Page 49 of The Curious Story of the Missing Lady
At this, Madeline’s very soul rejoiced, and she broke down in tears.
“Come now,” Lord Peter said with a smile. “Am I such a dreadful prospect?”
Madeline quickly regained her composure. “On the contrary! I can’t believe this. I still think I may be dreaming.”
“Well,” he said, “perhaps if you shared some things with me,LadyMadeline.”
She stiffened, shock and joy mingling within her. “But ... how did you know?”
“Your tongue. Only a lady speaks the way you do.”
It was a minute before she could find her next words. “What can I say? I don’t know where I shall begin.”
“Begin at the beginning, Madeline.”
“Well, I was born ...”
He chuckled at this. “Very good. Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“I am Lady Madeline Whitcombe, daughter of the Earl of Stamford.”
“You don’t say!”
“Perhaps I’ve now raised more questions in your mind than you had in the first place.”
“I must say so.”
“My family is not aware that I am here. I was abducted. The couple downstairs is not husband and wife. She is Lady Elizabeth Radford. He is a Mister John Garret. I have no idea what they’re after, but I do know that they are to move to Scotland, with your aid, of course, and take me with them as a sort of indentured servant. Lady Radford has some kind of vengeance in her heart, but I have not been able to figure out from whence it comes. I do know that they ought to be arrested for what they’ve done.”
“Indeed,” he said.
“As for my family, I do not know what they know of me, if they know anything. Have you heard anything at all?”
“I haven’t, Madeline. I’m sorry. My business, I’m afraid, is confined to a very small area around me. My father, the Duke, does keep a sharp eye on the comings and goings of the area, perhaps he knows something of your family.”
“Oh,” said Madeline, her voice breaking again, “I would be ever so grateful were you to return with news of them. I miss them dearly.”
Lord Peter lowered his head, and his eyes fell into hers. “My dear, I will not only return tomorrow with news of your loved ones, but I will also return with a party of men who shall deliver you back to them safe and sound.”
At this, Madeline broke down completely.
After a moment, she composed herself just enough to speak. “I didn’t think I had any tears left.”
“Perhaps I could enliven the evening with some stories of my own,” he said warmly.
“It would give me a chance to compose myself further,” she said with a sobbing chuckle.
“Well, where shallIbegin?”
“At the beginning?” she said.
“Capital choice. To start, I was a precocious youth. My poor mother, God rest her soul, didn’t know what to do with me. I had nannies, of course, but they were run ragged as if charged with rearing the spawn of the Devil himself.”
“Oh dear.”
“I’m afraid it persists to this day, in somewhat a more benign form. I am no longer a threat to my country, but I am a threat to my father’s good name. At least he thinks so.”
“In what way?” she asked.
