Page 12 of Once Upon a Midnight Dream

Shaking her head and forehead puckered, Lilly shut the door.

“I thought Miss Sanders said she intended to take the younger students bird-watching this afternoon, Mrs. B.”

Mrs. B made a disapproving sound in her throat before pinching her mouth tight as if she struggled to restrain herself before finally blurting, “I would wager my best bonnet she has sneaked off to flirt with the Mansfield’s groom. Again. Likely, she pawned her charges off on Miss McKenzie. Miss McKenzie frets about the children too much to say no to the imposition.”

Lilly puffed out a breath from between her lips.

If Mrs. B said Miss Sanders was hieing off for clandestine meetings, then that was that. Any gossip or tattle within five miles, and Mrs. B knew all the sordid details. Not that Lilly listened to tattle regularly, but the truth was, Mrs. B knew just about everything that went on.

Hence, Miss Ruby Sanders was not long for Kelston Hall.

Lilly must admit, hiring her had proved a mistake, despite her stellar references.

In the seven months the woman had been here, she had proven lackadaisical and inefficient. This was not her first inappropriate liaison either—which meant Lilly had no choice but to terminate her employment and post the position. It also meant rearranging the other staff’s schedules and likely having to teach lessons herself in the interim.

Even if deserved, Lilly disliked giving anyone their congé.

However, the children’s home had a reputation to uphold. Teachers who shirked their duties and failed to be good moral examples to the children could not remain.

Miss Sanders, too, should have made better choices.

Just one more unpleasant thing Lilly must deal with today.

Mrs. B gave her an encouraging smile.

“Thank you for the help, Lilly. Hopefully, Sheriff Wrottesley can shed a little light on who our mysterious guest is.”

“I enjoyed making the bread.” And Lilly had.

Should the good Lord have seen fit to allow her to marry and have children, Lilly quite thought she would have liked cooking and baking for her family.

Fully in command of her kitchen, Mrs. B waved her wooden spoon in the air, like a monarch wielding her scepter.

“Make sure to leave the office door open, and I shall have a lass bring you a cup of tea as an excuse to make sure the bounder does not dare cross the mark.” She cackled, unashamed of her missing teeth. “Or I can come myself, rolling pin in hand to defend your honor.”

Lilly grinned as she imagined that scene.

Mrs. B winked. “You could always wave your pistol in his arrogant face.”

Four

Still in the fragrant kitchen

Lilly chuckled. “Let’s hope that will not be necessary.”

Mrs. B had been at Kelston Hall almost as long as Lilly had. What was more, she knew Wrottesley was a lecherous toad. No female under the age of eighty, save the most powerful and influential, were safe from the wretch’s unwanted attentions.

Lilly kept a pistol and a blade in her desk drawer—just in case he overstepped.

Men like Wrottesley should never hold powerful positions.

The sheriff turned a blind eye to the nefarious actions his cronies committed while accepting bribes, practicing extortion, and acting a tyrant toward anyone who dared cross him. But as the local magistrate’s brother-in-law, the likelihood of Sheriff Wrottesley getting his comeuppance was as probable as Lilly marrying nobility.

Marrying at all, for that matter.

It would not happen.

Poor, orphaned, with ugly scars upon her face, and long on the shelf, she had rarely entertained the notion of marriage anymore, which was another reason she had been so grateful to Miss Davenport for ensuring Lilly had a position at Kelston Hall Children’s Home.