” she said. “No one would ever hire you.”
    That made me indignant. “Why not?” I demanded. “Mama taught me herself until I was ten. And Papa was always willing to buy me books, so I learned a great deal on my own.” I raised my eyebrows and gave her my loftiest look. “I assure you that I am perfectly capable of instructing young children.”
    Louisa said bluntly, “It wouldn’t matter if you were a scholar, my dear. You wouldn’t be hired because no woman in her right mind would let you near either her husband or her sons.”
    “Nonsense.”
    “It is true,” Louisa said. She sounded very positive.
    I decided to confide in her. “The thing is, Louisa, I do not want to go back to Charlwood, and so I need to find a way to support myself.”
    “Find a husband,” Louisa advised.
    I could feel the expression that Papa always referred to as my “mule’s look” settling over my face. “I don’t want a husband,” I said.
    Louisa smiled at me as if I were a child. “Every woman wants a husband, my dear.”
    I wouldn’t dignify that comment with a reply. Instead I thought of our morning’s shopping expedition, of the dozens of expensive dress shops and hat shops that lined Bond Street. I had a depressing feeling that Louisa was right about my chances of becoming a governess, but surely there were other ways.
    “There are plenty of shops in London,” I said. “Why couldn’t I get a position in one of them?”
    Louisa looked scandalized. “Do you really think Charlwood would allow his niece to take a position in a London shop?”
    “He doesn’t care about me,” I said. “He’ll be glad to get me off his hands.”
    “He will care about what society says about him if his niece is reduced to becoming a milliner’s assistant!”
    I had an answer for that. “Why should anyone know? I will get a position in a shop that society doesn’t frequent.”
    Louisa looked very grave. At this point both of us had forgotten about our ices, which were slowly melting in their glass dishes. “You must not leave your uncle’s protection,” she said. “If you should do that, Kate, if you should try to live on your own in London, you would not be safe.”
    “I can take care of myself,” I said.
    “You would be raped within the week,” Louisa said sharply. “London is not the