My Fair Temptress
Chapter One
The Distinguished Academy of Governesses
London, 1849
Miss Caroline Ritter squeezed a handful of her damp, shabby skirt. "I need to procure some method of providing sustenance for myself."
Adorna, Lady Bucknell, the proprietress of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses, folded her hands on her desk and gazed at the young lady seated before her. Outside, the March rains lashed at the windows, the occasional splatter of sleet a reminder that winter hadn't yet loosened its hold on London.
Rather more forcefully, Miss Ritter said, "In other words, I need a job."
Pinning her with a direct gaze, Adorna asked, "What are your accomplishments?"
Miss Ritter hesitated a telling moment.
Adorna tried to make it easier for her. "What do you do best?"
"Flirt," she said promptly.
Adorna believed her. She had seen many a young ladycome through her study at the Distinguished Academy of Governesses, all of them in need of assistance, but she had never felt such a kinship as she felt now for M ... read full excerpt from My Fair Temptress ebook
