Diary of a Painted Lady by Maggi Andersen

Author:Maggi Andersen [Andersen, Maggi]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2016-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

For three weeks Maeve hovered on the brink of death. Her fighting spirit won through again, and when the doctor told Blair the danger had passed, he installed her in the country house before departing for London, assured by her doctor that it was safe to leave her.

When Blair arrived at Hanover Square, he found the butler and the maids eating luncheon below stairs, along with the kitchen hand, while the cook carved a large joint of beef. After they’d been called into his study and closely questioned, he learned that Gina had left some time ago, a matter of which they’d failed to advise him.

Mary, Gina’s maid, appeared to be dressed in one of Gina’s new gowns. Blood pounded through his temples. “Downstairs, all of you!” He bellowed. They scurried back to the servant’s quarters.

Blair strode into the bedchamber and pulled open cupboard doors and drawers. Gina had taken none of pretty things he’d given her. The money he left for her expenses remained in the drawer. He strode around the room feeling as if the top of his head might blow off, then he spied a dainty, pink satin slipper and picked it up. He rubbed the soft feathers against his cheek. Anger drained away, leaving his restless heart pounding, as questions crowded his mind. She’d left only days after him. How had she managed without the money?

He knew she had very little. The thought that she was at the mercy of wicked old London made him gasp. Was she safe? He had to find her.

Angrier with himself than anyone else, he stormed downstairs to find the staff huddled, whispering in the kitchen. “You will find yourselves out in the street without a recommendation, if you don’t tell me where Miss Russo has gone.”

They all talked at once. Blair held his hand up. “One at a time please.”

“Madam didn’t say where she was going,” the maid said. “She took a hansom and hasn’t been back, sir.”

That might help him find her. “Why are you wearing her dress, Mary?”

Mary flushed. “Miss Russo gave it me, sir.” She turned to the others for moral support. “Didn’t she?”

“She did sir. I heard her,” one of the maids said.

Whether they lied or told the truth didn’t matter a damn. He just wanted to find Gina. “I want order restored to the apartment by the time I return. I shall dine here tonight. You can finish the cold beef, but if you indulge yourselves at my expense again you’ll be sorry.”

The chef stepped forward straightening his apron. “A turkey poult or green goose, sir? And perhaps a nice red mullet, with a Cardinal sauce?”

“Either will be fine. Mary, pack Miss Russo’s belongings please.”

Blair put on his hat and coat and left the building. Enquiring at the hansom cab company, he learned that the driver no longer worked there.

He returned to the apartment, feeling lower than he had in his life. The cook had outdone himself but Blair couldn’t do the meal justice.

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