“We were not whispering about where Miss Weston was,” the maid announced as she entered, followed by the manservant who was carrying a tea service. “We were concerned by this.” She handed a letter over to Eliza. “It arrived in the post today.”
Eliza reached for it and when she saw the front, Lucian was certain that she’d lost color and her hand started to shake.
Eliza had been tellingGarretson the truth. Her mind had been on a scene for her novel as she returned from the caves. She also fell and scraped her hands, except that had happened while in the cave, not on the path. Still, she had not lied, she simply twisted the truth a bit.
As she reached for the letter, Eliza realized that it was addressed to her, at Greenhaven Cottage. She also knew the handwriting and it was not from her brother or her publisher.
“This came while I was out?”
Blast! Her hand was shaking.
“We did not want to alarm you, but you also need to know.”
Eliza turned it over to break the wax seal and realized that it had already been opened.
“We did not want to wait for your return to learn the…”
She nodded. Neither of her servants would have ever dared open a personal correspondence. However, this was another matter entirely. They all wondered when the next missive would arrive and Eliza had hoped that she’d hidden herself away well enough that they would be free of the messages until she returned to London.
With a deep breath, she unfolded the parchment.
Roses are red, violets are blue, wherever you go, I will find you.
She let go of the parchment and it drifted to the table as Stella quickly filled a cup with tea and handed it to her.
“We must inform your brother,” Stella insisted.
“You will not!”
“Those were his instructions to us,” Saul reminded her.
“You are my servants, not his.” It was Eliza’s reminder of who paid them and it wasn’t Isaac.
Garretson reached forward to pick up the parchment. Eliza tried to take it first but was not quick enough.
His blue eyes widened as he read. “Who sent this?”
“We do not know,” Saul answered before she could.
“How many have you received?”
“Nearly a dozen,” Stella answered.
Eliza glared at her servants. “I will ring if I need anything further.” Just because they worried more than she did not mean they needed to share any more of her personal matters with Garretson.
“You should write to your brother,” Stella warned as she exited.
If she did not like her servants so well, she would sack them. But they were only trying to protect her and for the most part, she couldn’t have had a better couple taking care of her and the house.
“Nearly a dozen?” Garretson demanded after her servants had gone.
“You need not concern yourself.” She hated that her hands shook and that this person knew where she was, but Eliza did not need someone else trying to protect her.
With a sigh, she set her cup back in the saucer and rose to cross to the sideboard and lifted the decanter of brandy. “Would you like one?”
“Please,” he answered.
Eliza poured two glasses and returned to her place on the settee.
