Page 68 of No Ordinary Lady

The room was empty of her. All the coins in his desk drawers were gone.

He checked every other place where he usually left coins. It was all gone, every penny and pound, which meant she had enough to take her anywhere she pleased.

Since Marian was not in his room, or hers either, he went directly to Mother’s bedchamber to ask if she’d seen Marian while he’d been at the dinner table.

At the door, he paused, tugged down his waistcoat and smoothed his hair in readiness to enter a room that had been off limits to him for his whole life. He knocked on the door, but he was panicking. She could be anywhere by now. She could be in danger again, too. He heard a sound inside and put his hand on the doorknob. “Mama, it’s Daniel. Are you awake?”

There was no immediate answer, and when he turned the knob, he found the door locked. He was so surprised by that, he put his ear to the door and listened.

He heard a muffled voice. And movement inside.

He drew back and knocked, again and louder. Finally, he heard light footsteps coming toward the door. He stood back and waited. “Who is it?”

“Your son, Mama. Are you all right?”

“What do you want?”

He put his hands on either side of the doorframe, exasperated. “I want to talk to you.”

“Can it not wait until tomorrow?”

He ground his teeth and forced tranquility into his soul as he remembered that he shouldn’t aggravate her. Mama hated to be disturbed when she’d already retired to bed. “The Wilsons have left.”

“Yes, I saw their carriage depart.”

He took a deep breath. “You did not return to finish dinner?”

“Obviously not.”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Listen, could we talk face-to-face?”

“Tomorrow.”

“No, tonight. I insist upon seeing you. There might be a problem.”

It took a long time for the door to be unlocked between them. But finally, Mother stood framed in the doorway, glaring at him, wearing her robe. “Satisfied?”

“Almost,” he said. “Why did you not return downstairs?”

“I wanted to give you time to talk with the Wilsons alone. I thought if I were absent from the room, you’d finally discuss marrying Amy. I had also hoped that Mother would have followed me and left you to it. Is it done? Has a date been set?”

“No.”

“Then there is nothing at all for us to talk about until you do,” Mother said dismissively. “If you don’t mind, I’m weary.”

Mother closed the door in his face, but he stuck out his foot.

Mother glanced down, her face becoming angry. “Have you no respect for my privacy?”

Daniel ignored that. “Granny believes her companion has gone missing. I’m worried. Have you seen Miss Trill, or know where I can find her?”

“No,” Mama answered. “I don’t have the faintest idea where she might have gone. I’m sure she’s around somewhere. Perhaps she’s with the servants or in the kitchens. She’s fond of cake, I’ve noticed.”

“Yes, I should have thought of that sooner,” Daniel agreed, and jerked his foot back to allow Mother to close the door and go back to bed, while he hurried to the kitchens.

Chapter Fifteen

Marian fought against the bonds tying her to a padded armchair as footsteps in the other room continued pacing to and fro. She’d cry out again, but her initial entreaties for freedom had produced no response.