Twenty years ago? “Because of your father?”
“Mrs. Metcalf, one of the mothers, has wanted me gone since the moment she realized who I was.”
Chaswick had mentioned Mrs. Metcalf’s part in all this. Collette’s brother had been more than angry; he’d been livid.
Addison remembered the woman. In fact, she was one of the reasons he hadn’t wanted to abandon Fiona there. Clutching, climbing, manipulative…
Miss Jones grimaced, drawing his attention to her mouth.Collette.Nowthatwas the name of a seductress… Although her brand of charm wasn’t something a woman could conjure.
“She feared my illegitimacy would rub off on one of her daughters. Three days following your departure, she brought a petition to Miss Primm—signed by some twenty or so of the other parents.”
“But Miss Primm was aware of your circumstances when she hired you.” It wasn’t as though she’d been teaching at Eton or Oxford. Although not often, he had witnessed members of society treat his brother similarly, and his gut tightened at the thought of Collette having to endure such censure alone.
“She was faced with losing a third of her students if she were to keep me on. I don’t blame her. I definitely don’t blame you.” She shrugged and Addison’s gaze dropped to the delicate curve where her neck sloped into her shoulders. Vanilla. He’d all but tasted it there.
Her scandal had nothing to do with him, but the fact remained that he’d been alone with her in that stairwell, and that he’d kissed her. Regardless of who knew, his own conscience would plague him forever if he didn’t right her circumstances somehow.
And the most effective way to do that was to marry her. The notion that he was going to have to convince her of this was absurd.
“Your brother was not happy about it.” In the little time he’d spent with Chaswick, it was obvious that the baron doted on his sisters.
“I feel horrible for letting him down.” But she had not let her brother down, in truth. She’d done nothing wrong.
“He doesn’t blame you.”
“But he should. Will you answer something for me?” Without waiting for a response, she went on. “What all did he risk by acknowledging me and my sisters the way he did? With society, I mean?”
Her candor, he realized, was a part of her charm. Addison considered Chaswick’s position, his rank, and his wealth. Still… “He cannot have known, really,” he answered. “Society is a fickle but often unforgiving institution.”
Her eyes widened and then her expression all but collapsed into dismay. “But whatexactlywas he risking? Friendships?”
Any gently bred lady would know precisely what her brother had risked. Acceptance amongst the British elitewas something one mustn’t ever take for granted. Although not a tangible thing, once lost, it was rarely bestowed again. This hierarchy of power permeated the very air that they breathed.
Her eyes held a hint of pleading, and Addison sensed an inkling of why she’d refused him.
Because she was not, in truth, gently bred. She’d been raised in a cloak of secrecy.
“Your brother’s title is an old one, and he’s always been well respected.” He would explain this to her. “And for that, he possesses considerable influence. But think of that influence as money.”
“Diana made a good match.” She tilted her head and two lines appeared between her eyes.
“Upon which some of that influence was returned to him.”
Miss Jones blinked a few times as she seemed to grasp what he was telling her. “Are my failures bankrupting his influence?”
“Not hardly.” Addison stared pointedly across the room to where the baron and baroness conversed easily with the Marquess and Marchioness of Rockingham. “And he wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t wanted to.”
“But my presence in London now cannot be helping.” Her bottom lip quivered. “I knew before that it could not be easy for Chaswick and… but now that I’ve been dismissed from a such a reputable institution as Miss Primm’s…”
“There are things you’ll never have any control over.”
“This should not be one of them.” Her eyes took on a distant look, and he could practically feel the energy of her brain working to come up with her own solution.
“Have you always been so independent?” he asked.
“It’s not that I’m independent, it’s that I’m realistic. Other people won’t always be there to take care of my problems, to take care of my mother, and my sisters. If I don’t take care of them, who will?”
Because her father had had another family. “But you have your brother,” Addison pointed out.
