“No.” Maddie saw no sign of the one she sought and turned back to Ashley. “But I don’t want to hurt Sir Alphonse’s feelings.”
Ashley shook her head. “Maddie, you are rich and your father is powerful. A dozen men a day must propose to you and will keep on doing so if you do not firmly reject them. That is not rudeness. That is sanity.”
“You reject suitors your way, and I shall use mine.”
“Yours doesn’t work.”
“Not so far,” Maddie mumbled, her gaze roving to the garden again. Where was he? She turned back to Ashley. “Thank you for your help, but if you don’t mind, I want to sit here alone for a few moments.”
Ashley’s pale eyebrows rose above her sea green eyes. “Oh, really?”
Maddie looked down at her dainty, beribboned lavender and ivory slippers. They were a perfect match for her muslin day dress, which was composed of a lavender overdress and ivory underdress. The layers of the outer garment were draped and held in place at the knee by glossy lavender ribbons.
She couldn’t have chosen less practical attire for running away. And with the exception of her father, no one but Ashley could hinder her plans. Willing her voice to sound convincing, Maddie said, “I’ll join you again in a moment.” She looked at Ashley from under her lashes to gauge the effect of her statement.
Jiminy! Ashley still looked skeptical. The clock on the mantel chimed quarter past the hour, and Maddie knew she had to remove Ashley quickly. Mr. Dover was bound to show up in the garden behind her at any moment.
Standing before Maddie, Ashley narrowed her eyes. “Madeleine Richael Fullbright, what is going on?”
“Nothing,” Maddie said automatically.
Ashley stared at her. “You’re lying!” She put her hands on her hips. “I cannot believe you lied to me.”
Maddie felt as though she were standing on a narrow strip of beach and the tide had just come in. Cold, threatening water swirled at her ankles. She tried to pretend it was warm, scented bathwater.
“Ashley, might we speak of this later?” she said, and this time couldn’t stop herself from looking over her shoulder at the garden.
The water surged to her waist, and she almost fell back from its force. Mr. Dover was skulking about outside the window.
Maddie swung back around.
“What is it?” Ashley said. “You look like Hamlet after he saw the ghost of his father.”
Maddie felt a hysterical giggle well up inside. If her father went looking for her now, she’d be the one who ended up a ghost. She had to go.
Now.
Taking her cousin by the shoulders, Maddie pushed Ashley toward the door. “Thank you for your concern. I’ll explain everything later.”
But Ashley was not looking at her. She was looking past her, out the window.
The ocean floor dropped out from under Maddie.
“Who is that man?” Ashley pointed a finger, and Maddie didn’t have to turn to know what her cousin saw. Mr. Dover was tall, almost too tall for his own body. He always seemed to have too many arms and legs and never knew what to do with them. He was young, not yet thirty, but he wore small spectacles over his brown eyes. At least she thought his eyes were brown. She hadn’t looked all that closely.
“Man?” Maddie said with exaggerated innocence. “I don’t see a man.”
Rigid disapproval on her face, Ashley took her by the shoulders and turned her around. She pointed to the window, where Mr. Dover was indeed peering in. “That man.”
“I have no idea,” Maddie said.
Mr. Dover broke into a grin and waved at her. Ashley sighed and released her. “You are a horrible liar, Madeleine Fullbright.”
Ashley started for the window, and Maddie reached for her. Her hand closed on thin air. “Ashley!”
Her cousin was already at the windows, pushing another open. She leaned out, resting her palms on the casement, and said, “Hello. Are you looking for Lady Madeleine?”
Mr. Dover removed his hat, a scuffed beaver that looked like it had been run over by a carriage. Knowing how clumsy Dover could be, Maddie rather thought it had.
