Page 7 of The Heiress in Disguise
And yet there was something about this Ella.
She was so familiar. So intriguing. She looked just like the late marchioness! Could it possibly be…?
No. No, of course it couldn’t be. Ella was a servant, she had said so herself.
I also told her I was a servant, though.
“May I help you carry that basket back up to the house?” he asked her, gesturing to the basket she’d reached to pick up.
“There’s no need for that,” Peter said firmly.
But Ella smiled. “I would welcome the help,” she said. “Peter, there’s nothing to worry about. We’re walking up to the house, and he’ll leave me at the doorstep. You’ll be able to see us the whole time. Philip here isn’t a scoundrel. He’s only trying to be kind.”
She handed Antoine her basket and smiled at him.
That smile! It really was familiar to Antoine. He allowed her to lead the way up to the house, watching her go, wondering—was itpossible? Could this be Angelique?
It can’t be!
If only there was some way he could ask!
When they reached the front door, he was surprised anew by the sight of someone he did know. Though she was quite a bit older than the last time he’d seen her, there was no mistaking her—the woman meeting Ella at the door was Angelique’s old governess, Molly.
Why was Molly still here if Angelique no longer was?
Oh, how he longed to ask the questions that plagued his mind! But he didn’t dare. If Angelique had been sent away, he wassure the staff would be under orders to keep what had happened a secret from outsiders. After all, according to his informants, nobody knew what had happened to her—she was simply gone.
And if this Ella somehow was Angelique—well, in that case, it was obvious everyone was lying about it, and they wouldn’t come clean just because he had figured it out and decided to ask. If anything, they would work harder to keep him at a distance.
He wouldn’t discover the information he so wanted to know simply by asking. The only thing to do was to allow them to maintain their pretenses for now, and to keep doing what he could to discover everything possible about what was happening in this house.
Chapter 3
“Have their royal highnesses gotten settled into their London home?” Jane asked as Angelique came into the kitchen.
Angelique couldn’t suppress a giggle. “You really shouldn’t say such things about them,” she said.
“You can’t honestly tell me it bothers you to hear it.”
“No, of course it doesn’t. I don’t want to see you get into any trouble, though,” Angelique said. “You could lose your position.”
“Oh, they wouldn’t do anything,” Jane said with a laugh. “They reserve all their vitriol for you.Me, they hardly notice.”
“But I know how much you need this job,” Angelique said. “What with your family depending on your wages.” Jane had seven siblings whom she helped to support with the money she earned working for Angelique’s aunt and uncle, and with a drunkard for a father, her income was vital to keeping her family afloat.
“You know I appreciate your friendship and loyalty, but I don’t think I could bear it if something were to happen to you because of jokes you and I told among ourselves.”
“You worry far too much,” Jane told her. “I’m going to be fine. There isn’t anything your family will do to me for a few comments. They won’t even hear that I made them. I know you aren’t going to tell them.”
“No, of course I wouldn’t. I’d never do that.”
“And there’s no one else here,” Jane said. “So there you have it!”
“I suppose you’re right,” Angelique agreed. “Just be careful.”
“And so? Are they pleased with their accommodations here in London?”
“As pleased as they ever are,” Angelique said. “They always find something to complain about. You know that well enough.”
