Sleepless in Southampton by Chasity Bowlin

Chapter Thirteen

Effie read the letter. Then she read it again. After reading it for the third time, she placed the missive on her desk and reached for the scandal sheets that were her only real vice, especially as she’d severed all ties with Highcliff. That man certainly constituted a vice, at least for her. Just thinking his name made her blood boil! But he was not the issue and she could not afford to let herself be distracted by thinking of him. No. Sophie was the issue. More to the point, Sophie being far from London, in the home of people who had not been properly vetted—that was the issue.

Of course, Effie had heard nothing but good things about the Duke and Duchess of Thornhill over the years. Her concern stemmed more from something she’d read in the gossip rags that morning as she’d indulged in a cup of decadent chocolate and enjoyed her morning meal. Lady Horatia Meredith, the spinster sister of the Duke of Thornhill, had very recently announced her betrothal. To William Carlton. It was quite possible, of course, that Sophie’s temporary position with that family would never result in her crossing paths with Carlton. It could also be that it was a different Mr. Carlton altogether. It was, after all, not so uncommon a name. But the odds—Effie didn’t like them. And when it came to her girls she would always err on the side of caution. If she’d learned one thing since they started leaving the nest, it was that the graduates of the Darrow School were a magnet for trouble. Could Sophie have really found herself in an unanticipated position in the home of the brother of her potential father’s betrothed? It seemed completely implausible. But there was always a chance. Stranger things had happened. One only had to look at Calliope Hamilton nee St. James for proof of that, not to mention the recently resurrected mother of Lilly Burkhart.

“Well, this is simply terrible,” she murmured. Mr. Carlton had never disclosed his relationship to Sophie, he’d certainly never indicated that she was his daughter. But he’d arrived once per quarter to pay tuition for her. Per his request, she’d never revealed to Sophie that Mr. Carlton was her benefactor. But she’d always had her suspicions. There was a similarity in their appearance that was rather marked. Would anyone in the duke’s household take note of it?

“What’s that, Miss? Is the breakfast not to your liking?” Mrs. Wheaton asked as she bustled into the office, inspecting the dishes.

“What?” Effie asked in confusion. Then realizing she’d spoken aloud, she added, “Oh, no! The breakfast was quite delicious, Mrs. Wheaton. It’s something else that is amiss… but it’s a matter I’ll take care of. Not for you to worry about.” Her appetite had been a bit off since her terrible argument with Highcliff. But she wasn’t heartbroken. She was angry and she was embarrassed.

“Ah, well, then. I know it’s early for callers, but Miss Wilhelmina and Miss Lillian—ahem—Lady Deveril and the Viscountess Seaburn are here. Can’t quite get it right, can I? Addressing them by titles! Imagine our sweet girls grown up and married so well!”

“Thank you, Mrs. Wheaton. I’ll see them in the drawing room… no need to trot them into my office and remind them of their past infractions.” It was quite fortuitous that they’d come for a visit as she now needed to ask them for quite the favor.

Leaving her small study, Effie made her way to the drawing room where her former pupils waited. Both were now married to men of substantial rank. More importantly, they were both deliriously and happily in love with their respective husbands. There was a small pang of envy, of regret that she herself would never experience such a thing, but it did not dampen Effie’s happiness for them. There was nothing she wanted more than perfect happiness for all of her girls.

“Willa, Lilly!” she said, entering. “It’s so good to see you, but whatever are you doing here so early?”

“We’ve come to take you shopping,” Lilly said.

“You mean you haven’t bought out Bond Street, yet?” Effie teased. Lilly’s love of all things that sparkled was quite notorious.

“The merchants have recently restocked,” she replied cheekily. “Besides, I’m annoyed with Valentine and there is no better way to exact my vengeance than by spending ridiculous sums of his money.”

Effie’s smile slipped. “Alas, I cannot. A situation has arisen that requires my attention. It’s about Sophie and her placement with Lady Parkhurst.”

Willa’s expression shifted to one of concern. After all, both of them had attended school with her and had helped care for her when she had arrived as such a young child. “Is Sophie all right?”

“She’s quite well, I think. I hope, though her current situation is… well, complicated.”

Willa pursed her lips. “Explain what that means precisely. Complicated.”

Effie sighed. “Lady Parkhurst has passed away and Sophie is now in a more temporary position with another family. But I fear there isn’t just one complication. There are numerous complications… and please do not ask what those are because I am not at liberty to say. What I can attest to is that I am afraid Sophie’s poor heart will be broken if I do not fetch her home. Suffice it to say, the sooner I retrieve Sophie and bring her back to the school the better for everyone involved,” Effie explained.

“Does this heartbreak have to do with her past or her future?” Lilly asked. It was a question that displayed just how adept she was at reading people and situations.

“Both, I fear,” Effie answered. With another deep sigh, she moved directly into the request. “And to that end, I am very happy you are both here. I know it’s terribly short notice and that your respective husbands may be less than pleased to share you, but would it be possible for you to manage the school for a few days? You needn’t stay here. Mrs. Wheaton and the maids will be in overnight to supervise the girls, but my classes and the administrative aspects will need tending to while I fetch Sophie.”

“Well, of course, we will,” Willa said. “But you don’t mean to go after her alone! It’s dangerous.”

“I do mean to go after her by myself. Who would go with me?”

“Highcliff,” Lilly answered. “I mean, he would have to ride beside the coach and, of course, you couldn’t tell anyone he accompanied you. But if anyone could keep you safe on the journey—”

“It’s hardly a journey,” Effie insisted. “One day’s travel on the mail coach to Southampton. Naturally, once I have retrieved Sophie, we will use a hired conveyance to bring us both back to London.” She wouldn’t ask Highcliff for anything. In fact, she never wanted to see him, speak to him, or hear his name uttered ever again. It wasn’t fury, though she certainly had more than her fair share of anger directed at him. It was the hot, burning humiliation she felt when she recalled the expression on his face when he’d summarily and without even a hint of regret refused her request completely. Facing him would be too devastating for words. After all, what did one say to a man one had begged to make love to them only to be rejected without qualm?

“Still, the road can be dangerous,” Willa added softly, always the voice of reason. “There must be some precaution—”

“And I will be prepared. I do not need the aid of a man. I have done well enough in my life without one,” Effie insisted.

“But what of your reputation?” Lilly asked. “Surely a woman traveling alone—”

Effie held up her hand to stay any further protest, even as she rolled her eyes. “I’m hardly a young woman, am I? By every account, I am considered to be a long in the tooth spinster. It will be fine. I will be fine.”

“Are you certain?” Willa persisted.

“Yes! Please, will you tend the students?”

“Of course, we will,” Willa agreed. “We would never refuse you. But I suppose that curbs our own shopping agenda for the day. I’ll need to return home and make some arrangements for Marina and little Douglas.”

Effie smiled. “You are the most perfect mother… to your son and to your sweet little niece. Thank you, Willa. And thank you, Lilly. I know Bond Street will miss you.”

The women said their goodbyes and Effie made her way upstairs to pack.

*

Leaving the DarrowSchool, Lilly looked at her half-sister in surprise. “We’re really going to let her just take off on her own? Frankly, I’m appalled. What if something happens to her?”

“Oh, heavens no!” Willa answered. “We will be sending a note round to Highcliff this instant to meet us at our favorite tea shop. He will be informed of what she plans and I’ve no doubt at all that he will be here before Effie can even leave the school.”

Lilly considered that for a moment. “Is that what we want though? To stop her?”

“Well, yes!” Willa exclaimed. “We can send someone else to fetch Sophie.”

Perhaps she’d spent too much time with Valentine’s scheming grandmother, but Lilly was formulating a plan. “Or we could let Effie do as she sees fit. Let her depart on that mail coach and potentially put herself in some sort of jeopardy. If we were to inform Highcliff over tea, possibly, then he might have to go off on a dashing mission to rescue her.”

“Rescue her from what?” Willa asked, shaking her head. “We don’t know that she’ll be in danger, only that she might be. Perhaps we shouldn’t meddle in it at all. Effie is a woman grown and quite capable, I might add.”

“I’m not worried about her capability, Willa. I’m worried about her heart. She’s unhappy,” Lilly stated. “We both know it. He is unhappy, too. We’ve seen it. You know what they were like over the holidays.” They’d been distant and polite, civil but clearly avoiding any interaction with one another as much as possible. And yet their awareness of one another had been palpable. Why two intelligent people were so adamant about denying themselves the thing that would likely make them the happiest, Lilly could not fathom.

Willa sighed again. “I do know. But they are both adults and what they mean to do about their feelings for one another, obvious as they may be to those who care about them, is, ultimately, up to them.”

“But it doesn’t have to be,” Lilly cajoled. “If a situation was created where they were forced to be alone together, where they were thrown together in a way that they had to confront their feelings, then maybe… maybe they might finally find some happiness.”

“Or they could part ways forever. There is no guarantee that they will confront their feelings for one another.”

“If Highcliff is angry enough, and we both know that he will be when he discovers she’s put herself in jeopardy, his temper will get the better of him. That temper is precisely what will lead them to discussing their feelings. We need to rattle their control, Willa.”

Willa was silent for a moment. Then she huffed out a breath. “I wish to go on record as stating I think this is a terrible idea and that it could go horribly awry. But as it’s the only idea we have at the moment and something clearly must be done, I will agree.”

“Fine,” Lilly agreed. “They need to be together or they need to be completely apart. But right now, they both hover like ghosts on the edge of one another’s lives. And they are both equally haunted by the things they want and the things they believe they cannot have! What I do know, is that the current situation cannot continue as is. We must provide some sort of catalyst that will spur them to either be together or be apart forever!”

Willa stared at Lilly for a moment before tossing up her hands. “Fine. I foresee utter disaster, but… fine. What do we need to do?”

Lilly grinned. “Do you know anyone who might be willing to indulge in a bit of faux-kidnapping?”

“No,” Willa replied balefully, looking at her half-sister as if she’d gone stark raving mad. “I can honestly say that I do not.”

“Stavers it is. But if you tell my husband I sought this man out, I shall never speak to you again.”

“If this man murders us, it will not matter,” Willa replied.

“He’s a butler, not a murderer,” Lilly protested. “I think.”

“You hope!”

Lilly laughed at that. “We both do. Come on, he isn’t far from here!”

Willa held up her hand, staying her half-sister for the moment. “I think I may have a slightly better and less ridiculous idea than kidnapping, faux or otherwise.”

“Fine. Then you can be the mastermind,” Lilly acquiesced. “You’re much better at that sort of thing than I am, anyway. What is your plan?”

“We will simply tell Lord Highcliff that Effie went off, entirely on her own, to rescue Sophie.”

Lilly blinked at her in confusion. “You think that is enough? Just telling him? But where is the danger in that?”

“Highcliff is a man of the world, Lilly. He will imagine every sort of danger. There is no need to manufacture any. Trust me.”

Lilly sighed. “Fine. I like my plan better though. It is much more dramatic!”

Willa grinned. “Yes, dear. I know all about your flair for the dramatic. I also know it always results in trouble. Trust me?”

“Always.”