“What exactly did she want?” Owen asked.
“Lodgings for a week. Paid in advance, which was unusual. Most folks pay as they go.” Mrs. Hartford settled herself with the air of someone preparing for a lengthy tale. “But she seemed tohave business in the area. Asked about churches, about coaches to London, about where a person might go if they needed to disappear.”
“Disappear?”
“Her words, not mine. Said she needed to go somewhere no one would think to look.” The innkeeper’s expression grew troubled. “I got the feeling she was running from something. Or someone.”
Owen and Peters exchanged glances. If Adele had been running, then that meant the danger was more immediate than they’d realized.
“Did she mention why she needed to disappear?” Peters asked.
“No, but she seemed frightened. Jumped every time someone came to the door, kept looking over her shoulder when she thought no one was watching.” Mrs. Hartford shook her head. “Poor thing. Whatever she was running from, it had her well and truly spooked.”
“And she left before her week was up?”
“Third night. Woke up to find her gone, along with most of her things. Left behind a few items, including that prayer book I mentioned. I suppose at this point, it wouldn’t hurt to show it to you, Your Grace.” The woman rose and moved to a small table in the corner. “I kept these things, thinking she might return.”
She produced a worn leather satchel containing a few personal items. There was a comb with several teeth missing, a small bottle that might have once held perfume, and at the bottom, a prayer book bound in cracked leather. Its pages were soft with age and use.
Owen opened it carefully to find an inscription on the first page, written in fading ink. The words were in French, but he could make out enough to understand their meaning.
Pour ma chère Adele. Que Dieu te garde. -Maman
For my dear Adele. May God protect you. -Mama.
The simple inscription made the woman’s desperation feel real. She’d carried this book from France, kept it through whatever circumstances had brought her to England, and clung to it even when fleeing into an uncertain future.
“Did she say anything else? Any indication of where she might go next?”
Mrs. Hartford thought for a moment. “She asked about the coast. Wanted to know how far to Dover and whether there were boats to France. I got the impression she was thinking of going home.”
The conversation continued for another quarter of an hour but yielded no additional information of significance.
Adele had arrived sick and frightened, stayed for three days, then vanished into the night. Whether she’d made it to Dover, or France, or anywhere at all remained a mystery.
The ride back to London passed in contemplative silence. Both men were lost in their thoughts.
As the lights of the city appeared in the distance, Owen found his hand moving instinctively to the locket in his pocket.
Whatever had happened to Adele, whatever fate had befallen her, his family was safe and waiting for him in the warm glow of home.
That had to be enough. For now, it had to be everything.
CHAPTER 26
“She has your stubborn streak already.”
Iris looked up from Evie to find Owen watching them with an expression of fond exasperation.
The baby had been fussing over her morning bottle, turning her head away each time Iris tried to coax her to drink.
“My stubborn streak?” Iris laughed. “Have you met yourself, Your Grace?”
“I prefer to think of it as determination.” Owen settled into the chair beside theirs, close enough that Evie could see him clearly.
The baby immediately stopped fussing. Her dark eyes focused on his face with obvious delight.
“Traitor,” Iris murmured, though she couldn’t suppress her smile. “One look at Papa and you forget all your protests.”
