Both he and Cass knew that Mrs. Bunbury was fictitious. But she was, however, a fictitiouschaperone,so the fact that she was “coming out of retirement” with Sarah as her charge made a certain amount of sense.
“Oh, Lucy, thatisbrilliant,” Cass said, clapping her hands. “It’s absolutely perfect.”
“I don’t understand,” Sarah said, shaking her head. “Who is Mrs. Bunbury?”
Christian cleared his throat. “Mrs. Bunbury is a nonexistent chaperone whom Lucy invented and hired for Jane Upton.”
Sarah looked at all of them as if they’d lost their minds. “Now I really don’t understand.”
Cass smoothed her hands down her silken lavender skirts. “When Jane came to my wedding in the country, she wanted to escape her mother, so she and Lucy invented a chaperone and named her Mrs. Bunbury. The woman never managed to be in the same room with Jane’s mother, of course. She’d always just left moments before.”
Sarah bit her lip. “I don’t mean to be rude, but that sounds absolutely preposterous.”
“Oh, but of course it’s preposterous,” Lucy said with a smile. “As so many of my plots are.”
Christian could tell that Sarah was quickly losing faith in their saviors. “Perhaps you could explain what you have in mind in more detail, Lucy.”
“With pleasure.” Lucy paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, the twinkle remaining in her eye. “Here’s what I’ve been thinking. Jane has been in Bath this entire time and rarely attends social functions because she’d rather be reading. She has also been known to employ Mrs. Bunbury. I shall return to London immediately and start the rumor that Sarah has been in Bath with Jane since she left London. You haven’t told anyone anything that might contradict such a story, have you, Sarah?”
Sarah shook her head. “No. The only thing that I wrote in the letter I left for my mother is that I had to leave.”
“That’s perfect, then,” Lucy said with a nod that caused one of her black curls to pop loose from her coiffure and bounce along her forehead. “I will say that I’ve just come from Bath, where I visited Jane and discovered you, Sarah.”
She nodded toward Christian. “You and Sarah will travel to Bath via the western route and you shall deliver Sarah to Janie. I will inform Lady Sarah’s parents of the story and no one will be the wiser.”
“I’m not certain about that,” Sarah said, worrying her hands together in her lap.
“Why not?”
“My mother will ask a lot of questions. She’ll want to know all the details.”
Lucy patted her coiffure. “Don’t worry about that. Leave it to me. I will visit your mother, retrieve your clothing, and explain everything. Believe me, if your mother wishes to avoid a scandal, she’ll help me.”
“Where will everyone think Mrs. Goatsocks has been?” Sarah asked.
“Oh, yes, you mentioned her, didn’t you?” she said to Christian. “Poor woman, I do hope her ankle is healing properly.”
“Focus, Lucy,” Cass nudged.
“Yes, of course,” Lucy said. “Mrs. Goatsocks has been in Scotland visiting her sister.”
“But she doesn’t have a—,” Sarah began.
“Believe me when I tell you that no one will know or care about such a detail. Why, I made up an entire branch of Mrs. Bunbury’s family tree and no one asked a single question about it.”
Sarah bit her lip. “Are you quite certain—”
Christian gave Sarah a reassuring nod. “Lucy will handle it. You must trust her.”
Sarah nodded back. “Very well.”
“In the meantime, I’ve brought you some clothing of mine that you may wear for your journey to Bath,” Lucy said. “Berkeley told me you were dressed as a maid. My clothing may not fit exactly but close enough.”
Sarah nodded again. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
Christian watched Sarah closely. He could tell she was worried. Was she beginning to panic? He knew the feeling too well. He must help reassure her. She had to see that this was the only choice.
Lucy continued her explanation. “After I speak to Lady Highfield, Sarah will arrive in London with Jane days later. We’ll all simply pretend it’s been nothing more than one great big silly misunderstanding.”
