Jennie Kissed Me by Joan Smith

master.”
    “They were only gone for three hours in the middle of the afternoon,” I reminded her.
    “Ho, men can be up to as much mischief in daylight as in the dark, and it don’t take three hours either.”
    “This one got up to no mischief, for I had seen him rolling his eyes at her the week before and took the precaution of discovering where he had rooms. Mrs. Grambly and I went after them and got the girl back with no harm done to her. We notified the other ladies’ seminaries that the man was not to be trusted. It is the only way to deal with such creatures.”
    “That was well done of you, to have noticed their romance,” he complimented.
    “When you have young people in your trust you have to keep your wits about you,” I said modestly.
    “Had I known Mrs. Grambly’s was so well staffed, I would have sent Vickie there,” he said, with a bow that made it a personal compliment.
    “She would have had experts in the various fields instead of expecting one woman to tutor her in everything,” I pointed out.
    “I fear I acted unwisely to keep her at home, but I wanted her near me. She could still do with some professional tutoring.”
    “Most girls leave school around her age. She would be the eldest girl there. I doubt she would be happy.”
    “Oh, it is out of the question now. She considers herself beyond the schoolroom. Have you thought of any friend or colleague who would be suitable to accompany her for the next year, till she is presented?”
    “No, I cannot think of anyone at all. If it is only a companion you want, surely you must know some gentlewoman who would welcome such a sinecure?” Poor relations existed in every family. As various aunts had been mentioned, I knew his extended family to be fairly large.
    “I shall find someone, of course.” He turned to include Mrs. Irvine in our conversation. “Are you ladies off to London for the Season?” She nodded.
    “Not to make a formal debut,” I said, “but only to absorb some culture—galleries, plays, concerts—and take in a few informal parties.”
    “That, too,” my talkative friend said, “but since she has got her fortune, Jennie plans to nab a parti . We have a certain baronet in our eye. With ten thousand and some looks, she can aim that high, don’t you think, Lord Marndale?”
    The bluntness of her assertion left me pink all over. “I could really not care less whether I marry or not. It is the culture—”
    “You’re not old enough to have to settle for culture yet, Jennie. You have a few good years still in you.”
    Seeing my misery, Lord Marndale did the gentlemanly thing and changed the subject. “Mrs. Irvine mentioned a rigid schedule. I expect you have hired your house and servants?”
    Nothing of the sort had been arranged. Our plan was to find a small apartment and hire a minimum of servants. “We shall do that after we arrive,” I replied.
    He looked surprised. “Ah. You might find some difficulty with the Season beginning.”
    Mrs. Irvine made another of her untimely eruptions into confidence. “If worse comes to worst, we can batten ourselves on Captain Smallbone, a friend of my late husband. He bought a small apartment house in Upper Grosvenor Square when he retired and ekes out his pension by renting a few rooms. I know he is not filled up, for I had a note from his wife just a week ago complaining that no one wanted the top floor because of the stairs. Jennie and I have strong limbs, however, and shan’t mind an attic.”
    “Only as a last resort for a few days, till we can find something better,” I added hastily.
    “It will be cheap at least,” Mrs. Irvine reminded me. “You’ll find the interest on ten thousand does not go so far as it would in Bath. For myself, I would have settled for Mr. Fuller. Barring the squinty eye, he is not at all bad looking, and well to grass. He would have shut up his shop when he got your fortune.”
    “I assure you I have no intention of marrying a