A brief pause followed before her mother said, “Your father has gone to meet with Scarsdale. Once he returns, we can start on the wedding arrangements.”
Closing her eyes, Louise waited until she knew her mother was gone before giving Hannah her full attention. “We need to hurry. In light of what happened with Mr. Fairbanks, my parents will want to make sure I marry as swiftly as possible, and I have no intention of staying here to find out exactly how expeditious they can be.”
No more than half an hour later, Louise and Hannah made their way toward the front door, each with a small satchel containing only the bare minimum. They paused to listen. The downstairs maids had finished cleaning ten minutes earlier according to the schedule they kept and would now be in the kitchen for a short, late morning break. The butler and footmen would join them, allowing Louise and Hannah five minutes in which to make their escape.
They crossed the foyer and froze in response to several loud knocks on the door. Louise glanced at Hannah and tilted her head toward her father’s study. They backstepped and slipped inside the space, barely managing to hide before the butler arrived. Through the small gap she’d left in the doorway, Louise caught a glimpse of him striding forward. Another knock sounded, announcing the caller’s impatience, and then the door opened.
“Is Lady Grasmere at home?” a crisp female voice inquired.
“If you would please step inside, Lady Warwick, I shall find out,” the butler said. Shuffling sounds followed, then the thud of the front door closing. “This way.”
Louise listened as the butler showed Lady Warwick into the parlor and then as he climbed the stairs to locate Mama. Having Lady Warwick here was not good. The woman was a notorious gossip and since she wasn’t considered a family friend, there could only be one reason for her visit: to gather information.
Louise’s heart thumped against her breast. Hannah, who stood right behind her, grunted as if she’d just stifled a sneeze. Footsteps sounded once more, along with Mama’s voice as she asked the butler to have some tea served with Cook’s freshly baked biscuits.
The door to the parlor opened, and closed. Footsteps receded and silence ensued.
“Come on,” Louise said, her stomach coiled tight with jittery energy. She stepped out into the foyer, hurried toward the front door, and made her way to freedom.
Not until she and Hannah were two streets away did she dare to expel the breath she’d been holding. They’d done it. The only remaining task was to get to the coaching inn without being spotted. After all, this was Mayfair. People knew her by sight and would wonder why she was taking a satchel for a stroll and, more pointedly, where she might be headed with it.
As if summoned by this very possibility, two gentlemen rounded the corner at the end of the street they were on and began walking toward them.
“This way,” Hannah said. Her hand caught Louise’s arm and tugged her toward an alley between two houses. “This will take us to another street that joins up with Oxford Street near St. Giles. We can catch a hackney from there.”
Everything went smoothly from that moment on. Until they arrived at the coaching inn and inquired after tickets on the next carriage bound for Dover.
“There’s only room for one of you today,” the innkeeper said, shifting his gaze between Louise and Hannah. “If you wait until tomorrow evenin’, you can travel together.”
Louise considered this option. It would mean a significant delay during which she risked being found by her father and stopped. Yet the idea of going alone, without Hannah, was insupportable.
“Can you not squeeze us both in somehow?” Louise asked. “Maybe on the block next to the coachman?”
“That’s the spot I was offerin’ you, and there’s only the one.”
“Oh.” Louise glanced at Hannah. “I don’t like the idea of going on without you.”
“She can follow you tomorrow, if you like,” the innkeeper said.
“Yes, but—”
“Sir. I’d like a ticket for Dover if you’ve got one,” a young man said over Louise’s shoulder.
“Well, what’ll it be?” the innkeeper asked her.
Setting her jaw, Louise made her decision. “I’ll take today’s carriage. My friend can take tomorrow’s like you suggested.”
“Very good.” He handed Louise two tickets in exchange for the money she gave him. “The carriage departs at noon, so you’d best be ready if you’re to be on it.”
“That doesn’t give me much time to eat,” Louise said. Since she’d not had time to pack any food for the journey, she’d hoped for a chance to grab a quick meal before departing.
“Just be glad a spot freed up,” he said. “Only reason you don’t have to wait is ’cause the man who was meant to have the block died. Found him stretched out on the floor of his room this morning.”
“Good lord,” Louise muttered.
“I’ll happily purchase the ticket from you,” the young man from earlier said.
Louise took a step back, shook her head, and gave Hannah her ticket before putting her own in her reticule. “Sorry. I’m afraid it’s not for sale.”
