Lord Valorous(39)

The Lords of Night Street had left. Lord Hatherton had tried to talk with Poppy again, but she had ignored his overtures, instead standing beside Lady Revel's bedside with the elderly woman's cold hand in hers.

She would have to leave London now, return home to her family, as there was nothing else for her here. She was done, beaten. She wanted only the peace and love that she would get from the large, boisterous March family home. Given time, she would heal, but right now, she had finally reached the end of her strength. It would return, as it was not her way to feel low for long periods, but right now she wanted to cry on the shoulder of someone who loved her as much as she loved them.

How could you love and hate a person, Poppy wondered? But then in the cold hard light of morning, she had also realized what an innocent fool she had been. Lord Hatherton cared nothing for her. Yes, she knew he was a good man, no one who did what he did couldn't be. But he was an aristocrat. A man who'd been born into privilege. He would wed a titled woman and dally with people like her. Silly fool that she was, she'd been naïve to believe otherwise. 

Passion, Poppy realized, made fools of sane people.

"There is little we can do now, Miss March, but be here for her when she wakes."

Lady Carver moved to her side and placed a gentle hand on Poppy's arm.

"Your tears tell me of your feelings for my dear friend, Miss March. And you must come here to visit with her whenever you wish to. I will ensure she is safe from that vile nephew of hers, and that he is dealt with accordingly for what he has done."

"Thank you so much for being here to help Lady Revel. I know she will be in wonderful hands with you. However, I fear I shall be going away for a while so I will be unable to visit. If it is acceptable to you, I will however write to enquire after Lady Revel, and when I return I shall call upon her?"

"Of course, my dear. But must you go?"

"I must. It has been too long since I have seen my family, and find lately that I am missing them more and more."

Time and distance, Poppy hoped, would help to ease the pain of loving Lord Hatherton, and help her live with the shame of what she had done.

Poppy kissed one of Lady Revel's pale cheeks, then left Lady Carver's house. She made her way to Night Street. The distance was not great by carriage, but by foot it would take her forty minutes. Still, she needed the time to think and compose herself, and prepare what she would say to Mr. Perkins. How she would tell him she was leaving and to thank him for allowing her to work with him. Poppy prayed Lord Hatherton was not there; she had no wish to see him again, now or ever.

"There she is."

She heard the words, but was too late to stop the sack from lowering over her head. She tried to fight off the hands that grabbed her, but they were too many and too strong. Poppy was lifted and then landed on the floor of a carriage, and soon it was racing through London at a cracking pace. When would someone realize she was missing, and more importantly, would they even care?



"Good morning," Jacob said, entering the office. He braced himself to see Poppy, and refused to acknowledge the disappointment when she wasn't seated at her desk. Instead Leo was leaning on it, talking to Perkins.

"Lord Hatherton. Miss March has not arrived for work this morning."

"You know I do not like to gloat, Jacob, and 'I told you so' should be beneath me, but, I told you so. We should never have employed someone we knew so little about. Especially not a woman."

"You said you liked her," Jacob snapped, knowing his friend was deliberately needling him. "In fact you said a great deal more, but that is not up for discussion. Did she send a note, Perkins?"

Jacob had not seen Poppy yesterday. He had deliberately stayed away from Night Street to give himself time to think. It hadn't helped. The more he thought, the more he realized that Poppy had become important to him, and that he had behaved like a fool, speaking to her as he had. He had tested what lay inside him last night after he'd finally reached his bed, and found that he did care for Poppy more than he had allowed himself to acknowledge.

"No word, my lord, and Miss March is not the type of person who simply does not turn up for work. I am sure of that."

He had never seen Perkins upset before. In fact, he'd never seen any emotion on Perkins' face before. The man was wringing his hands, for pity's sake, and Jacob did not like the sudden flutter of panic that had begun inside him.



       
         
       
        

"Stay calm, Perkins. I'm sure there is a rational reason for Miss March's absence." Leo looked at Jacob. "Can you shed any light as to why she has not turned up?"