Page 58 of Cinderella's Charade With the Duke
His brow furrowed in confusion. ‘At the stagecoach office, Your Grace. She was waiting to purchase a ticket for a stagecoach home to Stow. Did I do wrong by dropping her there?’
‘No, Eddie. We are searching for Millie. Is there any chance she stowed herself in the carriage?’ He knew he was grasping at straws, but he had to ask.
‘No, Your Grace. Miss Potts had sparse luggage and, even so, I always check the driver box and holds after every trip to ensure nothing is left.’ He dropped his gaze and shifted on his feet.
‘But?’ William prompted.
‘Miss Potts left this in the squabs, Your Grace. I believe she meant it to be returned to you.’ He stepped forward, pulled aflowered handkerchief from behind his back and extended his hand to William.
William hesitated at the sight of one of Penelope’s—Hattie’s kerchiefs. The handstitched purple violets, a signature of all she was, made his stomach flip. He braced himself and reached for it. When he opened it in his palm, her familiar sweet, floral scent almost made his knees buckle. The sight of the necklace he had given her when he had proposed, the simple heart-shaped ruby pendant necklace, almost pulled him under. The memory of her beauty that afternoon and how it had been the only thing she wore as they kissed one another and how it had shimmered against her skin sent a flash of heat and awareness through him.
It also made him feel ill.
He missed her desperately, but he could only focus on one loss at a time. He clenched his jaw, stuffed the handkerchief and necklace in his trouser pockets and looked at Eddie. ‘When was the next stagecoach leaving for Stow?’
‘It was set to depart at quarter past.’
They all turned to the wall clock. It was half past. Could not one thing go right? He shook his head and cursed under his breath. ‘Ready a horse for me, Eddie, and send for me once he’s saddled.’
‘Your Grace,’ he replied and rushed from the study.
‘What is your plan?’ Daphne asked. Her voice was quiet, but resolute.
‘While you all continue to search here, I am riding to the station. If she has already left, I will follow the road to Stow and intercept her stagecoach. She may be the only one who can bring Millie back. And as much as I do not wish to leave the search here, I do not think Millie will return if I do not go and plead for Miss Potts’s help—without her we may not be able to find Millie.’ He had all but banished the woman from here. He felt ashamedof what he had done after all she had done for him, for Millie, for the Manor. His stomach soured.
But there was no way but forward now.
‘Is that all?’ Daphne asked.
‘No. That isn’t all, but it is all I can manage right now.’
Daphne smirked at him. ‘Then that is enough. I will join Simmons in the search here.’
‘And I will meet Eddie in the stables, so I lose no more time than needed. It has been some time since I have ridden so far.’
‘And to think what the reporters and locals will say about this, Your Grace,’ she teased.
He groaned, knowing she was right, but he couldn’t think of any of that now. He needed to find Millie and if begging for the help of the woman he’d just cast out of his house and his heart was the only way to do it, he would.
Even if it cut him to the quick.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hattie shifted on her feet, restless to get settled into the stagecoach and head out for Stow. It felt as though she had nettles under her skin the longer she waited. She ran her fingers over the beaded ridge of her reticule as she watched the poor driver attempt to stack and restack all the luggage on the top and back of the carriage.
Even though there were only four of them for the journey and all of them were, thankfully, women, there was an excess of luggage. Thank goodness her contribution to the mess was slight, otherwise she had no idea how the poor man would have managed. They were already almost an hour past the designated departure time, but the driver had been reluctant to begin the journey with empty seats, so Hattie had been forced to wait for additional travellers to arrive.
The call to adventure she had answered almost two months ago had manifested into an unexpected romance and now heartache. She missed everyone at Blithe Manor dearly. They had all filled her heart so much it now felt empty without them in it. How would she ever fill that extra space? How would she ever not feel this tight constriction in her chest and the pain of holding back her tears at the loss?
Her eyes welled and she looked down with a smile. She almost laughed. Ophelia would be clutching her hands now, telling her it would somehow all work out and Trudy would be chastising her for her romantic spirit while also counselling Hattie on how she didn’t need a man for her happiness.
How she missed her dear friends. She blinked away her tears, took a deep breath and reminded herself that she was going home to them. She was not alone, nor would she ever be. Time would heal her heart. It had faced heartbreak and loss before. She would recover and be stronger than ever.
‘Let us be off then, ladies!’ the driver called, yanking Hattie from her woolgathering.
She smiled, waited for the others to board, then settled into the seat facing backwards next to another young woman and opposite an elderly woman with her adult daughter. Everyone smiled cordially and nodded to each other. The driver closed the door, hopped up to the driver’s box behind her and clicked the reins in time with his tongue to get the horses to begin. They rocked forward and then began to pick up speed as they manoeuvred out of the yard. Soon they were on the road, jostling back and forth. It was a far cry from the smooth ride of William’s fancy carriage, but she didn’t mind. She was exactly where she was supposed to be…she was headed home.
The stagecoach stop disappeared and soon there was only lush green hillsides and blue sky. The horses settled into a smooth, rhythmic cadence and she sighed. Eventually, Hattie’s eyelids became heavy and she allowed herself to be lulled to sleep. It would be a long journey and she might as well rest. Her mind was drifting off and all she could hear was theclippety-clop,clippety-clopof hooves along the dirt road. Exhaustion was overtaking her. It had been a long day and it was not even mid-afternoon.
