The housekeeper hurried up to them as they made their way to the front door. “You need a coat, Miss Madelene.”
“I’ve already taken far too much,” she said, shaking her head.
“If I send you out in the cold with no coat, Lady Epworth will never forgive me.”
Simon took the coat from Mrs. Lamb. “We can’t have you in trouble with your employer.” He held it up and Madelene reluctantly slipped her arms through. It wasn’t even that cold outside. Certainly nothing like the icy water she’d endured, but she couldn’t very well argue.
When it was settled around her, she smiled at the housekeeper. “I hope one day I might meet Lady Epworth. She sounds like a remarkable woman.”
“That, she is,” Mrs. Lamb said with a nod.
Two horses stood behind the carriage and Brennan climbed onto one of them.
“Are you not riding in the carriage?” Simon asked him.
He shook his head. “I don’t do carriages if I can avoid them.”
Simon helped her up before turning back to Brennan. “There’s no reason for you to wait for us, then. You might as well go on ahead and get Ash’s horses back to him. Give him my thanks. I have some pressing things to see to, but I’ll call on him again soon.”
“What about her?”
“Ash has plenty on his plate already.”
“What are you going to do with her?”
She held her breath. What was he going to do with her?
“You needn’t concern yourself with that. I’ll see that she’s taken care of.”
What did that mean?
Simon didn’t wait for any kind of response. He simply climbed into the carriage and seated himself across from her. He pounded on the roof and they lurched into motion.
The question continued to play through her head, but she didn’t have the courage to ask Simon directly. They sat in silence for some time before he eventually spoke.
“We have a long journey, so we might as well get to know each other a little. Tell me something about yourself.”
“There’s not really anything to tell.”
“Sure there is. What’s your surname? We can start there.”
“Lund.”
“You live with your father?”
Madelene nodded. “I did. And I assume he would have come back for me eventually, after I learned to control my wickedness.” Was Simon going to take her back to her father?
“How long have you been at Auburn Ridge?”
“Less than a day, I think. Although, it felt much longer.”
“What sort of wickedness was it that led your father to deliver you to Auburn Ridge?”
Her heart suddenly lurched into a gallop. What would Simon do if he knew the truth about her? Would he abandon her? Would he turn around and take her back to the asylum? Slowly, she forced her gaze up from her fidgeting fingers to meet his. It was difficult for her to do that, but she needed to see his reaction to her words.
“I tried to seduce my music teacher.”
The corners of his mouth twitched as he held back laughter. His ridicule stung even more than his judgment would have. She folded her arms over her chest, wishing she could just disappear, and turned to face the window.
