“Oh, and you couldn’t say no?” Agnes looked at Bridget. “Don’t worry. I don’t believe a word of this. I know my brother didn’t bring you back here against his will. I can’t remember a time he did anything against his will.”
Bridget found herself smiling. “It was his idea,” she said. “Though I won’t deny I didn’t want to leave Emma. It’s true that the two of us bonded.”
“I can tell there’s a connection between you,” Agnes agreed. “Well, why don’t you come inside? It’s far too cold to be standing around out here, and the sky is so gray. I think it might be about to snow.”
Emma’s head perked up ever so slightly at those words.
Bridget looked down at her. “Do you like the snow?”
Emma nodded.
“So did I when I was your age,” Bridget said. “Actually, I still like it quite a lot now, but when I was young, I loved it even more.”
Emma beamed at her, though she still didn’t say anything. A part of Bridget had held out hope that their arrival at Greystone would open Emma up. That being home would make her feel at ease enough to speak again. That didn’t seem to be happening, unfortunately.
Agnes’ brow furrowed. She’d clearly noticed Emma’s silence. But she decided not to comment on it, and Bridget felt a powerful surge of gratitude. Here was someone who understood what Emma needed.
Agnes returned her gaze to Bridget. “Am I to take it that you’re going to be staying with us for a while?” she asked.
“That’s right,” Bridget said, summoning her courage. It wasn’t nearly as difficult with Agnes as it had been with her brother. “Until Emma settles in a bit. She’s been through a lot and has gotten used to having me for company.”
“Then we’ll be glad to have you too, of course,” Agnes said. “Reeves, what room are you going to put her in?”
“I don’t know,” the duke said. “I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Well, you have to think about it,” Agnes said. “What about the blue room? That’s near enough to Emma that she’ll be able to help her in the night if Emma needs something.”
She was clearly envisioning Bridget’s role here as something like that of a governess, which was probably the closest thing to accurate. Bridget glanced at the duke to see what he was making of it.
He shrugged. “The blue room is fine,” he said. ‘I’m sure she’ll be comfortable there.”
He made no move to take Bridget into the house, though, and Agnes gave him an exasperated look. “Why don’t you come with me, Miss Wetherby?” she said. “I’ll show you to the blue room.”
Bridget looked down at Emma. “Is that all right?” she asked. “I’ll see you soon enough.”
Emma released her and nodded. She looked wary, her eyes flitting around as if she wondered whether something was going to jump out at her, but she didn’t look terrified. It was enough to give Bridget confidence that it would be all right to leave her alone.
“My bag is still in the carriage,” she told Agnes.
“That’s all right. One of the footmen will bring it up for you.”
Bridget nodded. Of course they would. It had been so long since she’d been waited on that it was no longer second nature to her to expect such a thing, but a moment’s thought reminded her that that was how things would be. She had fended for herself at the orphanage, but now that she was here, she wouldn’t have to.
To her surprise, it made her a little uncomfortable. She had gotten used to taking care of herself, to not needing anyone else, and it was odd now to realize that she would be relying on other people. She almost turned back and insisted on getting her own bag and bringing it up herself, but in the end, she decided against it. Better to try to blend in with the surroundings in which she found herself than to act in ways that would stand out.
She followed Agnes into the house and up the wide staircase that led to the second floor. The hallway here overlooked the first floor, running around the foyer in a square before branching off into smaller hallways. Agnes led Bridget down one of these branches.
“It will be wonderful to have you here, Miss Wetherby,” she said. “It’s been a long time since any new life came into this house.”
“Oh, you can call me Bridget,” Bridget said. She hadn’t heardMiss Wetherbyin a very long time, and it felt unnatural. “And I’m glad to be here, truly. I’ve become very fond of Emma, even though I haven’t known her for that long a time.”
“I’m so eager to hear what happened,” Agnes said, her voice lowering slightly. “I’m sure you can imagine how worried we’ve been since she disappeared.”
“To tell you the truth, I’m hoping to get a little more detail myself,” Bridget said. “I have no idea how she came to be in our kitchen, and I’d like to find out. Something must have happened to separate her from her father.”
“She’s been missing for three weeks,” Agnes said. “We’ve been beside ourselves.”
“Three weeks?” Bridget frowned. “I only had her for a little over one. I wonder where else she was, in the meantime.”
