“Should I go back for her?” Drew asked, her anxiety growing. “Ian, what did your sister say?”
Ian shrugged. “Nothing really. Simply, ‘Where can I go to have a word with my daughter?’ And I said, ‘Are you mad, half of London is filling this house. You are alone here. I’ll leave; do your worst.’ And then I sought out the two of you.”
Drew made a noise of frustration. On the one hand, she was thrilled that the baroness was sharing a special moment with her daughter; on the other, they’d worked so very hard, and to this point, Imogene’s manners and comportment in public had been flawless. Talk had already begun to circulate; Imogene was rumored to be one of the most popular and sought-after debutantes in many Seasons. Drew should hate for her to distract from that with a break in protocol on the night that everyone was properly introduced to her.
“Did you know,” said Ivy casually, “that we never would have escaped T.O.E. without Imogene?”
Drew blinked at her. “I beg your pardon?”
Ian slowly lowered his hat.
The girls had passed the winter and spring settling into life as a family, their studies, and the typical diversions of average girls. For better or worse, the alarming references to their life at T.O.E. had sort of... fallen away. Drew felt it was important to eventually revisit the topic, but she hadn’t wanted to rush them.
“What do you mean, Ivy?” Ian said carefully. “About escaping T.O.E.?”
Ivy shrugged, speaking to the leaf. “I mean, the night we escaped T.O.E., it only happened because Imogene had made this elaborate a plan—she spent weeks on it, months. So I would not worry about her finding her way to this terrace.”
“No,” Ian said slowly, carefully, “likely that should not be a worry. But Ivy? Will you tell us more about Imogene’s elaborate plan? Your escape?”
“Oh, that,” said Ivy. She shrugged. “The first bit was to awaken us in the middle of the night and sneak through a field and then to a dark wood. And the second bit was to convene with this boy Imogene had met in the village so he could collect us in his wagon.”
“She stole you into the night and led you through a wood and convened with a boy and his wagon?” Ian repeated, his speech still slow. Now his voice had taken on a cautious, tense quality. Drew drifted back to his side.
“Yes,” sighed Ivy. “Basically. We would be at the Temple still if it weren’t for Imogene. Compared to our escape from T.O.E., this ball will not be a challenge. Especially since she’s so verymoonyabout it. Especially since she’sobsessedwith it.”
“Ivy,” asked Ian, “what happened after this... boy collected you in his wagon? The night you escaped?”
“Oh, we traveled for many nights, didn’t we? Reverend Sagg sent the Temple guards and their dogs after us, so we hid in stables during the day because the horses disguised our scent. At night, when everyone at the Temple is locked in their sheds, Imogene made us walk. Very quickly. Mostly in streams. This is also on account of the dogs.”
“And where was your mother when you were... er, escaping?” asked Ian.
“We carried her along,” said Ivy, the lament of someone with too many potatoes in her pail. “She was very dazed for the first bit, because of Reverend Sagg’s special elixir. But then she came into herself more and more, day by day. And Imogene’s friend, Augustus—he’s the boy with the wagon, Augustus—traveled with us for many miles, so she could sleep in his cart. But then he was forced to turn back, because his parents would be suspicious, and no one in Gloucestershire wants trouble with Reverend Sagg.”
“The amount of ‘trouble’ I shall soon rain down on Reverend Sagg,” said Ian, “will be larger than the square milage of Gloucestershire.” He took a deep breath and looked at Drew. She kept a hand on his arm, firm but gentle. The noise of the party had faded away and the route Imogene and Timothea might take downstairs felt no longer important.
“But, Ivy,” asked Drew, “how did you find your way to Avenelle?”
“That was the challenge, wasn’t it?” said Ivy thoughtfully. “Imogene and I had never been to Avenelle, obviously; we had only heard of it. But we knew it was in Dorset, although that is a place we’d also never been. Whenwe’d finally put enough miles between ourselves and the Temple, Imogene allowed us to travel in the light of day. And she began to ask in every village we came upon. ‘We are looking for an estate called Avenelle,’ she would say. ‘Do you know it?’ ‘Have you heard of it?’ ‘It is the home of my uncle. My mother is a baroness. My uncle is a duke.’ ‘We are trying to get home.’
“No one believed us really—you saw how wretched we looked—but people were generally willing to give us direction to Dorset. It’s hardly a secret, which roads lead to Dorset.”
“But Dorset is two days’ ride from Gloucestershire,” said Ian.
“It took us eleven days,” Ivy commented. “Because we were walking.”
Ian spun in a circle. He turned back to Ivy. “Youwalkedto Dorset from Gloucestershire?”
“Well, Imogene was very good at procuring rides for us in wagons.”
“Timothea, too?” asked Ian.
“Oh yes, all of us,” said Ivy. “Mama prefers to ride most of all. But we had so little money. Reverend Sagg forbade anyone in the Temple to have money. It was only what Imogene could...” and now she looked away, “...could, well, borrow. We needed money for food, obviously.”
“Ivy,” Ian breathed. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry you were alone and desperate and walking across the country with no money or support.”
“Oh, we were not alone,” said Ivy. “We were together. And I never felt desperate. Imogene is very resourceful. Aunt Drewsmina has had to teach her about life in London, but she already knew a great deal about every other part of life.”
Ivy reached out and plucked another leaf from the bush. “I only mention it because everyone was so worried about her meeting the queen and attending this ball. Please do not forget, she’s already rather accomplished, for all that.” Another shrug. “In a manner.”
