he been thinking? Had he no trust in his own ability to judge character? He’d talked with Charlotte, seen her with his sisters. He knew her to be an admirable person.
Hanks rose, clearly aware that he was no longer welcome. “Like as not you’re right, sir.”
“Of course I’m right!”
With a nod, Hanks took himself off.
Alec waited another moment to get himself under control. He didn’t want to repeat his foolish mistake. But the pause was just too long. Charlotte was already gone.
***
Tears pooled in Lucy’s eyes. She blinked, then blinked again to keep them from overflowing. Even so, a few fell onto the coverlet as she shoved her things into her bag. Susan had promised to see that Miss Charlotte’s belongings were packed up and sent, but Lucy hadn’t wanted to ask anyone else to take care of her own few possessions. In fact, she hadn’t wanted anyone to see her after she heard that they were going back to that cold, hateful house. And why? She didn’t know. She knew only that Miss Charlotte had slammed out the front door, mad as fire about something. She’d thrown a few words at Ethan and brought Lucy’s world crashing down around her ears.
Lucy wanted to sink onto the bed and weep. It had felt so settled here. She’d stopped thinking about the wretchedness of the last year, the terrors of their days in the empty house. Now, without a word of warning, they were going back. The place waited, like the dreadful castle in fairy tales, to swallow them up forever.
It wasn’t the extra work she dreaded. She liked to work. It was the loneliness and the responsibility. Of course she would always stand by Miss Charlotte, but what could she do all alone? There were so many things about her situation that she didn’t understand.
This time back in a proper household had made Lucy feel younger and maybe even less able to cope. Where she was going there would be no housekeeper or cook to offer advice; there would be no Jennings to teach her useful new skills. Lucy bent her head. It was the closest she’d ever come to flat despair.
Ethan appeared in the open doorway. “I got you a cab.”
Lucy turned away, not wanting him to see signs of tears.
“The fare’s paid and all.” He stepped into the room. “Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding, and you’ll be back in a day or two.”
Lucy shook her head. “Miss Charlotte doesn’t lose her temper very often, but when she does…” She was that stubborn with it. “Anyway, she always meant to go back. It’s her house.” Which she’d known very well, Lucy thought. She shouldn’t have let herself get so comfortable here.
“Well, you can visit…” Ethan began.
Lucy snapped, “I’ll be doing the work of a whole staff! I won’t have time to turn around, let alone go visiting.”
“But you’ll be hiring…”
“I don’t know where to find good servants in London, and neither does Miss Charlotte. If they’re all like that Holcombe and the others…” To Lucy’s horror, she broke down.
Somehow, Ethan was there, an arm around her shoulders. “Ah, don’t now. Don’t cry. I can’t bear it if you cry. I’ll find them for you.”
Torn between pulling away and throwing herself onto his chest, Lucy looked up. She sniffed. “You?”
“Sure. I know lots of folks.”
“It isn’t a fashionable household like this. No chance of tips or fancy food.” Lucy hated herself for the hint of whine in her voice.
“No matter.” Ethan’s handsome face shifted, as if a thought had occurred to him. “I’ll find you some good people. People you’ll like, Lucy. They’ll take care of you.”
“What?”
“Of the house, I mean. Take care of the house.” Ethan squeezed her shoulders. “I will. I promise.”
The obvious conviction in his voice surprised her. Lucy gazed up at him; he seemed determined, as if he really meant it. And he was so big and so competent. A huge bubble of relief bloomed in her chest, ready to overwhelm her. She was afraid to trust it. “You don’t have to do this just because you kissed me.”
He bent closer. “Yes. I do.”
The world seemed to go silent around her. The contours of his lips, inches from hers, reminded Lucy of all the dizzying sensations of the kiss. She longed to lean in and taste that thrill again. The clean scent of him, the strength of his arm, made her reel. She lost herself in his steady, sincere gaze.
“The cab’s waiting,” James called up the