Mr.Huntley stared at Mildred and feigned being affronted, his palm to his chest.“Shouldn’t you be consoling me?”
“I’m sorry, my darling.I thought you would be used to losing to Mrs.Digby by now.”Mildred batted her eyelashes at Huntley.
Huntley gasped in mock outrage, then chuckled and tucked Mildred’s arm through his and she beamed up at him, while Fairfax laughed.
Mrs.Digby finally noticed Sophia and Xavier in the doorway.“Yes?”
Sophia shrugged her shoulders.“We heard a commotion.”
“Came to see what caused the excitement,” Xavier added.
“This unlicked cub got another lesson in respecting his elders,” Mrs.Digby said, her broad grin belying her stern words.
“It’s not fair,” Huntley said, his eyes twinkling in mirth.“You have so much more time to practice than I do.”
“All the more reason you should have known better than to wager with her,” Fairfax drawled.
“But didn’t I see that you lost a bet to Aunt Agnes?”
Before they could argue further, Kendall appeared in the doorway and announced dinner would be ready in twenty minutes.
“Off you go,” Mrs.Digby said.She turned to Mildred.“Enid will show you to your room.”She grasped one of Mildred’s hands.“I should take a birch to your backside for the danger you put yourself in, miss, but I will leave it to your parents to sort that out.”She pulled Mildred closer and dropped a kiss on her cheek.“Until then, once again, welcome to the family.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Mildred said, her voice quavering on the edge of tears.
As they filed out of the billiards room and toward the staircase, Mildred touched Sophia’s elbow when they began to turn in opposite directions.“Aren’t you coming upstairs?”
“In a minute.I just need to tidy the desk.”
Sophia quickly put away her writing tools and papers, leaving Xavier’s practice sheets out for him.The packet on the edge of the desk teased her.Biting her bottom lip, she debated going upstairs and leaving it for later, or taking it with her.She couldn’t bear the idea of bad news waiting for her or reading it in front of Ruby.
She broke the seal.
Four letters were inside, wrapped in a note from her cousin Claire expressing the hope that Sophia was doing well and that the correspondence she was forwarding contained good news.With an aggrieved huff, Sophia noted the dates and realized Claire had taken her sweet time in forwarding the correspondence.Had she delayed good news or bad?Could her cousin have alleviated Sophia’s anxiety about finding employment days or weeks ago?Or had she given her a reprieve from rejection?
The first was a notice that they’d already hired a teacher.Not surprising, as it was one of the first positions she had applied for when she learned the academy would close, and it had been posted for at least a week before she saw the advertisement.
The second contained a counteroffer.They’d filled the position in Bournemouth but would she consider teaching at their other location, near Birmingham?That school was double in size, as would be her workload, and promised a twenty-five percent increase in salary over what the first position had offered.
Sophia got down the atlas to confirm.Aside from being a large industrial city, Birmingham was about as far from the seaside as one could get in all of England.She would not be able to dig her toes in the sand on walks or fall asleep to the sound of waves, and would have little if any time or energy left after completing her school duties for composing her own music.But with the school providing her lodging and meals as part of her generous compensation, she would be able to preserve much of her salary as savings and investments to support herself in her declining years.
Setting aside her mixed emotions about the offer, she opened the third letter.
Your reputation for excellence in music instruction precedes you.We were deeply saddened to hear of Madame Zavrina’s sudden death and the subsequent closing of the Torquay Academy but must confess we are delighted at the opportunity this affords us to add you to our august staff of instructors here in Dover.
Tears sprang to her eyes and breath left her in a rush.With a sniff, she got out her handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes to clear her vision.
The letter went on to list the salary and benefits and some of the school’s plans, such as trips taking the older girls to London, Calais, Brussels, and Paris … including theOpéra national de Paris.
Sophia gasped.The Paris Opera House?She had always wanted to see it, but never dared dream of going to Paris!
With the letter that had arrived yesterday, she now had three employment options from which to choose.
She had choices!
Her relief was so intense she felt lightheaded.She grasped the edge of the desk to steady herself, then fell into the chair.
She would not be dependent on the kindness of her cousin Claire or have to deal with Stanley, Claire’s odious, money-grasping husband.Most importantly, as soon as she decided which offer to accept, she’d know what her future held.No longer would next month or next year gape in front of her as an unknown, uncertain void.She’d have a plan.
