Page 4 of One Waltz with the Viscount

‘Selina became so obsessed with finding our father that she gathered up my mother’s diary, and all the letters we’d found in her possession, and made her way to London. She thought she could piece together the little information we had, follow the clues and identify our father.’

Sarah sighed and closed her eyes. She should never have let her sister go. They’d argued about it and, one day, she had been at the end of her tether and told her sister to do as she pleased. It had been a careless comment, one she had regretted immediately, and the next day she had woken to find Selina’s bed empty and a note saying she had used her small savings on a ticket for the stagecoach to London.

‘She followed his trail to London?’

‘Yes. Each week she would write me a letter, detailing her progress, or lack of as it normally was, but in her last letter she wrote of her excitement. She thought she had really found something. She told me she was coming here to speak to Agnes Pepper, a maid in the Shrewsbury household, who she thought might have had a connection to our father. Her name was mentioned in an anecdote in one of the letters.’

Lord Routledge was sitting forward in his seat now. Sarah felt a surge of hope, and with relief realised it had been the right decision to tell him the whole truth. His interest in her tale might save her from being handed over to the authorities.

‘Which is why you are here.’

‘I waited patiently for a letter from Selina, but week after week nothing arrived. I grew so worried I wrote to my new employer, asking if they might allow me to search for Selina before I took up my position. They said I could have four weeks, but if I was not back after that they would find a new music teacher.’

‘So you have four weeks to find your sister.’

‘Two and a half. That is why I am so desperate to speak to Agnes Pepper. I would never have done something so risky as breaking into a house otherwise.’

‘Do you know, Miss Shepherd, I believe you.’

Slumping back in her chair, Sarah closed her eyes. She felt exhausted and overwhelmed. All she wanted to do was return home, to go back to the small house with a view of the sea, to hear the gulls calling overhead as she walked to the shops, to taste the salt in the air on her lips. All of that was gone now. She had packed up their belongings before she had left for London. They could no longer afford the rent and it was silly to waste money they didn’t have on a house they were not using.

‘What is your decision, my lord?’ Sarah asked, her voice weary. ‘Am I to be hauled off to gaol to await a date for a trial, or will you let me slip away?’

He tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair, as if still deciding.

‘I have an alternative proposition for you,’ he said, his voice low.

Sarah felt a stirring of something deep inside her, and quickly pushed it away. Now was not the time to be thinking about how Lord Routledge’s body had felt as he pinned her up against the wall.

‘Let me help you,’ he said.

‘Help me?’

‘Yes. I have heard your story, I am intrigued. I would like to help.’

‘Why?’

He shrugged. ‘I find myself at a loose end at present. Parliament has a recess for the summer months, and I have no wish to retreat to the country. This matter piques my interest.’

‘I could not ask you to help me,’ Sarah said, feeling a surge of panic. She had confessed all the sordid details of her origins in the hope he might believe her story, but she had never thought he would want to get involved.

‘You do not have to ask. I am offering. Consider it for a moment before you answer. Not only do I help you escape from the Shrewsburys’ house without anyone else knowing you were ever here, I also have the contacts to arrange for you to meet with Agnes Pepper, without having to resort to nefarious methods. My name alone opens doors in this city.’

Sarah still hesitated.

Lord Routledge leaned forward, tapping her on the knee as if she were a faithful hunting dog. ‘Do not fear, I am not an imbecile. I will be very discreet when we are making our enquiries. There will be no mention of your possible illegitimacy, and no question of anyone impugning your honour.’

‘Then I accept,’ Sarah said. She was already filled with misgivings, but she had no other choice. If she refused his offer he may still send for the constable. There was no chance of finding Selina if she was incarcerated, and even a few days’ delay might be the difference between picking up her sister’s trail and losing it for ever.

‘Good. Let us get you out of here.’

‘What about speaking to Agnes Pepper?’

‘Tomorrow. Tonight we work on keeping those delicate little wrists of yours free from manacles.’ He stood and strode over to the door, opening it a crack. A weak light shone through, suggesting a candle still burned somewhere in the hall.

‘Wait here,’ he said, slipping out and disappearing from view.

He returned a few minutes later, holding a candlestick, with a grim expression on his face.