Chapter 8 #2
“I suppose it’s too much to hope I wasn’t missed.” Prudence stepped inside, set her case down, and closed the door.
Ada’s head jerked up, her blue-gray eyes widening in shock. “Pru! Where on earth have you been?” She leapt from the chair and threw her arms around Prudence, squeezing her tightly.
Prudence smiled and hugged her back. “It’s quite a tale. Did you miss me?”
“Of course I did.” Ada pulled back, her brows pitching into a V as she scowled. “What an absurd question.”
“That was ungenerous of me. I knew you would miss me. However, Cassandra would not have.”
“It seems not.” Ada crossed her arms over her chest. “Because you left a note that you eloped.”
“You learned that much? Good.” Prudence went to sit in a chair, grateful for its cushion on her backside.
“Evie found out from Lucien.” Ada returned to her chair, turning it to face Prudence before she sat.
It made sense that Cassandra’s brother would know what happened and that he would share that information with his Evie, his closest friend and partner at the club.
“Well, it wasn’t true.” Prudence didn’t hesitate to tell the truth to Ada—and only to Ada. She was the one person she could wholly trust. They came from similar backgrounds and had suffered similar…setbacks that had forced them to change employment and find a new way forward.
Ada sniffed. “I knew it. I didn’t say so, of course. Evie didn’t believe it either, but she also kept her mouth shut.”
Prudence tried not to smile and failed. “And what did the two of you surmise actually happened?”
“That you knew you were soon to be out of a job since Lady Cassandra is now married—”
“Is she?” Prudence interrupted. “I’m quite happy for her, of course, but I’m sorry I missed it.”
“They wed by special license on Saturday.”
Prudence grimaced. “You were probably quite upset with me on Saturday.” They met every Saturday morning to share breakfast and visit in Ada’s apartment.
Sometimes they took a walk. Occasionally, they shopped.
Even though Prudence would have attended Cassandra’s wedding instead of keeping their usual appointment, she would have sent word to Ada to that effect. Instead, Ada hadn’t heard from her.
“Yes, but also worried. The Prudence I know would never elope with anyone. So you must have had a good reason to lie.”
Prudence had thought about what she would say to Ada almost the entire way from Riverview.
She’d planned to keep everything from her, to protect Bennet as she’d told him she would do.
But now that she faced her closest ally, saw the certainty in Ada’s eyes that Prudence had lied about eloping, her careful plan disintegrated.
And it wasn’t as if Ada would tell anyone.
She’d hold Prudence’s secrets as close as Prudence would herself. “I didn’t write the note.”
Ada slumped in the chair, her shoulders sagging. “I should have realized. I should have insisted they send Bow Street to find you.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. There was no harm done, even if the original scheme was very poorly planned and would have ruined Cassandra.”
Ada straightened, her curiosity clearly piqued. “I do hope you’re going to tell me everything.”
Not everything. There were some things Prudence wouldn’t reveal even to Ada, no matter the fact that Ada would guard them. “You mustn’t tell anyone. If you promise, I’ll continue.”
“Of course I promise!” Ada looked as if she were going to leap across the space between them and shake the words from Prudence’s mouth. “I am beside myself with urgency.”
Prudence let out a short laugh. “I can see that. The Viscount Glastonbury was quite disappointed upon learning Cassandra was not going to accept his proposal of marriage. He hatched a ridiculous stratagem to take her from Croydon after the boxing match for the purpose of elopement. He felt certain she would be amenable.”
Ada stared at her. “He didn’t really.”
“Which part?”
“All of it! Do you mean he took you instead?”
“His hirelings did. Cassandra and I had swapped cloaks so that she could get away with Wexford. I’m afraid the kidnappers thought I was her. They didn’t ask my identity when they snatched me from my bed and trussed me up before tossing me into Glastonbury’s coach.”
With each revelation, Ada’s eyes widened more until Prudence feared she wouldn’t be able to close them again. At last, she blinked. “Where have you been all this time?” she asked in a hushed tone, her face creased with worry.
“I’ve been fine, truly. I was at an inn near Hersham with Glastonbury.
We were stranded because of the weather, and then a tree fell on his coach.
” Prudence put her hand to her mouth to hide her smile, not that the destruction of his coach was funny.
She just couldn’t help but think of their time together fondly—even the rough parts. “He has quite terrible luck.”
Ada exhaled. “Let me make sure I understand. The viscount had you kidnapped, then you were trapped with him for nigh on a week. And you don’t want anyone to know?” She sounded incredulous.
“That’s right.”
“He should be in prison!” Ada’s lips pressed into a firm line, her jaw clenched with irritation.
“As I said, there was no harm done. I only wanted to be sure my reputation would be intact, that I’d be able to secure employment. Surely you would agree that if I publicize his activities, it would effectively ruin me in the process.”
Grimacing, Ada nodded. “You are, unfortunately, correct. I daresay securing employment won’t be a problem. I’m sure Lucien would help you, in any case. Especially if you told him the truth.”
“Absolutely not,” Prudence said. “You must keep this completely secret—you can’t tell a soul, not even Evie.”
“I understand. Anyway, the only person I’d want to tell is you.” A smile skipped across her mouth.
“Good.” Prudence felt a good sense of relief, both at having unburdened herself to her closest friend and securing her silence on the matter. “My reputation and employment aside, I do not wish to cause Glastonbury to suffer any more than he already has.”
Ada frowned. “What does that mean?”
“He hasn’t two shillings to rub together, and if all of London doesn’t know already, they soon will. He faces total ruination.”
“Ah yes, I had heard that, actually. From Evie.”
Prudence wasn’t surprised, but she still felt bad for Bennet.
The state of his finances wasn’t his fault.
He was doing his best to manage in the overwhelming destruction of his father’s mistakes.
“It isn’t just him,” she said quietly. “He has a number of relatives who rely on him. His father squandered everything.”
Ada’s brow furrowed in deep contemplation. “I can see you care about him, and that there’s more you aren’t saying. But I shan’t press you. Not today, anyway. I’m just so bloody happy to see you.”
Prudence smiled. “I’m just as glad to see you. Now, I must go visit Lucien, for I am in desperate need of employment. I presume he’s in his office?” He was typically there—on the men’s side of the club—at this time of day.
“Yes, I’ll walk over with you.”
Prudence stood. “I was going to tell you one other thing. I’ve decided to stop looking for my mother.”
Ada had risen and now slapped a surprised stare on Prudence. “What happened to you during this abduction?”
“It was far less an abduction than it was a…sojourn.” Prudence picked up her case.
“I had time to think and came to the conclusion that it was better for me to look forward instead of back.” Because to do that meant she would also see Bennet, remember him, miss him.
She had to focus on the future, now more than ever.
“This is a shift,” Ada murmured. “But I understand. It wasn’t as if we’d had much luck in finding her anyway. You couldn’t exactly swagger around Mayfair flashing that ring or disclosing the identify of your true father.”
“No, I could not.” To do so would have thoroughly ruined Prudence and any chance she had at living a comfortable life in her current position.
They walked together to the men’s side, and Ada left her to knock on Lucien’s door alone. First, they hugged again and promised to return to their ritual this coming Saturday.
Prudence rapped on the door and immediately heard Lucien’s response. Taking a deep breath, she walked into his office and set her case down just inside the door.
He blinked at her. “Prudence?”