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“How awful.”
“And Baldwin has been cantankerous since he arrived home a few days ago.”
Madalene came to sit down next to her friend. “Where was Lord Hawthorne before?”
Jane tossed her hands up in the air. “I have no idea!” she exclaimed. “He left right after our father died, with no word, and then he just showed back up with no explanation.”
“He won’t tell you where he has been?”
Jane shook her head. “But I have a few theories.”
“You do?”
A playful smile came to Jane’s lips as she glanced over at the door. “I think my brother was a pirate,” she whispered.
Madalene laughed. “A pirate?”
“It makes perfect sense,” Jane stated. “After all, his skin has darkened, and he barks orders like he has been bossing around a crew all day.”
“Your logic sounds flawless,” Madalene joked.
Jane’s smile grew. “How I have missed this.”
“As have I.”
“We haven’t seen each other since your mother died,” Jane said.
“But we have written each other.”
“That is true,” Jane replied. “Will you be staying for the rest of the Season?”
Madalene shook her head. “I intend to return home to my country estate in a few days, but first I must take care of something important.”
“Oh?” Jane asked. “You have piqued my interest now.”
A young blonde maid entered the room with a tray in her hands and placed it in front of them on a table.
“Would you care for me to pour, milady?” she asked Jane.
“No, thank you,” Jane replied. “I shall see to it.”
The maid dropped a curtsy and departed from the room.
As Jane poured the tea, Madalene walked over to the door and closed it. “I don’t want any prying ears to overhear our conversation.”
“You mean Baldwin?” Jane asked in an amused tone.
Madalene smiled. “Perhaps, but what I am about to reveal must be kept in the strictest confidence.”
“You have my word.”
Returning to her seat, Madalene shared, “Do you remember Edith Hardy from boarding school?”
Jane picked up a cup of tea and extended it towards her. “Of course, I remember Edith. You hired her as the headmistress of your mother’s orphanage.”
Madalene took a sip of her tea. “Edith has gone missing,” she revealed.
“Missing?”
