Page 104 of When We Touch

The man she’d seen but once. Who had seemed to be so very entranced with her, when he hadn’t even known her name.

She’d probably never see him again, never know his name.

So what was there in life, really?

Revenge.

Something to take away the dull ache in her heart.

“Fine. Come along, then. Let’s get my things.” Yet even as she walked, she felt the surge of fear again. Seven of them. Surrounding her. Cutthroats and thieves. As long as they thought that she was truly on their side, she was fine.

But if they ever discovered where she had really come from . . .

She wouldn’t stay around that long, she assured herself.

As she went out the door, she turned, and caught Fiona’s eye. She winked, trying to assure her friend that everything was all right.

And then . . .

She walked out of the pub, and into her new life.

* * *

For two days, Maggie lay low, waiting. She didn’t hear from Jamie, and when she had remembered that she needed to talk to Arianna, she had gone to the girl’s room, only to be given a muffled excuse. Arianna was feeling ill.

On the third day, Mireau returned. She was upstairs when she heard his carriage, and ran down faster than the wind. When he came in, she realized that she must have been staring at him with such anticipation that the most casual of observers would be very curious as to what had happened.

Mrs. Whitley was not just a casual observer. She was a spy. For whom, Maggie wasn’t quite certain, but the woman never tired of getting into her business.

“Mireau!” she said, and forced her voice to be casual. “How are you? Clayton told me that you headed out on a bit of a holiday! Come into the library. We’ll have tea brought in here. You will see to it for me, won’t you, Mrs. Whitley?”

Naturally, Mrs. Whitley nodded and left them. Maggie caught hold of Mireau’s arm and quickly dragged him into the library. “Well?” she demanded, shutting the door.

He smiled broadly. “I don’t think I have ever felt so proud or happy to be part of something.”

“So . . . the baby is fine? Clayton’s sisters are really so kind and wonderful?” As she asked the question, she was somewhat ashamed to realize that Clayton had been an accepted part of her life for so long and she hadn’t known a thing about his family until the night she’d rushed over to find Mireau.

“They’re lovely. Truly lovely. She’s in a small village, out in beautiful woods, and they have a charming cottage, and you would have thought that I brought them a basket of gold. They were delightfully arguing all that each was going to do for her when I left. There’s Violet, the eldest, Merry, and Edith. Edith is a schoolteacher, and there’s a wealth of books in the place! Violet is the leader, so it seems, and it’s the most amazing thing! All three of them are spinsters. They are wonderful. The cottage is delightful. She’ll have her own little room, and she’ll be raised in just the right way.”

“Oh, Mireau! It is wonderful to think that we were able to be in the right place at the right time, fall in the love with the little urchin ourselves, and then find such a wonderful place for her to grow up!”

He nodded. Mireau was just as suspicious of the household at Moorhaven as she was, and slipped the door open slightly to look out. “You know, the story we were given might well be a lie. Little Ally might be the child of a whore and a dockhand.”

“Does it really matter?” Maggie asked him. “She’s a beautiful babe.”

“It only matters if someone believes she is the illegitimate daughter of Prince Eddy, and if that someone wants to see she’s never in line for the Crown.”

“She can’t be in line! There are dozens of legitimate heirs.”

“Still . . .”

“No one knows that we have her. And if she’s ever traced to us, then . . . then you’re a father,” Maggie told him, grinning. “It worked with Clayton. Until I told him the truth.”

“And he’ll keep the secret?” Mireau said worriedly.

“Mireau! You’ve lived in that house long enough. He’ll keep the secret to his dying day.”

He cleared his throat. “Naturally, they do well enough, they wouldn’t starve, and they adored the baby and are delighted to raise her, but . . . I’m broke. You know it.”