An Unconventional Heiress by Paula Marshall

Author:Paula Marshall [Marshall, Paula]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4592-4008-7
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises
Published: 2012-04-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The day of Lucy’s birthday party was as fine and bright as any since Sarah had arrived in the colony. She had not treated herself to a new dress, but had chosen to wear one of those which she had brought from England. It was a white muslin with pale blue trimmings and a parasol and a tiny straw hat to match.

She had debated on what to give Lucy for a birthday present until Tom Dilhorne had taken her aside in his store and shown her a fan which he had just unpacked. It was Chinese and had delicate porcelain panels mounted inside the cream feathers and intricate ivory spokes. Each panel had a flower or a bird painted on it. Sarah, entranced, bought it immediately and could hardly wait to see Lucy’s face when she gave it to her. Tom spoke briefly to her of the missing Annie. He had been unable to find any trace of where she might have gone—or where she could have found refuge.

She was thinking of this when she ran lightly upstairs that afternoon to dress herself for Lucy’s party. Mrs Bell had been round again and was finding an unlikely ally in Mrs Hackett. Not that Mrs Hackett had any real sympathy for either Annie or her mother, but she was more than happy to use them to show her disapproval of Sarah these days. She was always comparing her unfavourably with her brother. ‘A proper gentleman he is, who knows a gentleman’s place,’ she was fond of saying.

Sarah tried to forget all her many worries. An afternoon and evening of innocent fun with Lucy and her friends were what she needed. She was debating which of her reticules was more appropriate for the ensemble she had just put on when she heard a door slam and the sound of running feet on the stairs.

As once before, Sukie burst into her bedroom in a state of ill-defined panic.

‘What is it now, Sukie? I haven’t time to engage in a new argument with Mrs Hackett. You really must learn to live with the woman.’

‘It ain’t that, Mum.’ Miss Sarah and proper diction seemed to have flown out the window, thought Sarah in exasperation—as had Sukie’s neatness of dress. She was nearly as flyaway as she had been before Nellie’s baby had been born.

‘Oh, Mum, you must come with me, now.’

‘Indeed, no. I’m off to Miss Middleton’s birthday party. I’m already late because of Mrs Bell’s latest eruption. Tell me when I come back.’

‘It’ll likely be too late by then, Mum, I mean Miss Sarah. It’s Annie.’

Sarah’s heart gave a great lurch. She threw her reticule on to the bed. ‘Explain yourself, Sukie. What do you mean by saying it’s Annie? Annie is missing.’

‘Oh, no, Mum, Miss Sarah, she ain’t. Come with me and I’ll show you.’

Dear God, thought Sarah. Mrs Bell is right. I am involved in Annie’s disappearance, or Sukie is, which comes down to the same thing.

She seized Sukie by the shoulders.

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