A Marriage Most Inconvenient (Inconvenient Matches Book #1)

Chapter 4: Vera

Minerva smoothed her hands over the plain grey gown she wore, her black hair done up in a simple style of a working woman and covered by a demure hat. Any passerby would have thought her a governess or perhaps the wife of the vicar, just as she preferred when she went into town to deal with the architects and foremen that were concluding their work on the new orphanage building. All the finery didn't belong among the rough and tumble of construction, and truth be told Vera always felt more like herself when she was dressed like this. You could dress the seamstress's daughter in the finest gowns, but you couldn't make her feel like a Duchess.

She stood in front of the newly finished building some ten minutes' walk away from the town of Marshall Glenn, Cornwall, and felt the warm embrace of pride and adoration. This would be the children's new home. One that would never be taken from them. The humble but sturdy building stood two floors tall and was surrounded by a garden for the children to play in. The architecture was tasteful but not plain, the building overall had rather a welcoming look. At the entrance, some of the staff stood waiting for her to begin the tour while the children busied themselves in a game of hide and seek under the watchful eyes of the governess and the tutor.

A flurry of courtesies and bows were offered to her-she never would get used to that bit, she thought- as she entered the orphanage. The architect prattled on about the design and the rooms and the layout; all of which she had heard before, of course, as she had been rather intimately involved with every step of the process. But, the man was rather proud of his work and had been gracious to her in spite of her interference, so she allowed him his moment.

'And lastly, on the left, we would have the boy's quarters.' Concluded Mr. Whitt, the architect she had hired, as a volley of cheers went up behind them. Exasperated, Vera turned to the two miniature hellions that had not listened to her command to stay put in the yard outside with the rest of the children.

'It's so very big, Yer Grace. Are we really going to sleep here? It's so much bigger than the room in the church.' Little Timmy asked, his sweet brown eyes filling with so much awe her heart twisted. She didn't even have it in her to correct his speech. The room in front of her was large enough for the four boys and another four, if the need presented itself. Ever since the roof of the old orphanage building had collapsed, they'd been sleeping in the humble upper chambers of the local church. She thought of the church in her hometown near Boston where children had been piled into one room that was far too small to house even one of them and sent a silent prayer of thanks to her friendly adversary, God, for the good she was able to do with her elevated station.

'Yes, my sweet.' She felt him slide his fingers into her hand and she gave an adoring squeeze back. 'All four of you. And more, if need be.'

'Are the classroom and bathroom on the same floor?' Michael, the other boy, asked, brow furrowed in concern.

'Yes, they are, down the hall to the right for the classrooms and back towards the stairs for the bathrooms.' The architect provided.

'Good.' He nodded, tension leaving his body.

'Why'd ye ask?' Timmy tilted his head in confusion, Michael just rolled his eyes and called him a buffoon under his breath.

'It'd be hard for Nicky to climb every time he needs to take a pi- relieve himself.' He explained with an aged wisdom that had no place in a young boy's countenance and Vera felt her heart flutter with pride. Nicholas was one of the other charges of the orphanage, he had been born with a heart defect and a malformed left leg, making physical exertion very difficult for him. The boy's mother had been a bit too fond of laudanum, even her pregnancy had not prevented her indulgence, the orphanage's administrator had told her.