The maid silently led them down a long, quiet hallway, carpeted wall to wall. She stopped before a door markedThe Orange Roomand stood aside for Aunt Florence to step inside.
“Ah, my usual room, I see,” Aunt Florence said, sounding satisfied. “I take it my niece is to be on the same wing?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the maid responded quietly, looking uneasy at being spoken to. “The Blue Room, ma’am.”
“Very nice, very nice. Well, go and get settled in, Abby, and I’ll come along and see you before we go down again. Lucy will come along when it’s time to dress. She knows what’s what.”
Abigail hovered in the doorway, struggling to speak. Aunt Florence paused, lifting an eyebrow.
“Thank you, Aunt,” Abigail burst out at last. “For everything. For bringing me here, mostly. I know I haven’t seemed very grateful. But I am. Thank you.”
Aunt Florence smiled, reaching out to pat her niece’s cheek. “I have great things in mind for you, my darling Abby. Now, off with you and rest.”
Thus dismissed, Abigail followed the maid further along the hallway, to a room markedThe Blue Room.
Just like before, the maid stepped aside and let Abigail go in first. The deference made her uncomfortable.
The Blue Room was, as the name indicated, mostly blue. There was flowered blue-and-white paper on the walls, thick carpets of patterned blue, a rich sapphire bedspread, and a powder-blue canopy hanging around the huge bed. It was at least twice as large as Abigail’s bed back home. In fact, her whole room could have fitted into this one twice over.
She stepped inside, turning in a little circle.
“Oh, it’s beautiful! Thank you so much.”
The maid blinked. “Y-You’re welcome, Miss. I did clean it myself.”
“It’s impeccable. You should see the cobwebs in my room back home.”
The maid gave a little laugh, which she hastily turned into a cough. Gaining a little confidence, she spoke again.
“There’s a bell-pull in the corner, Miss. I just thought I’d say, seeing as you haven’t stayed with us before. Ring whenever you want tea or anything, or if you want to see your maid. And there’s a key in the door, in case you want to lock yourself in at night. Some people do, you know.”
Abigail nodded. “Thank you very much. I think I’ll like it here.”
The maid beamed, and retreated, closing the door softly behind herself. Abigail flopped backwards onto the bed, which was just as delightfully soft as it looked.
Maybe it won’t be all bad here,she thought with a smile.
Chapter Five
Alex watched the new guests disappear into the house, unable to shake an unsettling feeling in his gut. He knew Lady Caldecott, of course, although she’d been notably cold with him. Odd.
And then there was her niece, who seemed strangely familiar to Alex. He’d likely passed her by at some gathering or another, although they’d never exchanged words.
It had been pure coincidence that he’d passed when the girl was tumbling out of the carriage. Why she hadn’t waited for the footmen to arrive was beyond him, but that wasn’t the point.
She had the loveliest eyes he’d ever seen. Brown, proper brown, like the heart of a chestnut, shot with lights of gold. Not a hint of green or blue to be seen, and that was rare, wasn’t it? Everybody had blue eyes in this country.
Not that she’d seemed to want to talk much to him. She’d kept her head down and had barely looked at him. Perhaps that was embarrassment, though. A trip like that in the middle of a thriving ball would be noticed, and probably would make its way into a scandal sheet if nothing else exciting happened.
Not your business,Alex reminded himself, turning to face the second carriage coming down the drive. This one was a hackney cab, and he knew exactly who would come tumbling out of it.
“Alex, old friend!” Hamish cheered, flinging open the door when the cab was still moving. “Good of you to come out and meet me.”
“I got your note this morning. What do you mean by it? Why are you here?”
Hamish stumbled out onto the gravel, chuckling to himself. He threw a few coins to the cab driver, who snatched them out of the air and moved on without ever having properly stopped the cab. Apparently, Hamish’s entire baggage was contained in one simple box.
“I was invited,” Hamish snorted. “By you, no less. Don’t you remember? The night before last.”
