The next day, the sisters had gone to their former housekeeper in the nearby village. Mrs. Halifax took them in out of love, but Madeline knew the poor woman and her elderly husband needed money. “I’ll go to London and find work,” Madeline had promised. “I’ll send every farthing back here.”
The next day, she’d left for London using money Mrs. Halifax had loaned her to purchase a ticket into town on the mail coach. Molly had tried not to cry but had to wipe away tears as she said good-bye.
“Don’t worry, Molly. I’ll be back for you. I’ll be back and when it’s time you’ll have the future you deserve.”
Molly had solemnly nodded and done her best to wipe away her tears with the handkerchief Maddie had given her.
“Be brave,” she’d told her sister. “Listen to Mrs. Halifax and help her around the house. I’ll write you every sennight, I promise.”
It had nearly broken Maddie to leave her sister, her bright blue eyes red from crying as she’d trudged away in the snow toward the mail coach.
And just last month, Maddie had received the letter she’d been dreading all these years. “Your cousin Leopold has offered for Molly,” Mrs. Halifax wrote. “It would be a fine step up in the world for the girl to become a baroness.”
The worst part was…Mrs. Halifax was right. Maddie had left four years ago, thinking she would make her fortune in London. And now, here she was, barely able to scrape by and making careless mistakes. Perhaps she should have married Cousin Leopold all those years ago. At least she’d be the one saddled with him now and not her poor dear Molly. It made Maddie’s stomach churn to think of it. If she’d only sacrificed herself when she’d had the chance, Molly would be safe now and able to pick a husband of her choosing. Molly wasn’t like Maddie. Molly craved stability and was easily frightened. She would marry him, Maddie knew, unless she found a way to get her sister out of there. But there was little chance she would ever be able to afford to give her sister everything she deserved.
Maddie shuddered again as she glanced around the small, bare room she shared with Anna. She’d failed her sister. Her wages weren’t enough to buy a Season’s worth of fine clothing. She could barely pay for Molly’s room and board at Mrs. Halifax’s house.
Maddie clenched her jaw. Her own selfishness and recklessness had caused all of this. And she’d been selfish and reckless again tonight, risking her position in the Hazeltons’ house by sneaking downstairs one more time.
She was struggling to reach the buttons on the back of the pilfered gown when Anna came rushing into the room.
“I stopped by the drawing room,” Anna said, a clearly disappointed look on her face. “It was empty.”
“No. He was there,” Maddie hastened to tell her. She turned again and motioned for Anna to help her remove the borrowed gown.
“He was there?” Anna nearly squealed as she quickly unfastened the buttons and helped Maddie step out of the pink gown.
As she pulled on her simple black maid’s gown that she’d left lying on her bed, Maddie recounted precisely what had happened on the staircase.
“You kissed him?” Anna’s dark-brown eyes widened to round orbs.
“Yes.” Maddie nodded happily, unable to squelch her smile at her own boldness. She had plenty to regret, but she’d never regret that moment.
Anna sighed dreamily and laced her fingers together. “Oh, what was it like?”
“It was…lovely,” Maddie said wistfully. “And now both of my dreams have come true. First, I danced with a handsome gentleman at a ball and then I kissed him. Now, I’m never taking a chance like that again. As soon as I give back this gown, these slippers, and these earbobs—” She gasped.
She’d been reaching for the earbobs as she spoke. The left one was missing. Maddie’s heart plummeted to her feet and nausea roiled in her middle.
“Anna, quickly! We must find the other earbob or I’m certain to be sacked!”
Chapter Eight
Justin remained standing on the staircase, blinking. He’d done a thing most unlike himself. He’d chased a lady up a staircase. Why? Why had he followed her? He’d obviously gone mad. He wasn’t one to brag, but usually women chased him. He’d never had to follow one down a back corridor and up a servants’ staircase while asking her to stop before, that was for certain.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair and cursed under his breath. The other events that had just unfolded were equally nonsensical. He’d asked Madeline for her surname. She’d refused to tell him. Again. Then she’d kissed him. Fully. On the lips. And while the kiss hadn’t been lengthy, and she hadn’t even employed her tongue, he’d felt it to his toes. Which was also rare. It had been years since he’d been affected by a mere kiss. These days, kisses for him were merely a necessary stop on the road to lovemaking, not something that sent a jolt directly to his groin, but here he was, uncomfortably shifting in his breeches, trying to figure out why an innocent peck from a debutante had made his entire body rock-hard.
He scrunched his eyes shut, then opened them again, shaking his head. He glanced up the stairs, wondering for the second time in two years if the entire encounter with her had merely been a figment of his imagination.
It was madness. That was all. She’d said, I do hope you have a lovely life. That clearly indicated she never intended to see him again. The kiss notwithstanding.
The entire thing was simply…confusing. In all his years, he had never had any such encounter with a young lady. Madeline didn’t want him to know her surname. She’d made that abundantly clear. It would drive him to distraction, not knowing. But how would he ever learn it?
He turned around in a tight, frustrated circle, half wondering if he shouldn’t continue to chase her up the stairs and demand her name. Though he had every reason to believe she wouldn’t give it to him. And he would be an ass to continue to follow a woman who had clearly said good-bye.
Blowing out a breath, he glanced down. A sparkle caught his eye. He leaned closer. A diamond earbob lay on the edge of the stair just above where he stood. He leaned down to further inspect it. It was one of the diamonds Madeline had been wearing. He was certain of it. It had obviously dropped from her ear during her flight. He leaned over and picked it up.
A smile spread across his lips. Well, now he had to find out who she was. Didn’t he? Even if he never used the information to contact her, he would have to return this valuable piece of jewelry. A gentleman could not do otherwise. But how would he find her? He couldn’t very well go upstairs and search every room.
