“Thank you, Amelia.” The bargain settled, I stood to go.
She caught me by the wrist and pressed something into my palm. “A token of my esteem, Selah. Wear it, and no door in London shall be closed to you.”
A gold and sapphire ring glistened in my hand. “Releasing Henry is more than enough. I can’t take your jewelry. It wouldn’t be right.” I tried to give it back.
Her fingers closed around mine. “I traded Henry for Thomas. This ring is to apologize for my treatment of you the other night in my apartments. Please accept it as a sign of our friendship.”
A dozen thoughts flew threw my head, some nice, some not so nice. In the end, I simply nodded and left the room.
Chapter Fifteen
A Passage of Truth
I gazed into the mirror, determined to ignore the constant smile clinging to my face. Not that I hadn’t attempted a more dignified expression. But left unattended for a single moment, the smile crept back into the immoderate lines generally associated with lovesick schoolgirls. Or, in this specific case, a sensible, young lady whose romantic prospects had climbed with the sun.
Henry was expected home today, and the thought of relaying the good news broadened my smile further. With little effort, I could well imagine his surprise and joy to learn that the king no longer ruled our future. To be sure, the duke had stopped short of offering his support last night, but something told me it would not be long coming once word arrived from the palace regarding the betrothal. From my own hard-earned experience, the duke seemed a practical man—a man who knew the advantage of having a goddess born in the family.
Beth stood behind me, hairpins clamped between her teeth as she worked the usual magic on my unruly dark curls. With her wispy red hair, hazel eyes and a generous layer of freckles, we looked about as different as two people could. My happy mood spread like a contagion though, and she was soon grinning in turn.
“Ye look well pleased today, miss,” she said, doing her best to speak around the pins. “Must be ye had a pleasant outing with the princess last night.”
I started from her directness, the smile slipping somewhat from my face. No doubt, Amelia would pitch a fit if her parents learned the truth about Tommy from some blabber-mouthed servants. Not that she had anyone to blame but herself, storming into Cate’s drawing room like the reincarnate Queen of Sheba.
“Does anyone else know where I went last night?” I made a quick mental calculation as to how much it would cost to buy their silence on the matter.
Beth twisted another lock, and pinned it to the top of my head. “Just myself and Sophie, miss. And she made me swear an oath not to breathe a word to any of the other servants on pain of violent death.” She puckered her mouth around the remaining pins as the skin darkened beneath her freckles. “I ain’t never been one to tell my mistress’s secrets like some other maids, so there weren’t no need to threaten my person with pain and violence. I can keep my mouth shut, thank ye very much, and don’t need to be dead to do it.”
A giggle tickled my throat at the sight of her indignation. I pushed it back and smoothed my face into the very image of sympathy. “Don’t be offended, Beth. I’m sure Sophie meant no harm. She’s just overly protective of her mistress and does all she can to protect her ladyship’s good name.” A difficult task indeed, considering Cate’s propensity to come and go unaccompanied at all hours of the night. No wonder Sophie was so draconian in her measures to keep scandal at bay.
She slid in another pin. “That may be, miss, but I tell ye these Londoners are a strange lot.”
“Surely not all of them,” I teased. “Especially not a certain young footman.”
Beth blushed to her scalp. “He’s a fine young man, and doesn’t snub me like some of the other servants for being from the Colonies.”
“I’ve been snubbed a time or two myself.” I shrugged. “Different class, same prejudice.”
With the last hairpin secured, Beth started to weave a dark blue ribbon through the tamed curls. “From what I heard, that princess weren’t no friend of yers at the palace the other night, and if ye ask me, ’tis some nerve calling here to ask for help. Lucky for her, ye’ve been blessed with a kind and forgiving nature.”
I glanced at the gold and sapphire ring on the dressing table, in no way convinced of Beth’s assessment of my character. Feeling a tinge of guilt for the grudge I still harbored Amelia, I scooped up the ring and opened a drawer to stow it for the time being. As I nudged some of the other contents aside in search of a small leather pouch, I made a startling discovery.
“My knife is gone.”
Beth tucked the ribbon’s end from sight. “The one ye keep wrapped in the oilcloth?”
“Yes, have you seen it?” I pushed more items out of the way until the bottom of the drawer came into view.