by Abby Ayles
“It looks like we may have to search the house,” Lady Julia said, looking down the hallway as if she expected to see Lady Joanna appear at any moment. They went down the stairs together.
“Do you think she stayed in the house?” Lady Annabelle asked.
Lady Julia shook her head. “I do not know. It is doubtful, I must say. But where would she go?”
“The garden? Would she take a ride? We should go to the stables and see if she took a horse.”
Lady Julia nodded. “Yes, I agree. But first, we must check the parlor and we should find the duchess.”
Agreeing on this, the two ladies went quickly to the parlor, believing Lady Joanna would not be there. She was not but the duchess was. She was entertaining visitors. When the two girls went into the room, she looked up at them with a smile.
“Good afternoon, my dears,” she said. She looked at the two women sitting across from her on the couch. “This is my daughter, Lady Annabelle and Lady Julia Rickman, daughter of Earl Rickman.”
“We have met,” one of the ladies stood up to greet the young women with an air kiss on either side of their cheeks. “You may not remember, Lady Annabelle. I was one of the ladies who volunteered with the children’s painting class.”
Lady Annabelle smiled. “I do remember you, my lady, but I am afraid I have forgotten your name.”
“Lady Henrietta Caldwell. It is so good to see you again. You are looking lovely today.”
“Thank you,” Lady Annabelle replied. “Mother, may I speak with you privately?”
The Duchess of Norrend looked surprised but stood up immediately. “If you will excuse me, my ladies. It appears my daughter has a crisis on her hands.”
“Yes, it is quite important.”
“I would like to come along, if I may,” Lady Julia said, looking from Lady Annabelle to the Duchess of Norrend.
“Of course, Lady Julia,” Lady Annabelle replied. “This concerns you, as well, does it not?”
Lady Annabelle noticed the worry cover her mother’s face. The Duchess of Norrend excused herself from her visitors and walked to the door. The maid, Mary, was standing by the door, dusting a bust of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the ladies coming, moving quickly to open the door for them. She bowed her head when they passed.
“Mary, bring the ladies some tea and pastries. I will return shortly.”
“Yes, my lady,” Mary replied.
Chapter 28
The duchess was impatient to know what was going on. She eyed the young ladies as they stepped out into the foyer. “We will walk in the garden. Please tell me what this is all about. Has Lady Joanna acted up again?”
“You are amazingly intuitive, Mother,” Lady Annabelle replied. “This does have to do with Lady Joanna. Have you seen her this afternoon?”
“I have not seen her since breakfast. What has happened?”
“The paintings have gone missing. The three that were in question. Did Father tell you about them?”
The Duchess of Norrend nodded. “He did. And what has that to do with Lady Joanna?”
“She must be participating in this somehow,” Lady Annabelle said as the three women stepped out onto the porch, descended the steps and began walking to the garden.
“This morning, the Duke of Cardinal and Mr. Covington went to inspect the collection and the three paintings were gone. They told Father and we all overheard. Lady Joanna told Father to check the Duke of Cardinal’s chambers for the paintings.”
The Duchess of Norrend frowned. “Why would she request such a thing?”
Lady Annabelle shook her head. “She certainly seems to have a vendetta against him, Mother. I do not know why and I am not sure it is because he rejected her advances. He seems as perplexed as we are about this.”
“I am sure he is. Men do not like to be accused when they have done nothing wrong. I assume the paintings were not in his chambers?”
“No, Mother, they were not. We are suspicious because Lady Joanna looked very surprised that the paintings were not there. Father has given us permission to find her and question her about this.”
“This is very troubling. There must be a reason for her behavior.”
“Tell her what you told me you saw when you were playing the pianoforte, Lady Annabelle,” Lady Julia said.
Lady Annabelle glanced at Lady Julia and nodded. “Yes, I told Lady Julia that while I played that night, Lady Joanna was sitting in between the Lords Balfour.
They were having a conversation over her and she looked very upset. I have no way of knowing what it was about but she looked so unhappy. It was the next day she accused the Duke of Norrend of being inappropriate with her. I think they may have given her the idea.
As for the paintings, it is always a possibility that they are the ones who took them.”
The Duchess of Norrend was quietly thinking, an intense look on her face. “Has no one thought to mention this to the Earl? He will want to know what his daughters are getting into, would he not?”
“I have spoken to my father, my lady,” Lady Julia said. “Not today but a few days ago. He is not worried. He believes the Lords Balfour will inherit a great fortune from their father and it is my understanding that if he can get Lord Gilbert to marry Lady Joanna, we will need not worry about money for the rest of our lives.”
“I do not believe the Lords Balfour will be inheriting a great fortune,” the Duchess of Norrend said in a low voice. Lady Annabelle and Lady Julia looked at her, surprised.
“Why do you believe that, my lady?” Lady Julia asked.
The Duchess of Norrend looked at the young woman. “The lords do not carry themselves as though they have wealth. Their clothes are not indicative of wealth. They show very little class and behave in crude ways. Lord Gilbert is more outgoing than his brother. He likes to talk. But what he says has little substance. I do not trust them.”
“Do you trust the Duke of Cardinal? Despite what Lady Joanna tried to do?”
Her mother nodded. “I have listened to your father. He knows the man much better than I do. If he believes we can trust the Duke of Cardinal, I have no choice but to accept his decision. It appears he will become a member of the family eventually. Therefore, I will give him as many chances as needed to prove himself worthy.”
Lady Annabelle could not help smiling, despite the circumstances. It felt good to know that her mother accepted the Duke of Cardinal and that it was she who would be bringing him into the family. As her husband.
The thought made her heart race.
The women continued to walk in the garden. Lady Annabelle could not help admiring the hill fountain and the beautiful flowers and foliage around her. The sun beamed over their heads as mid-day dragged into the afternoon. Dark clouds in the distance indicated there would be rain but for now, it was clear and beautiful.
“Where do you suppose Lady Joanna went?” Lady Annabelle asked, scanning the garden in case the young woman was hiding there somewhere.”
“She is upset?” the Duchess of Norrend asked.
“Yes, she ran from the room when she saw the paintings weren’t there. The duke’s chambers showed no signs that they had ever been there.”
“Would she have gone home?” Lady Julia asked. “I suppose we could check there.”
“We must go to the stables and see if a horse is gone,” Lady Annabelle said, bringing up their earlier plan. Lady Julia nodded.
“Yes, that is what we were going to do, is it not?”
“I will go back to my guests,” the Duchess of Norrend said in a quiet voice. “And if I see Lady Joanna, we will talk immediately. I cannot ignore my visitors any longer.”
“Of course, my lady,” Lady Julia bowed her head to the Duchess of Norrend. “We will return once we have checked the stables and my home. We will report to you immediately.”
“See that you do. Be careful.”
“Thank you, my lady.”
The two young women watched the Du
chess of Norrend turn on her heels and walk back to the house. After a moment’s hesitation, the two of them crossed back over the path and through the gate, walking down to the stables over the green lawn.
“Do you think she went for a ride? If she did, we might not see her for hours.”
“I do not know, Lady Julia,” Lady Annabelle shook her head. “Wherever she went, we must find her. She knows something she is not telling us.”
“I am afraid for her, Lady Annabelle.” Lady Julia looked sad. “I hope we can find her and coax her to tell us the truth. I just cannot believe she has gotten mixed up in something like this. She has been a handful but she has always been a lady to respect. Those Balfour brothers have corrupted her.”
Lady Annabelle thought about her friend’s words as they made their way down the hill to the stables. She did not have a response. Lady Joanna was Lady Julia’s twin sister. She could not imagine how it felt to know such a close relative might be responsible for such actions.
“She should have known better than to let this happen,” Lady Julia continued. “She is a smart girl. I fear she has been taken in by Lord Gilbert and made to do things she did not want to do.”
Lady Annabelle nodded. “I agree with you. But what can we do? If she is responsible in any way, she will need to confess to my father and to the Duke of Cardinal. She will be shamed. I know neither of the dukes wants that to happen.”
Lady Julia looked off into the distance. Lady Annabelle could tell she was wondering where her sister was at that moment in time. “She must be held accountable if she is at all responsible.”
“I agree but…” Lady Annabelle let her words trail off. She did not want Lady Joanna shamed. She wished the young woman hadn’t gotten herself into this trouble to begin with. And she still was not sure how she was involved.
“I do not understand what she has against the Duke of Cardinal,” Lady Julia said. “He has been nothing but a gentleman to us all since he arrived. Do you believe she is doing this because she is somehow in love with him and wants revenge because he chose you?”
Lady Annabelle frowned. “I just cannot believe that.”
Lady Julia nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”
They reached the stables. The door was open and they went inside, taking a lantern from a hook by the front door. Lady Annabelle held the lantern up as they walked down the row of stalls. There were horses in each one but the last. Lady Annabelle looked around for the stable boy. After a moment, she heard a rustling in a stall across from them and held up the lantern.
The young boy was brushing down the legs of one of the horses. When he stood up straight, he caught sight of them and cried out softly.
“Oh! I apologize! I did not see you come in.”
Lady Annabelle smiled at him. “I am sorry to frighten you, Christopher. Have you seen Lady Joanna?”
“Yes, she took Dreamcatcher for a ride. She said she would be back in an hour or two.”
“How long ago was that?” Lady Julia asked.
“I would say about twenty minutes, my lady,” Christopher replied.
“Thank you. Prepare two of the horses for us. We will also be taking rides.”
“Yes, my lady,” Christopher said, bowing at the waist. He left the stall he was in and readied two of the horses for them.
“Where do you suggest we go first?” Lady Julia asked.
“I want to go to your house first. If she needed comfort, she might find it there. And she would be away from the questions.”
“She may have gone for a ride in the woods. If so, we might not find her. She will have to come back to us.”
“We know she will eventually. We will check the house first.”
Lady Julia nodded. “All right.”
They mounted the horses and rode away from the house in silence. Unsurprisingly, what they were thinking was quite similar.
Lady Annabelle felt disappointment in her friend, though the behavior was somewhat expected. She felt sorry for Lady Joanna.
The girl just did not seem to have herself together. It made Lady Annabelle want to take the girl in hand and give her some guidance. But since they were the same age and given Lady Joanna’s stubborn attitude, it would not surprise her if her advice fell on deaf ears.
She glanced at Lady Julia, stifling a sigh. Her friend’s face was so downhearted, so sad. It made Lady Annabelle’s heart hurt. The thought that the Lords Balfour may have violated her sister was giving her a great deal of angst.
“Everything is going to be all right, Lady Julia,” she said softly. “Do not worry. We will find her and we will set things to rights.”
Lady Julia gave her a grateful look but the worry did not leave her face.
Chapter 29
The two girls did not find Lady Joanna at the Rickman mansion. The housekeeper informed them that no one had seen Lady Joanna all day. They turned their horses around and went back to Norrend.
Instead of going inside, they passed the mansion and went to the woods, following a path they knew Lady Joanna would take if she were going for a ride.
As they rode past the stables, Lady Annabelle called to Christopher, who came out rubbing his hands on a cloth.
“Yes, my lady?”
“Has Lady Joanna returned?”
“No, my lady.”
Lady Annabelle nodded and urged her horse toward the path through the woods. Riding down the path had always been one of her favorite things to do. It was a beautiful land. When the sun was shining and the birds were singing, it was magical.
Lady Julia was still very quiet. Lady Annabelle wondered what was going through her mind. It was not good thoughts, she was sure of that.
After riding for ten minutes, Lady Annabelle saw someone approaching from the opposite direction. To her relief, it was Lady Joanna. They would not have to search any longer and maybe they would get the answers they were looking for.
When she saw them, Lady Joanna stopped her horse and looked dismayed. She did not turn and run, which Lady Annabelle was grateful for. It would have been silly to chase her friend down and how would they stop her? Jump on her horse?
The thought amused Lady Annabelle but a smile did not come to her lips. She looked at Lady Julia, who glanced back at her.
“I see her,” Lady Julia said.
“She sees us, as well. Stay calm. We will get our answers.”
Lady Julia looked guilty and sad at the same time.
“You must not worry, Lady Julia,” Lady Annabelle said. “Lady Joanna knows we love her. We only want what’s best for her.”
“We know that,” Lady Julia replied. “But does she? It does not appear so. If she thought we loved her, she would have come to us, would she not?”
Lady Annabelle shook her head. “I do not know. It is doubtful, in my mind.”
The two girls reached Lady Joanna and stopped their horses a few feet away from her.
“We have been searching for you everywhere, Lady Joanna,” Lady Annabelle said gently. “Are you all right?”
Lady Joanna looked surprised by the question. “I… I do not feel all right,” she replied.
“Shall we find a place to sit and talk? Or would you like to come back to Norrend and talk there?”
Lady Joanna looked past them down the path that would take them to the house. “I do not want to go back yet. I was riding slowly to help the time pass. I know the dukes are angry with me.”
“They are not as angry as they are confused,” Lady Annabelle said. “Please, can we find somewhere to talk? Perhaps we can go back to the garden.”
“The circle benches are just past here,” Lady Julia suggested. “Shall we go there?”
“That is a good idea,” Lady Annabelle said hurriedly. She urged the horse to go past Lady Joanna and the two sisters followed her.
“I have been so worried about you,” Lady Julia said to her sister. “Why have you been behaving so strangely? Surely you are not acting on the orders of the Balfours.”<
br />
“I do not act on anyone’s orders.” Lady Joanna sounded offended. “I do what is in my mind, what I feel like doing.”
Lady Julia shook her head. “I do not believe that. You are my sister. How can you not see that what you are doing is wrong?”
“I do not want to talk about it.”
Lady Julia frowned. “You must talk about it, Lady Joanna. We need to know what is going through your mind so that we might be better able to understand what you are doing and why. We cannot help you if you do not open yourself to us.”
