Mrs. Hutton had sat behind this battered desk. Opposite her was a woman not yet in her middling years. She was flamboyantly dressed in what Clarissa thought was the height of fashion. She had never seen this woman before. She had dragged her eyes back to matron. “Ma’am, you sent for me?”
“Yes, Clarissa. Your aunt has come to give you a home.”
Clarissa slammed her shocked gaze onto the woman. “My aunt?”
“Yes,” the woman answered quietly.
“If you’re my aunt, where have you been for the last sixteen years, while I’ve moldered in this orphanage?”
The woman averted her gaze.
“Really, Clarissa—” Matron began.
The woman cut her off. “I’ve spent that time trying to find you. Your mother died when you were a baby, and you were placed here.”
“It’s taken you a long time to find me!” Clarissa huffed.
“Nevertheless, I’m here now and ready to take you under my wing and train you as an actress, just like your mother. You’ll become famous, just like her too.”
“Clarissa, you don’t have to agree to go with your aunt. You can choose to stay here and finish your education andbecome a governess. You are bright enough to excel in that role.” Mrs. Hutton interjected, her voice kind.
With a long, slow appraisal, Clarissa had sized up the two women and the offers they made for her future.An excellentgoverness or a famous actress? Should she trust this ‘aunt’ of hers?“Have you proof that she is who she claims?” Clarissa asked Matron.
“I’ve seen written evidence and I’ve checked her claim to work at The Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, and seen her lodgings nearby.”
A look of outrage had passed over the woman’s face, at this admission of investigation, but was quickly extinguished to be replaced by a smile and nod of approval. “Rightly so,” she said.
“What is your name please?” Clarissa asked.
“Mrs. Dorothy Jenkins,” she replied with an engaging smile.
“Not Bartlett, like my mother and me?”
“I used my husband’s name when I took to the stage.”
“And Mr. Jenkins?” Clarissa asked.
“No longer in this world,” Mrs. Jenkins said, muffling a faint sniff.
An actress indeed.
“Have you made a decision, Clarissa?” Matron had asked gently.
To work like a drudge as a governess or to have an exciting life on the stage?There is no decision to make.She dipped her chin in assent. “I wish to go with my aunt and make my career on the stage, like my mother. I have loved performing in the few Shakespearian plays we have staged here.”
Aunt Dora had clapped her hands together, a smile breaking out on her handsome face.
Elation had filled Clarissa. She had felt like jumping up and down. But she didn’t. She knew better than to show such a display of emotions in this institution. It could only lead to punishment. Good governesses hid their feelings behind a professional mask of calmness.
Aunt Dora had stood and extended her hand. “Come, let us depart. You have a new life to begin.” The wide smile she sent her seemed genuine.
Clarissa slipped her hand into her aunt’s, a triumphant grin breaking out on her face.
“I’ll have your possessions packed and brought downstairs, Clarissa.” Mrs. Hutton rang a bell on her desk. “In the meantime, Mrs. Jenkins, there are documents to sign before we relinquish Clarissa into your care. She is still underage, so you need to sign in her stead.”
“Of course,” her aunt had said. A look of glee had shone in her eyes for a moment.
I’m going to train as an actress and become more famous than my mother.Clarissa had never forgotten that vow.
