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“Are you trying to kill your maid, Maeve?” Leo asked with sympathy as he looked to the poor maid.
“I had to come and tell you. Oh, what news I have!” Maeve declared, throwing her hands in the air.
“Then come this way and tell the others.” Leo steered her toward the sitting room, before taking a minute to dart back to the maid and telling her where she could find a drink in the kitchen if she needed it. The maid thanked him profusely before hurrying off to find that drink.
“You’re all aflutter, Maeve.” Benjamin took his wife’s hand as she entered the room, clasping it warmly.
Leo turned away, angered at how envious he was feeling of everyone around him.
Chloe! You should be here.
Leo wasn’t in much doubt of what he would do if she were. He would say everything that he had longed to say for so long. He would assure her that these rumors meant nothing to him, and that he only wished to protect her from this world and make her happy. He would take her hand as Benjamin had just taken Maeve’s, and he would smile at her as Lord Gloucester was smiling at Miss Baker, yet right now he could do none of that. There was an emptiness in the room where Chloe should have been.
“What has happened?” Benjamin asked as he poured out a cup of tea for Maeve, who was so restless she couldn’t sit back in her chair but perched on the very edge.
“Something good!” she declared hurriedly, then turned to catch Leo’s attention as he returned to the windowsill. “What a breakfast it was! Clearly, Lady Shrewsbury invited us all there in the hope of persuading the others of the falsities against Chloe’s name. Imagine our surprise when the retraction in the scandal sheet turned up. Oh, it got people talking!”
“What did they say?” Miss Baker asked before Leo could.
“Some were insufferable, declaring they knew all along that Chloe had a good heart, and that they suspected the scandal sheet printed lies. Some people just don’t like to appear the fool.” Maeve scoffed at the idea. “Regardless, some were clearly shocked, and even ashamed of their actions. I spoke to one lady at great length who was almost on the verge of tears. It seemed she had sent a rather scathing letter to Chloe to retract her order of a dress, and she was most embarrassed by it. She resolved to visit Chloe herself to apologize for her behavior.”
There was general praise from the room, from everyone except Leo, who sat very still on the windowsill.
“Leo? Is this not good news?” Maeve called to him, clearly longing for his good opinion.
“Yes, it is. Very good news.” Leo nodded. He knew if the opinions of the ton could be persuaded back to Chloe’s favor, then Chloe had the chance of living out her dream. But the question of her current whereabouts still remained unanswered.
What if this is a dream she does not want anymore?
Distractedly, Leo leaned back on the windowsill and reached for the coffee cup beside him. As he lifted it to his lips, something else caught his attention beyond the glass. Another horse was pulling up outside of his building.
“Good lord, it is like Piccadilly Circus here today,” he muttered in amazement as the rider of the horse jumped down and eagerly ran up to the door of his building.
“What is it?” Benjamin asked from the other side of the room.
“Nothing.” Leo shook his head, as his eyes tarried on the horse and the rider who ran inside. “It seems someone in this building has received an express letter.”
“Who?” Maeve asked. Leo shrugged and waited to see if there would be a knock on his door. He didn’t have long to wait, for the messenger must have bounded up his stairs and knocked rather heavily.
Leo pushed off the windowsill, knocking his saucer to the ground in doing so.
“I’ve got it!” Benjamin spoke hurriedly. “You go get your message.” Leo hurried with his thanks and left the room, heading for the door. In the doorway, he found the messenger, his temple sweating thanks to his hurry.
“For Lord Felton.” He proffered a letter.
“That is me. Thank you.” Leo took the letter and offered the man some extra coins, before crossing back into the sitting room. As he walked, he broke the wax seal on the back of the letter, barely taking the time to acknowledge whose seal was imprinted in that wax. He only realized whose seal it was once he recognized the handwriting.
Wait . . . it is from Baron Maywood.
“Who is it from, Leo?” Maeve said as he crossed into the room, but Leo didn’t answer straight away. He was too busy trying to read the letter.
Lord Felton,
I had to send you this letter by express after talking to my daughter. I have now realized that she left London under something of a cloud and did not tell any of her friends where she has gone. She is so upset she seems to be caught up in her sadness. In case you are concerned, let me assure you, my daughter is safe. She is here with me at our home in Sussex.”
At the words, Leo leaned back on the nearest wall, feeling relief wash over him.
She is safe!
