Free Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

but maybe she wouldn’t feel that way if she got to know her better. “So what’s keeping you up this night?” she inquired.
    Therese sighed deeply. “They want me to start teaching the girls French in addition to my nanny duties,” she revealed. “I know how to speak French, of course, but I’m not sure I can teach someone else to speak the language. I was hired to take care of the baby, not to be a teacher. What if I fail? I will have to return to Paris.”
    Something about Therese’s response didn’t ring true to Nora. Therese was clearly bothered by something. But what? “Why did you want to leave France?’ Nora asked, hoping she would learn some scandalous secret. Was there a ruined love affair? A crime?
    “My mother,” Therese replied. “She died last year and Paris holds too many memories of her. Everything reminded me of our happy times together. I thought time would ease those memories. But I needed distance, too. And then I got the offer from Lady Darlington and it seemed perfect.”
    Nora probed further. “What about your father? Where is he?”
    “I never knew my father,” Therese revealed. “As I’ve mentioned, my mother worked at Lord Darlington’s sister’s estate. She never revealed to anyone who my father was. She just felt lucky that Lady Daphne let her keep her job despite her condition.”
    “What a scandal!” Nora said, pleased to have unearthed a juicy detail. “Was everyone shocked?”
    “The French are not as easily shocked as the English,” Therese commented. “And Lady Daphne was always kind to her. And to me. When Lady Darlington arrived from Nice with James, Lady Daphne acted as my reference.”
    Nora patted Therese’s hand. “So, you’re a penniless orphan like me, poor thing.”
    “Yes, but I hope to make money working here,” Therese said.
    “Ha!” Nora barked with laughter. “Good luck.”
    “You’re not earning very much, are you?” Michael asked.
    “I have no expenses,” Therese said with a shrug. “Still, Wentworth Hall is not what I expected. I thought I would start a new life here… but I do not see any way for it to begin.”
    “We know how you feel,” Michael commiserated.
    Therese yawned, covering her mouth. “I should check on James,” she decided. “He wakes in the night and her ladyship does not hear him. She is a sound sleeper.”
    Getting up, Therese bid them good night and departed.
    “Nice girl,” Michael remarked after Therese was gone.
    “Hmm,” Nora responded.
    “What? Don’t you think so?”
    “Do you believe that story about Paris having too many memories of her mother?”
    “Why shouldn’t I?” Michael asked.
    Nora gave him a look, getting up to bring her teacup to the sink. “If she has such happy memories of her mother, why wouldn’t she want to be near them? Has she no friends or family in Paris that she’d want to stay close to?”
    Michael laughed out loud. “Your mind certainly runs overtime, Nora. Forget your tea shop, you should set up as a private detective.”
    “Not a bad idea, Michael. Maybe you and I could be partners.”
    Michael stretched and pushed his chair back. “Not a chance, Nora. The less I know about people and their dirty little secrets, the happier I am.”
    “You’re wrong there,” Nora disagreed, returning her washed cup to the cupboard. “Knowledge is power.”
    Nora said good night to Michael and headed back up the servants’ staircase. The tea and conversation had made her feel more alert instead of ready to sleep. She decided to work on some sewing but, arriving in her room, she realized she’d left her mending basket in one of the second-floor guest rooms. No one ever used this one—due to excessive water stains on the ceiling plaster, which made the room an excellent place to escape to when things were quiet.
    Heading for the room, Nora was struck by how immense and quiet the estate seemed at night. Moonlight beamed through the high arched and mullioned windows,lighting