Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(82)

“Why are the police here, Chastain?” she asked once we were inside the foyer.

Before he could answer, a police officer stepped out of the parlor and faced us. “Where have you ladies been?” he demanded.

“Miss Newton had a very ill friend facing her final hours last night,” Flora said, now sounding very much like Lady Flora Lyndon, granddaughter of the royal governor. “I sat with her as we waited for her friend to pass. It’s been quite a trying night for both of us, so I would appreciate it if you told us your business here and then left us alone.”

“Do you know the whereabouts of Lord Henry Lyndon?”

“He was arrested a few days ago, but we haven’t seen him since then. I would have thought you’d know that.”

“He was missing from his cell this morning.”

I gasped in shock and leaned more heavily on Flora, feigning a fainting spell. The truth was, I was so scared right now that I didn’t have to fake much. I thought my legs would go right out from under me.

“Can’t you tell that she’s already been through a lot?” Flora said. “She needs to sit down. Mrs. Talbot, please bring Miss Newton some tea.”

Not waiting for the policeman to respond, Flora helped me into the parlor and eased me onto a sofa. She sank onto the sofa to sit next to me with her arm around me. “How can Uncle Henry be missing?” she demanded of the police officer, who’d followed us. “What have you done to him?”

“We didn’t do anything, my lady,” the officer said. I thought he looked a little flustered. I could hardly blame him, given the ferocity of Flora’s glare.

“The soldiers might have. He was in military custody, wasn’t he?”

“I, er, um, well, we don’t believe the soldiers did anything. They reported him missing.”

“I don’t think he would come here. He should know you’d look for him here first.”

“Do you know where he might be, my lady?”

“Have you checked our country estate? It’s up in Westchester, on the river. I know he goes hunting sometimes, but I’m not sure where. He’s very good in the outdoors. He’s an expert on bugs, you know. He might be able to survive in the wilderness for quite some time.”

The officer jotted this down in his notebook. “Thank you, my lady, you’ve been very helpful. We will keep you informed.”

“Do let us know if you find him. We’re quite worried. And I think you should look into the soldiers. They might not be kindly disposed to traitors and may have taken matters into their own hands.”

He frowned, as though actually considering that, and made another note in his book. “Then I will leave you ladies alone.” He started to leave, paused, and turned back. “And my sympathies for your loss, miss.”

I nodded a thanks, and Mr. Chastain opened the door to show him out. Mrs. Talbot arrived with a cup of tea for me. “You poor dear, I’m so sorry about your friend,” she said. I took the tea and gratefully let its hot sweetness revive me somewhat. “Did they say that Lord Henry had escaped?”

“They don’t know,” Flora replied. “He’s missing.”

“Oh my! I hope nothing’s happened to him.”

“All we can do is wait and pray,” Flora said piously. “Now, I think both Miss Newton and I could use some rest. We’ve had a long and difficult night.”

She helped me up the stairs, and I wasn’t sure I’d have made it without her assistance. Now that my mission was done, I felt drained of all strength. Once we were in my room, she surprised me by giving me a big hug. “We did it!” she whispered. Before I could respond, she was gone.

*

I wasn’t sure how long I slept, but I woke up groggy and hungry in the middle of the afternoon. I dressed and had just come out of my room when Rollo came tearing down the hallway from his room. “Grandfather’s carriage is outside,” he said.

I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I supposed it was inevitable that the governor would take charge of the children, and even more so now that Henry was gone. I’d just hoped he would have waited longer.

I didn’t make it down the stairs as quickly as Rollo did, but I was there in time to see Mr. Chastain open the front door. Instead of the governor entering, it was a pair of footmen bearing a sedan chair in which a veiled woman sat.

When the door had closed behind them and the footmen set the chair on the ground, the woman sprang nimbly from her seat. She was about my height, and there was something familiar about the way she moved. Before I could figure out what it was she reminded me of, she threw back her veil. It was Lady Elinor.

“Aunt Elinor!” Rollo cried out. “I didn’t think you could get out of bed.”

“Can’t and don’t want to are two different things,” she said. “I do calisthenics in my room when no one is there.”

“Aunt Elinor!” Flora echoed, coming down the stairs to join us, Olive trailing behind her. “What are you doing here?”

“Why, I’m to be your new guardian, of course. I persuaded Father that he was far too busy to take on the additional responsibilities, and it was better for you children to remain in your own home. So I will stay here with you. Is the Blue Room free? As I recall, it has a nice view of the park. That’s where I always stayed when I visited Lily.”