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Chapter33
Sun streamed through James’s open windows and spread over the navy rug like shafts of bright fire. I shifted on the feather mattress, and James’s arm slipped from its position around my waist, freeing me from his sleepy hold. He made a low guttural sound and rolled to face the other direction, and I slid quietly from the blankets and tiptoed across the cold floor. Shivers ran up my bare legs, and I closed the adjoining door between our rooms softly before sliding my dressing gown over my shift.
Fanny had not yet been in to light the morning fire—a task which had fallen to her while the maids were being dismissed and shifted around. I tugged the bell rope and sat at my dressing table, where I’d placed a white rose that James had given me the night before.
You are part of Chelton now, darling. You even look the part.
It had been a jest about how closely I resembled the flowers that filled the gardens, and I intended to dry this rose as well and press the petals between the pages of a book so I might keep them always.
Fanny arrived and helped me dress, and I was down in the breakfast room before too long, pouring myself a hot cup of steaming chocolate and buttering a slice of toasted bread. Jane had intended to meet me down here for breakfast before anyone else awoke, but she’d not yet arrived.
Heavy boot tread traveled down the corridor, and Benedict tore into the room at a fast clip, halting in his surprise upon setting his gaze on me. “You startled me, Felicity. Why are you awake so early?”
“I’m meeting Jane.” I swallowed another sip of chocolate. “Are you going somewhere?”
He wore his riding boots and coat over pantaloons, gloves and hat in hand. He set them on the table and moved to fill a plate at the sideboard. “Yes, actually. I had not intended to tell anyone, however, so you are putting me in an odd spot.”
“You needn’t confide in me, but I do hope you at least told your mother you intended to go somewhere.”
He shot me a guilty look, and I set my cup on the saucer. “Benedict,” I scolded. “She will worry herself ill were she to awake and find her son missing.”
“It would not be the first time.”
“That is meant to make you sound better?”
He sighed, carrying his plate to the table. “You are sounding more and more like the mistress of Chelton every day, you know.”
“Like I have authority?”
“No,” he deadpanned. “Like my mother.”
I grinned. I knew he meant it kindly. “Perhaps you ought to heed my advice and at least leave a note. Do you know how long you shall be gone?”
“I haven’t the slightest.”
I took a bite of my toast and swallowed it, allowing him time to confide in me. When he remained quiet, I decided to speak my mind. He had no compunction in doing the same with me, after all. We were siblings now. “You recall how overset she became when she learned of Miss Northcott’s disappearance?”
He looked sullenly at me.
I wanted to straighten the curl that flopped over his forehead, but refrained. “Perhaps it would be similar were this to happen with her child.”
He chewed for a long while before swallowing and leaning back in his seat. “She is why I am leaving.”
“Your mother?”
“Thea. Miss Northcott.” He looked down at his plate and toyed with the roll there, ripping small pieces from it and littering his plate with crumbs. “I feel a little of the responsibility for her disappearance. I know my mother does not place that blame on me, but I also know that if I was not in residence, Thea would likely have approached Mother for help instead of whatever it is she’s done.”
This I had not expected. It had become increasingly plain that Benedict felt some level of guilt over Miss Northcott’s absence, but to seek her himself? “Where do you plan to go?”
“York, again. I will begin there. I’m certain one of the servants knows more than they’re letting on. A little coin should provide me some answers.”
“Miss Dorothea Northcott is missing?” Jane asked from the doorway.
We both startled and looked toward her. Drat. How long had she been listening?
Jane glided into the parlor, the picture of grace and poise, even at so early an hour. “I went to school with Thea. We had something of a friendship, actually, though we were not very close. Is she in trouble?”
“I hope not,” Benedict said. “Not that I care for her wellbeing in particular, but I do feel a modicum of responsibility.”
