he’d crouched next to the corpse of Charles Burney. “Check in on the Darrow School. Since it appears you’re off to Jermyn Street, that is.”
“I’m not your errand boy, my lord.”
Highcliff grinned. “It’s related, I assure you. Ask if anything untoward has occurred.”
“And if it has?”
“Send for me,” Highcliff said. “At once. In the meantime, I’ll be running my own errands.”
*
It hadn’t taken her very long to pack. While she did have some very nice things, they were small in number. Primarily because she refused to allow Effie to spend ridiculous sums of money on her. With all of her belongings packed into two valises, Callie paused to look around the room. It had been her home, her sanctuary. It had been the first place that had ever truly been hers and the first place where she’d felt safe. Even if they did manage to neutralize the threat from Averston, that feeling of security was gone forever. It wasn’t simply the room that had been violated, but her. For the rest of her life, she’d hear their menacing words as they discussed what they had planned to do to her. And all for something as low as money.
“Are you ready?”
Callie jumped. It wasn’t that she’d been lost in her thoughts, but her nerves were so jangled that everything seemed to set her off. Turning to face Effie who stood in the doorway, she replied, “No. I’m not. I’ll never be ready to leave here. What if I don’t come back?”
Effie stepped into the room an took Callie’s hand in hers. “My dear, the Earl of Montgomery will see you safe. Trust him to do so… I know that I do.”
“These people… the Duke of Averston and the dowager duchess… I’ve never even met them. And yet, I know they are completely evil. Their wickedness threatens everything and everyone I hold dear,” Callie mused. “How does a person become so terrible and heartless?”
“Some people are born that way, I think. The piece of ourselves that allows us to love one another, to have empathy for one another, it’s missing in some people, I think.”
“I think perhaps it was better not knowing who my family was,” Callie said.
“My dear, they are not your family. They are people to whom you happen to be related. It is not the same at all,” Effie said with a smile. “We are your family. And we always shall be.”
Callie could have cried with the gratitude she felt at that moment. It seemed that Effie always knew just what to say to her.
“Now,” Effie continued, “go to the country with your employer and the children.”
“I’ll be ruined, afterward. Rendered unmarriageable and unemployable.”
“But still alive,” Effie pointed. “Death is an irreversible state. The rest, we can manage.”
Well, there was no denying the logic of that statement. “You’re quite right. Priorities!”
“Not to mention that the fortune you may inherit will be more than ample inducement for most gentlemen to overlook any questions of virtue,” Effie added pragmatically.
Since the maids were helping in the dining room with Effie’s absence, the two of them carried Callie’s bags down to the foyer. Effie’s words regarding her fortune and her reputation were still ringing in Callie’s ears.
Winn was waiting for them at the foot of the stairs and took both cases. “The carriage is here,” he said. “It arrived only moments ago.”
“Are the children inside?” Callie asked.
“No. They are in the dining room with the other students enjoying a hearty breakfast. Mrs. Wheaton was kind enough to extend the hospitality to them and to Mrs. Marler who is with them,” he answered.
“Oh… do they know what’s happening? They aren’t frightened are they?” Callie asked. She couldn’t bear it if they were afraid. That was the last thing she wanted, to bring more fear and uncertainty into their lives when they had already been through so much.
“They do not. They think we are retreating to the countryside because of a problem at the estate and a desire to get them out of the city with its terrible air,” Winn replied. “In short, I lied.”
“But for a very good reason,” Callie said. “Do you think the villains will follow?”
“I think they will send minions to do their bidding,” Winn stated. “But it will take some time to figure out where we’ve gone. And in that time, I’ll be preparing for every eventuality. I will keep you safe. I swear it.”
If anyone could make such a promise and keep it, it would be him, she thought.