Page 87 of Lady for a Season
He crossed the room in two strides, his face very close to hers, voice low and angry. “Where did she go?”
She swallowed. “London, I believe.”
“London? When did she leave?”
She could not meet his eyes. “I gave her the carriage as far as The Golden Grouse. After that she was going to take the midday stagecoach.”
“When?”
“This morning, about ten. While you were in the Rose Garden with Miss Belmont.”
He stared at her in horror. “But that was more than two hours ago.”
“She chose to go.”
He gave a half-laugh. “I do not believe you. She would not haveleft me without saying goodbye. She would not have left at all, had she not thought –” He stopped. “What did you tell her?”
She stood silent before him.
He put his face close to hers, the words coming out through his teeth. “What did you say to her?”
“I said you had proposed to Miss Belmont.”
He groaned. “How could you? How could you let Maggie think that I did not care for her, that I had chosen Miss Belmont?”
“Well, she is gone. She took the money I promised her and went.”
“You paid her off, so that she would leave?”
“She believed you were going to be married to Miss Belmont, her work was done.” She put a hand on his arm. “You believe you love her, Edward, but she is not a lady. She is a maid, a foundling, a nobody. She has no family. You could not possibly marry her. It is better for you – for her – for us all – if she goes. She has money, she has references, she –”
“You gave her references and money. You did what you needed to do to get rid of her, in other words.”
“She took them. What does that tell you about her, Edward? That she saw caring for you as a job. A task. Which she had fulfilled.” She handed him the note Maggie had written. “Here, see for yourself.”
He glanced down at the note and shook his head. “Unsealed? Meant for your eyes rather than mine?”
“She claimed what was owed to her and left at once, understanding there was nothing else here for her.”
The urge to strike her rose up in him, such was the rage he felt. But that was his father’s way, not his. He would not allow the baser side of his blood to take over, he would stay true to his own path. He stepped away from her and pulled the bell, summoning Joseph, who, judging by the alacrity of his response, had been hovering outside the door.
“Have my horse brought round immediately.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“If the stagecoach left at midday, she can only have travelled four or five miles beyond the inn so far. On Merlin, I can catch her up within half an hour.”
“Edward!”
“Yes?”
“I forbid this!”
Edward laughed out loud. “It is too late for forbidding, Mama.”
And he was gone, leaving the Duchess standing alone, a grim look on her face before she pulled the bell and said to the footman who appeared, “Our fastest carriage, at once.”
Chapter 12:
