Page 39 of The Duchess’ Second Chance

But just as she had had this thought, the door flew open, and Rose came running inside.

CHAPTER 19

Mrs. Corian dropped a handful of pins on the floor in shock. “Oh, my goodness!”

Rose didn’t so much as look at the modiste. “Amanda, how long is this going to be? You said that you and I would be able to play today. You said you would take me outside. Mrs. Linden won’t let me go out on my own.”

Amanda froze, unable to find words. She had just finished denying Rose’s very existence, and now here she was. There would be no denying this. How am I going to get out of this situation?

Mrs. Corian rose slowly to her feet. She still hadn’t collected her dropped pins. “Good day, little miss,” she said, offering a smile. “My name is Mrs. Corian. What’s yours?”

Rose folded her arms. “I’m Rose,” she said. “And you’re taking too long. Aren’t you almost done?”

“Rose, be polite,” Amanda said without thinking.

“Is the duchess your mother?” Mrs. Corian asked.

“Mrs. Corian,” Amanda said quickly. “I’ll thank you to please address any questions you may have about our circumstances to me directly, and not to the child. You’ve made it clear how much you dislike rumors and gossip, after all.”

Mrs. Corian had the grace to blush. “Quite right, Your Grace,” she said. “But you must admit, you seemed rather reluctant to speak about the child. And I can understand, but there’s no avoiding knowledge of her now, and I wouldn’t want to leave the house with the wrong idea in my mind. I’m sure you’d much prefer that what I thought reflected the truth of the situation.”

It wasn’t quite a threat, and Amanda decided to try to calm the situation down rather than make things worse. “That’s true enough,” she said. “Rose here is my ward. She’s been living with me for several years. I took her in after her parents died. I try not to let people know of her existence to avoid gossip. Since you dislike it so much, you know how cruel wagging tongues can be and I would hate for that to impact an innocent child.”

“Oh, I can quite understand that,” Mrs. Corian murmured. “You have my word, Your Grace, that I will not speak of the girl at all.”

There was no way to guarantee that was true, but it was probably the best promise Amanda was going to get. “I’m very glad to hear it,” she said. “It’s so good to know that my modiste is truly a person I’m going to be able to trust. That will make it so much easier for us to go on working together.”

Mrs. Corian nodded seriously. “Never fear, Your Grace. Your secrets are perfectly safe with me.”

“I don’t see why I have to be a secret,” Rose scowled. “I never was before, Amanda. And you used to tell me that when I got older you would take me to parties. What happened to that?”

“That’s still true,” Amanda assured her. “We just need to take our time so that people understand who you are and don’t try to invent tales about you. You wouldn’t want that.”

Rose folded her arms. “All I want is to go out and play with Hermes, and I can’t go until someone takes me. Sampson is busy, and Mrs. Linden won’t do it, so that leaves just you, and you can’t go until you’re done with this. And it’s taking far too long.” She scowled at Mrs. Corian. “Why does it take so long to fit someone for a gown?”

“Rose,” Amanda said, “Mrs. Corian is working hard and doing a very fine job. Don’t you think the dress is pretty?” She held out her arms.

Rose pursed her lips. “Sampson said that I was going to get new dresses, but I have to say that I don’t think I want any if this is what it would be like. Standing here all day unable to move while someone sticks pins in you.”

“She isn’t sticking pins in me, Rose.” Amanda sighed. “Why don’t you go and work on your reading for a while? When I’m finished, I’ll come and get you and we can go visit the dog. Run along now.”

Rose huffed in frustration, but she turned and left the room.

Amanda sighed. “I’m awfully sorry about her,” she said. “She’s had some trouble adjusting to her new home. She doesn’t mean anything personally against you, Mrs. Corian.”

“It’s quite all right,” Mrs. Corian assured her. “I’m used to children showing a bit of impatience, Your Grace. And…” She hesitated. “I know my questions earlier were…a bit intrusive, perhaps. I’m given to more curiosity than is good for me. But I truly wish no harm upon you or the little girl. What I’ve seen here today, I will keep to myself, I promise it.”

“Thank you,” Amanda said with a grateful smile. She believed the modistes. “I just want to make sure her future is secure, that’s all. I took her in because I cared for her, and though I’m sure anything that happens now will be preferable to the life she was living on the streets, I wouldn’t like her to face judgment and ridicule because of my actions.”

“No, indeed,” Mrs. Corian agreed. “We’re nearly done here, if you don’t mind standing still for just a few more minutes.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Amanda assured her. “Thank you so much for the trouble you’re taking today. The dress really is very pretty. I’m looking forward to wearing it to Kensington.”

“You’re going to look every bit the part of a duchess,” Mrs. Corian assured her with a smile.

Amanda felt suddenly glad to know the modiste, and glad that she had someone who would regularly provide this service for her whenever she needed it. She had been uncertain about Mrs. Corian at first, but in a town full of gossip, the woman could be forgiven for looking for just a little bit more of it. It was an easy enough habit to get oneself into. What really mattered was that she understood why it was important to protect Rose and keep her safe from the judgments of London society.

Mrs. Corian slid the final pin into place. “There we are,” she said. “How does that feel? Take a few steps, it will stay in place.”