Page 100 of The Heiress's Daughter
“Yes, of course.” Clarissa lifted a small stack of papers off a bentwood chair and gestured for her sister to sit.
Zoë didn’t move. “No, in the summerhouse, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.” It was something private, then. A slender thread of concern coiled in Clarissa’s belly. Her little sister looked very serious.
She followed Zoë outside to the summerhouse. To her surprise her sister Izzy was there, already seated and waiting, and also Lucy, Lady Thornton, the goddaughter and niece-in-law of Lady Tarrant. Clarissa glanced at Izzy, who raised her shoulders infinitesimally; she had no idea what this was about, either.
“What’s going on?”
“I want”—Zoë glanced at Lucy, who nodded encouragingly—“we want to tell you about a plan we’ve made.”
“Plan?”We?Did that mean Zoë had formed a plan with Lucy? And not her sisters?
Zoë nodded. “I know you want to introduce me to society, but you know as well as I do that the minute society people clap eyes on me they’ll connect me with Izzy and the whole thing about her bas—her illegitimacy and mine will come up again. And it won’t be good for any of us, especially you, Clarissa.”
“Don’t you worry about m—”
“You know it’s true—even that pest Milly could see it at a glance,” Zoë said bluntly. “But me and Lucy have a solution, I think. If it’s all right with you.”
Clarissa blinked, then waved her hand. “Go on then.”
Lucy stepped in. “You know my husband and I came to be with Alice for when she had the baby—well, it was why I came, but my husband also came because there’s been some talk about his transferring from the embassy in Vienna to the one in Paris.”
“How interesting,” said Clarissa politely, wondering what this had to do with anything.
“He heard yesterday that he’s been given the Paris job.”
“Congratulations.”
“And that’s where I come in,” Zoë said eagerly. “Lucy has invited me to go with them to Paris.”
“To Paris?” Clarissa exclaimed, dismayed. Izzy took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly.
“Yes,” Lucy said. “I understand something of Zoë’s position, actually—”
“And you think that taking her away from her family will help?” Clarissa burst out.
“I know it’s hard,” Lucy said gently. “But I think Zoë will do well, living with me—with us—in Paris. I’ve talkedit over with my husband and he’s happy to welcome Zoë into our home, as my young companion. It will give her time to adjust to her new situation in life, and—”
“In a foreign country?”
“Zoë is half-French, ’Riss,” Izzy reminded her. Clarissa looked at her in reproach. Whose side was Izzy on?
Lucy continued, “It’s not just that. Zoë needs to improve her English reading and writing, and also we need to polish away that unfortunate accent of hers, and her society manners.”
“I can help her with all of that,” Clarissa said. She’d only just found Zoë and didn’t want to lose her.
There was a short silence. “I see that I need to explain to you just why I am the best person for the job,” Lucy said after a moment. “But I must ask that you promise to keep my story confidential.”
At Lucy’s somber tone, Clarissa and Izzy exchanged glances then nodded.
“When I was a girl,” Lucy began, “my father, who was—there is no other word for it—a scoundrel, placed me in a series of select boarding schools for the daughters of gentlemen. I say a series, because each time, after he failed to pay the second installment of the very expensive fees, I was expelled.” She smiled. “It was upsetting at the time, but it taught me several important things. I did receive an education, even if it was fragmented, and it taught me how to deal with new people—girls who were my social betters, and believe me, they were not kind. My accent at first was, let us say unfortunate, but by the time I had turned sixteen, I sounded like a lady.”
Clarissa opened her mouth to speak, but Lucy swept on.
“That was only the start. After school, he left me with a retired Austrian soprano, who taught me German and music and used me as a maidservant the rest of the time. She was very strict, but it paid off: in Vienna I received many compliments on my German, which is not only fluent, but aristocratic sounding.”
“Yes but—”
