“Well, I have all four of those things at my disposal, Sir, and more besides. And as for the three Rs, I shall have no problem whatsoever in teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic,” Georgette said, thoughtfully. “And what are my conditions to be if I choose to take the position?” As nice as it was to discover that she had all of the necessary learning of her own to be able to pass on, the practicalities of her day-to-day life and her payment was going to be really rather more important to her, at least for the time being.
“Well, I must say that the position is particularly well paid. Eighty pounds a year is being offered.” He smiled at her, and Georgette could hardly believe that he was, indeed, smiling.
“Eighty pounds a year,” she said, her tone entirely flat. In truth, she could not believe that she would have so little.
“Miss Darrington, I realize that this is the first time that you have undertaken such a thing, but I must tell you that the going rate for a governess is something more akin to twenty pounds a year.”
“Twenty pounds a year?” she said, incredulously. “That is what my father paid the servants.”
“Well, the governess gets a little more than the servants, but ordinarily not very much. And sometimes, there is nothing to choose between the wage of a servant on the upper scale of things and a new governess.”
“Really, I had no idea.”
“But your conditions would be rather better, I feel sure. You would not necessarily be sleeping in servants’ quarters. Obviously, you would not be integral to the main living area of the house, but you would certainly be set a little apart from the other staff.” He smiled again.
It was the very idea of being set a little apart that gave Georgette the very worst feeling. Being set apart would be a very good way of ensuring that she was never accepted by the other staff. And, in truth, she was not sure she would have a great deal in common with them even if she were not set apart.
All in all, Georgette knew that the life of the governess was a life of limbo. A woman of good breeding suspended in a world where she could neither progress on her own account nor marry suitably well. She would simply be stuck there with the sort of pay that was so low she would never be able to save her old age. And, having very little time off and few connections, the idea of escaping such a life and into a suitable marriage seemed an impossibility. Add to that the fact that she would almost certainly be denied the right of simple friendship, even company, and she really wondered what, if anything, life had left to offer her.
“And what of the family, Mr Winstanley?” Georgette said miserably.
“Ah, well the house and grounds are, I believe, truly spectacular.” Mr Winstanley seemed suddenly to be warming up. This was obviously all that this position had to recommend it, and he was going to sell it for all it was worth. “The household is immense, Miss Darrington, employing almost fifty staff.”
“Fifty staff?” Georgette said, quite surprised. For a moment, she thought sadly of the seven staff she had had to write character references for. “Then it must be a very large house.”
“The largest in Oxfordshire, Miss Darrington,” Mr Winstanley said and, despite the fact that this was clearly something of a problematic vacancy for him, he seemed suddenly puffed up with pride.
“Oxfordshire, Sir?” Georgette said rather shrilly. In truth, she had not imagined that the position would be outside of London.
“Yes, Miss Darrington; Draycott Hall is in Oxfordshire.”
“Draycott Hall?” Georgette said, silently trying to work out how many miles there were between London and Oxford. Not, of course, that it mattered a great deal. After all, there was nothing left in London for her to come back to.
“Yes, Draycott Hall. It is the country seat of the Duchy of Draycott.”
“Duchy?” Georgette said, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Yes, I rather forgot to mention that your employer would be Hamilton Whitehall, the Duke of Draycott.”
Chapter 3
The carriage ride, despite stopping for an overnight stay at a coaching inn halfway, still seemed incredibly arduous.
She was traveling post-chaise, and the horses had, by necessity, needed to be changed every fifteen miles. That had meant a change halfway through each of the two days of travel. Still, it was a mail coach and was, as were all mail coaches, rather overloaded with mail and the assorted passengers that it was never designed to take.
Having absolutely no means whatsoever at her disposal, barring a few pounds that she had taken from her bedroom when she had finally quit her home for the last time, Georgette had baulked at the idea of the cost of traveling post-chaise. However, Mr Winstanley at the registry office had immediately informed her that the Duke of Draycott always paid the traveling expenses of the governesses.