what will pay a lot for girls that look as young as me. Well, I was right horrified and told her straight out that I wouldn’t never do such a thing! I begged her to let me work anywhere else, even in the scullery. She just shook her head and had her servant Waldo come in. A big, evil-looking man, he is. She told me if I didn’t agree to do what she wanted, she’d have Waldo…persuade me. She said that, he being one what likes ’em young, with a fancy for rough sport, she don’t let him use her own girls.”
A shudder ran through Jane’s thin frame. “The way he looked at me, Lady Belle! I thought there couldn’t be nothing worse than Waldo. So—” her voice dropped to a whisper “—I…I agreed.”
“Oh, Jane,” Belle murmured, heart aching for her. “Did the other girls suffer the same fate?”
“I dunno, ma’am. They’re not at Mrs. Jarvis’s house, so maybe not all the girls brought to London end up there.”
“Someone should look into this. Whoever is perpetrating this fraud should be transported!”
Jane shook her head doubtfully. “Mrs. Jarvis said if I ever thought to go to a constable, I’d be wasting my breath. I came to London willing enough, and staying at her house were my own choice.”
“Only because you were threatened! I cannot believe such a scheme could be legal. But no more on that now. Do you want to return to Mrs. Jarvis?”
Jane shrugged. “What respectable household or shop would hire me now, however good I be with my needle?”
Belle smiled wryly. “I can’t claim to be a ‘respectable’ household, but the task itself will be honest enough. Would you like to work for me? I have a great many gowns I should like to have remade and ’tis a project beyond my skills. If you have the talent to do so, you would be rendering me a very great service.”
“I should be honored, ma’am!” Jane exclaimed. A moment later, her excited glow faded. “But…I don’t expect Mrs. Jarvis would let me. I bring in a lot of business.”
Belle lifted her brows. “She can hardly force you to stay—unless she wishes to face prosecution. This is stillEngland, and even women such as we cannot be held against our will.”
“Then you think…you think I can stay?”
“Jane Parsons, do you wish to work for me?”
“Oh, yes, ma’am!”
“Then consider yourself hired. However, since it is quite probable that Mrs. Jarvis will not rejoice over your decision to pursue a new profession, let me inform her by message.”
Jane paled. “I expect she’ll be fiercesome angry.”
“Never you worry about it! Now, let’s find you some proper clothing and get you settled.”
But once again Jane hesitated. “The rest of your household…they may not much like having a girl such as me thrust among ’em.”
Recalling the range of checkered pasts among her employees, Belle laughed. “’Tis unlikely anyone taking service in the house of the infamous Lady Belle would stand in judgment of a fellow creature—nor would I permit it. Come along now. In the morning, you can begin on those gowns.”
Though Jane rose, she didn’t follow. “What if Mrs. Jarvis sends somebody to…to fetch me back?”
Behind the question, Belle sensed the girl’s fear of the infamous Waldo. “I assure you, even if she dispatches her henchman, Watson is fully capable of handling him. He was once the best prize-fighter in England.”
At that, Jane cast herself once again at Belle’s feet. “Oh, my lady, I shall be forever grateful! And my skill with a needle ain’t empty boasting, neither, you’ll see! Show meany style you favor in a magazine or shop window, and I can make you the very thing!”
“I see we shall deal very well together,” Belle replied, smiling as she shepherded Jane from the room.
After turning her new charge over to her housekeeper, Belle returned to pen the note informing Mrs. Jarvis of her employee’s defection. By the time she’d finished crafting that missive, Belle’s
A shudder ran through Jane’s thin frame. “The way he looked at me, Lady Belle! I thought there couldn’t be nothing worse than Waldo. So—” her voice dropped to a whisper “—I…I agreed.”
“Oh, Jane,” Belle murmured, heart aching for her. “Did the other girls suffer the same fate?”
“I dunno, ma’am. They’re not at Mrs. Jarvis’s house, so maybe not all the girls brought to London end up there.”
“Someone should look into this. Whoever is perpetrating this fraud should be transported!”
Jane shook her head doubtfully. “Mrs. Jarvis said if I ever thought to go to a constable, I’d be wasting my breath. I came to London willing enough, and staying at her house were my own choice.”
“Only because you were threatened! I cannot believe such a scheme could be legal. But no more on that now. Do you want to return to Mrs. Jarvis?”
Jane shrugged. “What respectable household or shop would hire me now, however good I be with my needle?”
Belle smiled wryly. “I can’t claim to be a ‘respectable’ household, but the task itself will be honest enough. Would you like to work for me? I have a great many gowns I should like to have remade and ’tis a project beyond my skills. If you have the talent to do so, you would be rendering me a very great service.”
“I should be honored, ma’am!” Jane exclaimed. A moment later, her excited glow faded. “But…I don’t expect Mrs. Jarvis would let me. I bring in a lot of business.”
Belle lifted her brows. “She can hardly force you to stay—unless she wishes to face prosecution. This is stillEngland, and even women such as we cannot be held against our will.”
“Then you think…you think I can stay?”
“Jane Parsons, do you wish to work for me?”
“Oh, yes, ma’am!”
“Then consider yourself hired. However, since it is quite probable that Mrs. Jarvis will not rejoice over your decision to pursue a new profession, let me inform her by message.”
Jane paled. “I expect she’ll be fiercesome angry.”
“Never you worry about it! Now, let’s find you some proper clothing and get you settled.”
But once again Jane hesitated. “The rest of your household…they may not much like having a girl such as me thrust among ’em.”
Recalling the range of checkered pasts among her employees, Belle laughed. “’Tis unlikely anyone taking service in the house of the infamous Lady Belle would stand in judgment of a fellow creature—nor would I permit it. Come along now. In the morning, you can begin on those gowns.”
Though Jane rose, she didn’t follow. “What if Mrs. Jarvis sends somebody to…to fetch me back?”
Behind the question, Belle sensed the girl’s fear of the infamous Waldo. “I assure you, even if she dispatches her henchman, Watson is fully capable of handling him. He was once the best prize-fighter in England.”
At that, Jane cast herself once again at Belle’s feet. “Oh, my lady, I shall be forever grateful! And my skill with a needle ain’t empty boasting, neither, you’ll see! Show meany style you favor in a magazine or shop window, and I can make you the very thing!”
“I see we shall deal very well together,” Belle replied, smiling as she shepherded Jane from the room.
After turning her new charge over to her housekeeper, Belle returned to pen the note informing Mrs. Jarvis of her employee’s defection. By the time she’d finished crafting that missive, Belle’s
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