He collapsed onto the stairs where they had sat together after the Bank dinner. She had worn an oversized nightdress and her hair plaited down her back. Her bare toes had been tucked beneath her flounced hems. She was clean, fed, and bored, and had been waiting for him well past midnight.
If Mark had known their time together was precious, he would never have left her side.
He turned his frustration toward his butler, asking, “How can a house filled with servants lose track of one girl? Have you not been caring for her? Have you not seen to her needs?”
Pearson squared his shoulders. “With respect, sir, I’ve kept a close eye on the young lady these past few days, but I cannot follow Miss Summersby everywhere.”
Of course, this wasn’t his servants’ fault. Mark’s anger was misplaced. He was merely grasping at any outcome other thanadieu.“How went Mrs. Cooper’s visit?”
“Pleasantly, I believe, though I was hardly listening at keyholes.”
“But the women didn’t quarrel? There was no reason for her to run away?”
The butler frowned. “None to my mind, sir.”
Eliza had not felt ignored by the staff. She hadn’t been insulted by Ann—he could never imagine his sister behaving unkindly toward anyone. Mark must face the fact that she had disappeared. Like a thief in the night, she’d slipped from Green Street unnoticed, and he was left nursing an empty hole in his heart.
“Alright, Pearson.” Mark hung his head in his hands, and then scrubbed at his face with his palms. “You may go and see to the tea things. There’s no need to throw the household into chaos. Let everything be business as usual.”
The man bowed. “Very good, sir.”
Mark sat alone in his stair hall. He felt alone without Eliza.
Tomorrow, he would go to the police at Bow Street or hire a private detective to find her. He would offer a reward for her safe return. He would put up his house, his carriage and team of matched grays, and the whole of his bank balance as collateral.
He wanted his friend, his housemate, his…love…back.
Mark groaned as though he’d been punched in his gut.
He wanted his love back!
“Oh, Eliza! Damn you!”
Hasty feminine footsteps sounded in the corridor. “Sorry I’m late,” she said, “but you needn’t curse.”
Mark whipped his head around to discover Eliza sneaking back into the house from the direction of the garden, carrying a large bundle of haphazardly folded newsprint. “If you required reading materials, I told you to ask Pearson.”
“I don’t want magazines, Mark. I’ve got plenty.” She joined him on the stairs and offered her bundle for his inspection. “I went to get fish and chips for us.”
Two pieces of crisp, fried cod rested on a bed of chipped potatoes. The fish supper reeked of grease, and he questioned its provenance. “Where did you find fish and chips in Mayfair?”
Eliza shrugged. She refused to spill her secret. “A cabman told me where to get it. Cabbies know everything.”
That was true enough. Mark reached for a chip and brought it to his lips. He ate it, and then another, and then another. He so rarely consumed street food, but the stress of losing her had made him ravenous.
She feasted, as well. “You’ve given me so much. I longed to return the favor. You said you enjoyed eating fish, so I wanted to treat you.”
He owned everything a mortal man could ever want, yet Eliza had remembered when he’d said that he fancied Dover Sole. She had gone to fetch him the next best thing. For a girl from Seven Dials, a present of food was very dear.
“You’re so thoughtful, Eliza, but you ought to have told someone where you were going.” He admitted with his mouth full, “I was worried sick about you.”
“I thought I’d be back in time for tea, but it felt freeing to leave the house and wander ‘round in the sunshine. But I’m sorry I took too long, Mark. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
He nodded. “I realize that now, Eliza. I should’ve trusted you to come and go on your own. You’re not a child to be nannied, and you’re certainly no prisoner here.”
Her flushed cheeks and grease-stained lips were the most beautiful features he’d ever seen. The swelling had disappeared from her brow, and the bruises were all but invisible. Overcome with tender emotion, Mark leaned over and kissed her. His mouth lingered on her soft, warm skin. “I was afraid you had left without saying goodbye.”
She angled into his embrace, saying, “When I go, you’ll know it.”
