by Patty Bryant
The memory was reassuring. Savitri didn’t expect Penelope’s current mishap to have quite so happy an ending, but it gave her confidence that she had handled terrifying problems before and could do so again. If her tiny, soft-spoken mother could confront the world head-on, so could Savitri.
She set off down the hallway, busily thinking of how to approach the situation. It would be best to keep Penelope’s disappearance quiet for as long as possible, to avoid scandal and gossip. Of course her parents would need to be informed; it was unfortunate that neither of them were currently at home. Lady Louisa spent her mornings paying social calls on other ladies in town and Lord Bernard went to his club to read the newspapers and discuss politics, or horse racing, or trade, or whatever took his fancy that day.
Savitri didn’t have the authority to send a servant out looking for them with a note. She knew who did though, and that was the person she needed to speak to first. Alexander Ware, Duke of Clermont.
She couldn’t deny that her heart gave a little flutter at the prospect of speaking directly to him regardless of the circumstances. She just wasn’t sure if it was a flutter of happiness or despair. She had avoided him as much as possible since the morning she had turned him away; when they were forced to exchange social niceties, she murmured brief answers and kept her head down, refusing to meet his hungry gaze. She wouldn’t be able to do that today. It was much easier to remember that she didn’t want him when she didn’t have to see him, hear him –
–touch him.
No. She shook her head. There will be none of that, not today. Penelope is the only thing I should be thinking of.
She knew Alexander would be able to help her. He had an air of supreme competence about him; Savitri could believe that he was capable of solving any problem she brought him, no matter how large or how small. On her own in this foreign country, without her mother to rely on for advice, it was nice to have someone to trust.
She found Alexander still at breakfast, the only one left in the room other than a footman waiting by the door. The long table before him was spread with soft-boiled eggs, ham steaks, muffins, toast buttered and spread thickly with jam, pots of coffee and tea and hot chocolate. Much of it had already been picked at or eaten, and Alexander himself was slowly nursing a mug of coffee as he perused a pile of his correspondence. He was dressed for the day, but dark circles beneath his eyes suggested he had risen late after a long night.
He looked up as Savitri entered the room, and his blue eyes brightened at the sight of her. There was a predatory air about him, a determination that she realized he’d been missing the past week. She felt herself instinctively responding but suppressed the desire it woke in her; Penelope needed to come first.
“Sit down, Miss Booth,” Alexander said, straightening from his relaxed pose. He set down the letter he had been reading and began to pour her a cup of tea. “I would greatly appreciate your company at breakfast.”
“No thank you, Your Grace.” Savitri kept her position on the other side of the table, striving to seem professional and calm in front of the footman. “I came to speak to you on a matter regarding your nieces.”
Alexander’s gaze swept over her, his eyes narrowing. Savitri could have sworn that she’d given nothing away, but he turned to the footman. “Run down to the kitchen and fetch a fresh pot of coffee, would you, Sam? This one’s gone cold. Miss Booth and I will be all right on our own for a few minutes.”
The footman gave a shallow bow, then turned and left the room, pointedly closing the door behind him. Alexander might have handled the request with aplomb, but his servants were clever and clearly understood when he wanted privacy. A spark of amusement shot through her and Savitri bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing; the moment was too serious for that, and besides, she should be more concerned for her own reputation. Perhaps it was only impending hysterics, but right now she didn’t care who saw her with Alexander.
He stood and came around to her side of the table, taking hold of her elbow and leaning in to speak in a low, quick voice. “I can see that something is wrong,” he said. “Will you tell me what it is?”
His hand felt infinitely reassuring, warm and steady and lending her the support she’d lacked. She longed to lean into him, to let him take her weight, but she knew she had to get straight to the point. “Penelope is missing. No one’s seen her since last night.”
Alexander’s eyes widened with shock, but he didn’t fly into a rage. He maintained his silence for a moment, thinking, and then gave a decisive nod. “Who else knows?”
“Lucy. Probably her chambermaid – she must have noticed that the bed was empty when she went in to light the fire this morning. Perhaps she even helped her pack a bag if Penelope had the sense to plan before running away. That’s all.” Savitri looked up at him. She felt better just for having revealed the problem. Somehow knowing that she wasn’t the only one, that she had help to fix this mess, made it seem smaller already. She liked the sense of intimacy this had created between but them, but she knew it couldn’t remain that way. She added, “We should inform her parents. They’re –”
“No.” Alexander let go of her and quickly strode over to a side table, where he opened a drawer and drew out a blank sheet of paper. “If either of them receives this news in public, they’ll cause a scene by fainting or cursing or having some other ridiculous reaction. They can be told once they’ve returned to the house.” He was silent as he hurriedly wrote out a note, then looked back up at her. “I’ll leave this message for them with the butler; he’ll be sure to see they get it as soon as they arrive. Is that good enough?”
Savitri barely hesitated before nodding. In truth she hadn’t been looking forward to telling either Lord Bernard or Lady Louisa. It was their daughter, and of course they deserved to know, yet…
Yet she knew they would be of little help in finding Penelope, nor in keeping her misadventure a secret. Neither one was good in emergencies; Lord Bernard tended to run in circles while wringing his hands and repeating “Oh dear, oh dear,” while Lady Louisa resorted to clutching her smelling salts and needing to be helped to bed. They would only be in the way.
“Now,” Alexander said, commanding her attention once more, “do you have any idea of where she may have gone? Did she say anything about a place she wanted to visit? Does she have any friends who would take her in?”
Savitri shook her head. “She hasn’t adjusted well to London. She’s made no friends at all, and she refuses to go and see the sights even when accompanied by her sister and mother. She’ll only protest that it’s not as fine as Calcutta.” She considered her memory of the last few days, hoping to recall any clue the girl might have dropped, but came up with nothing. “Perhaps we should ask her chambermaid.”
Alexander had been watching her as she thought, his face drawn tight at the possibility of having to search all of London for one foolish girl. At this suggestion though, his eyes brightened and he gave her an approving nod. “Excellent idea. Come with me – you’ll know better what questions to ask her.”
The Ware family had mostly acquired new servants upon reaching London, and Savitri didn’t know which of the many maids who occupied the lower floors of this magnificent household had been assigned to care for Penelope and her rooms. It turned out to be Beth, the same bashful young woman who had listened to Savitri speak about India with a fearful expression and wide eyes. She adopted almost exactly the same look when she realized that the Duke of Clermont himself wanted to question her.
They found her at her sewing. She jumped to her feet when they entered the room, unfortunately dumping the bed-sheet she’d been mending onto the floor. “Oh!” she said, startled, then clasped her hands together and repeated “Oh!” more loudly – she’d poked herself with her needle. She flung it impulsively away from her, then looked guiltily up at Savitri and Alexander. She bit her lip, squeezed her eyes closed, and finally bobbed a curtsey.
Alexander ignored a
ll of these antics with a kingly air, pretending to not notice. “I’m here to ask you a few questions, Beth. They’re about Lady Penelope.” His voice was kind but with a hint of future scolding, like a loving father who’d been disappointed by his child.
Beth nodded several times very quickly but still didn’t open her eyes. “Yes sir,” she said, her voice so quiet and strained that Savitri could barely make out the words. “I know, sir.”
“What do you know?”
Beth’s hands turned into fists at her sides, and she said nothing.
“Come now, Beth,” Alexander said. “We’re worried about her. She’s too young to be on her own; she could be hurt or taken advantage of. You don’t want that, do you?”
“Oh, sir,” Beth whispered. “I told her, sir, I begged her not to go….” Her voice grew thick with barely restrained tears, and her knuckles turned white with the strength of her grip on her skirt. Savitri expected Alexander to order the girl to get a hold of herself, and found her own shoulders tensing in anticipation of the command.
But to her surprise, he did nothing of the sort. Instead he approached Beth carefully, the way he would approach a skittish horse he was trying to calm. He set a hand on her shoulder. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Why don’t you take a seat?”
That was startling enough to finally provoke Beth into actually raising her head and looking directly at him. “While you’re standing, sir?”
“Of course not. And Miss Booth will sit too.” Alexander sent her a pointed look, and Savitri obediently went to the only other chair in the room and sat. “My, it’s cold in here, isn’t it?” Alexander continued, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll just poke up the fire a bit, and then we’ll all be more comfortable for our talk.”
Beth slowly sank back into her own chair, all the time watching Alexander’s every move. “Mrs. Richards doesn’t like it if we use too much wood,” she said, referring to the housekeeper who Savitri knew very well was overly strict regarding the servants’ use of any supplies.
But Alexander seemed unconcerned. “If she has a problem, you tell her to speak to me.”
Beth’s eyes went even wider, which Savitri hadn’t thought was possible, and she nodded.
“There we go,” Alexander said, setting the iron poker back into place and turning toward them. The only other potential seat in the room was a small wooden stool. He looked around, realized this, and then his expression went absolutely still, obviously hiding the distress he felt. Savitri once more had to resort to biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
He manfully set aside the basket of mending the stool was currently holding, drew it nearer to the two chairs, and folded himself onto it. His long legs had nowhere to go, and his knees ended up halfway to his chest. He pretended that nothing was wrong and looked seriously at Beth. “Why don’t you tell me everything that’s happened.”
“I promised her that I wouldn’t.” Beth twisted her hands together, her anxiety once more beginning to overwhelm her. Savitri could see that all of Alexander’s efforts hadn’t been enough to soothe the young maid. She was young, more so than Savitri had realized before. Beth was the same age as Penelope, yet while one girl was protected and pampered, still in the schoolroom, the other had already left her home to work among strangers.
Sympathy for Beth washed through Savitri, and she leaned forward to set her hand on the girl’s wrist. “You’re not in trouble,” she said softly. “No one blames you for what’s happened. And no one is angry at Penelope either. I understand that this move has been very difficult for her.” Savitri paused, very aware of Alexander’s presence. She was reluctant to speak of her own deeply held feelings in front of him, but honesty was the only way she could reach out to Beth. If the maid didn’t trust her she would never tell them where Penelope had gone.
Savitri swallowed hard and forced herself to keep her gaze on Beth’s face, doing the best she could to forget about Alexander beside her. “Penelope misses India. I understand that – of course I understand how she feels. No one could understand better than I do. Because I miss it too. I might have made the choice to leave, unlike Penelope, but sometimes… sometimes I wish I hadn’t. Some mornings I wake, and before I open my eyes, I imagine that I’m back in my own bed, in my family’s house. I plan to walk the streets that I played on as a child and see my old neighbors and speak with my old friends. And then I open my eyes and realize that I’m here in London instead, in this strange new place, and it’s like having a pail of cold water dashed over me. There are moments when I would give everything in the world to simply see my mother again.” Savitri stopped to sort out her thoughts, but what she was trying to say was too much to put into words. All she could add was, “India is our home.”
Beth had been listening quietly but now she turned her hand over and squeezed Savitri’s fingers. “I understand, miss.”
Savitri smiled at her, blinking back tears. “But I’m here in England now. And Penelope’s here too. Homesickness is only natural, but we mustn’t let it control us. There are so many new things to explore here, new people to meet, a whole new life to live. That’s what I want to show Penelope. She can’t let her memories stop her from continuing to experience the world. There’s so much that she’s missing out on, if only she would look around herself.” Savitri shook her head. “But instead she insists on shutting herself away. Now she’s even gone to hide at some friend’s house – “
“Oh, miss!” Beth’s grip tightened around Savitri’s hand. “Lady Penelope hasn’t gone to a friend’s. Oh, no. I thought you knew.”
Savitri could sense Alexander’s abrupt sharpening of focus beside her, but made herself remain calm and attentive to Beth. “She hasn’t? But then where is she?”
“It’s like you said.” Beth’s mouth turned down in a sharp frown, and she sniffled. “She misses her home. She decided to go back to India, even though I told her she shouldn’t, especially after I heard your story about tigers! But Lady Penelope insisted, so she did. She’s gone down to the docks to find the next ship heading east. She plans to sell her jewelry to buy passage on it, and she told me not to worry because her real friends in Calcutta will take care of her and treat her kindly and never laugh at her for not knowing things.” The rush of words slowed and Beth bit her lower lip, then added in a whisper, “But she’s wrong, isn’t she, miss? ”
Savitri began to reassure her but was startled by the clatter of Alexander springing to his feet. His stool tottered, nearly falling to its side, but Alexander ignored it as he strode quickly toward the door. “The docks! God – ” He bit off the curse with a guilty glance at Beth. “Come along, Miss Booth. We must hurry.”
Savitri stood but Beth clung to her hands, holding her in place. “She will be all right, won’t she, miss? Oh, I told her not to go!”
Savitri had been attempting to discreetly slip out of the maid’s grip but the genuine anguish in Beth’s voice made her stop. “We’ll find her. We’ll bring her back. I promise.” A worried inner voice insisted that Savitri could promise no such thing – she and Alexander would do their best, but there were times when even that wasn’t enough. She couldn’t know what the future held, or what might have already happened to Penelope; just the thought made her heart beat faster with worry.
But she was glad to make the promise because it seemed to reassure Beth. She nodded firmly and sank back against her seat, letting go of Savitri’s hands. “Thank you. And good luck, miss.”
Savitri stayed in place just long enough to give Beth another smile before hurrying to the doorway where Alexander waited, impatience in every line of his body. He put an arm around her back and guided her out into the hallway ahead of him, but it was only an encouragement to move quickly, not a touch of affection or politeness. She took comfort from it anyway; his hand was large and strong, and she could sense the warmth of his skin through the fabric of her dress.
“I can’t believe anyone related to me could po
ssibly be this foolish,” Alexander muttered.
Savitri caught her skirts up in her hands as they rushed down the stairs. “She’s only sixteen. Did you really never do anything unwise when you were sixteen?”
“No,” Alexander said shortly. But then he slid a sideways glance to her, amusement softening his mouth. “But I wanted to.”
Savitri laughed, more out of gratitude at the brief release of tension than because the remark had been genuinely funny. The thought of Penelope on her own at London’s docks was too terrifying to contemplate for long.
Savitri herself had only seen the docks once, when she and the Ware family had first arrived in England, but it had been enough to decide that she never wanted to return. It was a noisy, confusing place, the very air thick with the smells of tar and smoke. She’d hardly been able to take a step on the narrow streets without bumping into someone: sailor, beggar, porter, or the shifty young men she suspected were pickpockets. She’d been there only a few minutes before being bundled safely into the Ware carriage; it had left her with a confused impression of fast-moving chaos. She had no idea how she and Alexander would even begin to find Penelope in it.
They reached the foot of the stairs and hurried toward the house’s grand entrance hall, where the footman from the breakfast room was waiting. “I’ve had your carriage prepared as you asked, Your Grace,” he said as he helped Alexander into the heavy woolen greatcoat he’d been holding. “They’re waiting just outside.”
Savitri realized she wasn’t dressed warmly enough for the weather, nor was it appropriate for her to go off alone with any man. It didn’t matter. She would let nothing stop her reaching Penelope as soon as humanly possible.
“I’m going with you,” she announced, causing both men to turn toward her.
The footman’s eyebrows shot up in surprise but Alexander merely gave her a respectful nod. “I expected nothing else. Fetch Lady Louisa’s evening cloak, Sam.”