Page 96 of To Bed the Bride
Her cousin sailed into the room, pointing to the table beside the lone chair.
“Put it there,” Daphne said to the maid.
The girl did as she was told, stealing a look in Eleanor’s direction. There was kindness in the girl’s eyes and perhaps a little pity, too.
Eleanor glanced at the tray only once, knowing that she wouldn’t be allowed to eat until after Daphne left. The lecture always came first.
There was a bowl on the tray with a spoon and a napkin. A cup and a teapot. No bread and she suspected that the soup was the same pale gruel she’d eaten for the past three days. One day, perhaps, they would only bring her a bowl of water and expect her to subsist on that.
“Have you stopped being foolish?” Daphne said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Is today the day that you finally get some intelligence, Eleanor?” She shook her head. “My two children, young as they are, have more sense than you.”
“Do you starve them, too?”
Daphne smiled. “If you’ll agree, Eleanor, I’ll have a feast prepared for you. You must be hungry.”
Eleanor didn’t answer her cousin. She would surrender to Deborah, but she wouldn’t concede anything to Daphne.
Daphne stared at her for a moment, then stood. Going to the door, she addressed the maid. “Take the tray away.”
“But, Mrs. Baker, Miss Eleanor hasn’t eaten anything.”
“Did you hear what I said? Take the tray away.”
The girl nodded and moved to retrieve the tray, sending Eleanor a quick glance. No, she hadn’t misinterpreted the pity, but what good was pity now?
Eleanor closed her eyes, refusing to look in her cousin’s direction again. Instead, she would remember this morning and seeing Logan again. Even if she’d imagined everything, he’d been a comforting sight. Perhaps she could will him to come to her in her dreams.
He’d hold her hand and tell her that it was going to be all right, even though she knew, very well, that it wasn’t.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
William stopped the carriage on the other side of the square. Tonight there was more traffic than there’d been this morning. They could easily be taken for guests at one of the well-lit houses. Although it was around midnight, parties often lasted until dawn.
They stayed in the carriage for some minutes, watching the Richardses’ house. No lights shone in any of the windows. Either they were out or the household had retired for the night. Logan and Pete, accompanied by Bruce and the two stable boys, kept to the shadows, avoiding pools of lamplight as they crossed the street, heading for the house.
Pete only spent a few seconds opening the lock on the front door.
“It’s a cheap one,” he whispered. “I’ve got a better lock on my flat. You would think that someone with all that money would take care to protect what he had.”
After Pete opened the door, he and Sam melted into the darkness, off to the roof.
Before they went inside, Logan and Phillip took off their shoes. They’d have to make their way up the staircase, taking care to stay on the far side of each step in order to avoid any sounds.
Bruce kept to Logan’s heels, silent and alert. He whined once, but when Logan held his hand down at his side, fingers splayed, he stopped.
They stood in the foyer for a few minutes, listening. He’d guessed that the family had retired, but Logan didn’t know if anyone read late into the night. When they didn’t hear anything they moved cautiously up the staircase, Bruce still at Logan’s side.
Gas sconces were lit in the upper hallway.
Granted, the light made it easier to see, but it also indicated that someone was awake in the house. Either that, or they were taking a chance with fire. Perhaps a footman had been assigned that duty and had momentarily slipped away. Logan couldn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean they were free and clear.
They moved to the landing. There were two hallways, not one, further compounding the issue.
He pulled Eleanor’s garter out of his pocket and gave it to Bruce to sniff. He wasn’t certain that the dog was as scent-trained as Mrs. Campbell believed. At the moment, however, Bruce was their best hope for a speedy rescue.
“Find her, boy.”
Bruce raced down the hall to the left, leaving the two of them standing there. He sat at a door midway down the hall, looking at Logan, then back at the door.
