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"Listen," she said breathlessly. "Go straight 'ome and stay there till you can get out o' London. Wilson won't look for you, 'e's not that kind, but if Bagshot finds out where you live… 'E didn't see me, but 'e'll know who done it. 'E allus knows. They say 'e's in league wif the Devil. Old 'Arry'll take me in. I 'ope… 'Ere's the cab. D'you 'ear me? D'you understand what I'm saying?"
Maria
CHAPTER FOUR
As Maria
The view from the window was lovely – green lawns like emerald velvet, flower beds glowing with chrysanthemums and late roses, and beyond, the gleaming water of the Thames. Here at Richmond the water was not so foul as it was in the city, where it served as a watery trashbin for every form of debris. Mr. Pettibone was a successful merchant who had married money, and he lived up to his income.
Unfortunately the handsome house and grounds were the only attractive part of the position Maria
Now she understood why there had been no competition for what had seemed such an ideal position. The only women who would accept a situation so poorly paid and so fraught with unpleasantness were the elderly and desperate; and Mrs. Pettibone would not have employed such a person. She wanted someone young and healthy enough to do the hard work she expected – and put up with Cyril. Mrs. Shortbody, who had accompanied Maria
Maria
Being young and resilient, she had recovered from her experience, except for a certain degree of self-contempt for her own stupidity, and she was fully cognizant of how lucky she was to have come out of the experience as well as she had. The thing that worried her to the point of sleeplessness was the thought of Maggie. She had been too distracted that night to think coherently; not until the next day did she realize that Maggie had risked not only her job but her safety in coming to Maria
The hardest thing for Maria
Wrapped in these now familiar but nonetheless disquieting thoughts, Maria
"Miss Ransom! What have you gotten to? How dare you leave the children alone? I employed you to teach them, not to – Oh, there you are. What, pray tell, are you doing here?"
Maria
"I set them sums to do, Mrs. Pettibone," Maria
"I do not pay you to rest. Return to your duties at once." She stepped aside as Maria
Maria
"Have you finished the sums, Cyril?" she asked.
Cyril turned to his mother. "She didn't say 'Master Cyril,' Mother. Isn't she supposed to say -"
"Certainly she is," Mrs. Pettibone said sharply. "Miss Ransom, how often must I-"
"I forgot," Maria
"Don't forget again. I want you to take the children for a walk now. It is too fine a day for them to be inside."
"The sums -"
"Do as I tell you. Cyril has worked quite hard enough for today. As I have repeatedly told you, Cyril is delicate. Too much mental effort can bring on brain fever."
Cyril gri
"Very well," Maria