Page 113 of A Modest Independence

“It hasn’t.”

“Truly? You don’t find our travels too much of a strain?”

Mira’s gaze dropped to her hands. Her narrow shoulders were rigid with tension. “No, madam.”

“You’d tell me if you did? If you felt unwell in any way?”

“But I am well. Well enough to perform my duties.”

Jenny frowned. “Never mind your duties. I’m concerned about you, not whether or not you can sponge and press my gowns. I wouldn’t dismiss you simply because you’re in poor health. I’d find a way to help you.”

Some of the tension eased from Mira’s frame. “You’re very kind.”

“Kindness has nothing at all to do with it. You and Ahmad are part of my household now. Your welfare is my responsibility. You must tell me what’s wrong, however unpleasant. I won’t be easy until I know.”

Mira clasped her hands tight in her lap. “I was ill,” she admitted at last. “When I was a child.”

It was all Jenny could do not to utter a sigh of relief. At last, a little honesty. “What sort of illness?”

“A sweating sickness. It took most of the people in my village.”

“Heavens,” Jenny exclaimed under her breath. “And you survived it?”

“Yes, but…my mother did not.”

“Oh, Mira. I’m so dreadfully sorry. I had no idea.”

Mira’s throat spasmed on a swallow. “I never said goodbye to her. She made the colonel promise to take me away. Somewhere safe.”

“To England.”

Mira nodded.

“But if you were still recovering, how did you manage the journey?”

“Ahmad. He insisted on coming to care for me on the ship. When we arrived in London, he stayed near. And then…when the colonel died…”

“He took care of you again.” Jenny felt a stab of sadness at the unfairness of it all. “But Ahmad must have been little more than a child himself.”

“He was fifteen. Very handsome. Mrs. Pritchard took a fancy to him.”

“She what?”

A burning blush swept up Mira’s neck. “She gave him work and lodging and…she let me have a cot in his room. I did little tasks for her, helping with the laundry and the sweeping, to earn a penny or two. I wasn’t strong enough to take a proper job.”

“You were a little girl.”

“Many little girls work in the dress shops. I could have found a position doing mending if I had had the strength. But I was too weak to keep to a single task for very long.” Mira turned her head to look out the window of the dak cart. “Ahmad would have left Mrs. Pritchard’s long ago if not for me. He hated it there.”

“I don’t blame him one bit for hating it,” Jenny said with feeling. “I hate it for the both of you. I only wish…”

Mira’s gaze jerked to hers. “What, madam?”

“That I could do something to help you. Something more than offering you employment.”

“But I am content to be your maid. I don’t want anything else. If you will keep me on, I—”

“Of course I will.” Jenny withdrew her fan from her reticule and opened it with a snap. “And I promise you we won’t always be traveling the world like vagabonds. When our search for Lord Castleton is completed, I’ll find a villa to let somewhere. A place we can stay put for a while. Things will be easier for you then.”