He sent a message to Grace through one of the maids asking her to meet him in the stables. He waited for three days, sleeping in the hayloft before she finally appeared one morning. She’d told him she was only allowed to leave the house to ride her horse on Tuesdays and Fridays. Cage held out a hand to her and asked her to leave with him, asked her to trust him. Grace had taken his hand and agreed without reservation. Look how her trust in him had been betrayed. He had failed to keep her safe. All on her own, working as a prostitute!
The bitter tang of regret rose in his throat. He gripped the reins tightly and clenched his knees to urge Sullivan into a gallop. They took off at full speed down the road, the gentle mist now stinging against his face. No match for the pain he felt in his soul.
****
Cage’s sister sat in the corner of the carriage, silent as the grave. She smiled and hoped Grace could see it in the dim interior. “I am Caroline. Morgan is right; you will be safe with me tonight.” Caroline untied the ribbons holding her mask in place and set it next to her.
“Are you his mistress?”
“What?” Caroline cleared her throat. “No. I’m just a friend.”
Grace leaned forward to peer at her. “Cage doesn’t have woman friends. At least he never used to.” She frowned. “He kissed you goodnight.”
“That was just a thank you kiss, um, between friends.” Caroline’s face heated. She looked over at Dorothy. “I know the girl who was originally supposed to be the virgin for the auction. She is the reason I came tonight to rescue you. Dorothy, how did you come to be with Mrs. Gwyn? Were you also sold to the madame?”
Dorothy shook her head. “No, ma’am. I was stolen right from the marketplace day before yesterday. My parents run a farm stand at the Covent Garden market. They was busy loading the wagon at the end of the day, and these two men grabbed me and dragged me away. I was hit over the head, and when I woke up, I was at the brothel.” Tears rolled down Dorothy’s face. She reached and grabbed hold of Grace’s hand. “Grace here, was one who brought me food up. She was right kind to me.”
Grace leaned forward to peer at Caroline. “Were you the one who took Alice from Mrs. Gwyn?”
Caroline nodded.
“I wasn’t there, but I heard an earful from the other girls. They said you held Mrs. Gwyn at knifepoint and set down a hefty bag of coin to free Alice.”
Caroline knew it was probably a sin to be so pleased to hear her exploits retold, but she couldn’t help but grin. It had been a glorious encounter, one where she’d come to realize her own mettle. She reached down and drew out her stiletto from its sheath on her calf. She held it out for the two other women to admire. “It was a gift from the father of a friend. My friend tutored me in its proper use. Having it handy always gives me a sense of security.”
The two womenoo’dappreciatively.
Caroline returned her knife to its sheath. “Alice is the sister of a footman employed in my brother’s household. She works in my brother’s house now as a downstairs maid.” She began to pull out the pins that secured her wig. It was quite warm in the carriage. She pulled the wig off with a sigh of relief. “Dorothy, I will have William, my coachman, return you to your parent’s house in the morning. They must be worried sick.”
“Oh, thank you, ma’am. Thank you,” Dorothy exclaimed.
Caroline glanced at Grace, who was staring out the window. They had entered the city streets, and the gaslight flickeredacross Grace’s face as they drove past streetlamps. The weariness of her expression tugged on Caroline’s tightly reigned-in anger at the way the world treated women.
They pulled into the mews at Gilchrest House with a crunch of gravel under the wheels. “Ah, here we are. No one knows that I am out, so we must sneak in through the kitchens. I’ll have Mrs. Blume make up a room for you two.” The door opened, and Caroline accepted William’s hand to alight from the carriage. Dorothy exited next. But Grace scooted to the edge of the seat and peered out. William stood silently with his hand held out, but Grace did not reach for it, looking torn and all of a sudden very young despite her kohl-lined eyes and red lips.
“This is William. He works here at Gilchrest House in the stables. He is quite kind and a reliable friend.”
William turned his head and smiled. “Thank you, my lady.”
Ignoring William’s hand, Grace stepped down from the carriage herself. She then caught sight of the house with its expansive lawns and manicured garden beds. “Who are you?” she whispered, her hand lying on her chest.
“Caroline Langdon. My brother is the Duke of Gilchrest.”
Grace’s hand slid up to her throat. “You can’t take us in there. What will you say? What will they think?”
Caroline stepped next to her and slid an arm around Grace’s thin shoulders. The woman flinched, but Caroline didn’t let go. “We will go in through the kitchen. My housekeeper is a very sympathetic woman. Your brother will come for you in the morning. It will be all right.”
“Ahem,” William cleared his throat. “I agree with Miss Grace. If you bring these ladies up to the house, there will be no stopping the gossip.”
Caroline frowned. He was right, but she had promised Grace a safe place to stay. “Do you have any suggestions?”
He shuffled his feet. “Well, my sister and I share the rooms above the stalls. Mr. Gregory goes home to his wife, so he said we could use them. Mellie works as a seamstress. I know she wouldn’t mind helping out. She is right kind-hearted.”
Caroline was embarrassed to realize she had no idea that the stable master Mr. Gregory had a family he went home to each night. Or that William had a sister who lived with him. She turned to Grace and Dorothy. “Would you two feel comfortable staying with William and his sister for tonight?”
Grace stared up at William, who looked down and shuffled his feet some more. “Oh gosh, I would sleep down in one of the empty stalls. It wouldn’t be right otherwise.”
“All right. Thank you, William,” Grace said. Dorothy seemed to take her cue from Grace. She nodded her head.
