Never Gamble Your Heart (The Secret Society of Governess Spies #2)

Chapter 47

F rankie knew she was in the arms of a slender gentleman who smelled of sugared punch, but everything else about him escaped her notice. She had watched with curiosity as Jasper and her mother had danced and spoken with quiet urgency, and then again with a flare of anger when Jasper had left the ballroom with Lady Evelyn. The three of them had agreed they would not go off alone with anyone, but it appeared Jasper thought that rule only applied to her and Cecelia. Admittedly, the likelihood of Lady Evelyn posing any harm to Jasper was slim, but he would be furious if Frankie did the same.

She was relieved when a few minutes later Lady Evelyn returned to the ballroom. Jasper must have made his excuses and remained outdoors for fresh air. Whatever Lady Evelyn had needed from him, she’d apparently not received it, because the usually cruel tilt of her lips had been replaced with flat fury. Her rage was so palpable that Frankie nearly stopped in place, and it was only the momentum of her partner that kept her moving forward.

Her dance partner spun her around, but Frankie kept her eyes on Lady Evelyn until a head popped in front of her face. “Miss Turner, I must speak with you at once,” Cecelia said, shadowing the back of Frankie’s dance partner so that she might remain face-to-face with Frankie. Frankie thought their odd little dance sandwich would cause more of a stir than if she simply excused herself. The moment she did, Cecelia grabbed her hand and hauled her to the side of the dance floor.

“What is so urgent, Cecelia?”

Cecelia’s cheeks were flushed and her brown curls were sticking to her temples and neck with perspiration. “You will not believe what I overheard.”

Frankie took Cecelia’s trembling hands in hers. “Take a breath, Cecelia.”

Cecelia sucked in a dramatic breath and exhaled noisily. “No one pays much attention to me, even though I have a massive dowry, because Uncle Jasper has put a flea in everyone’s ear that the dowry is invalid until I am sixteen and that he will evict any man from Rockford’s if he so much as looks sideways at me. I heard that one from a couple of old biddies on the croquet court. No one is as quiet as they think they are.”

“Well, you are too young, Cecelia. You are only fifteen.”

Cecelia waved her hand. “I would have cared a fortnight ago, but since I have been here, I have seen all the dull and distasteful things the debutants have to suffer through, and I have changed my mind and vowed I shall not formally come out to society this Season.”

“What was the urgent matter, Cecelia?”

“Oh! See, no one pays much attention to me so I hear the most interesting things. For instance, the day before yesterday I heard Mr. Wharton say he wanted to bury his face in Lady Evelyn’s quim whiskers. What are quim whiskers, Miss Turner?”

Frankie’s mouth fell open. “Do not say that so loudly! They are… lady parts.”

“Oh.” Cecelia’s cheeks flushed. “Ohhhh. How did you know that, Miss Turner?”

Frankie was not about to tell her about her stash of forbidden books. “Cecelia, focus.”

“Right. So I was wandering along the wall and I overhead one of those rotten Seven say he was frightened, and another of the Seven hissed at him to shut his mouth lest HE overhear.” Cecelia bounced on her toes. “The ringleader is in this very room, Miss Turner!”

Frankie’s heart turned over in her chest. She’d known it was likely he was here, but to have it confirmed… She lifted her head and scanned the room as if she could sight him, now that she knew he was in residence. As she did, she spotted Lady Evelyn making her way along the outer edge of the ballroom, laughing and nodding as she went. Her head was twisting left and right as she greeted those who called out to her, but she never slowed her walk toward the exit. Perspiration beaded on her brow, and Frankie could not blame her; it was unbearably hot in the ballroom. Lady Evelyn nodded to Lady Charlotte as she pulled her handkerchief from her reticule and blotted her brow.

Frankie’s blood turned to slush.

The handkerchief was a perfect sapphire blue.

Suddenly it was as if each point on the Dowry Thieves’ timeline was a symbol, and in front of Frankie’s eyelids the symbols rearranged into a formula that finally, finally made sense. Both she and Jasper had made an assumption that had blinded them to the true nature of the Dowry Thieves’ ringleader.

She needed to find Jasper straight away so that… sudden panic stole her breath. Jasper had left with Lady Evelyn, but only Evelyn had returned.

“We need to find Jasper immediately .”

Cecelia must have heard the urgency in her voice. “What is the matter?” she demanded as Frankie set off at a trot for the balcony doors. Cecelia stuck closely to her side and did not ask again when Frankie didn’t answer. Frankie scanned the balcony but did not see Jasper.

Her scalp tingling with dread, she lifted her skirts and raced down the steps to the garden, praying that he had found himself lost in the maze, or had rolled his ankle in the darkness or some other such foolery.

Frankie was about to dash into the maze when the moonlight glinted off a shiny metal circle in the grass. Cecelia noticed it as well and picked it up, turning it over in her hand. Her face was anxious when she showed it to Frankie. “This is Uncle Jasper’s tin pocket watch,” she said. “He fusses with it all the time, and I once heard him say it was the only possession he had of his father. He would not leave it out here.”

Frankie’s breaths came short and hard. “Something is terribly wrong, Cecelia. I do not know what has happened to Jasper, but I fear he is in grave danger. I last saw him with Lady Evelyn. She brought him out here and only she returned. Worse still, I have reason to believe it was she who shot at me today.”

Cecelia cried out in alarm.

Grabbing Cecelia by the wrist, Frankie dragged her back up the balcony steps. “I must find Lady Evelyn.”

“I am coming with you.”

“No, I need you to stay and keep an eye on the Seven.” Frankie gestured at one of the seven remaining investors engaged in dance. “I do not have time to fully explain what I suspect, but I need to be sure they do not become a further threat. You must not approach them under any circumstances. Do you understand?”

Cecelia’s eyes narrowed fiercely. “They will not leave my sight.”

Frankie impulsively kissed her on the forehead and hurried out the ballroom door. She pushed through guests in the entry and did not care when they huffed or made exaggerated comments about governesses who did not know their place. She scanned the foyer for Lady Evelyn but did not see her.

Desperate now, she exited through the front of the manor and circled around to the stable block and carriage house. Cecelia had said Jasper would never leave his watch behind, and Frankie knew Jasper would never leave her and Cecelia behind.

Lady Evelyn had already killed once. She would not hesitate to do it again.

Frankie slipped along the shadows and pressed herself to the side of the carriage house. A moment later a carriage rumbled past, the clatter of horse hooves and the turn of wheels lifting a plume of dust. Through the carriage window Frankie caught sight of Lady Evelyn’s profile. She must have paid the groom a handsome bribe in order to leave against strict orders from Lord Houndsbury.

Foolish groom, Frankie thought with rage. She would not want to tangle with Houndsbury.

The moment the carriage was out of sight Frankie burst into the stables and demanded the groom saddle a mare for her.

The groom reacted to her haste and tone of authority and began to bridle a mare before he remembered his orders.

“Sorry, milady,” he said, tugging on his cap. “No guests are allowed to leave.”

“And yet I just witnessed Lady Evelyn’s carriage exit,” Frankie said. She straightened to her fullest height. “If you do not bridle a horse for me, I shall find Houndsbury this very moment and tell him exactly what you’ve done.”

“Please do not, madam,” he begged.

“Finish bridling the horse now and you shall have my silence.”

The man hesitated, probably cursing his bad luck, and then did as she asked. Frankie did not wait for him to put the saddle on before she threw her leg over the horse’s back, baring her ankle and scandalizing the entire barn, and took off at a canter.

Wherever Lady Evelyn was headed, Frankie would be her shadow. Within minutes Frankie caught sight of the carriage and slowed her horse, riding far enough back that Lady Evelyn would not spot her. She prayed with every cell in her body that Jasper was alive and well.

“I am coming for you, Jasper,” she whispered. “Hang on.”