CHAPTER 1
“Prudence has run away.”
Caroline Wetherby held out the letter with shaking hands, wishing rather strenuously that she had never asked her sister to inform her if she chose to leave the house. She hadn’t hadthisin mind when she had made that request. Had her words put the thought in Prudence’s head thattrulyrunning away was an acceptable thing to do?
It had been two months since Prudence had promised Caroline to stop going out without telling anyone where she was going. At the very least, she had pledged to let Caroline know when she left and when she would be back. And in the intervening weeks, Caroline had learned more than she had guessed she ever would about her sister’s activities.
She’d believed at first that Prudence was simply going into town to take walks and enjoy the fresh air, but she’d come to realize that the truth was darker and more complex. Prudence hadtaken to dressing up as a young man in clothing she borrowed—or perhaps had stolen—from one of the servants. She showed the garments to Caroline once, beaming as if she had made them herself.
Caroline still couldn’t believe Prudence wore those things.
Her mother looked up from her breakfast in shock. “What do you mean, she’s run away?” she demanded. “She can’t have done that. The Duke of Mowbray is to arrivetomorrowfor the wedding festivities. She’s to be married in a matter of days.”
Of course, that’s what Mother would worry about. It was a valid concern, of course, but Caroline was more concerned about the fact that her sister had gone missing.
Her cousin, Bridget, seemed to be appropriately concerned, at least. She rose from the table and hurried to Caroline’s side. “Surely she hasn’treallyrun away?” she asked. “She’ll be back, won’t she?”
“I don’t know.” Caroline withdrew the letter, which neither of her parents had moved to accept, and read it over again. “It says she’s left and she doesn’t know when she’ll be back.” Prudence had never saidthatto Caroline, which worried her immensely.
“This is unacceptable,” her father exploded. “With the wedding right around the corner…she’s in for a great deal of regret when she shows her face here again, I can tell you that much right now.”
Caroline grabbed Bridget by the arm and pulled her out of the dining room and down the hall. They made their way into the ballroom, which was vast and cold, so infrequently was it used. No one would come looking for them here, and they would be able to speak freely.
“What do we do?” Bridget was pale but determined.
“I’m going to look for her,” Caroline said.
“You know where she is?”
“I know a place she might be.”
“I’ll come with you,” Bridget offered.
“No.” Even now, Caroline’s loyalty to her sister was too great. This was a secret she had pledged never to tell. You have to stay here and keep my parents from getting upset,” she said.
“What am I to tell them?”
“Tell them I went into town to look for Prudence and to bring her back. before the duke realizes she went missing. They ought to like that.”
Bridget nodded. “So—you’re just going into town, then?”
“Yes.” Caroline hated lying to her cousin. She also understood Bridget’s worry. “I’ll be back before nightfall, I promise you that.”
“Don’t you run away too.”
“I won’t,” Caroline agreed, squeezing Bridget’s hand. “I’ll be back. I promise.”
Caroline stood alone in the entryway to a darkened tavern, cursing her sister for putting her in this position.
She hadn’t allowed herself to think about what she was doing as she snuck into Prudence’s room and stole a set of the clothes her sister used on her own escapades. Her lady’s maid, Elaine, had helped her to dress in them, her lips pursed tight with disapproval, but she hadn’t said anything, and Caroline was thankful for that. If she’d had to defend this decision aloud, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to do it.
Standing on the dingy threshold, she wasn’t sure she had done the right thing. It was true that Prudence needed to be found and brought back, of course, but perhaps she should have told someone else about this tavern rather than trying to do it herself.
But I promised never to tell…
She reminded herself that she was dressed as a young man, and a commoner to boot. No one was going to pay attention to her. She might feel conspicuous walking in here as the unmarried daughter of Baron Highgate, but nobody else was going to make that connection.
She stepped through the door. All she needed to do was look around, find her sister, and go back home. She could handle that.
