‘Sarah... you’ll lose your position over this,’ Charlotte said, her voice tinged with regret.
‘No matter,’ Sarah replied. ‘Without you here, I would not wish to remain in any case. The difficulty is that, without a reference, I cannot easily secure another situation.’
Anne added, ‘Unless, of course, you accompany her.’
Sarah tilted her head like a bird. ‘How?’
‘They accepted my maid for the nursemaid’s position. You can go in her stead.’
‘Oh, do come, Sarah—we could manage there together,’ Charlotte urged. ‘And after I receive my dowry, we shall travel to the Continent.’
Sarah hesitated, narrowing her eyes slightly. ‘Are they paying a decent wage?’
Charlotte fixed her with a look. ‘Sarah, they will offer more than the workhouse, which is precisely where you are headed at this rate.’
Sarah grinned, entirely unapologetic. ‘Well, in that case, I would not have it any other way, miss. And I should quite like to be a nursemaid to a boy—an improvement already.’
Charlotte rolled her eyes. ‘At least I shall not be obliged to endure your impertinence.’
Sarah’s grin widened. ‘Oh, do not worry, Miss Charlotte. It will make an appearance every now and then, I am sure.’
She turned briskly on her heel before Charlotte could reply. ‘Best I gather my things before you change your mind and abandon me to your mother.’
And with that, she disappeared towards the servants’ quarters—looking far too pleased with herself for someone who had just agreed to flee the county.
Hurriedly, Charlotte packed what she could—a few sentimental trinkets, her father’s favourite book, and the letter the boy, Matthew Stanley, had given her. She paused once, staring at her father’s old walking cane propped beside the dresser.
With one final, lingering glance at her room—her prison—she followed Anne and Sarah down the servants’ staircase, out the side door, and into the cool air of freedom. Luckily, the way was clear, as all the staff were busy preparing for the Baron’s arrival.
Anne’s carriage waited at the end of the lane, ready to take her to her new destination—but instead, Charlotte and Sarah were taking her place.
Charlotte’s eyes filled again, but she blinked the tears away fiercely as she gripped her friend’s hand. ‘Thank you, Anne. For everything. I shall never forget it.’
The women embraced fiercely, as though it might be for the last time.
‘Do not write to me,’ Anne warned. ‘Otherwise, it will be suspicious. My father reads all my post, and he would do anything for a reward.’
So this was it, then. No more comfort from her friend. Charlotte held back her tears.
She climbed into the waiting carriage after Sarah, heart pounding, clutching her borrowed future—and her borrowed name—in trembling hands.
The wheels began to turn, slow at first, then faster, the gravel crunching beneath them.
Just as the carriage pulled away from the servants’ gate, Charlotte saw a tall figure descend from his carriage on the front steps of the Walker residence.
Lord Stanley paused on the threshold, his piercing blue gaze scanning the driveway as if he sensed something slipping through his fingers.
But the carriage, with its fugitives inside, rumbled on, merging into the busy morning. Charlotte kept her head low, clutching the portmanteau tightly in her lap, never once daring to look back.
Freedom, she realised, did not feel like wings. It felt like falling—breathless and uncertain.
Chapter 9
Charlotte and Sarah rolled on and on along the bumpy country roads. They changed horses at two inns, where they also rested for the night. Sarah slept like a rock, but Charlotte hardly dared close her eyes in such strange surroundings.
By the third day, Charlotte was utterly exhausted, but also deeply relieved.
She was far away from her mother now, from the Ice Baron, and from the gallows that had seemed to loom too close. Even the thought of her own bedchamber had become oppressive now that her father was no longer there. The whole house had become foreign to her—somewhere she was not even sure she could return to. She swallowed against the ache rising in her throat at the thought and forced herself to look towards the future.
