Page 86 of The Muse of Maiden Lane

For whatever that was worth.

“How else should he see me?” she asked at last. “As Evie said, he’s single-minded when it comes to his work.”

“It is about money, then,” Julia pronounced grimly.

“In part, yes.” Stella wasn’t ashamed to own it. “I must find ways of supporting myself. I can’t very well go back to Fostonbury, can I?” She doubted whether Daniel would have her. And if he did permit her to return to the vicarage, he was sure to make her grovel first.

Evelyn frowned in thought. “A modeling fee won’t be enough to keep you. Not unless Mr. Hayes pays you an exorbitant sum.”

“And even if you did accept money from him,” Julia said, “that wouldn’t equate to a career. You would have to be hired again and again by all manner of painters—some of whom aren’t gentlemen, I fear.”

Stella guided Locket to the opposite side of Julia, keeping Julia’s gelding firmly between Locket and Evie’s stallion. Hephaestus rarely made overtures, but when in each other’s presence, the mare and stallion always had an added spring in their steps and a certain quiver at their nostrils. It made each of them even more difficult to control.

“I don’t anticipate making a profession of it,” Stella said. “I intend to find other employment.”

Julia flashed her an exasperated look. “I don’t know why you won’t permit us to help you.”

“Perhaps because our help would make her as dependent on us as she once was on her brother,” Evie suggested.

“Nonsense,” Julia said to Stella. “We’re nothing like your brother. We’re your friends.”

“And I’d like you to remain my friends,” Stella replied. “Which is why I won’t come and live with either of you. Not permanently, anyway.”

“Impermanently, then,” Evie said. “You can lodge with me for a time. You’ll need somewhere to stay once Julia and Captain Blunt return to Yorkshire. Just until you find your footing.”

“Her footing as an artist’s model?” Julia made no effort to hide her misgivings. “I’d far rather you return to Yorkshire with me. Captain Blunt and I would be glad to have you at Goldfinch Hall. You and Locket could stay as long as you like. There’s plenty of room.”

“And I’d be, what?” Stella asked. “Your lady’s companion?”

“You’d be my friend,” Julia said.

“No. Once I moved in with you, I’d be a houseguest. And houseguests aren’t tolerable for any length of time. Not even the ones you like.” Stella gave Julia a faint smile. “I appreciate the invitation all the same.”

Julia huffed. “You’re too proud. That’s the trouble.”

“I’m practical.” Stella set her shoulders. “I shall find a position in London.”

“Doing what?” Julia asked.

Therein lay the question that Stella had been racking her brain to answer ever since she’d left Derbyshire.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’m not qualified to be a governess or a teacher. Indeed, aside from riding and sketching, I’m not skilled at anything at all.”

Her friends both protested at once.

“I am good at listening, however,” Stella continued, undeterred. “And I know something about how to comport myself in society. More importantly, I excel at being invisible. All qualities which would make me the perfect lady’s companion.”

“I thought you didn’t want to be a companion!” Julia objected.

“Not to one of my friends.” Stella looked out between Locket’s elegantly curved gray ears in solemn contemplation. “But I believe I could stomach it if it earned me a wage and provided me with room and board.”

“Most of the wage would be your room and board,” Evie pointed out.

“It would be worth it if I could remain in town,” Stella said. “I could house Locket, Crab, and Turvey at a nearby stable out of the income from my inheritance. The rest could be subsidized from what I earned in my new position. My needs wouldn’t be many.”

“To have them met, you’d have to live with a stranger, and be subject to their megrims.” Julia rode up closer to Stella. “Wouldn’t you rather live with one of us? We wouldn’t order you about or make you sleep in a drafty attic room.”

Stella gave her friend another brief smile. Julia’s heart was, as ever, bigger than her head when it came to rational matters. “The difference is, if I was employed, my duties would be firmly delineated. I would know where I stood from one day to the next. I would never have to feel as though I was a burden, or…” Her smile dimmed. “A parasite.”