“And that I believe.” Matilda pulled back, taking a steadying breath. “I will meet you back here in five minutes.”
Anna pulled a face. “Ten, if you please. I am not like you. I have rarely dressed myself, and I suspect it shall take me longer than five minutes to remember how.”
“Five-and-ten, then,” Matilda said.
She paused to kiss her friend on the forehead, and with trepidation and determination in her heart, she left the bedchamber in a hurry, praying that no one would try to stop her. If Albion did, she did not know if she would be able to muster the strength to leave… not without being cruel to be kind, and she never wanted to be cruel to the man she still loved.
* * *
“I thought you were only intending to stay for a week,” Matilda rasped, sweating as she heaved the last of Anna’s luggage into the arms of the waiting footman. “You packed as if you were to remain indefinitely.”
Anna shrugged. “I told you, I did not know what attire would be expected. I packed almost everything I own, just in case.”
“I shall send you a list of necessary garments next time,” Matilda teased, but her wry smile faded quickly.
Anna caught the look. “Nothing needs to be decided tonight, Matilda. Think of this as a… holiday with friends, who have missed you terribly.”
“Is everything aboard?” the driver called down from the box, rubbing his tired eyes.
The footman also looked half-asleep, stifling a yawn every few minutes. Matilda felt somewhat guilty for dragging them out of their beds at such an hour with little explanation, but they did not seem too disgruntled. And the horses were eager enough, pawing at the gravel.
“Yes, Mr. Graham,” Anna replied. “I must apologize again for this.”
The driver smiled and waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t apologize, milady. Packer and I would make a journey at three o’clock in the morning, in heavy snow, in the dead of winter, to see you safely home.”
“Aye, m’lady,” the footman agreed shyly.
Anna clasped a hand to her chest. “You are both much too kind!”
Matilda watched the exchange, saddened and relieved. Relieved because the footman and driver were not angry. Saddened because Anna was so beloved by all who knew her, yet society’s gentlemen overlooked her time and time again. It would always baffle Matilda.
“Shall we away, then?” The driver nodded to the footman, who promptly opened the carriage door for the two ladies.
Anna took the man’s hand and stepped inside, but Matilda hesitated, realizing she had forgotten to do something very important.
“A moment, if you please,” she urged, running back into the house.
The grandfather clock in the entrance hall read half-past-two in the morning. She cursed at the sight of it, for most of the household staff would be asleep already. Indeed, the manor was deathly silent, not a mouse’s tiptoes to be heard.
A note, maybe?Matilda cringed; it seemed too impersonal, too cruel.
Just then, she heard distant footfalls, coming from the hallway to her left. She raced toward the sound, hoping it might be Jenna, the maid she had become friendly with. Jenna often worked later into the night, assisting the cook with the bread and pastries for the morning.
But as she skidded to a halt, looking at the figure who had just emerged from the drawing room with a tray of dirty glasses, she knew that fortune was working in her favor. The valet, Laurence, was a much more preferable messenger.
“Your Grace.” Laurence bowed his head but not before she had seen the light surprise in his eyes. “Might I fetch something for you?”
Matilda steeled herself. “No, but you may pass a message to His Grace for me.”
“A message, Your Grace?” His eyes narrowed in confusion.
She put on a smile, her nerves jittering. “Yes. Please inform His Grace that I have decided to visit my friend at her residence.”
“At this hour?”
Annoyance prickled up the back of her neck. “It was a somewhat impulsive decision. I am leaving now.”
“To which friend?”
