The housekeeper curtsied. “Mrs. Wilson, my lady. I’m the housekeeper of the Duke of Richmond.”
At hearing the name of the duke, Mother brightened for a moment. “Why are you with my daughter, and what are you wearing, Esther?”
Esther cleared her throat. “It’s actually quite funny?—”
Footsteps pounding spared her from finding an excuse she hadn’t prepared.
The dowager strode into the hallway, fists clenched. “You! Where is it?”
Oh, bother. “What?”
Mother pressed her lips in a grim line. “Honestly, Josephine. There’s no need to use that tone.”
The dowager ignored Mother. “Don’t play games with me. I demand you return what you stole from me this instant.”
Had she spent the night stealing things from people?
Mother was flustered. “My daughter doesn’t steal.”
“What did I take from you, my lady?” Please, not another weapon.
The dowager huffed. “You stole my cloak.”
“I didn’t—” Actually, she remembered that.
Before leaving the house to follow Minnie, she’d snatched a random cloak from the cloakroom. It might have been the dowager’s, but the problem was she had no idea where the cloak was now.
“Pray, continue.” The dowager jutted out her chin.
“I don’t remember where I put it.”
“You lost it!”
“No. I don’t remember where I put it anymore.”
Mother nodded. “See, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
The dowager shot her gaze towards the ceiling. “Now I understand whom Esther took after.”
Before Mother could answer, Minnie arrived. “Esther. You’re back from your walk.”
“Without my cloak,” the dowager said.
“It’s all right, Grandmama,” Minnie said. “We’ll find it. I promise. But now I need a word with Esther. Upstairs?”
“Excuse me,” the dowager said. “I’m having a conversation with Esther about stolen property.”
“I’m aware of that, but my conversation with Esther is more urgent.” Minnie went up the stairs, urging Esther to follow her.
Mother nodded towards the stairs. “Go, darling.”
She tiptoed past the dowager. “I’ll return the cloak. I promise. Mrs. Wilson, thank you for your company. You may leave.”
The housekeeper left the moment she was dismissed, and Esther couldn’t blame her. She went up the stairs, ignoring the dowager grumbling about her precious cloak.
“What in the blazes happened to you?” Minnie asked when they were alone in her bedroom. “When I saw your empty bed, I had to tell everyone you left early, but I had no idea if you were safe. I was worried.”
“What happened after you gave me that vial?”
