“Is that for an interview?”
“We’re interviewing now.”
She said nothing, quite sure this wasn’t the right position for her but at the same time, she couldn’t afford to be terribly choosy, not when she was down to her last two hundred pounds and that wouldn’t go far in London.Instead of taking those extra classes this fall, she should have gotten a job or returned to the States.With her degrees from University College London, she could have been teaching at any US community college, and with the teaching component, she could also apply to high schools, although she preferred older students.The older the better, actually.Cat found it difficult to relate to children, probably because she’d had an abnormal childhood herself.
“How old are your daughters?”she asked, praying they weren’t toddlers.
School age children might be okay, but babies?Impossible.She’d never changed a diaper in her life.
“Nine and twelve.Although the twelve-year-old acts as if she’s twelve going on seventeen.She’s very independent and opinionated.”
From what Cat could remember of her own childhood, that sounded about right.“And the nine-year-old?”
“She’s a sweet girl, on the quiet side, usually easygoing.”
Usually, Cat repeated to herself.Which seemed to be another way of saying that lately things within the family had been rather dramatic.
“Has there been a big change in their lives?A divorce or separation?”Or death, she silently added, having far too much experience with that one.
“The divorce was four years ago, but until now we’ve always managed a family Christmas.However, this year their mum is gone for the holidays, and their nanny asked for time off, so I’ve been left in a pinch.If it were any other time, we’d be fine.The girls and I do well together, but I have a big deadline, and I can’t be as hands-on as I’d like.”
“Does that mean you won’t be in Derbyshire for the holidays?”
“I’ll be in Derbyshire but as I’m completing a paper, which if all goes well, becomes a book.I need to work in the mornings with the expectation that I’ll be free early to midafternoon.”
“Your daughters know this?”
“They know my schedule.”
Her silence must have provoked him because he suddenly added, “My children are familiar with the demands of my job.”
“I’m not criticizing, Dr.Harmon.I was just… processing.My father was a doctor.He was busy as well.”And just like that, Cat realized she could do this job.
That she should do this job.Holidays were a hard time to be alone—never mind feeling abandoned by one’s parents—whether it was their choice or not.
“Christmas is not an easy time to bring a stranger into your home,” she said.“But seeing as you need help—”
“I do.”
“And they need someone to keep them busy—in a good way—maybe it could work, me being there, taking care of things so you can meet your deadline, and the girls could have a happy winter break.”
He hesitated.“I need the help, I do, but I don’t want to mislead you.Jillian is going to challenge you right and left, at least the first few days.It’s not going to be easy, not initially, which is why I’m offering the compensation I am.You can tell yourself it’s hazard pay.”
Cat’s brows shot up.Hazard pay?“I take it I’m not the first temporary nanny you’ve tried?”
“Yes.I hired a woman from a reputable agency, but she walked out two days ago, and I refuse to jump through all those agency hoops again.”
“Why did she leave so abruptly?”
She heard him inhale and silence stretched before he answered.“She made some disparaging remarks about my ex-wife, and I told her that she’d been hired to mind the girls, not my former marriage, and she didn’t like that.”
“Or maybe she didn’t like your tone when you said it.”
“What does that mean?”
“You have a way of speaking that comes across…” She crossed her fingers, knowing full well she was making herself an impossible hire, but he might as well know the truth.“Rather highhanded.”
“Highhanded?”
