Page 26 of His Wife, the Spy
“No, thank you, Lord Ramsbury. I’m not dancing.”
“But I insist.” The way he leaned forward to whisper, the laughter dripping from his words, sheared the last thread of Annabel’s temper.
Every night before she fell asleep, she promised to avoid him and to not rise to the bait. Every day, he never paid her enough attention to be scandalous but just enough to cause whispers, knowing she wouldn’t be impolite.
“Insist all you want. I won’t be dancing.” Annabel struggled to keep her voice low as she glared into Jasper’s mocking eyes. “If you wish to prove yourself egalitarian enough to treat paid help as honored guests, go ask Madame Theodore to join you in the next quadrille. I’ve had quite enough.”
She turned her back on both of them, intent on retrieving a drink to calm her nerves and using the darkness past the crowd to mask her escape. However, the break in dancing meanta crowd had gathered for refreshments. Belinda and Charlotte cast cutting glances her way.
It would be like entering a nest of snakes.
“Would you like me to fetch you something?” Jasper’s question echoed over the crowd.
She had already been rude to him. Nosing through his house and eavesdropping on conversations was the height of impoliteness. Asking their assigned maid about life in the house, encouraging her to gossip, was improper. One more time wouldn’t matter.
Annabel closed the distance so she didn’t have to shout. “I would like for you to leave me alone. I am tired of being shunned simply because you find humor in tweaking everyone else’s noses.”
Fiona looked between them, her frown deepening. “Annabel…”
She put up a hand to stop the charade. Spencer could go to the devil and take his threats with him. Jasper Warren was nothing more than a bored gentleman skirting scandal for fun.
Elizabeth would throw a tantrum, but if they packed tonight and left first thing in the morning, they could be in Bath by teatime.
Annabel swept her gaze across the crowd, all of whom were being far too obvious about ignoring her. Elizabeth wasn’t in the room. “Where is Miss Spencer?” She counted the heads of every man at the party, only relaxing when they were all accounted for.
“I believe she and Charlotte had words. Their heads were together for several minutes before she left the room.” Fiona’s voice had lost its sparkle. “Elizabeth’s color was quite high.”
“Thank you.” Annabel strode into the hall without looking back to meet the gazes she felt at her back. She ignored the whispers hissing behind her.
At the top of the stairs, she found their maid in the hallway. “Follow me, Ruth.”
Wide-eyed, the girl curtsied before hurrying forward. Annabel followed at a quick pace. Perhaps Elizabeth would be more circumspect if there was someone else in the room, especially if she’d had another row with Charlotte.
The maid waited at the door, and Annabel swept in without knocking. “Elizabeth?”
The room was empty. So was the adjoining dressing room. There was no one on the balcony. Annabel’s heart hammered against her ribs. Where else would Elizabeth go? Had she arranged an assignation while Annabel had been too busy fighting a battle she’d been lured into? Had that been Jasper’s plan all along?
She turned to the maid. “Have you seen Miss Spencer on the upper floors during the dancing?”
The pale young girl bobbed her head in a near fit. “Yes, miss. She was h-heading down the other h-hall.”
Jasper’s private rooms were in that direction.
“Where?” Annabel grabbed the girl’s shoulders and shook her. “Explain.”
“She b-begged me not to tell. Sh-she said it was a surprise.”
Blast.“Pack everything but our night clothes and traveling dresses for tomorrow. Miss Spencer and I are leaving in the morning.”
Annabel raced from the room and across the landing. The candles sputtered in their holders, casting irregular shadows across the dark-paneled walls. The thick carpet muffled her steps.
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, making it possible to see the glow under the door at the end of the hall. She lengthened her stride and pushed the door open with awhooshthat ended with a bang as the latch hit the wall.
Elizabeth stopped wrestling with the ribbons at her back and spun with a shriek.
“Get out of this room.” Anger and fear added an unfamiliar gravel to Annabel’s voice. “Now.”
“I will not.” Elizabeth tilted her chin at a stubborn angle. “Charlotte has done nothing but tease me for weeks, that I was too young for Ramsbury to notice me, that he only invited me so you would come. She said he wouldn’t even kiss me if he found me naked and waiting. I’m going to prove her wrong.”
