I dressed quickly and shoved my feet into a pair of black, low-heeled leather shoes, which fit perfectly. When I was ready, I slipped out of the bedroom and hovered for a minute on the landing. Then, taking a deep breath, I started down the stairs.

The hallway was quiet. I stood looking around me. I realized I knew nothing about the layout of the house, except that the library was just off the hall upstairs from the front door. I knew that in any house I’d ever been in the kitchen was always at the back, so I walked in that direction, hoping Mrs. Donahue was there and I could unburden myself of the lie I was after telling. But there was no sign of the kitchen. I looked around in confusion. Then I heard the clattering of dishes and smelled the aroma of vegetable soup drifting up from downstairs. The only downstairs kitchens I’d ever heard about were in Irish manor houses. I swallowed hard and hurried down the stairs. Tentatively, I pushed open the door. Kathleen stood at the stove, stirring a big pot of soup.

“Hello, Kathleen. Thank you for the clothes. Is-is Mrs. Donahue about?” I said.

If Kathleen noticed my stutter, she did not let on. Instead, she shook her head. “Ah no, miss, she has the day off. She’ll be back tomorrow.”

My heart sank. I had been so anxious to speak to her.

“Sit down and I’ll make you a cup of tea,” she said.

I hesitated, then did as she said. When she put the tea in front of me, I looked up at her. “You don’t have to be treating me special,” I said. “I’m a servant like yourself.”

Kathleen gave me a confused look. “But you’re not a servant, miss. You’re here as a governess for young Miss Lily, not a maid like myself.” There was a sharp, almost resentful edge to her tone.

I ignored it.

“B-but you left me a uniform,” I said, looking down at the blue dress. “And I expect I’m to sleep in the servants’ quarters, aren’t I?”

“No, Miss Nora, you’re to have your own room. You’re to stay where you slept last night. And that dress is not meant to be your uniform. Mrs. Donahue has everything all arranged according to Mr. O’Hanlon’s orders.”

Kathleen seemed impatient. I blushed, my discomfort growing. Nora should have been sitting here now, not me. As I sat lost in thought, I had the sudden sensation of being watched. I turned to look, just in time to catch sight of a small girl before she darted away. Kathleen must have seen her too. She went out into the hallway.

“Lily,” she said, “come in now and meet your new governess. Come on now, love, she won’t bite you.”