Adelia nodded encouragingly. “Do you have family close by?”
“My mum and sis live in Romford to the northeast, so not too far.”
Adelia had no idea where Romford was or what Miss Moore meant about being out of her element. This type of gabbing was foreign to her, but it was not entirely awful. If not for the dire circumstances at hand, it would be, in fact, pleasant, especially since Miss Moore was happy to do most of the talking.
“It’s all mills and cows there,” she continued. “And that dratted failed canal. I wanted more to my life, so I came to London. Seven months, I’ve been here, and it’s an easy train ride home when I need to go back.”
The young woman nodded to herself deep in some private thought, until, with a faraway look, tears returned to her eyes. Adelia knew she was thinking again of Thomas.
“How did you meet my brother exactly?” Adelia asked the question that had burned in her since first encountering Miss Moore.
She blushed and raised her chin slightly. Adelia hoped Miss Moore didn’t think she disapproved.
“I was looking for a new bonnet, good enough for my new life in London. I went to New Bond Street, as I’d heard it was the place. Dear Lord, I had no idea!” She shook her head and added, “I could not believe the cost. I was in a lovely milliner’s shop across from a store full of sparkling baubles.”
“Asprey’s jewelry store,” Adelia supplied.
“I believe so. Anyway, Thomas had a woman’s bonnet in his hand, and when he asked my opinion, I told him it was ugly. He said he’d never heard someone so honest before, and he said it in his beautifully clear voice. Don’t you think it has a nice quality about it?”
Adelia had never considered the quality of her brother’s voice, so she simply nodded and let Miss Moore continue.
“Thomas said most folks would preface such a frank judgment by trying to discover the other person’s opinion of the bonnet first. And even so, they would cage their own in niceties and blandness until it was worth almost nothing. Moreover, most would think any bonnet that expensive must be lovely, but it wasn’t.” She grimaced. “Honestly, Lady Adelia, you would have hated that bonnet. When he finished talking, I half loved him already. But he was buying for a woman, so I thought this wasnota man to look twice at.”
She sighed. “Then he said he was trying to buy something nice for his sister’s birthday, and I said to myself, what a prince.”
“He did give me a bonnet for my birthday,” Adelia recalled.
“I helped him pick it out,” Miss Moore confirmed.
“He seemed especially happy about giving me that present,” Adelia mused. “Why didn’t he tell me about you?”
“Because I told him where I lived, and when he came to collect me for our first outing, he realized I was not lying about my situation.”
Covering her mouth as she yawned, she said, “Excuse me, my lady. As I told you, it has been a long week, and it is not over yet. I have two jobs. I work at a bookseller’s four days a week and for a printer the other two days, both on Pall Mall. I brought home a piping hot pork pie, which will now be cold.”
She puffed out her cheeks, looking sad. “I shall try to visit Thomas on Sunday morning when I have a free day.”
“I hope they let you—” Adelia was interrupted by a pounding on the door, making her jump nearly out of her skin and causing Miss Moore to rise to her feet. Adelia stood more slowly, fear rising into her throat, and the two women stared at one another.
“I’m not expecting anyone,” Thomas’s lady friend said, “but I wasn’t expecting you, and here you are.”
With that, Miss Moore approached her door, just as whoever was on the other side, banged on it again. Adelia flinched, her mouth suddenly dry.
“Where is Lady Adelia?” boomed a loud voice.
Owen!
“It’s Lord Burnley,” Adelia said.
Miss Moore’s eyes widened. “The one who accused my Thomas?”
She nodded.
Miss Moore’s face hardened in a mask of anger, and she yanked the door open, surprising the viscount, whose hand was raised to bang again.
Without a greeting, he looked past her to see Adelia. “Are you all right?”
“Of course. Why are you here?”
