‘My sister is going to be an operatic singer, or so she hopes. She’s been taken on by the intendant at the Royal Opera House, so it’s a promising start. I think it would have been a mistake for her to marry Alexander.’

‘He is very handsome,’ Louise said, blushing. ‘I danced with him once at a ball you held here. He was so amusing and quite charming. He made me feel important.’

‘That sounds like my brother-in-law.’ Rosalind smiled, but the old familiar ache in her heart reminded her that she was on dangerous ground. ‘So when can you start, Louise?’

‘Would tomorrow be too soon?’

‘Not at all. That would suit me very well.’

‘Might I just ask one question?’

Rosalind had been about to leave the schoolroom, but she hesitated in the doorway. ‘Of course.’

‘It’s really none of my business, and I think it’s a wonderful thing, but what do you hope to accomplish by educating those poor orphans?’

‘Surely everyone ought to be able to read and write?’

‘I agree, but are they to be treated like servants or members of the family?’

‘Nancy and Tommy are just children. I don’t consider them as servants.’

‘That’s what I mean, Rosalind. Isn’t there a danger of educating them above their station in life?’

‘That sounds like something your papa might say, even though he preaches that we are all equal under the eyes of God.’

‘I agree. There is a certain amount of hypocrisy in teaching equality and then treating others like inferior beings. I was bitterly ashamed of the way my parents treated Nancy. She is a dear child and I care what happens to her.’

‘As do I,’ Rosalind said quickly. ‘You’re right, Louise. I haven’t given it enough thought. All I wanted was for them to grow up to have decent lives, but perhaps that was naïve of me. I can’t change society, but it occurred to me that if Tommy and Nancy were my wards, I might be able to do more for them. After all, I took responsibility for them.’

Louise smiled. ‘Most people would consider it enough just putting a roof over their heads and food in their mouths.’

‘I’ll speak to my husband. I’m sure he’ll support me in this.’

Piers’ reaction when Rosalind told him and Hester of her plan was not quite what she had expected.

‘You haven’t thought this through, Rosie. I can see why you want to do this, but you don’t know what sort of family those children came from. They could be felons or madmen or simply just wrongdoers. To take them into our family like that could prove a disaster.’