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“Daisy!”
Daisy stirred, her eyes heavy with sleep as she attempted to force herself into wakefulness.
“Daisy, you must wake up!”
Groaning, Daisy rebelled at the insistent hand that was shaking her, wanting to snuggle back down under the covers and return to that most excellent dream where she had been wed to Lord Watt.
“Daisy! It is a matter of life or death!”
Hearing the urgency and the fear in her father’s voice, and slowly realizing that it was he who had been waking her, Daisy forced her eyes to open and slowly sat up, blinking furiously. Lord Harrogate grasped her shoulders, forcing her into wakefulness all the more.
“Daisy, you must get up and get dressed at once,” he said, urgently. “You must take your mother to Susanna’s house.”
Daisy blinked in confusion, trying to force her muddled head out of the remnants of her dream and into the present. “Susanna?” she asked, repeating her elder sister’s name. “But why? What has happened?”
Her father said nothing, letting go of her shoulders and stepping to one side to allow her to rise.
“Where is Mama?” Daisy asked, as a sudden chill ran up from her toes all the way through her. “What is wrong, Papa?”
“Take a few things with you,” he said, moving back towards the door and picking up a bag that she had not noticed before. “Just the things you will require for the next few days.”
Daisy stared at him, her hands refusing to move as he held out the bag to her. Fear clutched at her heart, seeing the grim expression on her father’s face and realizing she had very little understanding of what was happening.
“Daisy!” Her father’s voice echoed around the room, startling her. “You must do as I ask. Now!”
Jerked into obedience, Daisy began to hurry. Feverishly, she gathered up a few things from her dressing table and placed them into the bag. A few clothes soon followed, whilst her father pulled out her long, thick cloak from the wardrobe.
“Once you dress, you will need to put on your cloak,” he said firmly, as Daisy’s breathing became ragged with fright. “Then come to join your mother and I in the drawing room. You must leave at once. Most of the staff have already left and will return in the morning, if it is safe.”
Daisy saw him make to leave, only to hurry forward and grasp his arm. Her eyes wide, she looked up into his face and saw the paleness of his cheeks, the fear in his expression.
“What is wrong, Papa?” she asked hoarsely, aware of the terrified pounding of her heart. “Why must we go to Susanna’s? Where will you be?”
Her father shook his head. “If I do not come after you, then you must not come looking,” he said slowly, his expression grave. “I love you and your mother very dearly, which is why you cannot remain here. I have had word that he is seeking me out, and I fear for my own safety, as well as for yours.”
Daisy’s heart began to hammer furiously. “You have had word?” she repeated, not understanding what her father meant. “From whom? And why would you be in danger?”
He held her gaze steadily, pressing his lips together. “You must never breathe a word of this to anyone,” he said, his voice low as though they would be overheard. “But I work for the King. The League helps protect England from the many foes who would come into our country and seek to do us harm. I believe I have been discovered. I fear that they seek me out now, knowing that I have betrayed them and that they are no longer safe.” His eyes darted away, and she saw the fear held within them, wanting to understand and to reassure him but knowing she could not. “I must keep you and your mother free from danger. Go to Susanna’s. Stay there for as long as is required, and do not come to seek me out.”
Daisy did not understand much of what had been said, but she threw herself into her father’s arms, holding him tightly. Tears began to streak down her cheeks, her breathing turning into ragged sobs. She felt as though she were saying goodbye to her father, as though she would be parted from him for some time, if not forever.
“You can come with us,” she said hoarsely. “You know that Susanna and Lord Northgate would be glad to see you.”
“I cannot,” he answered, setting her back from him gently, his urgency beginning to surround her once more. “I would not put any of you in danger.” His eyes searched hers. “If the worst should happen, then you must speak to Lord Templeton. He must know of this.” Sighing, he put one hand on her shoulder, his head low. “Please, Daisy, do as I ask. Come and find your mother and I once you are dressed. I would have you both gone from this house just as soon as I can.”
And so it was that Daisy found herself trudging along beside her mother in the cold, dark streets of London, with two footmen accompanying them. Her heart was aching, her mother quietly weeping beside her. Her father had been insistent that they depart, and equally insistent that he could not join them. Her mother had cried and begged him to attend, but Lord Harrogate had refused.
“We must convince him,” Daisy whispered furiously, suddenly turning around in order to make her way back to the house. “Mama, we cannot permit him to stay!”
“We must,” Lady Harrogate answered, stopping in her tracks and turning back around to face the townhouse. “Daisy, my dear, you know very well that I would have your father join us, but he would not listen to me. He refused to come to Lord Northgate’s home, and if my words would not convince him, then I fear that—”
“I do not understand,” Daisy said, as the two footmen looked at each other in concern. “Mama, whatever Papa is involved with, it does not mean that he cannot join us? I am sure that…”
Her words died away as something huge, something furious, blew out from what Daisy knew to be her father’s study window. The glass shattered all over the ground as flames of orange and red began to lick at the sides of the window. Beside her, Daisy heard her mother scream, saw how the footman caught her arm and prevented Lady Harrogate from running back to the house. She could hear the crackle of the fire and could smell the smoke, but her mind could not quite believe it, could not quite take it in.
Their townhouse was on fire. The place she had come to love here in London was now being eaten away by the flames.
And her father was still inside.
