Heaven Bound (A Blakemore Family Book: Madame Lou Series Book 2) (22 page)

“Is there a problem, Mr. Jeffries?” Jack deflected the question back to the butler.

“Yes, well, we seem to be unable to locate Mrs. Hadaway, and I don’t know what to do with the maids.”

“I’ll look into it.” Jack said, worried now that she had already fled. “You and Agatha just make sure the guests are taken care of. My brothers will be down shortly.”

“Of course, sir.” Mr. Jeffries said, sending the cook back to the kitchen to finish the breakfast service while he went to make sure the ladies and gentlemen had everything they needed.

Sensing someone behind him, Jack turned to see Adeline standing in the doorway. He had almost forgotten that she was still in the house. He approached her, looking around cautiously to make sure they weren’t observed.

“Is everything alright, Jack?” she asked, looking worried. “Who was screaming this morning? Everyone is talking about it.”

“I can’t discuss it right now, but my brothers and I are taking care of matters.” Jackson didn’t want to lie to Adeline, but he did need to get her and the rest of the weekend party to leave as soon as possible so that they could manage the current deadly situation. “Can you do me a favor, Addie?”

“Of course, Jack, anything.” Adeline smiled shyly at him, and Jack smiled, too, as last night’s intimacy came back to him in a delicious wave.

“First of all, don’t look at me like that or I’m liable to drag you off to a linen closet for a quick tumble,” Jack said, fighting the urge to kiss her until they were both senseless. “But what I really need is for someone to help me to get everyone on their way home. My brothers and I have a situation we need to attend to and it will be difficult with all these people in the house. The first order of business will be to spread a tale that one of the ladies saw a mouse or better yet a rat in her room. That should help send everyone packing.”

“But it wasn’t a rodent at all, was it?” Adeline asked, looking really concerned now. “Jack, what is going on?”

“I don’t have all the answers, Addie,” Jackson said, reaching out and touching her cheek affectionately. “But I need you to leave. I need to know you are safe and away from here.”

“Does that mean you aren’t safe, Jack?” She looked concerned, and it wrenched at his heart to think that the next time he saw her might be at her wedding, marrying another man.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, pulling away from her. “I can take care of myself and my family, just not with a whole houseful of people milling about.”

“You’ll write to me? And let me know what this is all about? Promise me, Jack, or I won’t leave.” Adeline apparently had a stubborn streak. But Jackson knew that from watching her over the years, championing her various causes, so he realized she was quite serious now.

“Yes, I promise to write to you. So, please, go tell everyone that your maid heard about the rat and that you won’t stay in this house another second.” Unable to stop himself, Jack leaned in and quickly kissed Adeline on her mouth. “Now go.” Turning, he left her standing there with one hand pressed to her lips.

* * *

Adeline didn’t want to leave Jack, not when it was apparent that he was distressed about something important, but she’d promised him she would help. Closing her eyes for just a moment to burn into her mind the memory of what was most likely the last time he would ever kiss her, Addie smiled, hugged herself, then turned and walked determinedly back to the breakfast room where she began to spread tales of rodents taking over Basildon Park. The ladies she whispered the gossip to in horrifying detail spread her enhanced fabrication like wildfire and soon there was no one left taking the morning meal. The footmen and maids were sent scurrying about, trying to get everyone’s carriages and motorcars ready for the mass exodus that was taking place.

Satisfied that she had done precisely what Jackson had requested, Adeline retired to her own room to wait while Emily packed her things and Father rounded up their transportation that would take them to the train station. Addie walked over to the bed where just a few hours ago, she had been making love with Jack. There was a smattering of rusty red droplets on the sheets as a testament to what she had given away and, even though there had been some pain in the loss of her virginity to him, she was happy that it was Jack who had been the one to do so.

Emily entered the room carrying a broom, and looking as though she was ready to fight off a wolf or a wild dog. “They say there’s rats running all over the house, Miss.” She batted the broom at the corners and under the bed.

“Hmm, yes, well I may have exaggerated just a tiny bit,” Adeline said, unable to stop the laughter that was bubbling up. “The only rodent that has been seen today was in the barn and it was just a tiny mouse.”

Looking suspiciously at her mistress, Emily stopped in her actions. “You mean to say you’re the one who’s been spreading the tale and it isn’t even the truth? Why ever would you do such a thing, Miss? I’ve never seen a household in such chaos! Why, if you were a little girl I’d be putting you over my knee and giving you a proper swatting, I would.”

Adeline finally was able to temper her laughter and explained to Emily that the Bradleys were dealing with a serious matter and needed their guests to leave of their own accord. “I hope I didn’t completely ruin the reputation of the household.”

The maid shrugged and put the broom aside. “I don’t think too many of these aristocrats will want to spread it about since they all have a fine house in the country just like this one. And it always seems that these sorts of things are endemic, you know, like a plague. Trust me, they’ll all run off to London and send the servants ahead to clean up any messes, then tell all their friends what a fine time they at the earl’s party.”

“The English are so much more reserved than Americans.” Addie commented as she tried to discreetly pull the covers on the bed up. “If we were back home, it would be the only thing that anyone who was anyone would be talking about. But I suppose that is why they think we are all such uncivilized heathens.” Addie sighed and went to sit at the small writing desk near the windows. “I’m going to pen our host and hostess a thank-you note while you pack.”

“Alright, Miss. I shouldn’t take but a half hour or so to have you ready to travel.” Emily set about her task while Adeline pulled out some paper and the fountain pen she found in the drawer.

Addie quickly wrote one note to Marcus’s wife and another to the earl. When she had folded them and tucked them inside the envelopes she’d found in another drawer, she decided that she would write to Jack, as well; a goodbye letter and a reminder that he must write back to her as soon as he could. She wanted to tell him so many things, but she realized that putting those things in writing would not serve either of them. So instead she simply wrote;

Dear Mr. Bradley, It was very good to see you in fine health. My father and I enjoyed meeting your family and seeing your ancestral home. Please keep us informed as to where you will be staying for the rest of your time in England. Miss James.

Adeline sighed as she folded the brief and too-proper note, pushing it inside the envelope. It was not nearly close to what she truly wished to say. If she could pour her heart out, she would have written something vastly more intimate. Closing her eyes, her mind went back a few hours to the incredible night she had spent in Jack’s arms. Hugging herself, she could almost feel his hands on her, bringing out feelings that she’d never before imagined.

“You’re going to want to keep that look to yourself, Miss.” Emily said, folding dresses and arranging items in Adeline’s trunks and suitcases.

Addie’s eyes opened dreamily. “You are my only witness,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t know it was going to be so— life-changing. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It isn’t always like that, Miss. But now that you’ve said so, I’m afraid you might have to admit to yourself, at least, that you’re most likely in love with the man,” Emily said with a knowing look for her mistress.

“Oh no,” Addie said, dismissing her maid’s words with a wave of her hand. She refused to allow herself to even contemplate it. “I don’t think love has anything to do with such matters. Ask any man. They do this all the time and I’m quite sure it’s almost never for love.” Addie knew she was fooling herself, but she was determined not to admit the truth.

The lady’s maid shrugged, apparently not wanting to argue the matter with her mistress. Adeline watched her finish packing and wondered about what she’d said. Jackson was a good man and he’d most definitively been in love with Clara. That had been blatantly obvious to anyone who met them. Addie thought about her own feelings for Jackson Bradley and she knew that she held him in high regard and was deeply fond of him, but love? She was not familiar enough with the emotion between a man and woman to know. Was what she felt for Jack the same as what he and Clara had felt for each other? She would have to ponder on the notion for a while. But right now all her mind was filled with was last night and all the new and never-before-felt physical sensations that she had experienced. She would worry later about what the emotional implications were, when she was back in her house in London.

Sighing, she relived Jack’s hands and mouth and all the wonderfully wicked things he’d done with her. Even now her body reacted, and she knew that the memories would be with her long after she’d married the baron and settled into life as his wife. Addie wondered if she would be able to simply close her eyes and pretend the other man was Jack. Would that be completely scandalous of her to imagine Jack was her husband? It would certainly be wicked and improper, but highly probable unless she somehow fell in love with her husband.

Oh, dear, Addie thought to herself; what a predicament I’ve created for myself to navigate.

* * *

“That was the last guest,” Winston said, entering the library where they’d gathered to decide what to do next. “Where are Beatrice and the children?”

Jack indicated the far side of the room with his head where the ladies were reading stories to Winston’s brood. Lowering his voice, he told his brothers what he’d found out. “Mrs. Hadaway has been gone since early this morning. The last person to see her was the scullery maid who was up lighting the kitchen fire before the rest of the staff was awake. The girl was scared to death to have to speak to me but she said she saw Mrs. Hadaway coming downstairs from near Winston’s room and then leaving out through the kitchen door with a traveling bag.”

“Well, we have to find her,” Marcus said. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think she’s going to give up quite that easily. For God’s sake, we can’t have the servants running around with guns for the rest of our lives.”

“I’m worried that one of them might be in league with her, especially now that Jack found the hidden bank accounts,” Winston said in a frantic whisper. “After all, if she succeeds it could mean a bloody fortune for someone who could convince her to share the inheritance.”

“Who don’t you trust?” Jackson asked. “Which of the male servants would be willing to help her, or maybe one of them was in love with Louisa and wants his own revenge?”

Winston paced, thinking hard about the possibilities. “Let me look at that photograph again.”

Marcus produced it and they waited for Winston to speak. He shook his head, trying to remember, and then all of a sudden he looked up at Jack. “I know who is helping her. And it’s not anyone here. We have to go now, before it’s too late.”

“No,” Jackson said, putting a hand on Winston’s arm to stop his brother from leaving. “We can’t go off half-cocked. We need a plan and we need to split up. Otherwise we’ll be sitting ducks.”

“Edward, Alex, where are you?” Beatrice was frantically looking about the room, calling the boys names. “Oh, my God; Marcus, Winston, the boys are gone! They must have snuck away while we were distracted by the tea service.” Marcus’s wife started sobbing as she realized that she’d let everyone down.

“It’s not your fault, Beatrice,” Winston said, shaking his head. “They do this sort of thing all time. I should have never put this responsibility on you and Lady Huntingdon when I know how devious those boys can be. They probably used one of the secret passages that are all over this room. We just need to stay calm and we’ll probably find them playing some pirate game in the nursery. Everyone spread out and see if you can figure out which way they went. Beatrice, why don’t you and Henrietta take the girls to your room and they can play dress up and use some of your cosmetics.”

Lady Huntingdon took over and pulled Beatrice with her as she told the remaining children about the new game. The little girls squealed with excitement and the ladies left the library, trying to maintain a cheerful disposition for the children.

“All right, let’s spread out and check all the likely places.” Winston was remaining remarkably calm, considering the circumstances. The Bradley brothers started walking around the large room, pulling out books and pushing sconces, opening stairways and passages that were filled with dust and cobwebs.

“Damn!” Jack cursed when he found the scrap of paper in the entrance of the passage that he knew led outside near were the woods started. “She has them.”

Winston and Marcus rushed to his side and he handed over the message. It would have been irresistible to two young boys bored with being forced to stay inside on such a fine summer day.