Page 78 of Lady Louisa and the Carriage Clock
“Leopold, I want to leave London.”
“I think that is an excellent course of action.”
“Will you help me convince Mother?”
He nodded. “We don’t have to tell our parents everything, but we can tell them enough.”
“Thank you. I’d like to be alone now, and you could do with some sleep.”
When Leopold was gone, Louisa curled up in her bed and pulled the covers over her head. She would go to Charlotte. Perhaps she could persuade Edith to go with her. Her season was over. There was only one man she wanted as her husband and she would accept a proposal from no one else.
Louisa dozed off and when another knock came at her door it was Edith who peeked into the bedchamber.
“Hello, sleepyhead.” Edith entered with a vase full of red roses.”
“They’re beautiful!” She sat up and threw off the bedclothes.
Edith grinned as she set the flowers down on Louisa’s writing desk. “There was a note included that I hid from your mother.” Pulling a card from her reticule, Edith handed it to Louisa.
Thank you for helping me find the truth.
C
“Did you read this?” she asked Edith, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Of course I did.” Edith hurried to sit next to her on the bed.
She wiped a tear from her cheek. “All he can write is thank you?”
“Red roses symbolize true love and passion,” Edith replied with a smile.
“He can’t- I mean he wrote thank you.” She took a breath before saying, “I’m leaving London. I want to see Charlotte.”
“Do you mind if I come too? The babe should be arriving soon and I think we should be there to help Charlotte when the time comes.”
“Soon?” Louisa smiled weakly, not wanting to think about anything but seeing her friend again. “She has a few more months yet.”
Edith sighed deeply, shaking her head. “It will take you at least that long to knit a decent pair of booties.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Cecil slumped onto the coach’s squabs and wiped a dusty hand across his brow. For the last three months, he and Leopold had slowly and methodically tracked down nearly half of the names in Kettering’s RA ledger.
“Are you satisfied that the bodies we found are James and John Yeaman?” Leopold asked from his seat across from Cecil.
Cecil nodded. “Although they have been in that barn for some time, both corpses have the vibrant red hair the brothers were known for.”
Their inquiries had led the two men to a derelict farm in Norfolk. They were near the end of their list of RA members- Bones and his cousin Henry had taken the first half of alphabetized names.
“Only one more name on our list: David Young.” Leopold closed his eyes. “Word has it he is somewhere in Derbyshire.”
Cecil sighed, closing his eyes as well. “We need to rest. Norfolk to Derbyshire is at least a three-day carriage ride. We can be on our way tomorrow morning.”
When his words were merely met with snores, Cecil opened his eyes. Leopold looked grimier than himself as he tended to wade into every situation before Cecil could do so. The men hadn’t discussed Louisa or the future, but Cecil was sure Leopold had some inkling that his companion had an interest in his sister. Cecil had the strangest notion that Leopold was protecting him for Louisa’s sake.
There had been time to reflect on his feelings for Louisa during the many hours he’d traveled the width and breadth of England. He’d discounted the idea that he was interested in the young woman because of their proximity over the last two years. He’d known Ashford’s sister Diana for several years and never felt anything but a sisterly affection for her. And he found Nathaniel’s sister Alica merely tolerable, possibly because of her incessant chatter.
He and Louisa had excellent taste in most things, but it was more than that. They were different- almost outcasts in a way he couldn’t explain. They belonged yet didn’t. Neither suffered fools, nor made friends easily, but when they did they were loyal to a fault.
