“You have already filled me up with all this honey cake,” Phoebe said, gesturing down to the tray. “You have been very kind, Mrs Goodman, truly I do not need anymore.”
“Well, you give me a shout if you need anything else,” she said with a kind smile. “I’ll be back soon. I’ll check what cook is making for dinner. Do you have a favorite dish, my Lady?”
Phoebe had to hold in a laugh as the housekeeper hovered in the doorway, looking hopefully toward her.
“Erm…roast chicken?” she said.
“Perfect, I’ll see to it.” The door was closed as the housekeeper hurried off, leaving Phoebe to look at Louisa with a smile.
“I think lovely Mrs Goodman thinks all ails can be healed with food,” Louisa said laughing, rearranging the teacups on the tray to help tidy up.
“If only it were true,” Phoebe said, pushing away the plate on which her cake had been before turning her eyes back to the window.
“You have heard the phrase a watched pot never boils, my Lady, have you not?” Louisa’s words pulled Phoebe’s focus away from the driveway. “You can keep looking longingly out of the window, but Hayward will not return any quicker.”
“I know,” Phoebe said, standing up from her chair and moving around the room. Now she was back in one of her usual gowns, she was feeling a little more constricted. There had been a freedom to wearing the man’s clothes, giving her the ability to hide in plain sight, away from Graham’s eyes. She oddly did not feel so safe back wearing a dress.
Despite Louisa’s words, Phoebe’s feet took her toward the window, looking out in expectation of seeing the carriage return.
“I wonder what has happened,” she said quietly, remembering seeing Graham that morning. She frowned as she thought of the moment Graham had spoken to the thief. Perhaps the thief had simply been begging for money? Yet she knew Graham well enough to know he would have brushed the thief instantly off. Whatever their conversation had been, it had not been short.
“Well, your look of longing appears to have worked after all,” Louisa said from across the room.
“What?” Phoebe asked, before focusing on the driveway ahead again. The carriage was returning, only it was clear even from this distance that Hayward was not coming back alone, for there were bags and trunks fastened to the rear of the carriage.
Phoebe pushed away from the window and hurried across the room, heading out of the door and into the entrance hall. The front door was locked tightly in place, but she turned them in a harried manner before flinging the door open and stumbling outside, her feet scattering stones as she waited for the carriage to come to a stop.
The door of the carriage was flung open, revealing as Phoebe had suspected that Hayward was not alone. Lady Dodge was there, along with the Marquess who descended first and then offered a hand to his wife to help her down.
“What has happened?” Phoebe asked with panic, stepping forward the moment she could see her friend had been crying. Lady Dodge’s eyes were red, and the handkerchief clutched in her hands told all.
“Thank goodness you are all right,” Lady Dodge said, walking toward her.
“Me? I am fine. What has happened to you?” Phoebe cried as she reached out to take her friend’s hands. It was quickly changed into an embrace by Lady Dodge who held her tightly to her.
“It was worth it,” she said softly. “Just to make sure he never can find you.”
“Goodness, please, tell me what happened,” Phoebe said, still clutching to Lady Dodge as she peered over her friend’s shoulder, looking toward Hayward as he climbed down from the carriage. Surprisingly, he had been up at the footboard beside the driver.
“Before going to see Mr Preston, your husband paid a visit to Diana,” Francis explained with an angry countenance. “He must have been watching the house, waiting for Josiah to go, before he ransacked the place. Threatening to tear it apart until Diana told him where you were.”
“No…” Phoebe said, feeling breathless as she pulled back from Lady Dodge’s embrace to look her in the eye. “Did he hurt you?” she asked, her voice so quiet that she herself struggled to hear it.
“No,” Lady Dodge said, shaking her head. “I…” she paused, swallowing. “I think he was tempted to, but he held himself back. He wouldn’t hurt someone else’s wife.”
But he came close.
The thought burned Phoebe as though her skin were on fire with the guilt.
“I cannot risk you anymore,” Phoebe said implacably.
“No, do not say it –”
“I have to go back.”
Chapter 20
“What did you say?” Francis said, looking up from where he had been overseeing the unpacking of his sister’s bags. He turned his eyes to where Diana was clasping Lady Ridlington’s hands.
