Chapter 1

"Hannah!" Gemma could hardly contain her excitement as she rushed into the London city tavern, desperate to see her best friend. She had great news bubbling at the surface, and she truly could not wait to share it with someone else. If she did not get the information out soon, she feared she might explode. "Hannah, you must stop what you are doing immediately."

Unfortunately, her best friend did not seem to see how serious this was. Hannah rolled her eyes from behind the smokey bar and continued to serve the gentleman who had clearly already had one too many.

"I just need to speak with you," Gemma begged, almost chuckling to herself as she said the words. She just knew that Hannah would be excited for her, and she could not wait to jump for joy with her. "Just for one moment."

"You know I cannot," Hannah insisted while making a sweeping gesture with her hands, indicating around to how busy it was. "We have a rowdy crowd, and it is dinner time. I am much too busy to stop."

But that was not going to be enough for Gemma. She really could not control herself. So as Hannah left her space from behind the bar, weaving her way through the crowds to gather up glasses and plates for reuse, Gemma took the chance as soon as they were clean, to follow her around.

She even assisted Hannah by gathering up used tableware herself to give Hannah a hand. This was something that she had done numerous times in her life; she and Hannah always helped one another out, so it was not an issue.

"Hannah, I have received a letter!" Gemma called out, as she followed as close to Hannah as she could. It was not easy to be heard over the noise already ricocheting off the walls of the tavern, but Gemma was utterly determined. "I have been invited to interview for the governess position at the Hetshire household, which is just outside of the city. Finally, at eighteen, my dreams are about to come true."

Finally, Hannah stopped walking for the briefest of moments. Her eyes widened as she grabbed hold of Gemma and dragged her into a small alcove so they could talk more privately. "Gemma, what do you mean? You cannot be a governess. That sort of work is only offered to Ladies, of which we are most certainly not."

Gemma smirked and shrugged. "I might have fudged my application a little, but why should I not? I would be perfect for such a job. Why should I be overlooked simply because I was not born with a title?"

Hannah clucked her tongue and shook her head. "But you will not look like a Lady. They will be able to tell…"

Gemma rested her hand reassuringly on her friend's shoulder. "I have worked as a seamstress for years, Hannah. I have already made a proper governess dress for this interview. There is no way anyone will be able to tell that I do not fit in. Are you not pleased for me?"

Hannah smiled grimly. "I just find it challenging to believe that everything will be alright. This seems terrifying…"

Her words trailed off the moment a glass smashed on the floor and raised voices tumbled through the air. It was clearly going to be a very long night, and Hannah's eyes were already pricking with tears. She must have had enough.

"Do not worry," Gemma reassured her. "You get back behind the bar. I will sort this out."

Hannah slumped forwards, exhaustion rolling through her body. "Thank you, Gemma. If anyone can calm this down, it is you."

Gemma was still riding the high of her very good news as she practically skipped into the middle of the crowd. Everyone was standing around two red faced men who were yelling so loudly in one another's faces, spittle was flying out their mouths. If allowed to go on much longer, it was bound to get violent and that was something Hannah clearly did not need. Not when she was this tired.

"Gentlemen, what is happening here?" Gemma cried out. At first, she was ignored, which she knew was likely to happen, so she cried out a little louder as she stepped between them. "Is there an issue with the beer? I am sure that this is something we can sort out."

She and Hannah had lived above the tavern for such a long time, that Gemma was very used to drunken patrons. Too much alcohol never worked well, especially when it came to men. They could not seem to hold their liquor at all, and they got silly with it.

"Would you like me to pour the both of you a new beer? Would that calm things down?"

Both the men turned their eyes towards Gemma, causing her to smile widely. It only took one person to be calm to halt things before they got out of control. At least, that was what Gemma had discovered over the years.

"This idiot knocked my beer on the floor," the bearded man growled. "And now he is refusing to buy me a new one."

"I did not knock anything anywhere," the other gentleman yelled as he threw his hands in the air in frustration. "I do not know why I am the one being accused. I was over there talking with my friend, when you came yelling at me like a mad man."

"I saw you do it…"

"It does not matter," Gemma insisted as she stepped in the middle of them. There was absolutely no reason for the row to escalate again. "Nothing matters now. I will make sure that you both get another beer. Please, just take your seats and I will be back shortly."

The men continued to glare at one another, but they did back away thank goodness. Gemma let out a breath of relief as she watched them both follow her instructions. For now, at least, they were going to leave one another alone. Gemma knew that she did not have long though, so she rushed to the bar and asked Hannah to pour the drinks for those men quickly.

"You cannot just give these men drinks for free," Hannah hissed as a redness burned in her cheeks. "I will get in so much trouble with my boss."

Gemma chuckled. "It is much better to calm the situation down. Free beer does not cost as much as lost patrons. Plus, think about all the damage caused by bar fights. I am sure that if your boss thought sensibly about it, he would agree that this is the right move."

Perhaps Hannah did not look convinced by Gemma, but thankfully she also knew that Gemma had never led her wrong before, so she poured the beers and let her friend do what was best. Gemma had always had a knack for calming things down before they spiraled out of control. There was something about her personality which just seemed to draw people in and get them to act like she wanted them to.

Because of that, Gemma stayed with Hannah, working in the tavern with her, keeping everything calm and under control. Hannah had clearly been working far too many shifts recently, just trying to keep her head above water, so she needed the assistance. Luckily, with her good news bubbling under the surface, Gemma had all the strength and energy in the world. She could help Hannah out all night long.

Thankfully, it was not too long before they wearily climbed up the stairs to their small apartment. The space was so tiny Gemma and Hannah had to share a bed. But it was far better than where they had come from, so neither of them would complain.

"What a night!" Hannah exclaimed as she flopped down on to the bed, acting like it was the most comfortable thing on the planet. "Thank you so very much for helping me, Gemma. I do not know what I would do without you."

"Well, hopefully you will not have to work so hard soon," Gemma agreed as she climbed on to the bed beside her friend. "Because I will be getting higher wages with the governess position."

"Assuming you are hired," Hannah reminded her. "It is only an interview."

"I am confident." Gemma rolled on to her front and grinned ear to ear. "I will be able to charm the family and convince them to hire me. And then we shall be able to afford a much better life. We will no longer have to live in this tiny space. We can get a place of our own, with our own bedrooms and everything!"

Hannah was not getting caught up in Gemma's enthusiasm. Her eyes betrayed a deep warning as she shuddered. "Be careful, Gemma. I am very worried about you going into a world that you do not belong. I am concerned about you being discovered for who you really are and getting into a lot of trouble. I cannot even begin to imagine what would happen to you if you get found out."

But Gemma was not about to get worried. "I will be fine. I shall ensure that all of my tracks are covered. I am doing this for us… well, us and my dream. You know I have always wanted to become a governess."

Hannah lightened up just a little as she chuckled. "I know. I recall your dream. Do not forget that me and the other children in the orphanage spent years of our recess being your students. Learning, whether we wanted to or not. Mind you, you were always the best teacher, Gemma. We did always end up having fun."

"Much as I do miss some of the friends we had at the orphanage, you are the one I always knew I would be friends with for life," Gemma chuckled. "We were there for much longer than anyone else, and we were also the only ones looking to the future and thinking about what we could do with our lives… me as a teacher…"

"And me as owner of my own tavern," Hannah laughed. "Although I do not know if I will ever achieve that dream. I am not sure if I will ever get beyond being the mere bar maid that everyone yells at and occasionally throws their drink over."

Gemma grabbed Hannah's hand and stared at her very seriously. They had both been in the orphanage from a very young age, Gemma was too young to even recall her parents who she had been told died from smallpox, so her best friend was the closest thing she had to a family. "You do not need to worry, Hannah. It does not matter where our lives began. We are going to end up successful, me and you. I am confident that we will both achieve our dreams. I will get this job and become a governess in the Hetshire household, and you will one day be the best tavern owner of all time."

Gemma could see how much her words cheered Hannah up and made her feel better about everything. But that was not the only reason she said it. Gemma truly believed that she and Hannah were going to get far in life.

She refused to accept that her humble beginnings meant that she needed to have a humble life as well. As she nestled into her friend, allowing her imagination to get the better of her, she could not stop herself from dreaming of what her life could be… what it was going to be.

This governess job was just the first step on the ladder for the rest of her life. She could act like a Lady while in the Hetshire house, that would be no issue. As soon as the family saw her teaching skills and how well she could relate to anyone, including the children, Gemma was sure that even if everything fell apart and the truth was found out, then they would be so happy with her work, none of that would matter.

Whatever it took, she was going to make this work for her.