Sally huddled on the porch hatless, her eyes enormous pools of dark distress. Her rumpled skirts and pelisse looked damp and badly soiled, and her hair escaped down her neck.
“Sally!” Jo leaped forward and dragged the girl inside.
Sally shuddered. “I’m sorry, Miss Jo. I should go to the servant’s entrance, but I’ve been so frightened.”
With a sob of relief, Jo threw her arms around her. She drew the distressed girl into the parlor.
Her father shut the parlor door on the butler and went to the sideboard, where he removed the stopper from the sherry decanter.
Sally sank down on the sofa and struggled to get the words out while Jo fired off questions, the maid struggled to answer.
Her father handed Sally a glass of sherry. She took a long sip and coughed.
Jo, losing patience, took hold of her arm, almost spilling the drink. “What happened to you, Sally? Tell us quickly! We’ve been so worried!”
Her shoulders shook. “They kidnapped me.” Tears tracked down her face.
“Kidnapped?” Reade had been right in warning her. Why hadn’t she listened to him? Jo rummaged in her reticule and pressed the handkerchief into Sally’s hand. “Did they hurt you? Who could have done such a dreadful thing?”
“They didn’t hurt me, but I’ve no idea who they were,” Sally wailed. “The strings on one parcel had come undone, and as I stooped down to retie it, a man grabbed me from behind. He put his hand over my mouth and bundled me into a carriage pulled up beside us. Before I could twist around to see who he was, he dragged a black hood over my head and shoved me to the floor. I tried to scream, but he poked me in the back and snarled at me. Told me to keep quiet, or he’d throttle me. I must have fainted because I remember very little of the journey or where we went.”
“But I was only a little way down the street, hailing the hackney,” Jo said. “Why did I not see?”
Sally took another sip of the drink and grimaced. “It happened so fast.”
As she struggled with feelings of guilt, Jo stared at her aghast. “How did you escape?”
“I didn’t.” Sally gazed at her owlishly. “They took me somewhere. A noisy place. There was loud laughter. They pushed me into a room with my hands tied. I heard the door shut. My legs gave way, and I fell onto a dusty carpet and huddled there for hours. I must have fallen asleep. When I woke, I was ever so stiff. My arms hurt something awful with my hands tied behind my back. It must have been morning, although no light came through the hood. And I was devilishly hungry.”
Sally drained the rest of the sherry and collapsed back against the sofa. “Then the door opened, and a woman came in. I smelled her strong lavender perfume. The woman must have stood looking at me for several minutes without speaking. I pleaded with her to let me go, but she went out and closed the door. I could hear them outside the room. She was arguing with the man. Fair yelling at him, she was. Ordered him to let me go straight away. He didn’t want to, and I was almost sick with fear that he might persuade her to let him keep me. But he finally agreed. I sagged with relief and could barely find my feet as he dragged me out into the air, the hood still over my head. It must have rained. I’d lost my hat, and the leaves dripped chilly water down my neck as he shoved me into a carriage.”
Aunt Mary tutted. “You poor girl. What a dreadful experience.”
“You are safe now,” Jo’s father said soothingly.
An inquisitive kitchen maid brought in the tea. Jo dismissed her and poured out cups, while Aunt Mary patted Sally’s hand.
Jo stirred in lots of sugar and placed a cup before Sally. “How did you get home?”
“The carriage stopped not long after. He untied my hands and lifted me down onto the ground. It was cold but had stopped raining. He smelled clean, like a gentleman, and he had a starched cravat. I know starch. Used to do the laundry. Spoke proper, he did, but frosty, and fair chilled me through. Asked if I could count. I thought he was mad, but I said I had some learning from the parish school back home. Then he told me not to remove the blindfold until I’d counted to fifty. He sounded so menacing. I did what I was told. Must have counted to a hundred. I was never good at sums and feared I’d got it wrong.
“When I finally got up enough courage to remove the hood, I didn’t know where I was. The street was strange to me. There were trees and gardens. And no traffic, and anyway, I had no money for a hackney. While I wondered what to do, a lady came out of a house across the street. Nicely dressed, she was. She asked me if she could help. When I explained what had happened, she was most sympathetic. Walked with me to the corner, although I still don’t know where I was. A hackney came along, and she paid my fare.”
“Oh, that was so good of her.” Jo wondered why the lady hadn’t called a constable.
“Yes, she was. Ever so kind.”
Jo put her arm around the girl’s trembling body. “Well, you’re home now and safe.”
“Yes. I shan’t want to go out again,” Sally said.
“You shall have a hearty dinner, a nice hot bath, and go to bed,” Jo said with conviction.
“A hot bath?” Sally’s eyes widened. “I should like that, Miss Jo.”
“I’ll send for a constable,” Jo’s father said. “We must report this incident. People cannot go about abducting maids.”
Aunt Mary agreed.
