Winnie stared at Seth, who stood open-mouthed.
“Yes, we are.” His tone carried both shock and relief at this.
The confusion on the woman’s face was evident, and suddenly Winnie realized just why she was so puzzled. Winnifred had wholly forgotten that she was still in her disguise.
“This is not our usual attire,” she explained. “We came to St. Giles hoping to find out where our siblings are, and we decided to….”
“You decided to dress the part. I can see that.” The woman’s countenance changed at once from almost frightened to friendly.
“So, you know our siblings? You have seen them?” Winnie asked, the eagerness evident in every word.
The woman shook her head. “I have not. My daughter has, just once and quite by chance.”
Helena looked up at Winnie. “I was with my father last week. Sometimes he lets me go outside for walks with him. We had to go to one of his businesses because there was trouble, and that is where I saw your sister.” She looked at Seth. “She has the same eyes as you. She is so nice. Leo was there too, but I didn’t talk to him because he was in another room. Rose told me.”
The girl pressed her lips together and looked down at the floor. “I don’t think I was supposed to talk to her, but she looked so sad that I wanted to cheer her. I talk to her for a while, and she told me that my Papa was keeping her there even though she didn’t want to stay. She asked if I could help her. I told her that I couldn’t because my Papa usually keeps us here, too, and I’m not allowed to go anywhere on my own, either. Nor do I get to talk to anyone else.”
“What do you mean, he keeps you here?” Seth looked from the little girl to her mother and then to Winnifred. Frances cleared her throat and wrapped her arm closer around her daughter.
“It is true. We are prisoners here, just like your siblings. You must understand, I married my husband because I had to, not by choice. And while we have this comfortable home, we are not allowed to go outside. Sometimes he will take Helena, but I have not been outside for more than a year.”
Winnie’s heart broke for this woman. How awful to marry a man like Elton against her will and then be mistreated in such a horrible fashion.
Something else occurred to her then. “When was it you saw Rose?”
“Just about two days ago,” Helena said. Winnie smiled, further convinced Leo and Rose were alive. She turned her attention back to Frances.
“I suppose you do not know where our siblings are right now?”
“My husband does not share his business details with me. I only know the things we overhear when the guard talks. You are fortunate that there is only one right now. Usually, they are two. I have overheard them speaking about your siblings. They are being moved almost daily from one of my husband’s holdings to another. I could not tell you where they are now.”
The little girl looked up at Winnifred, a smile on her face. “You found my letter, didn’t you? That is why you are here?”
Winnifred looked at Seth, who in turn approached Helena. “Your letter?”
She nodded eagerly. “Well, I suppose it was not my letter. One of the guards left a note on the kitchen table here. He was supposed to deliver it, I think. But he got diverted by somebody at the door. I was bored, so I decided to read it. It was the same day I saw your sister, so I knew what was in the letter was wrong. So I decided to send you a message.”
“Helena. You know you should not do things like that. It is very dangerous. If your father ever found out….”
“But Mummy. I couldn’t let Lady Rose’s brother and Leo’s sister think they were dead when they’re not. It’s not right. What Papa does is not right.”
Winnifred’s hand traveled to her throat. How could this precious little child and this fearful woman be the family of this awful man Elton?
“Pray, how did you make your way into the building?” Frances asked.
“I wish I could say that I valiantly fought my way past the guards, but I’m afraid it was just old-fashioned bribery.”
“Do you think that same old-fashion bribery could get us out with you? As I’ve said, I haven’t set foot outside for more than a year, and I am desperate to escape my husband’s clutches. Please, Your Grace, take us from this place. Please do not make us remain here.”
Seth swallowed hard, but Winnifred already knew what his answer would be. He would not allow this poor woman and her child to linger here.
For while the room was beautiful, the adornments on the walls were precious, and the furniture of the highest quality, it was easy to see that both mother and daughter were miserable—and scared.
“Please, Your Grace, take us with you,” Helena begged.
“There isn’t much I can give you in return, only the things that we have overheard from the guards or the occasional mention of my husband. I am sure it will be all useless to you. But please. I beg of you. If he finds out you were here, we are in danger.”
“Very well,” he said. “I do not know how to get you past the guard outside. We simply paid him, or rather one of your husband’s other associates did, to let us in. I am uncertain how to bribe him to let you out. I haven’t anything on hand to give him. And I am sure your husband will be quite horrified to find you gone.”
