Chapter 7
As it turned out, her bad feeling had been right.
“His Grace has instructed me to inform you that today will be your last day with us. Thank you for all your hard work.”
She should have known. The terms had been far too generous.
“…I understand.”
The employment contract had included a one-month probationary period.
She hadn’t thought much of it. Unless a governess made a serious mistake, it was usually little more than a formality. Yet, to her utter mortification, Irene had been dismissed from House Whitmore before even a month had passed.
It was a humiliation (?) she had never experienced before. In all her years as a governess, Irene Vanderberg had never once been fired by an employer.
The head maid, tasked with delivering the news in place of Duke Whitmore himself, looked genuinely sympathetic.
“The young lady will be very disappointed.”
“…So will I.”
Replying with her usual composure, Irene accepted an envelope containing a month’s wages, along with additional compensation.
After informing her that the room would need to be vacated by the following day, the head maid quietly took her leave.
‘Why? What did I do wrong?’
Left alone, Irene felt both wronged and deeply dejected.
Her thoughts drifted back to the day of her interview. Duke Whitmore had been perfectly clear. He wasn’t expecting much. He had simply wanted someone to keep Chloe company.
Not only had Irene fulfilled those three or four hours stipulated in the contract, there had been days when she had spent more than half the day with Chloe.
She had honestly believed she had done exactly what had been asked of her. So what, exactly, had she lacked?
Then again, there was little point dwelling on it now.
Her gaze wandered around the modest room. She had to leave this comfortable place behind and go back to fighting rats, insects, and mold all over again.
“Sigh…”
She had already given up her rented room when she moved onto the Whitmore estate. Now she had nowhere to return to. She would either have to stay at an inn with the consolation money until she found another place to live, or quickly secure another position that provided room and board.
“How cold of you.”
Staring into an uncertain future, Irene murmured the words under her breath. If he was going to dismiss her like this, the least he could have done was introduce her to another position.
It seemed first impressions really couldn’t be ignored after all. The Duke of Whitmore, who had struck her as almost unbearably overbearing from the moment they met, had dismissed her without a second thought. He was the sort of man who acted solely according to his own needs, with no regard for anyone else’s circumstances.
Despite that, she took him for a considerate employer, one devoted to looking after his younger sister. She had been completely wrong.
“Oh, forget it. Fine. I don’t care anymore. Good riddance.”
The fact that she had been fired from House Whitmore in less than a month would remain her secret for the rest of her life. It was simply too embarrassing.
* * *
Ten days after beginning her search for a new position, Irene returned to the inn and froze when she spotted someone standing near the front desk.
“Mr. George?”
“Ah, Miss Vanderberg!”
The man greeting her with a broad smile was Benjamin George, the head butler of House Whitmore.
They had rarely crossed paths at the estate, but on the day she left, he had kindly arranged a carriage for her and even helped carry her luggage himself. The memory had left her with a favorable impression of him.
“So you’re still staying here. I’m glad we didn’t miss each other. Have you been well?”
“I have… but what brings you here…?”
“Would you be able to spare me a few moments?”
Benjamin gestured toward a table in the corner of the common room.
The innkeeper was watching the two of them with narrowed eyes, looking very much as though he was about to remind them that anyone occupying a table was expected to order something.
“Please have a seat first. I’ll go order us some tea.”
Even the smallest courtesies had become something that came with a price.
Every day brought headlines announcing some new technological breakthrough. New professions appeared one after another, replacing old ones. It felt as though society changed every time she blinked.
Her own life, however, had remained exactly the same.
At the counter, Irene ordered two cups of the cocoa that had recently become fashionable. The price of two drinks was enough to pay for a modest evening meal, but every now and then, she thought, a little indulgence was permissible.
Benjamin, his splendid mustache giving him an air of quiet dignity, accepted the steaming cup with an awkward smile.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. What brought you here to see me?”
“Hm… Are you staying here at the inn?”
“Yes.”
“Then… you haven’t found another position yet?”
Instead of answering, Irene simply smiled. You’re the ones who fired me!
Benjamin stirred his cocoa for a moment before she continued.
“I think I’ll stay in the capital until the end of this week, then head south.”
His hand came to an abrupt stop.
“The south. Why there…?”
“The cost of living in the capital is simply too high. I’ve heard families in the south are more conservative, so they’re much more likely to hire live-in governesses.”
More than anything, she wanted to escape somewhere the world changed a little more slowly.
“Ah… In that case, would you consider returning as Miss Chloe’s governess?”
Irene stared at him in disbelief.
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