“It always belongs to the government. In yesterday’s robbery, they took tax money being delivered to the royal bank here in New York.” She held her head high and gave me a smug smile, as if to point out that not only was she wealthy and beautiful, but she was as clever as I was when she wanted to be. There was no way in which she wasn’t superior to me. It would have stung more if I hadn’t been distracted by thinking about what she’d said.

“That is very interesting,” Lord Henry said. “I look forward to hearing what you have to share with us tomorrow night.” He paused, then said, “I saw the most exquisite swallowtail today.”

“Why would it swallow its tail?” Olive asked with a giggle.

Rollo nudged her shoulder playfully. “It’s a butterfly that has a tail like a swallow—the bird—right, Uncle Henry?”

The current events discussion thus became a lecture on butterflies. The two younger children participated, but Flora just sat there. I pretended to follow the conversation, smiling and nodding at what appeared to be appropriate points, while my mind was on what Flora had said about the bandits. Stealing from the government and taking royal dispatches suggested motives beyond mere greed, and that somewhat changed my perception.

Lord Henry stopped me as we left the dining room after the meal, letting the others go on ahead. “I think that went well enough, don’t you?”

“You—you do?” I stammered.

He grinned boyishly. “That was the first time Flora has ever talked about anything but clothing or paying calls at the dinner table. I knew she wasn’t as vapid as she pretends to be. Excellent work for your first day on the job, Miss Newton.”

“I really can’t take credit for that.”

“But you are a good example to her.” He bowed slightly to me. “Have a pleasant evening, Miss Newton.”

I dragged myself wearily up the stairs to my room. This had only been one day, and not a particularly busy one, and yet I felt utterly drained. There wasn’t as much physical exertion as there had been when I was nursing my mother, but I felt like I had to constantly remain alert. Although it was early in the evening, I could think of nothing but going to sleep. I was already pulling the pins out of my hair as I entered my room.

I threw back the covers on my bed and picked up the pillow to retrieve my nightgown from beneath it, then stumbled backward in horror. Fortunately, I was too tired to scream. I hadn’t believed myself to be afraid of spiders, but then I’d never encountered one like this. It was nearly the size of my palm and covered in black fur. Now I understood why some of the previous governesses had fled.