But there was no one waiting.
Everly was already there.
He stood just outside the jeweler’s, his back to the shop window, one foot crossed casually over the other. His cane rested against his leg. His hat was in place. He might have been a drawing.
He smiled when he saw her. Not broadly. Not greedily. Just enough. Something about that smile was measured, almost rehearsed, like a phrase he’d practiced until it no longer sounded like words.
“Eliza.”
She returned the smile, more from habit than ease. “You’re early.”
“I am rarely late,” he said, offering his arm. “You look well.”
She took it without hesitation.
As they turned toward the south end of the square, she glanced over her shoulder, as though expecting to see someone trailing behind. Georgina, perhaps. But the street was ordinary people walking, wheels clattering, a pair of children chasing a hoop past the bakery.
“I thought I might be bringing someone,” she said lightly.
“Ah.” He didn’t ask who.
“She was meant to meet me in the park but didn’t arrive. I checked a few places, nothing urgent, I’m sure. Just… not like her.”
Everly turned his head slightly, the gesture almost too restrained to be called interested. “Do you think she’s unwell?”
“No,” Eliza said quickly. “No. Georgina isn’t the type to fall ill without informing every person she’s seen in the last forty-eight hours. No, if I had to guess, she’s buried under a heap of ledgers and forgot to come up for air.”
“Ah. A very modern ailment.” He chuckled softly. “She’s fortunate to have you watching over her.”
The words settled on her shoulders, warmer than they ought to have been. She adjusted her grip on his arm.
“You mentioned you wanted to speak privately,” she said, redirecting the conversation.
He smiled faintly. “Did I? I suppose I only meant to enjoy your company without the distraction of half the town listening in.”
Eliza shook her head, amused despite herself. “You do make it sound so mysterious.”
“And you do make it so easy to pretend,” he said.
They walked on in silence for a few moments, the town falling behind them.
“Shall we?” he said, tipping his head toward the lane that led toward Ravenstock. “I imagine your friends may be there already.”
She’d insisted on doing things her own way. And now no one knew where to look for her.
“They might,” Eliza replied. “Or Georgina might have slipped in without telling anyone. It’s still rather unlike her.”
He didn’t press. He simply adjusted his stride to match hers and offered, with quiet concern, “If there’s anything I can do to help…”
The Ravenstock carriage had not been brought around, which Eliza took as a sign that no one had gone out in it. Good. That meant someone would be home.
She and Everly approached on foot, the last turn in the drive crunching softly beneath their boots. A low wind had stirred the leaves into half-hearted motion, but the manor itself looked perfectly still. Too still. Even the curtains hung motionless, as if the house itself were holding its breath.
At the door, she didn’t wait for a servant. She opened it as if she lived there.
“Lady Eliza,” came Mrs. Hemsley’s voice from the entry hall. She appeared from the corridor, wiping her hands on a towel, her brows rising. “We weren’t expecting—”
“No one’s seen her,” Eliza said, stepping in quickly. “She never met me at the park. I went looking. I’ve been to Pembroke’s, the bookshop, and the tearoom. No one’s seen her today. Not since this morning.”
