She spoke without thinking and then thought it sounded forward and blushed.
“Thank you,” the Count answered quietly. “I want to help you, Vernita, I want to desperately, but I am not really sure how to go about it.”
He made a sound that was like a deep sigh before he added,
“I am only in Paris as a bird of passage. As I have told you already, I may have to leave at any moment. I am not certain if I have done the right thing in taking you to the Hôtel de Charost.”
“It will be much better than being alone without Mama.”
“That is what I thought until I saw you this morning.”
“Did I do anything wrong?” Vernita asked.
“Not wrong,” the Count answered. “I thought when I saw you yesterday that you were not the seamstress you professed to be, but I was sorry for you and realised that you wer
