Page 6 of The Heiress in Disguise
“I doubt we would have met before. I’m not from London, you see.”
“You’re not?”
“No. We live outside of the city. We’ve only come in for the party.”
“Lord Leicester’s party.” Antoine had heard. People were talking about it around town. He hadn’t been back from France long, but word had traveled quickly.
“That’s right,” she said. “So, you see, you couldn’t have met me before. I only just arrived here two days ago.”
“No, perhaps not, but… may I inquire as to your name?”
She hesitated for a moment. “Ella,” she said.
“And you work for Lord and Lady Leicester? Is that right?”
Ella nodded. “That’s correct.”
“You work in the stable? That seems unusual for a woman.”
“Oh, no, not… well, not exclusively,” she said. “I go wherever they have need of me. Today I was asked to come out here and feed the horses, and so I’ve done that.”
“I see,” he said. There was something about these circumstances that felt amiss to him, but he couldn’t have put his finger on it. Perhaps it was merely the fact that a woman was working in a position such as this one, doing everything that needed to be done around the place.
Surely she would have been more fit for work inside the house? He had never thought highly of Angelique’s aunt and uncle, but this combined with the discovery that they hadn’t kept Angelique with them all these years made him truly look down upon them.
And Mother won’t be happy either.She had told him she hoped he’d be able to discover what had happened to Angelique while he was in London.
Antoine knew how much she cared about the surviving daughter of two of her old friends. Even more than Antoine himself, his mother felt guilt that she hadn’t done more at the time of Lord and Lady Somerset’s deaths to be of help. She wanted to see whether she could make it right now—but how could she if Angelique wasn’t here?
“You haven’t told me your name,” she pointed out.
He didn’t dare to reveal his true identity. “I’m Philip,” he said.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Philip—and as a stable hand, you ought to take better care of your horses,” she told him, suddenly stern. “This one was frightened half to death. Something must have spooked him.”
“You have a way with him,” Antoine said. “It’s no wonder you’ve been asked to help in the stables here… although, I confess, it does surprise me that they would give that task to a woman.”
“Oh, well, Peter is really in charge,” Ella said, turning toward the stable door just as a gruff-looking older man came walking out.Antoine judged him to be in his early sixties. He frowned more deeply upon catching sight of Antoine.
“Is this fellow bothering you?” he asked Ella.
“Oh, no, not at all,” she said brightly. “He works next door and one of his horses got away, that’s all.” She turned back to Antoine. “You must forgive Peter. He was a close confidant of my father’s, and I know that he feels rather protective of me, but he means no harm.”
“I took no offense,” Antoine assured them. “I’m glad to know that you have someone looking out for you. All young women ought to.”
Peter folded his arms across his chest. “Do you need help finding your way home, young man?”
“Peter, be kind,” Ella said. “There’s no harm in our befriending the neighbors, is there? It would be nice to have friends while we’re here.”
“You know we aren’t going to be here very long,” Peter told her.
“I know. But I see no reason why we shouldn’t enjoy ourselves while we are.” She smiled at Antoine. “He’s slow to trust new people. Please don’t take it personally.”
“Not at all,” Antoine assured them.
He wondered what to do next. He’d have liked to ask if they knew what had become of Angelique, but it was too risky—how could he explain knowing who she was? If he was who he claimed to be—just a stranger who happened to work next door—there was no reason he should ever have heard of the young lady who had been taken in, and apparently then sent away by this family.
And yet…
