Page 2 of His Unforgettable Bride
With no time to lose, she dashed across the loose-stone lane used for deliveries, then hid behind an evergreen tree in case anyone else stepped outside.
If she were Ruby, what would she do next? Hide the ring to get it out of the house, but conceal it where?
Juliet narrowed her eyes to study her surroundings. The sprawling manicured gardens spread out in a maze behind the mansion. She’d seen Ruby disappear into the gardens on other occasions and had assumed the maid met her man there. But what if she’d gone out to hide the jewels instead?
Juliet crept along the pathway. At times, she had to feel her way forward in the darkness of the tall shrubs. Ahead in the moonlight, she glimpsed the fancy wrought iron fence separating the Firths’ property from the neighbors’—the Lennox family—which meant she neared the back gate.
She halted at the clink of metal against rock and strained to listen. Was someone digging?
Was Ruby hiding the jewels? What if Juliet caught her in the act? Then she couldn’t deny the stealing any longer, and Juliet would have the upper hand. Maybe she’d threaten to report her to the police if Ruby refused to return the jewels to the Firths.
She stepped out into the open without giving herself a chance to second-guess her plan.
Ruby was kneeling, gripping a garden trowel, and stabbing the earth.
“What are you doing?” Juliet asked, even though it was apparent.
Ruby gasped and raised her head, her face hidden in the folds of her hood. “Why did you follow me?”
“To see if you would bury the goods. Looks like you are.”
“It’s not your business.”
Well, that wasn’t true. “If you put Mrs. Firth’s jewelry back where it belongs tonight and promise not to steal again, this ends here and now. No one needs to know anything more.”
Ruby leaned back on her haunches. “You can’t prove nothing. Where’s your evidence?”
In her roommate’s pocket, or maybe already in the ground?
After shooting Juliet a glare, Ruby continued to spear the earth with the garden tool. “Go ahead and tell them what I’m doing. I’ll be long gone before you get back.”
Juliet had seldom snitched in all her nineteen years, but if Ruby refused to cooperate, what choice did she have? None, other than to tell Mrs. Quinborow before Ruby got away.
What if someone linked her to the thievery? Shivers streaked over her skin at the mere thought.
Juliet turned and began returning to the house, winding through the shrubs, past raised beds and elegant fountains. It was impossible to know how the next few minutes would unfold. But one thing was certain. She had no intention of losing her position because of an upstart named Ruby O’Reilly. Or anyone else. No, ma’am.
Besides, she couldn’t allow Ruby to hurt the Firths any longer.
Juliet loved the stability of working for the family and the routine of domestic service—the schedule of rising at dawn and cleaning the same rooms day after day. She ate every meal in the same chair and table in the servants’ common room. After supper, she often completed mending or polishing and chatted with some of the other staff.
The rhythm had grown familiar and close to perfect, and Juliet wanted life to stay the same. Every day, she silently thanked Mrs. Morseby from the Immigration Committee for finding her this position when the bride ship arrived at Vancouver Island last January. Such an opportunity wouldn’t have been available to a nobody orphan like her back in Manchester. Now she lived in a house with lacy white curtains, embossed velvet wallpaper, and lush carpets.
“No!” Ruby’s distressed cry in the distance broke through the night. Had Ruby changed her mind? Was she telling Juliet to stop?
Juliet slowed her pace and waited once she reached the servants’ entrance.
Ruby caught up with her a moment later, panting and carrying a small cigar box. “Tell the truth, did you follow me out to the back fence once before?”
“No, why would I have done that?” And why was Ruby back at the house? Hadn’t she been planning to run away with the jewels?
The contents rattled as Ruby reached for the door latch. “You did so tonight, so it’s not much of a stretch.”
“Well, I didn’t.”
Ruby huffed and stepped inside, with Juliet trailing behind her. Instead of moving toward the staircase, Ruby veered down the hallway toward the housekeeper’s office. Was she seeking out Mrs. Quinborow? If so, why?
They passed by the kitchen, and the dark, empty room cast shadows. Beyond the kitchen, they reached Mrs. Quinborow’s door, which was tightly shut, with the light still glowing from the gap underneath.
