for her. And that was probably a great understatement. She had not even had the luxury of Avery’s carriage to travel in.
“I beg your pardon, sir,” Mr. Norton was saying to Gabriel. “But I judged you would want me to accompany Miss Beck rather than stay put, especially as Mr. and Mrs. Rochford were gone. I’ll turn around and go back up there, with your permission, and see if I can find Mrs. Clark.”
“It is already done,” Gabriel told him. “And you did the right thing, for which I thank you. Go home, Norton—on full pay. I will send for you when I need you again.”
“Thank you, sir.” Mr. Norton let himself quietly out of the room.
Mary meanwhile seemed aware of her surroundings for the first time. She looked around in something like awe and then, beaming happily, turned her attention back to the two of them.
“Yesterday,” she said. “You were married yesterday. Two beautiful people. And I can see that you were made for each other.”
“You just missed our wedding,” Jessica said. “What a pity that is. But you must come and sit down. It will be dinnertime soon. Gabriel will send Mr. Horbath to arrange for the table to be set for three.”
“Oh no, no, no,” Mary said, holding up her good hand in protest. “I did not come to impose my company upon Gabriel. Even less so upon Gabriel and his bride. We can talk another time. I will remain in London—my, my, what a vast place it is—until I am quite certain you are not going to be thrown in jail, Gabriel. Mr. Norton—what a very polite and gentlemanly person he is—has recommended a women’s boardinghouse to me. I will ask one of the kind porters downstairs to give me directions and . . . Well, perhaps I will ask him too if he will call me a—hackney cab, do you call carriages for hire here? Then I will be able to take my bag with me. It is downstairs. That very courteous manager promised Mr. Norton that he would keep it for me.”
“Mary,” Gabriel said, “don’t be ridiculous.”
She looked at him in some surprise, saw that his eyes were twinkling, and laughed her deep laugh. “Well,” she said, “perhaps you will come downstairs and make the arrangement for me, Gabriel. I confess to being a bit overwhelmed. I will not keep him from you for more than a few minutes, Jessica. Oh, you are a lovely young lady. And a kind one.”
“Mary,” Jessica said, smiling. “Sit down. On that chair beside the fireplace. It is the most comfortable. And that is an order.”
Mary threw up her hands again and laughed.
“Jessica was Lady Jessica Archer before I married her,” Gabriel told her. “Sister of the Duke of Netherby, a most formidable aristocrat, Mary. He could reduce you to a dithering heap with one look through his quizzing glass. Jessica could do the same thing—if she carried a glass.”
“I could indeed,” Jessica said. “Come, Mary, and sit down. Gabriel will go in person to arrange for dinner and to secure you a room here at the hotel. And you shall have Ruth, my maid, to keep you company and prevent you from being too bewildered. Just do not expect her to talk. She is a woman of few words.”
“Words are not always necessary, dear,” Mary said as Gabriel helped her off with her coat and she sat obediently in the most comfortable chair, which came close to swallowing her up. She looked about her again. “What a very pleasant room this is. And how lovely to have arrived. And, I must confess, to be staying here. Though I would not for the world make a nuisance of myself.”
“As if that were possible,” Gabriel said, pouring her a glass of lemonade at the sideboard as Jessica sat down beside her.
“You must tell us about your journey,” she said. “Was it a very uncomfortable experience, Mary? How brave of you to come all this way virtually alone.”
“Well, I did have Mr. Norton with me,” Mary said. “He made me feel very safe. And he insisted upon hiring a private parlor for me last evening even though I protested at the extravagance.”
Gabriel handed her the glass and stayed for a few minutes before going to make arrangements for a room and for an extra place to be set at the table. It was very clear to Jessica that these two were indeed very fond of each other. He hesitated for