That same look of concern and disapproval flitted across Mr. Paxton-Hill’s face, but he didn’t speak.
“What must I do—” I was almost too afraid to ask—“if I attract a duke?”
“Why, marry him, of course, and become his duchess.” Mrs. Hill smiled as she stood and walked across the room to offer me her hand. “Just say yes. You don’t need to worry about a thing. I’ll take care of all the details. You just do as I say and we’ll both get what we want.”
“What doyouwant, Miss O’Day?” Mr. Paxton-Hill asked me.
I slowly wet my lips. No one had ever asked me what I wanted. When I was small, my aunt had belittled me when I whispered my heart’s desires, so I had learned to keep them close. They were safer that way.
“Do you want to get out of Five Points?” Mrs. Hill asked me.
“Aye.”
“Do you want to wear fine clothes, ride around in a fancy carriage, attend operas and balls and dinner parties?”
I found myself nodding. I had never even dreamed of those things, but they sounded grand.
“Then you will get what you want, if you listen to me and do as I say.”
Could it be that simple?
“Will you agree to become my daughter?” Mrs. Hill asked, not giving me much time to contemplate her offer.
Mr. Paxton-Hill looked as if he was holding his breath.
I would be a fool to say no—and, if I agreed to go to England, it would give me the opportunity to look for my mother. Surely, if she was still alive, I could find her.
That thought alone gave me the courage to nod.
“Aye,” I said, my cheeks burning with excitement and nerves. Emotions I rarely felt flooded through me, like an elixir I wanted to drink over and over. Anticipation, expectancy . . . hope.
Mrs. Hill took my hand and squeezed it as she pulled me to my feet. Her grin stretched across her face, and she looked a decade younger. “How wonderful! How marvelous! Alec, did you hear that? I’m to be a mother.” She laughed and it was the sound of pure joy.
For a moment, I felt the same thrill. I was going to have a mother—and not just any mother—but Mrs. Maude Hamilton Hill, one of the wealthiest widows in New York City.
But then my gaze collided with Mr. Paxton-Hill—Alec—and the elation was replaced by uncertainty and fear.
He did not look as pleased as his aunt.
But was he upset with her—or with me?
3
The tea tray was forgotten as Mrs. Walker was called into the room and told about the arrangement.
Alec quietly slipped away.
Mrs. Hill wanted complete secrecy. No one must know my identity. The staff would be told I was Mrs. Hill’s long-lost niece, come to stay with her in New York City. The maid I spoke to when I first arrived would be offered a promotion in the house for her silence. And when the time was right, Mrs. Hill would announce my adoption, and we would proceed from there.
Until then, Mrs. Walker was to appoint a lady’s maid for me, one who could be trusted with the secret, and if there was any gossip among the staff, it was to be shut down immediately.
“Do you have someone in mind for Miss O’Day’s lady’s maid?” Mrs. Hill asked Mrs. Walker.
“I think Deidre would be a good choice,” Mrs. Walker said. “She’s smart and hardworking. She keeps to herself.”
“Excellent. Please have her draw a bath for Miss O’Day and send Brown in to me. I’ll need to find a gown for Miss O’Day to use until we can get a suitable wardrobe made for her.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mrs. Walker left the room as Mrs. Hill walked to a door on the side and motioned for me to follow her.
