“Thank you for doing this,” Rimple said, her lips into a tight smile, a shadow of concern crossing her normally sunny disposition. “I know you don’t want to.”
It was a reminder to Maddy that whatever dislike she had for Beau da Silva or Veronica Turnbull, it did not matter. She knew the power of rumour to tear apart a life.
She swallowed an unwanted lump of emotion that threatened to shake her voice. “I’m doing this to keep those NWL busybodies off our backs.”
“I’m sure Mr. da Silva will be so happy, he’ll do more than cover the expenses for the job,” Rimple said, her normal levity returning. “You will have the best little greenhouse in the city, I promise. Maybe good enough to grow a lemon tree in. I’ll work on the designs while you’re gone.”
Before Maddy had the time to consider what kind of miracle of physics Rimple would pull off to create such a thing, there was a second knock at the door, and it opened to reveal Gemma Webber.
“Nearly ready?” she asked.
Maddy swore under her breath. Clearly Phillipa was marshalling the troops.
She paused long enough to check that her short blade was in her boot, and the second was strapped to her back, under her jacket. Her throwing knives were already packed amongst her books.
“I have never been late for an assignment and I’m not about to start,” Maddy grumbled, hoisting the chest off the bed. “Let’s go.”
Rimple and Gemma exchanged a look.
“Next time I’m just going to make Phillipa come up here herself,” Gemma said. “Are you trying to make me not miss you? Because that is impossible.”
“I miss you already,” Maddy said, not bothering to protest when Gemma put her hands on the other side of the trunk to bear the weight. She bent down and planted a kiss on Gemma’s head.
They were not halfway down the stairs when Jeremy Webber, Gemma’s husband and a wall of a man by nearly any measure, took Maddy’s trunk and carried it the rest of the way where his daughter Ivy was waiting, along with Phillipa and Lady Em. The door was open, and just beyond it, Maddy saw a carriage waiting to take her away.
“I’ll get this on the carriage.” The deep, crisp tones of Jeremy Webber’s voice broke through low murmur of activity coming from just outside the front doors of Everwell. Maddy caught the flush of anticipation in Gemma’s cheeks as she gave her husband a warm smile. “The train leaves within the hour. Phillipa is waiting.”
“I’m starting to wonder if Phillipa is worried I’ll change my mind.”
“I’m sure she worries about you,” he said, giving her a knowing smile. “But not about that.”
Maddy almost smiled in spite of herself. She liked the retired British Colonel, despite the fact that he’d married one of her dear friends. He seemed to understand her role as protector, and perhaps of anyone here, might empathize with the war going on inside her. To protect Everwell, she had to leave it.
She pulled on her gloves and fastened her wide-brimmed straw hat to her hair with a pearl-tipped hat pin, taking a quick glance in the mirror to ensure it was on straight, then headed outside. A small crowd waited for them, and she felt the weight of Beau da Silva’s whisky-eyed stare. He stood by the carriage, deep in conversation with Dominic, Jeremy, and Reg.
Phillipa stood with the other Everwell women, Lady Em and Tilda among them, along with a few of the students. As if sensing her unease, Lady Em took Maddy’s hands, her eyes sparkling with what could only be mischief.
“I’m excited for you, my dear,” she said. “You deserve a pleasant sort of adventure.”
“Lady Em,” Maddy said, her eyes straying toward Mr. da Silva, “I’m not sure how pleasant it will be to mind a peacock.”
“I suspect you will manage quite well,” she said in that no-nonsense way of hers. “I’ve heard rumours about the old Redden property. You might find yourself far more at home there than you might think.”
“I can’t ever imagine any place being more at home than this,” Maddy replied, trying to keep the wistfulness out of her voice as she took one more look back at the home that had been her salvation in more ways than one.
“Everwell will always be here for you, my dear,” Lady Em said. “But do not deprive yourself of a chance to see something new.”
Lady Em’s expression softened to something like sympathy, and Maddy found herself swallowing back unwanted emotion. What was happening? She’d been on more jobs than she had fingers and toes for, and she had gone to several on her own, watching in the shadows to ensure the others were safe.
“Maddy,” Phillipa said, inspecting her in that sisterly way of hers. “As always, the most important thing is that you return home safely. While I don’t expect too much trouble?—”
“—which I will deal with if it comes,” Maddy responded.
“The Redden property is adjacent to a small farm, and the owners—the Chandlers, are known to Mrs. Turnbull. They have acted as caretakers to the property for many years,” Phillipa said. “Mrs. Turnbull has already seen to it that they are aware of your arrival.”
“And you trust them?” Maddy asked. “What if they are interested in the reward?”
“Maddy, if I hadn’t learned to trust people, I wouldn’t be at Everwell,” Phillipa said. “Sometimes you have to risk it.”
