Bliss had been awake half the night, grappling with that same idea. The prospect of returning to Jamie was not without appeal, but she had to bear in mind that he hadn’t wanted to marry her in the first place. Despite all his misgivings about her plans to travel to America, he was probably relieved that she was gone.

She shook her head in a wordless and belated reply to her aunt’s suggestion. She’d brought nothing but trouble to Jamie, after all, and he couldn’t be expected to welcome her.

The wooden clock on the kitchen mantelpiece made a whirring sound and then gave six ponderous bongs. “Well,” Calandra chimed, “in any case, dear, you’re certainly getting a timely start. One must remember that the early bird gathers no moss.”

Bliss smiled into her teacup at this bit of convoluted wisdom, but made no comment.

Calandra’s sweet expression changed to one of disquiet. “I did so hope that Mr. Wilson would be able to do something about your—predicament.”

What little good cheer Bliss had been able to summon up deserted her. The fact that she was legally bound to Jamie was sure to cause problems at some later date. “I can’t go back, Aunt Calandra,” she said softly, “and there’s no money for a divorce.”

Calandra sighed. “The magistrate would want a reason, anyway.”

That was another thing. Divorces were frowned upon by society and generally hard to come by. It seemed that Bliss was doomed to spend the rest of her life tied to a man who didn’t want her. “I suppose he’ll divorce me,” she reflected after a few moments had passed, her voice small and sad. The knowledge should have comforted Bliss, but it didn’t.

In the distance, she heard the clanging of the tram’s bell. The distraction was a welcome one; Bliss bounded out of her chair, carried her empty plate to the sink, and put on her coat.

“Hurry, now,” Calandra said, making a shooing motion with her hands when Bliss would have gone on clearing away the breakfast dishes. “Leave that to Bertha and me.”

Bliss nodded. “Thank you,” she said.

“Don’t go near the docks, now,” the older woman warned, following Bliss on her dash through the small house to the front door. “There’s really no need. The people in the passage agencies will know who’s looking for a governess or a companion—”

“I’ll remember,” Bliss promised, hurrying down the front steps as the clamor of the tram bell grew louder and more insistent. The air was cold enough that it turned her breath to fog.

She barely reached the tram in time, and she was breathing hard as she dropped her ha’penny fare into the metal coin box.

“Important business today, miss?” the driver asked. He was a young man who would have been handsome if it hadn’t been for the deep pockmarks on his face.

Bliss nodded and found her way to a seat, and excitement filled her at the prospect of a bright new day. There might just be an adventure ahead.