Page 72 of Engaging Sir Isaac

“You need to ask?” Isaac grinned at his oldest friend, climbing into the vehicle. “I have a fox to catch.”

Chapter 27

The mail coach stopped at last in Warwickshire. Millie stepped down, with the assistance of an elderly gentleman who had sat across from her, knees knocking against hers for the last several hours. She pulled her small trunk close to her chest, looking about with some uncertainty. Sarah came down next, clutching the bag of her essential items. They had only brought what they needed for the two-day trip, and a change of clothes for their final destination.

“That was an adventure, miss.” Sarah sidled up next to Millie on the path.

Millie shuddered. “One I am not eager to repeat.” They hadn’t met with anyone truly unpleasant, but the crowded coach, full of people from various social stations, had been a rather cramped and smelly affair.

“Then we will hope your sister lets us stay a bit.” Sarah offered her mistress a hopeful smile. “Now then. Where do we go?”

Millie had memorized the paper in her bag where she had written the instructions for finding her sister. She did not need to check them. She went to the innkeeper, who happily pointed them in the right direction.

Once upon the correct street, which was clean and tidy with two rows of neat houses and shops, Millie asked after the solicitor.

“Pardon me,” she said to a woman who watered a flower box full of pansies. “I am looking for Mr. and Mrs. Cadoc Powell. Do they live on this street?”

“Yes, miss. Three houses over, with the dark green door.” The woman smiled broadly, and without hesitation she asked, “Are you visiting the family, miss?”

Millie’s eyes were already searching out the door, her heart beating rapidly. It was Sarah that answered. “Yes, missus. Thank you kindly.”

“I have never said her married name before,” Millie whispered as they walked down the wide footpath. “What if she does not wish to see me?”

“Have courage. Your sister used to dote on you.”

“Up until the moment she met Mr. Powell.”

They stood in front of the door, and Millie suddenly remembered that night when she woke to find her sister escaping out the window.

“Do not fret, Millie. And do not say a word. I cannot marry Lord Carning. I am in love with Cadoc.”

She had kissed Millie on the cheek and resumed her escape. Millie had gone looking for the duke’s grandson, hoping he would stop her sister from making a foolish mistake.

“Are you going to knock, or should I?” Sarah asked.

Millie shivered. “I will.” She held her fist above her in the air, took in a deep breath, and rapped smartly against the door. Then they both waited. Though only the smallest increments of time passed before the door opened, it felt as though they waited years.

A young girl in an apron and cap answered. “Good afternoon. May I help you?”

A servant. Of course a servant would answer. What had Millie expected? Emmeline to rush out the door and embrace her?

She forced a smile. “Hello. I am here to call upon Mrs. Powell. Would you please tell her that Miss Wedgewood is here to see her?”

The maid did not even blink. She likely did not know her mistress’s maiden name. Why would she? But she stepped back enough to let them into the little corridor. She showed them into a room that faced the road. Sarah took a place near the wall and put her bag down beside her feet.

Millie drank in every detail of the cozy sitting room, her heart still racing. The room was decorated in soft hues, and the furniture appeared new and comfortable. Everything was clean, and the windows let in a great deal of light.

The door opened.

Millie turned, bracing herself, though she knew not for what. Emmeline, the sister she remembered, would immediately wrap her in an embrace. But she had never written. In six years, they’d had no contact at all.

A woman stood there, her hand over her heart, watching Millie with wide eyes.

Millie’s heart broke into a thousand pieces as she forgot about her fears, her pain, and stared at her beloved sister. “Emmie.”

That was all it took to free the dam for both of them. In the next instant, they were in the center of the room, crying and holding each other. Then laughing through their tears. Emmeline was taller, had a more mature figure, and her middle rounded with the promise of a baby. Her eyes were still a clear blue, her hair spun gold, and her smile bright and warm as the sun.

“Look at you,” Emmie cooed, stepping back at last. She kept Millie’s hands in hers. “Oh, Millie, you are so beautiful.”