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The headmistress rose. “With all due respect, Miss Sullivan, that is not within the scope of your duties here. You are not an employee of Millworth, after all. It is my responsibility, not yours, to ensure that the girls who leave the school are placed in the care of families who will see to their needs. With all due respect, you have no business meddling in how the school handles that matter. You are here on a volunteer basis to work with the children and to help them with their reading.”

I should have left it at that, but I couldn’t. I took a step forward, unable to keep the plea from my tone. “I don’t need to know every detail. Just tell me if they’re still in London. Will they be leaving for the country? Are they with a family that couldn’t have children? Or will they be one of many?”

“Enough!” The headmistress’s voice stunned me into silence. She came around the desk and approached me. “Don’t think that I haven’t taken note of just how close you and Mr. Grey have become. But I’ve turned a blind eye to what is clearly an inappropriate amount of interaction because, unlike you, I respect the privacy of others. And if you wish to keep coming to this school and helping the other children, I suggest that you do the same and drop this matter. Now, I must go and speak to the cook about the menus for next month. You are free to leave.”

I inclined my head, my lips pressed together to keep from saying anything else.

I left the office and wandered down the hallway, feeling oddly bereft. Hope and Grace were gone, and I had no idea where they were now. Even worse, I no longer felt that I was welcome at the school.

I stopped at the end of the hall and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes. How many people knew about Greyson and me? Did the headmistress know Mr. Grey’s true identity?

I wanted to curse myself for ever getting involved with Greyson, but even as the thought occurred to me, I banished it. If I could go back and do everything over again, I wouldn’t change a moment of the time we’d had together.

Helen materialized from the library, which was just down the hall from Mrs. Atkinson’s office, and beckoned me to join her.

When I slipped into the room, she placed a finger on her lips. Moments later, the headmistress swept past the open library doorway, on her way down to the kitchen.

Helen led me farther into the room. “You were speaking to the headmistress about Hope and Grace, were you not?”

I nodded. “Yes, but she told me it wasn’t my place to inquire further about them.”

Helen was whispering now. “I know the name of the woman who arrived here. She spoke to the girls before finalizing arrangements with the headmistress.”

My heart was pounding now. “Just a woman? Was she married? Did her husband come with her?”

Helen shrugged. “I don’t know who she was, just that her name was Mrs. Beauchamp. And that she seemed very extravagant.”

I frowned. “Extravagant? What do you mean?”

“She wore a great deal of perfume—it was almost overwhelming. Her hairstyle was ridiculously elaborate, and her décolletage was scandalously low for a woman who was coming to speak to the headmistress of a charity school about adopting two young girls.”

My nerves were beginning to prickle. “Mrs. Beauchamp,” I said, weighing the name, but I couldn’t place it. “Do you know where she lives?”

Helen shook her head.

“How long do you think Mrs. Atkinson will be? She told me that she was going to speak to the cook about menus for next month.”

Helen wrinkled her nose. “She won’t be long, but afterward she usually goes out. I don’t think she returns to her office.” She gave me a significant look.

“When did the girls leave?” I asked.

“Just this morning. Mrs. Beauchamp was here yesterday, and she sent a footman to collect them today. She didn’t even come herself to collect the girls she was adopting.” She was clutching my hand now. “I didn’t get a good feeling about her. I don’t think the girls are safe with her.”

I nodded, determination filling me. “I’m going to slip into Mrs. Atkinson’s office and see if I can find Mrs. Beauchamp’s address. If she returns while I’m in her office, can you distract her?”

Helen nodded. “Easily. You know very well there is never a shortage of children up to no good here.”

I squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”

She nodded solemnly. “Please make sure the girls are safe. I’m concerned about their safety.”

With a nod, I hurried to Mrs. Atkinson’s office. For a moment, I worried that she might have locked the door. Fortunately, the knob turned easily. I slid into the room and closed the door behind me.

I made my way to the desk and scanned the surface, which was covered with all manner of notes and files. Mrs. Atkinson had been noting down some sums on a sheet of paper, but that didn’t concern me. I turned first to a stack of files on the left but found nothing about a Mrs. Beauchamp. I turned to the loose sheets of paper on the other side of the desk, my heart leaping when I spotted the folded note that was laid casually on top of the pile. Mrs. Beauchamp’s name was emblazoned on the paper, and most importantly, an address was written beneath it.

I wasn’t familiar with the street, but I memorized the address.

A quick glance at the mantel clock showed me that it was only one o’clock. It occurred to me that perhaps I should wait to tell Greyson about this, but then I remembered that I wouldn’t be seeing him tonight. And I couldn’t guarantee that I’d ever see him again.