“That’s where it happened. I was sitting beside her on the couch by the fireplace.”
Exactly where I would have gone if Leo had not swept me into the dance.
Were it not for his intervention, it would have been Saffron set aflame. A coincidence, or something more? In other circumstances, she would have brushed it off, but there was another fact that made her pause. After the initial shock of the carriage accident, she thought back to the moments before the wheel had broken. There had been a sound. The report of a rifle, nearly drowned out by the hammering rain. Then there was their driver. Would a man who was not a criminal have abandoned them so easily?
It couldn’t have been an accident.
Someone had shot out their wheel, perhaps expecting the horses to spook and send them crashing into the river.
Her first instinct was that she needed to tell Leo as soon as possible, but then she remembered how he had hovered over her in the studio, and how he had enveloped her in his arms whenhe’d thought she’d had a chill. Would he continue to help her if he knew someone had tried to kill her? Or would he instead become even more protective and demand that she allow him to continue the investigation alone?
No, it was best to keep her suspicions to herself.
The rest of the work continued in silence. When all the damage was removed, Saffron turned the new, raw edge over to create a smooth hem, then set to ripping the wide band of lace from the bottom of her own gown. She would apologize to Leo later.
“Oh, no.” Lady Allen gasped. “Not your lovely gown!”
“Trust me,” Saffron said through a mouth full of pins. “I know what I am doing.” She affixed the band to the inner layer of the gown, settled the fabric on the floor, then stood back and admired her work. The gentle sweep of the fabric fell to the floor with no sign of the damage that had been done. Without a balayeuse, or dust ruffle, the gown would not survive the night, but it was enough.
“There,” she said, wiping sweat from her brow.
Lady Allen reached down and touched the work, her eyes sparkling. “You are a miracle worker. Not even my most experienced seamstress could have done such lovely work in such a short time. Can you also embroider?”
Saffron wiped sweat from her brow. “Of a fashion.”
Lady Allen hummed an appreciative sound. “You would make a wonderful lady’s companion.”
Only a few days earlier, those casual words would have sent Saffron’s pulse racing. Here was the opportunity she had been looking for, a way to support her family if her search for Basil ended in disappointment.
So why aren’t I more excited?
“I hope you are right,” Saffron said, with a smile that felt mostly forced. “I have been seeking a situation.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” Lady Allen clasped her hands. “You must join me as a companion. It would be my pleasure.”
Saffron bit the inside of her lip, compelled to comment despite her situation. “I didn’t help you in exchange for anything.”
Lady Allen sighed. “Think about it, my dear.” She fluffed out her skirts. “Now, let’s return to the ball so everyone can see what a marvelous job you have done.”
Chapter Eighteen
Saffron perched atthe edge of her chair in the dining room, tapping her foot on the floor. Somehow, Leo had intercepted her plans and reorganized the seating, so she was near Leo at the head of the table. Angelica was beside her, and Rosemary across the table, to Leo’s other side. They should have been spread out along the table to inspire conversation, as they had been each previous time they had sat at the table. She repositioned the cutlery in front of her until everything was perfectly aligned.
It was not the propriety she cared about, but the change in plans.
She told Leo as much, and he merely shrugged. “I’m eccentric. Plus, the three of you are far more entertaining. Indulge me.” She maintained her anger throughout the first course, a decadent asparagus soup, and the second, candied carrots, but by the time they’d finished the salmon, she vibrated with excitement.
The new staff Mrs. Banting had hired had done a marvelous job.
“You’ve done wonders with the cook,” Leo said, after servants removed the first dessert dish, milk pudding, from their plates. “I did not know she could make something without burning it.”
“She had the experience and skill necessary,” Saffron said. “She just needed help to get past the initial problems.”
She looked around at the guests clearly enjoying the meal and felt a surge of pride akin to how she felt when Angelica was complimented on her hair. She had brought about the happiness they felt, had coaxed the seed of the event into something marvelous.
Angelica, however, stared down at her shallow bowl as if it contained a dead rat, and not a beautifully prepared trifle. A slight vibration in the floor told her Angelica was bouncing her knee. Then Angelica winced, and the vibration stopped.
Saffron glanced across the table to Rosemary, who wore a tight smile.
