Twenty-Four

P hoebe hurried down the platform of Snug End’s little station. The train had been delayed leaving London and she was nearly fifteen minutes late. Luckily the village high street wasn’t very large. Just a few shops, a pub, and her destination: Mrs. Graham’s Tea Room.

A bell tinkled as she entered the establishment. At a quarter after noon, the cheerfully decorated tearoom was filled with customers occupying tables, peering at the large pastry case, or simply milling about chatting with one another. The friendly atmosphere instantly set Phoebe at ease as she scanned the room. It appeared that this Mrs. Graham had a penchant for lace doilies given that they covered nearly every available surface.

“Miss Atkinson! Over here!”

Phoebe turned to the speaker and broke into a broad smile as Alice Clarke waved from her seat at a table in the back corner. Phoebe weaved through the tables and embraced her former student.

“Oh, Alice. It is wonderful to see you.”

“You too, miss. I’m so glad this worked out.”

Alice’s first letter had come only a day after the bazaar, and it had been a much-needed balm for Phoebe’s crushed soul. They had written back and forth over the next few weeks until they were able to find a time to meet.

Phoebe pulled back and was pleased to see that the girl’s cheeks were full and rosy. “You look well. And happy.”

“I am, miss,” she said. “It’s been nice to be out of London. Get a bit of fresh air.”

“I’m sure.” Phoebe managed to smile even while her heart ached at the thought of Alice staying in this little village indefinitely.

Once they took their seats, a girl about Alice’s age came over to take her order.

“Millie, this is the lady I was talking about,” Alice said excitedly. “My old teacher.”

The girl’s eyes rounded. “Oh, I’ve heard so much about you! I wish we had a school like that around here.”

Phoebe’s cheeks flushed. “You’re very kind.”

The smell of something freshly baked wafted through the air and her stomach rumbled.

“ Everything is delicious,” Alice said. “But I’m partial to the lemon scones.” She gestured to her empty plate.

“Then I’ll have that,” Phoebe said to Millie. “And a pot of your strongest black tea.”

“Right away,” the girl said and scurried off.

“You come here often?” Phoebe asked once they were alone.

Alice nodded. “Mrs. Druthers, the lady I’ve been staying with, takes in sewing and I help. Nothing too fancy, mind, but it gives me a bit of pocket money.”

“That’s good. It’s important to have a skill like that. I wish I did.”

“You teach.”

“I used to teach,” Phoebe corrected.

Alice’s eyes softened. “I’m so sorry about the school. But surely Mrs. Richardson can find a new location.”

Phoebe shrugged. “It’s taking longer than expected. And I’m worried that the longer it takes, the more students we’ll lose. So for now I am without employment.”

And it had been the worst two months of her life—though she couldn’t blame it all on the school’s sudden closure.

Millie returned with her tea, scone, and a fresh pot for Alice. Phoebe fixed her tea while Alice peppered her with questions about everything she had missed at school while she was away.

“The girls must have taken the news about the school very hard,” she said when they had exhausted Phoebe’s gossip stores.

“Yes,” Phoebe said as she absently stirred her tea. “It’s funny, the girls who seemed the least interested in my lessons were the most upset.”

“Perhaps they only realized what they had once it was lost.”

Phoebe’s smile was rueful. “Perhaps.”

Alice’s gaze turned serious as she set her teacup aside. “I’m sorry I never told you about Maude. My mother acted like she was some terrible family secret and we’d be ruined if word spread. But that always seemed awfully unfair to me since my sister did so much for us. And when Mother fell ill, Maude took care of everything without a word of complaint.”

“Don’t apologize.” Phoebe waved a hand. “You certainly weren’t required to tell me all the intimate details of your life.”

Alice shook her head. “I should have told Maude to contact you when I left London though. Then you wouldn’t have worried about me. But it all happened so fast and Maude was adamant.”

“That’s all right. She had her reasons. Besides, I had an adventure,” she added with a small smile. That was how she should think of her time with Will.

I once spent a spring galivanting around London with a handsome duke.

It would be a fine story to tell her nieces and nephews one day—with a few tactful omissions, of course.

Alice raised an eyebrow. “So I heard.”

Phoebe deftly changed the subject before her cheeks could heat even more. “Did your mother and sister make peace in the end?”

Alice shrugged. “When Maude came to see her, Mother refused at first. Stubborn woman. It wasn’t until I insisted that nothing Maude ever did was unforgivable that she gave in. I told Maude that too. I’m not ashamed to have her as my sister.”

Phoebe patted her hand. “I’m sure that meant a great deal to her.”

“She’s finally cut ties with Fairbanks, you know,” Alice said softly. “For good.”

“I’m very glad to hear that.” Phoebe let out a sigh of relief as the earl’s ugly words from that night in Maude’s room came back to her. “I don’t think he treated her well.”

“Not at all. It’s men like him that should be ashamed of themselves. Not girls like Maude. They’re the ones that made the world this way. And then they claim to have some moral objection to it?” She shook her head in disgust. “None of it makes sense to me.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Phoebe agreed. Though she had read about Will’s defection in the paper, there hadn’t been a word about Lord Fairbanks’ bill—or her. Hopefully the evidence Maude procured was enough to keep him quiet. “What will she do now?”

“I’m not sure. She has no real schooling.” Alice looked thoughtful. “It’d be nice if there was some kind of training for women like her. To help them start fresh.”

Phoebe nodded as an idea began to take shape in her mind.

“There’s something else,” Alice added, then paused to take a breath. “I’ve decided against that secretarial course.”

“Really?” Phoebe couldn’t hide her disappointment. “If it’s about the money—”

“No.” Alice firmly shook her head. “It’s not that.” Phoebe tilted her head expectantly. “I want to teach like you. In a school like ours,” she said in a great rush.

Phoebe was stunned. “You… you do?”

Alice bowed her head shyly. “I know I’ll have years of schooling ahead of me, but it’s what I want. And I can take in more sewing to pay the fees. I’d darn a thousand shirts to do it.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Phoebe said. “You’re a brilliant girl, Alice. And I will do everything in my power to help you succeed.”

The girl looked up with hope in her eyes “Really?”

“Of course. It would be an honor. Truly.”

They spent the next hour discussing teacher training colleges. Phoebe made up a list of possibilities and promised to do more research.

“I can’t let you do all that,” Alice protested.

“You can. Besides,” she said with a tight smile. “It will give me something to do.”

Though Phoebe had insisted on paying the full rent on their flat since the school’s closure, Marion accepted a governess position with a family outside London for the summer. She fully intended to return as soon as a new school was opened, but in the meantime that left Phoebe alone with far too much time to spend thinking .

“When does Maude think it will be safe enough for you to return home?”

Alice quirked her brow. “Well, that’s no longer an issue. Obviously Fairbanks wouldn’t dare try anything now.”

Phoebe stared at her. Why did it feel like she was missing something? “You mean… because of the information that connects him to Fleur?”

But that didn’t make sense, as Fairbanks didn’t know that had been Maude’s doing and as far as she knew, the mere threat of exposure had done enough. He hadn’t moved forward with that bill of his and there had been nothing in the papers connecting her to Will—the odd disappointment she felt at that was something she tried not to dwell on.

“No,” Alice said slowly. “Last I heard he had to pull out of the club anyway. Because of your sister, Alex.” At Phoebe’s confused silence she continued: “She bought up his debts, and said if anything happens to any of us, she’ll ruin him.”

Phoebe sat back in her chair, dumbfounded.

“She didn’t tell you? I would have sworn you were behind it,” Alice marveled.

Phoebe let out a short laugh. “I’m not nearly so ruthless as that. And I don’t have Alex’s money.”

Though each sister had access to a healthy trust once they turned twenty-one, Alex had amassed a sizable fortune all on her own. Still, it must have been a considerable investment.

“I can’t believe she did that,” Phoebe murmured.

“Can’t you?” Alice prompted. “She is your sister, after all. Look at what mine did for me.”

“That’s true.” Phoebe bowed her head. She was being unfair again. Alex would likely do far more, if called upon.

They chatted for a while longer until Phoebe had to leave or else risk missing her train. By then they were the only two customers remaining in the shop. Alice walked her back to the station just as the train arrived. They embraced on the platform, with both promising to write again soon.

“Take care of yourself, Alice.”

“You too, Miss Atkinson.”

“I think you can call me Phoebe now.”

“All right. Phoebe.” Alice smiled shyly. “And tell your sister thank you. Though I hope to do it in person soon.”

“I will.”

Phoebe then boarded the train and took a window seat in second class. She waved to Alice as the train pulled away and watched her grow ever smaller until she was just a faceless figure in the distance. Then she sat back in her seat and let out a sigh. For the first time in the months since Alice had disappeared, Phoebe felt certain she was safe.