But although she had not enjoyed her lessons, Tamina had persevered. Her father had mentioned to her that one day, when he had retired from the Foreign Office, he would like to write his memoirs.
He had enjoyed such a full and interesting life, and could tell stories and anecdotes about so many famous and important people it would make fascinating reading.
But because of the confidential nature of the papers he would be consulting, he thought it would be useful if Tamina could help him instead of employing a secretary who might not be so discreet.
Tamina crawled back into bed.
Yes, that was what she would do. She would find a job and leave England and Edmund behind her.
Even making the decision made Tamina feel a little better.
By the time the sun was shining into her bedroom, she had washed and dressed hurriedly, putting on her plainest outfit, a dark green skirt and jacket with black piping on the collar and cuffs, worn over a plain white blouse with very little decoration.
She did not bother to call her maid, but pinned up her long fair hair into a tight knot herself.
There! Now she looked like a severe hard-working girl.
‘And I know exactly where to go to find a position,’ she whispered to her reflection in the long cheval mirror. ‘Mrs Shepherd’s Employment Agency!’
She ran downstairs into her father’s study. Even though he was away, the butler solemnly laid out the morning newspapers on a side table every morning.
Tamina had believed that she would never enter this room again without feeling waves of despair, but she was so engrossed with her plans that she only felt a twinge of pain when she caught sight of the telephone that had brought her so much grief.
She picked up The Times and turned the pages to the advertisement section.
Mrs Shepherd’s Agency was the place where the Braithwaite’s housekeeper always went for staff. The housekeeper would interview several suggested by the Agency, and then Tamina’s mother would make the final selection.
But Tamina knew they all said the same thing when asked.
“I have been sent by Mrs Shepherd, my Lady.”
Holding up the newspaper she read the column, “Mrs Shepherd requires.”
There was a long list, which began,
“Outstanding and experienced cook required by a gentleman and lady of political importance. Must be experienced in French cooking as well as English.
Experienced nurse is required by a lady who is suffering from an illness which prevents her from walking.”
A butler was sought for a house in the country. Experience essential.
A lady’s maid for someone in London, and a nurse for the as yet unborn child of an Italian Contessa.
Then almost at the bottom of the page Tamina read,
“A secretary is required. Must be prepared to travel abroad immediately and for some time. Knowledge of French, Italian and Portuguese an advantage. ”
Tamina read it once and then again.
Well, she was ready to travel immediately. She could speak both French and Italian and knew a little Portuguese because several of the girls at her finishing school had come from that country and she had enjoyed talking to them in their own language.
She was quite certain that it was worth her while trying to obtain this position.
This was her chance to escape from England and Edmund!
*
Ivan, Earl of Daventry, paced back and forth in his study at Daventry House. The butler had just shown out yet another useless applicant for the position of secretary.
‘Silly woman!’ he muttered to himself. ‘I have no time for these Society girls who have never worked a day in their lives and think that this job is just an excuse for a cruise in the sunshine!’
He was in a fever of impatience to leave England.
He had already booked cabins on a ship leaving Southampton in two days time bound for the Island of Madeira, but he could not set out on his great venture without a secretary.
‘I just need a good hard-working, but well educated girl who will take down the notes I give her and type them up for me. Someone with knowledge of languages who will not be frightened by travelling abroad! Surely it isn’t that difficult for Mrs Shepherd to find me such a person?’
The Earl flung himself down in his leather chair. He knew in his heart of hearts that he was being unreasonable and irritable, but still running through his mind was the constant knowledge that Eunice had betrayed his trust.
‘Society women!’ he mumbled. ‘I shall have nothing more to do with any of them. They are all the same, just out for a good time, going to dances and parties, breaking hearts left, right and centre without any thought for the consequences.’
Just then a knock at the door heralded Cobham, his butler, who announced the next applicant,
“A Miss Waites from the Agency to see you, my Lord.
“The Earl looked up, unaware that he was glaring, and then his dark gaze softened.
He was looking at a small slim girl wearing dark green. Her hair – what showed under an incredibly ugly green hat – was very blonde and she had the biggest blue eyes he had ever seen.
She was incredibly pretty, but also looked extremely sad. He wondered briefly if she had suffered a recent bereavement.
He stepped forward and shook her hand.
“Miss Waites?”
“Yes, my Lord. Ta-Tabitha Waites,” said Tamina, flushing as she stuttered over the false name she had given to Mrs Shepherd at the Agency.
“Please sit down, Miss Waites.”
He watched as she seated herself primly in front of his desk.
He perched on the edge of his chair, his restless fingers playing with the heavy silver letter opener.
Miss Waites looked up at him and he was glad to see there was no sign of fear on her face, nor the simpering silliness that had been so apparent in the last girl’s expression.
“Did the Agency explain what I needed, what the job entails?” asked the Earl.
“Yes, indeed. They told me that you are soon to travel abroad, that you are writing a book and need a secretary to take care of your notes and help in any way she can.”
The Earl glanced down at the papers she had handed him.
“I see here that you have you recently worked as secretary to Lord Anglesey?”
Tamina crossed her fingers under cover of the handbag she held on her lap.
She was about to tell a lie, but hoped this childish gesture would exonerate her!
Lord Anglesey had, in fact, been her Godfather; a very elderly nobleman who had lived in a rundown castle in the wilds of Wales until his recent death.
Tamina knew that his real secretary, a lovely lady called Miss Holder, had retired with a pension to a tiny cottage on the castle estate.
Tamina was taking a great risk, but was fairly certain no one would ever have known whom Lord Anglesey’s real secretary was.
“Yes, my Lord. I’m afraid that I do not have a written reference from him, but I can assure you I am used to dealing with all sorts of difficult handwritten notes and taking dictation. I am very discreet but have opinions when consulted.”
“You speak French and Italian?”
Tamina smiled.
“Mais, certainment!”
The Earl looked up sharply.
Was this slip of a girl checking that he himself understood her? But her face was still very composed, although there was a sparkle in her blue eyes that he found appealing.
He wondered at the sadness he could see in her face.
Surely it could not be for her late employer? Lord Anglesey had been well into his eighties, if his memory served him correctly.
“And you have no concerns or problems with leaving England immediately? No family claims that might prevent you staying away for some months?”
Tamina shook her head.
Oh, to be away for weeks from Edmund. It sounded too good to be true.
“Well, you w
ill be travelling by ship to Madeira with me and my manservant. I have booked the cabins and obviously your salary will include all meals and an allowance for some summer clothes as it will be very hot where we are going.”
Tamina nodded, impressed by the Earl. She liked his down- to-earth manner.
He was certainly a very good-looking man with dark hair and eyes, but his face was pale and strained as if he had not slept well for several nights.
She knew from Society gossip that the Earl had inherited his title when his brother and sister-in-law died so tragically.
She could recall her parents’ shock at the dreadful news. They had only met the late Earl and his wife once, but it was always appalling to hear of such a devastating accident.
Tamina decided the Earl was still grieving, although the coaching accident had taken place several months earlier.
And it was odd sitting here gazing into his dark eyes, noting that his black lashes were absurdly long for a man.
She had the feeling that she had met him somewhere before, although she knew she had not.
“May I ask, my Lord, what type of book you are planning to write?”
The Earl’s grave face suddenly looked warmer, more approachable.
“It is to be a history and travel book combined, Miss Waites. Most authors write either one or the other. But I have lived abroad for many years and I think it would be useful to write a book that combines not only information about different countries, but about their history as well.
“I intend to begin by documenting the history and aspects that travellers would find of interest on the Island of Madeira.”
Tamina now clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling.
“Oh, that does sound so interesting and it is why you advertised for your secretary to have a knowledge of Portuguese. Most travel books just tell you which excursions to take or the temperature at certain times of the year. I have often wondered how society runs in say, Italy, when I am there.”
“So you have travelled to Italy, Miss Waites?”
Tamina bit her lip.
She had almost given the game away! She would have to be far cleverer than this to fool the Earl.
“Well, yes, I went to Rome with an older lady two years ago,” she told him, which was not even a lie, as she had gone with her dear Mama who was definitely an older lady!
She paused for a moment to recover herself then added,
“I would be thrilled, my Lord, to help you with such a worthwhile project.”
The Earl felt a little of his heaviness of spirit lift at the young woman’s enthusiasm.
“Well, Miss Waites, I am happy to say that I think you would suit me very well. You have details of the salary I am offering which I trust you will find to your satisfaction. We set sail on a ship called the Blue Diamond that leaves from the port of Southampton.
“If you will leave your address with Cobham, I will see that the tickets and all the information you need are sent round to you this evening.”
He rang for the butler to show her out.
Tamina realised she was being dismissed, which was an odd feeling.
She had been quite prepared to continue talking about his work, but she had forgotten for the moment that the Earl only saw her as an employee, not as an equal.
She shook hands with him again, still wondering why there was this air of familiarity about him, and then followed the butler along the passage into the impressive hall
“His Lordship mentioned sending round my travel tickets,” she said airily, before remembering that she was not Lady Tamina, but the lowly Tabitha Waites. “I mean, my tickets for the journey – would it be possible to have them sent to Mrs Shepherd’s Agency?”
Cobham looked at her sharply.
She seemed to him a nice well-educated girl and he wondered if perhaps she was from a good family who had fallen on hard times. There was a wealth of breeding and education in her carriage and speech.
He had, for example, noticed her hands when she pulled off her gloves on arriving. Those hands, pale and delicate with perfect oval nails, had never done any hard work in their lives! He was far too aware of people’s station in life to be fooled.
“Yes, certainly, Miss Waites. I can arrange that for you.”
He did not ask for any reason. He had the feeling that this young lady was in dire need of a job and wondered if she was perhaps living in some very poor area that she did not want the Earl to know about.
Outside in the street Tamina could have jumped for joy.
She had secured the job and she would be escaping from England, leaving Edmund and his treachery behind her.
‘I like the Earl, which is a big plus,’ she cooed softly to herself as she hurried along the pavement, heading towards a main road where she could find a Hackney cab.
‘He seems a fine man, which is important to me. He obviously has a clever mind and his face is kind, although troubled. I would hate to work for someone I could not respect. And I like the idea of his book very much indeed.’
And as dusk was falling, she felt the misery surrounding her since Edmund’s betrayal lift a little.
*
If Tamina had glanced behind her just then, she would have seen a fair-haired young man run up the stairs from the basement servants’ entrance and hurry off in the other direction.
Joe Goodall was desperate.
All his schemes for eloping with his sweetheart, Nancy, had been thrown into ruin by the Earl’s plans to leave England and sail for Madeira.
Obviously the Earl expected Joe to go with him. There was no way he could ask for time off when they were to leave almost immediately.
And as Tamina was being carried across London to Knightsbridge, dreaming of her escape from England, Joe was tapping at a dirty wooden door in a rundown street.
“Nancy! Nancy! Are you there? It’s me, Joe.”
The door creaked open and a pale scared face peeped out. Then with a terrified glance over her shoulder, the red headed girl slid out into the street.
“Hush, Joe! Oh, do be quiet. Dad’s asleep at the table. But ’e’ll be awake any second. He’s meetin’ some friends down in Piccadilly.”
Joe drew in his breath in a sharp gasp as the sleeve of Nancy’s thin dress fell back to expose a bracelet of black bruises around her wrist.
“The beast! He’s done this to you, ’asn’t he?”
He went to push past her, but a small hand on his chest stopped him.
“No, Joe! Don’t. Oh, please don’t. He’ll kill you. Don’t make me go on livin’ without you. I couldn’t bear it! Please.”
And her large green eyes filled with glistening tears.
Joe forced himself to stand still.
She was right. He knew he was no match for Bill Rider.
The man had been a boxing champion before he grew so fat. He was known as someone who fought with no mercy and Joe was certain he would show none to anyone who spoke up to him.
“Listen, Nancy. You just ’ave to get away.”
“But Joe, ’ow can I? You’re off away to foreign parts with the Earl tomorrow! Where can I go? Dad would find me wherever I went and drag me back ’ere. Then he’d take ’is belt to me!”
Joe took her gently by the shoulders and pulled her close.
“Listen, can you be brave, sweetheart?”
He felt her nod.
“Then ’ere’s what you must do. Find some boy’s clothes, take this guinea and get yourself to the docks at Southampton.”
“But Joe – ”
“Listen, you can’t stay here no longer, Nancy. He’ll kill you, sure as eggs is eggs! The only thing you can do is stowaway on the same boat as I’m travellin’ on. Ship’s Captains can marry people, you know. It’s our only chance.”
“But Joe – ”
Nancy’s face was now swept with hope and then resignation.
“No buts, sweetheart. I don’t know how long ’is Lordship is thinkin’ of stayin’ in this Madeira pla
ce. He might sail on to somewhere else. He’s writin’ some old travel book. It could be months and months before I’m back in England. You could be dead by then!
“No, I’ll find you at the docks and help you hide somewhere on the boat. Look out for a big ship called the Blue Diamond.
“Then when we’re a long way out to sea, we’ll – we’ll – well, somehow I’ll find a way for us to marry. I can talk to the Captain. I know he can marry us. This is our only chance, Nancy, my girl. You’re comin’ with me!”
*
Safely at home once more, Tamina hurried upstairs to her room. She threw off the ghastly green hat she had borrowed from Mrs Driver the cook and shook her long golden hair free from the myriad of pins she had used to keep it secure.
She sank down at her little writing desk, so pretty with its inlaid patterns of mother-of-pearl.
Tamina stared down at the framed photographs of her beloved family and gained courage from their loving expressions.
Resolutely she pulled paper and ink towards her.
Before she left England, there was one more thing she had to do – and it would be the hardest of all.
She realised that she had never written to Edmund before. He had always insisted that any communication between them should come from him.
But this letter was important for her battered self-esteem.
“Edmund,” she wrote, “I will be brief. This letter is to inform you that I no longer wish to marry you.
Information has reached me that makes the idea abhorrent to me. I am sure you can guess what it is. From this day there is no longer an engagement between us.
I am leaving London.
Please do not make any attempt to discover my whereabouts or contact me in any way. ”
And with tears falling like pearls onto the paper, she signed it formally,
“Lady Tamina Braithwaite.”
There! She folded the paper and, before she could change her mind, folded it into an envelope.
She would have it delivered to the House of Commons first thing in the morning and then Lady Tamina Braithwaite would disappear and Miss Tabitha Waites would take her place.
CHAPTER FOUR
Three days later, Tamina once again stood waiting in the imposing entrance hall of Daventry House.
In Hiding Page 4