Page 91 of Grave Expectations
"Not that I am aware, miss. He gave me my orders in private."
After he left, I dressed quickly. I didn't close the trunk, but left it there. It wasn't going anywhere.
I went in search of Lincoln and found him in the kitchen with Seth, Gus and Cook. By the stunned looks on their faces, he'd just given them the news. The three of them turned wide-eyed stares to me, mouths ajar.
"We need to talk," I told Lincoln with a firm lift of my chin.
"There's no more to say. Further discussion will only make this more difficult." He pushed past me. "You have ten minutes."
I tried to grasp him, but he was too quick. I picked up my skirts to run after him, but Seth beat me to it. His footsteps echoed along the corridor up ahead.
"You can't do this!" I heard him shout. I didn't hear Lincoln's quieter response. "No! It's not! Think about—"
Lincoln must have cut him off, but once again his words were too low to reach me.
I raced up to them, Gus and Cook on my heels. Lincoln saw me, turned, and strode off. "Coward!" I snapped.
He didn't stop. I heard the front door open and close.
"Bloody hell," Gus muttered. "Has he lost his mind?"
Seth's eyes flashed with cold fury. I'd never seen him so angry before. "What has he told you?" he asked.
"That I'm going to a school in the north for a year. Afterward, I can travel to the continent and find work as a governess or—" I choked and couldn't finish.
Seth drew me into a hug. "He'll come to his senses soon enough."
"In ten minutes?"
"You need to talk to him."
"I've tried. He's not listening."
"Try again." He grabbed my hand. "Come on."
The four of us headed outside, but Lincoln was nowhere in sight. I leaned against the side of the house and folded my hands over my stomach. I felt sick. If I couldn't find him to talk to him, how could I change his mind?
"Don't worry," Seth said, returning after searching around the perimeter of the house. He breathed heavily, but I didn't think it was entirely from exertion. "We'll speak with him after you're gone if it comes to that."
"She ain't goin' nowhere," Gus growled.
"Aye, she be stayin' here with us," Cook said.
"She can't," Seth told him. "He made it clear that wasn't an option."
"Then we'll find her somewhere to stay nearby."
"She can live with my aunt," Gus said, nodding eagerly. "She'll like the company."
Seth stroked his chin. "It's a good idea. Perhaps we can find her employment."
"Doing what?" Cook shrugged his massive round shoulders. "She ain't got the right education for a governess or nurse, and I ain't letting her work in no factory."
"Domestic service?"
Cook snorted. "That be beneath her and you know it."
"At least it's a start!"
