“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Wilson asked.
Georgie shrugged, trying for a nonchalance she didn’t feel. “I didn’t think he would find me here at the orphanage. I thought I was safe.”
Wilson frowned. “How can I keep you safe if you are keeping things from me?”
“I should have told you, and I am sorry,” Georgie said.
Wilson glanced down at the floor. “Wait here,” he encouraged. “I will go ensure the man is truly gone, and then I will go to the kitchen to retrieve a broom.”
As the butler hurried off, Alice shook her head. “I didn’t think your brother would go to such great lengths to bring you home.”
“Neither did I,” Georgie responded. “I didn’t think he cared that much about me.”
“You could have been killed.”
“The Runner said that my brother wants me alive.”
“Thank heavens for that,” Alice said.
Georgie sat on her bed. She’d begun to quake and wanted something sturdy beneath her. “Why do you suppose my brother wants me to return home so badly?”
“I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”
“Neither can I, and it is infuriating,” Georgie remarked. “Perhaps his pride took a hit when I left home?”
“Possibly, but you shouldn’t underestimate him again.”
“I won’t.”
Mrs. Peters stepped into the room with a broom. “I spoke to Wilson in the hallway, and he instructed me to bring a broom.”
Alice held her hand out and accepted the broom.
As Alice started sweeping up the glass, Mrs. Peters leaned her shoulder against the doorway and met Georgie’s gaze. “Are you all right?” she asked, her voice full of concern.
“I am.”
Mrs. Peters watched her for a moment before saying, “You should try to get some sleep before the sun rises.”
“I doubt I could sleep now.”
“I suspected you might say that.” Mrs. Peters straightened from the doorway. “How does a cup of tea sound?”
“That sounds heavenly.”
ChapterFourteen
From behind her desk, Georgie watched as Evie paced back and forth across her small office, a look of contemplation on her face. It had been hours since her attempted abduction, and she was still trying to make sense of it all.
Evie stopped, turning to face her. “How did this man gain access to the orphanage?”
Georgie motioned towards the window. “This window was found ajar, so it is reasonable to assume he climbed through.
“I think not,” Evie said. “That window is barely large enough to let me crawl through it. I doubt a grown man would be able to.”
“Then how do you think he got in?”
Evie was silent for a moment. “I think someone might have let him in.”
