“But it was a different address every time.”
There was a short silence. “So there is no way of contacting him.”
“No.”
“You’re not lying to me, are you?”
Lucy snorted. “Would it make any difference if I was? But no, I really don’t know where he is, or how to contact him. I never have.”
Alice’s tea was cold. She drank it anyway. So much for her plan to steal the letters back.
Lucy continued eating her breakfast, feigning indifference, but Alice was filled with unexpected compassion. What must it be like to be so alone? Her only relative a father who arranged her future without consultation, a father whose whereabouts was unknown—even to his daughter.
Alice glanced at the door. No sign of the servants. “Lucy,” she said quietly, “I would give you all your father’s money”—Lucy looked up, hope shining in her eyes—“if I could, but I can’t. Our agreement wasn’t about money.”
“But—”
“Yes, he gave me money, but that was just to cover your expenses. He did promise me a bonus once you were married, but the reason I agreed to bring you out in society was... was nothing to do with money.”
“But if you don’t care about the money, you could give me whatever is left.”
Alice shook her head. “No. I’m afraid the consequences for me would be... unbearable.” There was a short silence,then she added, “Your father has some... documents that will ruin me if he releases them.”
“Blackmail?” Lucy’s mouth twisted. She gave a harsh laugh. “That’s more like it. He wants me off his hands, so—”
“He wants you settled and happy.” Alice was learning not to be shocked at Lucy’s acceptance of her father’s less-than-sterling qualities.
Lucy snorted. “No, he just wants me off his hands. I know my father. But at least I understand now. You’re as unhappy with this situation as I am, but we’re stuck with it.”
Alice nodded. She refilled her cup, the tea now not only cold but bitter. It suited the moment.
“We have to find some way to go forward, Lucy—something that will not upset you or endanger me.”
Lucy gave her a sharp look. “He hasn’t threatened you, has he? Because he’s never—”
“No, no, nothing physical. It’s a... it’s a different sort of threat.”
“I’m sorry. I wish he wouldn’t do this kind of thing but—”
“It’s not your fault, Lucy. Now, think—could you bear to continue with this scheme?”
Lucy wrinkled her nose. Alice’s tension mounted. Without Lucy’s cooperation, she’d never get those wretched letters back.
“I like the clothes,” Lucy said after a minute. And then added, “But I’m not very good with all that society stuff.”
“I wasn’t either when I was your age. I was frightfully shy.” Lucy might not be confident, but she wasn’t shy. “Believe me, all of that can be learned. As long as you’re willing, I can teach you how to go on.”
Lucy absently folded and refolded her napkin. “I suppose it might be all right—as long as I don’t have to marry alord.” She saidlordthe way most people would saysnake.
“What have you got against lords?” Alice asked curiously. For most young ladies, the idea of marrying a lordwas a dream. “I can see how marriage to a titled gentleman would be a daunting prospect, but you never know wh—”
“I’m notdaunted. I just don’t like them and their high-and-mighty attitudes. They all think they’re God’s gift.”
“Have you met many titled people?”
Lucy sniffed. “Plenty. Nearly all of the comtesse’s visitors were titled. The ladies were—well,high in the instepdoesn’t begin to describe them. Some of them were right cows! And as for the men, a peasant like me was just something to help themselves to, whether I wanted it or not.” She snorted. “But I showed them.”
“I see,” Alice said. Thaddeus had been much the same. It was the reason she’d never been able to keep young maidservants.
