Free Degrees of Hope by Catherine Winchester Page B

because I practised, and I never went to school or had a governess; my education is all self-taught, through reading.”
    James tilted his head, a small smile playing at his lips as he wondered if she were teasing.
    “It's true,” Lucien agreed with Martha. “She is as fine a lady as I have ever met, but she has not an ounce of blue blood in her.” He smiled over at Martha and she returned the smile, because she knew his words to be a compliment rather than an insult. He despised the women of his own class, who were little more than compliant slaves to duty and any male in the vicinity.
    “But you are the illegitimate daughter of a Scottish Lord, are you not? Descended from Charles the First?” James asked.
    “Indeed I am not.” Martha smiled at him as the memory amused her. “I am the eldest daughter of a local family. My mother lives in a cottage on the estate, and my father died many years ago of alcohol poisoning. Most of my siblings perform manual labour, although I do have one sister who is now a teacher, and another who is in debtors' prison.”
    “Why didn't you pay his debt off?” he asked, although that was far from the most salient point at the moment.
    “Because the debt he owes is to me. It's a complicated story but suffice to say, he was complicit in hurting a member of my family. I paid him and my father to leave, with the penalty of 100 pounds should either of them ever contact their family again. My father died long before the money had run out, but my brother came crawling back when it was gone.”
    “So you jailed him?”
    “He had chances, James, but he never took them, seemingly determined to follow in our father's footsteps, causing pain and misery wherever he went. I did not take the decision lightly but in all good conscience, I couldn't allow him to prey on anyone else, my family or otherwise.”
    “So why does everyone think you are descended from royalty?”
    “Because Lucien's mother once tried to halt our relationship, by letting it be known that I was a former housemaid. A good friend of mine circulated the erroneous rumour in the hope of saving my reputation. Illegitimate daughters of nobility are far more interesting than housemaids, so his story was believed over the truth.”
    “I don't know quite what to say,” James admitted.
    “I'm not asking you to say anything,” Martha replied. “I merely ask that you not only look at the world around you, but also see what is truly there. The work of a housemaid was there for you to see, if only you had chosen to look, and the true intelligence of women, from any class, is there for you to discover, if you are open to it.”
    James' neat little world view was being turned on its head and he didn't know how he felt about that. Martha's revelation that she was working class had truly shocked him, for although some of her behaviour was unladylike, her whole attitude said that she was of noble birth.
    “Perhaps you might like to visit the estate school before you leave,” Lucien suggested. “Martha's sister is a teacher there, and you can see for yourself what children of both sexes can achieve, when given the chance of a proper education.”
    “Yes,” James agreed. He still wasn't willing to believe that women were his equals, but he was willing to question his beliefs, just to be certain that he was correct. “I think I might like that.”

Chapter Nine
    Hope was fuming, not only because she missed out on seeing James eat humble pie, but her mother had also told her that she must show him the estate school. No matter that he had failed the challenge her mother set him, Hope still wasn't looking forward to spending an hour or more in his company. Anyone that prejudiced must surely be flawed in many other ways too, she thought.
    It also meant that she wouldn't get a chance to ride today, which did nothing to improve her mood.
    Nevertheless, she had finally agreed because her mother seemed insistent.
    She took the gig to pick James