“Very good.” Lily set her back and smiled down at her. It cost her much, that smile. “Then let Mary and Ofelia bathe you and eat all the good things on your tray as a start.”
“I will.”
“I love you, Rebecca.”
“I love you too, Miss Hughes.”
Lily’s heart very nearly broke then. It was a reminder that the basis for all of it had been a lie, even though Lily’s affection for the girl was very real, indeed. She gave Rebecca one last hug and set her back before the dollhouse. When Lily turned back at the doorway, Rebecca was rearranging her dining room once again.
CHAPTER 2- BRADFORD
Bradford Fergus McAllister, the Viscount Hayes, ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed at his reflection in his dressing mirror. He was putting too much emphasis on his appearance for dinner this evening, and he knew it. It wasn’t as if the way his cravat was tied would make a difference.
He feared nothing would make a difference. After all, how does one politely say,I thought you cared for my daughter; I thought you cared for me. I’m hurt that you would leave us?
Bradford paused, considering whether such honesty would work.
He’d lied to her in his study. Of course he wasn’t going to imprison her like they were living in some dreadful gothic novel. Him telling her she was forbidden to leave had been a panicked, knee-jerk reaction, nothing more. He’d regretted it the moment the words escaped his lips.
The truth of the matter was, he’d reacted so strongly because he cared deeply, something the lady might have realized if she’d paused to think about it, if she hadn’t nearly fled from his presence in sheer terror.
He sighed and yanked the cravat from his neck. The entire outfit was wrong. Light grey—what had he been thinking?
He had been doing his best to ignore her the entire time she was here, with varying degrees of success. Now he had ruined any possibility of…well,anythingby the way he had bellowed at her.
Hers was a perfectly logical request. If she no longer needed the employment, of course she wouldn’t keep her position. Bradford sighed and looked at the afternoon light outside the window, trying once again to formulate an apology. He was well out of practice, but surely the words would have their intended effect, even if they were delivered in his customary growl. Bradford nodded to himself, satisfied with his prudent plan.
An hour later, he’d combed his hair and chosen a dark suit appropriate for the occasion. Apologies were close to mourning, or so he felt. He made his way to the dining room, expecting to find the young lady known as Miss Hughes seated, but her usual chair was empty. Even more disturbing, there was no place setting laid out for her.
“Mrs. Clark,” he snapped.
“Yes, my lord.” She appeared like a wraith at his elbow. He’d learned that she was never far.
“Where is Miss Hughes?”
Mrs. Clark wrung her fingers. “Why, she’s gone, my lord.”
A thrill of terror coursed through his limbs. Through practice, he didn’t so much as flinch. “Gone? What do you mean,gone?”
“She left this afternoon. Didn’t tell anyone. We only found her room empty and her clothes missing when Genevieve went to call her for the evening meal.”
“Question the staff. Find her,now.”
CHAPTER 3-LILY
Lily desperately wished that the story she’d told Rebecca was true, that therehadbeen a magic yellow balloon waiting to whisk her off on a grand adventure. She set her heavy carpetbag in the muck at her feet and paused to catch her breath, bracing her hands against the rough brocade of her gown at the knees.
Since the moment she’d arrived, Lily had thought Northumberland one of the most beautiful places she’d ever seen. Dark thatches of woods interspersed the landscape, breaking up vivid green fields and the muted purple of the wild heather that grew along the rocks jutting from the soggy moor.
It was an ever-changing scenery, and not just because of the temperamental weather, though that certainly was remarkable. If the Northumberland sky was a stage, it rarely offered the same show from week to week. The sky itself seemed larger here, with great swells of blue-grey clouds that often rolled violently in and swirled and tumbled as if fighting each other. Other days were perfectly clear and blue.
Lily couldn’t help but wish that today had been one of those rare days of sunshine. Instead, the weather reflected her currentcircumstances perfectly—grey clouds roiled and writhed. A cold, misty wind tugged strands loose from her low bun and flicked her limp bonnet ribbons into her face.
Lily had sent more than a dozen prayers winging upward that it would not rain. Not yet, at least. Even so, mud already caked her sturdy boots up to her ankle. The left one was soaked through from when she’d stepped into a boggy puddle. Her cloak was wicking moisture upwards, wetting her skirts and weighing her down, but it was too cold to remove it.
Though there was an excellent sturdy road between Ballam Hall and the town of Blyth, Lily hadn’t dared take it. Her absence would be noted soon, if it hadn’t been already. Rebecca always napped after a bath and a tea tray—she wouldn’t be asking for Lily for a while yet. It was the girl’s father who would be the problem.
It was Lord Hayes’s threat of arrest that dictated Lily strike a path where there weren’t any paths at all—down through the back field, using the hedgerow for cover so she wouldn’t be spotted from the house—then through a forest that was far more prickly thicket than anything else.
