in the play being presented that evening, but he was nearly always on hand to watch.
She found Jeanne preparing to dance, and they spoke together in French. Teresa discovered that the drive was to Richmond Park, which heightened her suspicions. “There are many beautiful flowers in that place,” Jeanne said. “He knows I love flowers. He has brought me bouquets. We shall go early, and I will be back in time to dance. There is no problem.” Nonetheless, she looked a little anxious.
“I do not think you should go,” Teresa said. Under the current circumstances, it was surely not a good idea.
“I need the money. I am lacking the rent, and this would pay for a whole month.” Jeanne looked stubborn. “You said that we should tell you of any invitations, and you would protect us. I have done as you asked.”
That was not exactly what she’d promised, but Teresa could see that Jeanne would not be convinced. Very well. She would do her best. Tom would return, and she would enlist his aid.
But the play began, and still there was no sign of Tom. Jeanne was set to meet her escort at nine the next morning. Teresa had no more time. Lord Macklin was lost to her. She would simply have to manage this herself. She was quite good at managing, very proud of her skills. There was no reason to feel forlorn.
She decided to use some of her carefully hoarded funds to hire a carriage for the day, and she knew just the driver to engage. She had ridden with him a number of times and chatted about his family and his ambitions. His hackney, on which he lavished the greatest care, had once been a nobleman’s carriage, sold when the peer had a new one built. It still looked polished and could easily be mistaken for a private vehicle.
Her plan made, Teresa went outside before the end of the play. The driver she wanted, Vining, was often to be found near the theater after a performance, on the lookout for those wanting a ride home. She found the man in his customary position and made her arrangements, telling him a good deal of the truth about their mission. Vining was moved by the plight of the dancers and was happy to follow along and make sure Jeanne came safely back. A good fare for a whole day sealed the deal.
After the play, Teresa walked home in the company of two of the actors. She paused at Tom’s lodgings on the way and learned that the lad was not there. “He said he’d likely be gone till tomorrow,” the landlady told her. “Has an invite from his lordship. Nice for some, to have rich friends.”
Teresa couldn’t suppress a pang at the thought of them enjoying some sort of expedition that hadn’t been mentioned to her. But why should it be? Tom had known the earl long before she met him. They were friends. They had shared many adventures. There was no reason to suspect that Tom also had turned against her. He wouldn’t, even if the earl had told the lad her story. Which he wouldn’t. But the painful possibility that she’d lost Tom as well would intrude.
Telling herself that she had endured far worse, Teresa walked home and spent a restless night fending off loneliness and regrets.
She rose early enough to puzzle Eliza and quickly wrote out a description of what she’d learned and where she’d gone. She addressed the missive to Tom and left it sealed on the mantel shelf. Should it be needed, which she did not anticipate, the maid would find it and see that it was delivered.
Vining was waiting for her at the appointed spot, a place where they could watch Jeanne’s lodging house without being noticed. Her supposed beau arrived on time in a showy phaeton with a restive team, and the girl ran out to climb onboard. Jeanne had donned her finest gown, and it made Teresa sad to see her smile up at the jaded young aristocrat who didn’t even bother to give her a hand up. He wore a scarf about his neck and his hat pulled low, Teresa noted, just as the innkeeper on the Richmond road had described. “Will we be able to keep pace with him?” she asked Vining.
“The way that young sprig’s handling the ribbons?” Vining made a contemptuous sound. “He’ll not be rattling along with those tits. Touched in the wind, I reckon.”
Taking this