“Tory, are you certain about this? I do not think mama is going to be happy about this.”
Victoria glanced at her sister, Helen, who was staring at her with wide green eyes. Her twin, Mary, stood next to her, her gaze identical to Helen’s.
“It will be all right,” Victoria assured them with a small smile. “Trust me.”
“But…why do we have to be with you?” Mary asked, exchanging a look with Helen.
Victoria considered her words carefully. She was leading her sisters through their house in search of their mother, who she was fairly certain in the kitchen. When her father was alive, her mother would not have needed to prepare their family’s meals as they had had plenty of staff to take care of the household.
Now, they could not afford to hire any temporary help, so her mother had to learn to cook. To say she was proficient at the skill would be an overstatement, but she was getting better, and her meals were edible. In the end, that is all that really mattered.
The three sisters reached the kitchen, and sure enough, their mother was standing at the stove, stirring something in a large pot. She glanced up when she noticed them enter.
“Oh! What perfect timing,” she said with a wide smile. “I need someone to taste this. Will one of you girls try it?”
Victoria nodded and crossed to her mother, thinking to put herself in her good graces before bringing up her desire to go to England. Her mother spooned up a bit of the stew and offered it to Victoria, who took a hesitant taste. It was hot but was rather pleasant, if not a little bland.
“How is it?” her mother asked.
“It is good,” Victoria answered.
“Excellent!” Her mother looked so proud. It made Victoria’s chest ache. She turned back to the stew and continued to stir the pot.
Victoria glanced back at her sisters, who both shrugged in unison.
Taking a breath, Victoria turned back to her mother and said, “Um…mother…there is something I would like to talk to you about?”
“Oh? What is that, my dear?” her mother asked without looking away from her stew.
“Well,” Victoria hesitated, “I have not had the best of luck finding a governess position, as you know….”
“Yes,” her mother nodded. “I am sorry for that, Tory. You have been trying so hard to find work. But you must not worry. I am sure something will come up.”
Victoria gritted her teeth and pushed down her irritation. Why did her mother insist on believing such nonsense? She could not really think that, could she? Not after all that Victoria had already gone through.
It did not matter, she told herself. That was not the issue she needed to focus on at present.
She squared her shoulders, put her hand on her mother’s arm, and turned her back around. Her mother gazed up at her, clearly confused.
“Is something the matter, Tory?” she asked.
“Mother, I had an idea about where I might find work,” Victoria answered.
“What is that, dear?” Her mother frowned.
“I can go to England.”
Her mother’s eyes widened in shock. “What? You want to go to England?”
Victoria nodded. “There is a much better chance of me finding a position there. The upper class are not as familiar with us since we have been away for so long, and I am sure Henrietta could help me. If you let me, I will write to her and ask if I might go and stay with her and if she would be willing to make introductions for me.”
Her mother furrowed her brow, and Victoria was not certain she fully comprehended what she was saying.
“Mother?” she murmured. “Will you allow me to write to Henrietta?”
To her shock, tears began to form in her mother’s eyes. “You want to leave France? You want to leave me?”
Sighing, Victoria shook her head. “Of course I do not want to leave you, mother. That is the last thing I want to do. But…there are no options for me to work here. Our family is too well known, and that is not proving to be a good thing.”
