Heiress Without a Cause

CHAPTER THIRTY

In the morning, long after he should have been out attending to business, Ferguson walked soundlessly down the carpeted hall outside his bedroom toward the front stairs. It was a technique he had perfected years earlier to escape the house without being harangued by his father, and the creaks in the floorboards were mercifully unchanged. His odd, swerving dance attracted a shocked stare from a passing chambermaid who momentarily forgot her place (and then blushed crimson as she bobbed a curtsy), but at least none of his sisters emerged from their rooms to accost him.

It was actually nice to spend time with them. After he promised not to force them into matches they didn't want, the twins regularly joined him for meals. Even Ellie dropped by occasionally, still brittle and guarded, but showing signs that she might someday forgive him.

But he didn't want to see them this morning, and he exhaled in relief as he reached the top of the steps unnoticed. The previous night had been dark and endless, as he lay in the bed he had never wanted to inherit and thought about the ruin that threatened to come down on all of them. He did not see a way to put the rumors to rest - other than the obvious solution Madeleine proposed. He didn't want to consider it, didn't want her to endanger herself when she was so close to being safe.

What was worse, though - her obvious panic when she first heard that Ferguson was suspected of murder? Or the slow condemnation that settled in her eyes when she thought he might abandon London? That condemnation had turned to anger when he offered to protect her by breaking the engagement - not that he could really bear the idea, and had already discarded it as he said the words. Besides, he suspected she would reveal herself if it came to that, whether he wanted her to or not.

He was so engrossed in thought, so focused on his feet, that he didn't realize he was being watched until he hopped over the last three steps of the main staircase and landed with a soft thud on the marble floor of the foyer. He looked up, expecting his butler. Ellie stood just inside the doorway, her arms crossed as she surveyed him with a knowing gleam in her blue eyes. Kate and Maria sat on a bench beside her, their soft lavender morning gowns an odd contrast to the lush royal blue of Ellie's riding habit. The twins each clutched a valise, and a neat pile of bandboxes sat on the floor beside them. From the way they both gaped at him, they had seen every step of his erratic descent.

"The servants will be sure of your madness if you always take the stairs like that," Ellie drawled.

He bowed, only slightly ironically. "I did not expect the pleasure of your company this morning, or I would have put away my madness for another day."

She smiled swiftly, and just as swiftly lapsed into a frown. "It isn't funny in the slightest. What I am hearing from the people who are brave or stupid enough to tell me will have us all cast out within a fortnight if you cannot sway public opinion."

"Is that why you're collecting the twins?" he asked, gesturing at their luggage. "They are safer with your reputation than mine?"

Ellie laughed. "You will have to do far worse than murder to saddle me with their guardianship." The twins both grinned; their relationship with Ellie had improved over the last few weeks as well, and they took no offense at Ellie's jest.

"Ellie said you will disappear again if the scandal grows," Kate said, sounding determined. "Maria and I have already packed what we care to bring in case you try to sneak away without us. We do not intend to let you go into exile alone."

He could tell them apart now - Kate had a slight quirk to her mouth when she smiled, and Maria had a small scar on her chin where she had accidentally banged it against her harp. Knowing who spoke did not comfort him, but knowing who they were made the words more personal. "So Ellie believes I shall run away?"