Augustus
*
Olivia—
How will I ever eat raspberry jam again without throwing a raging cockstand? I wish I could blame you for such corruption of my body and soul, but the experiment was, after all, my idea.
Augustus
*
Augustus—
Mrs. Phelps would surely murder me if she knew how I failed to protect her priceless jam. But how can I be sorry? I only hope that no one heard us. I am sure, with a less talented lover, I would have been able to be more circumspect. But it seems that such good fortune has evaded me and I am condemned to be indiscreet.
Olivia
*
Augustus—
I received your gift. It is far too fine for me and I insist you take it back. Such a valuable item could easily be stolen from my room. Also, I have no occasion to wear such a thing. In the house, of course, it would only arouse suspicion.
Olivia
*
Olivia—
The necklace can only be yours. But if you fear it being thieved or causing too much notice, then give it to me tonight and I will guard it for you.
I hate that I must leave London tomorrow. To be parted from you for a week will be agony. I wish there was some way to take you with me, but, as you’ve said, it is impossible. I know I am being exceedingly foolish to feel the separation so extremely. Especially when we have tonight and, after all, we will only be apart a week.
Augustus
*
“I am verysorry,” Augustus murmured, as they waited in the entryway for Willa. She had dashed up to her room to collect a few things that she wanted to bring the children. “My sister—she is very passionate about her work.”
“You do not need to apologize. Her dedication is admirable. In fact, I cannot tell you how much I admire it.”
It was true. Olivia had been seized, when Willa had mentioned the orphanage, by a desire to see the place again. In fact, since her return from London, the possibility had circulated in her mind, beneath the thrum of her day-to-day activities and her new relationship with Augustus. That Augustus’s own sister was going there this afternoon—there could be no more certain sign that she should revisit it.
“I only hope you will not be bored or think less of me when you see where I come from,” she said, in a whisper, “Although, perhaps, you have already been to the place.”
“I am ashamed to confess that I have not. My sister possesses a much purer soul than I do, I assure you. And if I were to think less of you for such a thing, then I would be a very unworthy man indeed. Unworthy of any woman, but especially of you.”
His eyes burned as he said the words and she felt heat trail from her bodice downward. He had a way of being so ardent, so convincing in his esteem for her, that he actually made a marriage between them seem possible. He made it seem plausible, even when she knew it was a ridiculous dream.
She heard Willa’s step and she looked away from him, breaking the moment. Augustus nodded at his sister when she appeared and they all set out together. The air was extremely cold, and the day had clouded. The orphanage was only five streets away and they hurried in the frigid air.
“If it wasn’t incredibly late in the season for such a thing, I would swear that it is about to snow,” Augustus said, looking up at the sky.
“If it begins, we should have to go back,” Willa said, nodding. “But hopefully it will not. I was hoping for a long visit today with the children.”
“What are your usual activities at the orphanage, Lady Willa?” Olivia asked, still somewhat astonished that this high-born young woman spent time with the lowest citizens of London. In her time at the orphanage, she could remember no such thing.
“I fear that I am very little help,” Willa said, shaking her head. “I mostly play with the children and give them lessons. I don’t have any of the practical skills that so many of them will need to learn for employment, although I can teach them letters and figures. We go over geography and history, too, as best we can.”
