He then followed her from the offices.
“What friend?” he said again once they were outside.
“It need not concern you,” she said, looking around. “Good day, my lord.”
“Don’t dismiss me, you little baggage.” And just like that, his anger was back. Taking her arm as she started to walk away, he turned her to face him. “And you are lying to me again. This I now know, as you lower your eyes when you do so.”
“I do not!”
“You just did so.”
“I am not your concern, Lord Ellsworth.”
He hated the cool, haughty look she wore.
“You were to be my wife, damn you. I have only recently learned you did not leave me for another man. I found you on the side of a country lane in the middle of the night and took you to my house. I brought you to London.” Joseph fought again for control. “Whether either of us like it or not, you are my concern.”
Her eyes left his briefly to study the building they had just walked from, before returning, and he had the feeling she did so to regain control.
“I understand the man you were raised to be sees it that way, but I am not the girl I once was. I can now fend for myself, and my father has given me the means to ensure I will live comfortably. I am grateful to you for bringing me to London, but other than to put your signature on pieces of paper, I have no wish for your company any further.”
She eased her arm from his, and walked away from him.
“Where will you go?” The words were wrenched from him.
“Somewhere safe.”
He didn’t know what that meant, so he followed at a safe distance, making sure she did not realize he was dogging her footsteps. When a carriage passed her and then stopped. Joseph moved closer, but still kept out of sight.
“Millicent?”
He pulled back as Milly’s aunt stepped from the carriage. She would be safe now. Lady Mowbray had once loved her niece a great deal; he did not think that had changed in the last four years.
“A-aunt.” Milly watched the elderly woman step from the carriage. Her dress was a bright yellow; her aunt had always loved colors. She had aged, the lines in her faces now deeper, and Milly felt pain in her heart that she had a hand in this.
Milly willed herself not to cry, and dug her toes into her boots to stop herself from rushing into her aunt’s arms. They had once been very close, and tears prickled behind her eyes at the memory.
“Oh my, dear, dear girl, where have you been?”
Gloved hands reached for her, pulling her stiff body close, and then she was wrapped in a sweet-smelling embrace.
“Dear Lord, my darling Milly.”
She allowed herself to be held. It had been so long since she had been in the arms of someone who loved and cared for her.
“Are you here alone, Millicent?”
“I am.”
“Come then, this is not place for a reunion. Into the carriage with you, my girl.”
“But, Aunt, surely you have no wish to reunite with me. I have been gone four years, and without a word?” Milly made herself stay where she was, even though she longed to do as her aunt said.
“Oh, my darling girl, your father told me it was he who drove you away.”
She let her aunt nudge her forward, and soon the door was shut and the carriage rolled on with Milly inside. She sat beside her aunt, their hands clasped.
“I went to him, Millicent. I demanded an answer, as I knew you would not simply have walked away from Lord Ellsworth. Your love for him would never have allowed that, unless the situation was dire.”
