She went downstairs and glanced into the drawing room.As expected there was no sign of Edgar.She went down to the kitchen area and was shocked to discover there was not a soul there.On one end of the big table was some partly made pastry, on the other, a small pile of half-peeled vegetables, the peels curling up and turning brown.
It was as if the servants had simply vanished while still in the middle of cooking.Even Hodges wasn’t in his usual lair; the butler’s pantry.There was no sign of Lottie either.Where was everyone?
She walked back upstairs and climbed the narrow stairway to the servants’ quarters.They were bare of all possessions.
Everyone had left.She was alone in the house.But why?Lottie had complained about their lack of wages, which was perfectly understandable, but she hadn’t given any indication that she—and the rest of the servants—were leaving.Lottie must have known, but she hadn’t said a word.Not even a hint.
It was very mysterious and unsettling.Edgar had clearly gone out, but he would return eventually, and she’d be alone and at his mercy.She shivered.All the more reason why she should send for Lord Alverleigh.
She added a few lines to the outside of her letter to him, then went out into the street and summoned a skinny little urchin she’d often seen hanging around the streets.Once she’d given him a currant bun and another time, an orange, and ever since he’d given her a gap-toothed smile on the few occasions she’d stepped outside the house.
“Will you take this letter to this house in Mayfair, please?”She read out the address, for of course the lad couldn’t read.
He eyed her shrewdly.“Cost ya sixpence, lady.”
Tessa didn’t have sixpence.She said firmly.“I’ll give you a penny now, and when you deliver it, the gentleman will pay you sixpence.See, I’m writing that here”—she added it to her note—“so the gentleman will know to pay you.”She held up the penny, the only change she had been able to find.It had been in one of Edgar’s coat pockets.She’d spent all her own money on the journey to Ferndale and back.
The boy hesitated, then held out his hand, saying, “Orright.Where did ya say to take it again?”She repeated the address—luckily it wasn’t far— and he grabbed the penny and the letter and ran off.She hoped he would deliver it, but there was no guarantee.
She returned to the house and went to the front room to wait.It, too, looked strangely bare.Everything of value had been removed—the handsome ormolu clock that usually sat on the mantlepiece, the collection of silver framed miniatures that hung on the wall, and the small, expensive-looking knick-knacks that had been placed tastefully around the room to give the impression of prosperity in case there was ever a visitor.Everything was gone.
While she was out, perhaps even while she was bathing the dog, the servants had stripped the house of any small portable valuables and decamped.
She shuddered, imagining how Edgar would react.She prayed that he wouldn’t return before Lord Alverleigh arrived.
Half an hour later the front doorbell jangled.She hadn’t seen a carriage pull up, but since she was the only person left in the house, she supposed she should answer it.
She opened the door.“Lord Alverleigh,” she exclaimed in relief.“Thank you for coming.”
“Where is your butler?”he asked in a low voice as she hurriedly ushered him inside.
She shook her head, brushing the question aside.“It doesn’t matter.Thank you for responding to my note.”
“It’s my pleasure.Now how can I help you?Is it money?”
She gave him an indignant look.“Of course not.I would never ask you for money.”Then recalling the boy who delivered the letter, she flushed.“I can’t repay the sixpence I owe you at the moment but—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said.“You look worried.Now, what is it?”
Collecting the shreds of her composure she invited him to be seated, saying, “I’m afraid I can’t offer you any refreshments at the moment but—”
“I didn’t come here for refreshments.”He waited for her to be seated on the settee, then chose an overstuffed armchair.“Now, tell me how I can help you.”His voice resonated, deep and sure.It had a calming effect on her tense nerves.
She drew a couple of deep breaths.Where to start?It had seemed quite a straightforward request when she’d been looking at her list, but now, with this tall, handsome, assured gentleman watching her so steadily with those piercing gray eyes, it seemed suddenly like a dreadful cheek.
“You were right,” she said abruptly.“About Ferndale, I mean.It was sold.”
He nodded.“Your brother admitted it, did he?”
“I didn’t ask him—I knew he would simply lie.No, I went there and saw for myself.”
His brows snapped together.“You went to Ferndale?All that way?Alone?”
She nodded.“I could see at once that it was in other hands.It was all so tidy and prosperous looking, which it never had been before.Strangers live there now—the Sanderson family.”
He frowned.“You spoke to them?”
“No, just the butler.I only stayed for a few minutes.I could see at once that new people were there and my old home was...was lost to me forever.”Her voice choked a little on that last sentence.
