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“French?” Giulia said with surprise.
“Yes, but she’s lived in England longer than she ever lived in France. She keeps her accent thick, however. Very proud of her heritage, that one.”
Giulia’s eyebrows rose. “Even with the war?”
“Even with the war.” Amelia nodded. “In London she’s an Incomparable, too. She graces us with her presence as her uncle is a local peer, but she will not settle for any of our lame country folk.”
“Unless they are a future earl?” Giulia asked as she gestured to Nick. The couple was absolutely stunning and watching them move gracefully in sync gave Giulia the strong desire to throw a fork at something.
“Perhaps,” Amelia replied with a delicate shrug. “Though I will be surprised if she settles for anything less than a current duke.”
“Are there any unmarried dukes in England currently?” Giulia was quickly realizing that her knowledge of the peers was sorely lacking.
“Only two, I believe. One is rather old, however, and the other is quite difficult to catch.”
“Oh.”
“He is our neighbor, actually. Though he’s hardly seen away from his estate.”
“Except for at Lords, I would assume. He does partake in Parliament, does he not?”
“Not even then,” Amelia confided. “I have heard that his seat has been empty these last five years.”
“That is interesting,” Giulia said. “Do you know why?”
“There are plenty of rumors,” Amelia said with a flick of her fan. “But who really knows the truth?”
Giulia nodded, not fully satisfied with the lack of information following that revelation. How had nobody mentioned that they were neighbors with a Duke? Perhaps it was not very exciting news to the Halstead household since a duke would outrank Lord Hart.
“Good evening, Dr. Mason,” Giulia said as Amelia’s brother approached.
“I see you have been accosted by Charles already,” Dr. Mason said after bowing to the women, a smile in his eyes.
Amelia shot her brother an annoyed look and went back to surveying the dancers. Dr. Mason began a joke about men not knowing when to walk away but Giulia was only half-listening. Her gaze was fixed on the open door to the ballroom that led out into the hallway and the figure she saw perched at the foot of the stairs.
She held the woman’s eye for a brief moment and then Lily was gone.
Giulia rose so quickly that Dr. Mason had to take a step back to avoid being hit. She placed a hand on his arm and said, “I apologize, Dr. Mason, I must beg your forgiveness. I only just remembered something, and I must attend to it immediately.”
She curtseyed to the pair and set her path straight for the foyer, weaving through strangers and acquaintances alike as she made her way toward the exit. She faintly noticed Nick dancing with a raven-haired beauty, his confused gaze following her as she passed. She shot him a smile to let him know everything was fine before she slipped from the ballroom and into the empty hall. She glanced either direction and was stunned to see not a footman in sight. Denny had been perched beside the door all evening, so his absence was surely odd.
Giulia raced up the stairs, pausing to listen for sounds indicating which way Lily may have gone. She turned down the east wing first, checking the men’s chambers before running back toward the west wing. She glanced in her own room before running down the next hall, and then the next, treading lightly and listening for any noise to indicate where her mother was. It was not until Giulia reached the alcove that she heard steps above her.
Lily was in the west tower.
