Page 47 of An Inkpot and a Dowry for the Marchioness

“I need to sort myself out,” she muttered to herself. “There is no one who can help me other than myself and I cannot do it here.”

In the townhouse, her thoughts were clouded by the memories she had shared with Oliver, as well as the many afternoons she had spent with Lord Draydon in the drawing room.

Even her own room, where she had dreamed endlessly of marrying the Marquess, posed the possibility of tainting her judgment.

She needed to get out of the townhouse, if only to get her thoughts in order, and she needed to do it alone.

Without another word, she grabbed her bonnet and a shawl and slipped out of the townhouse, unnoticed.

* * *

Oliver stared at his papers but his mind was still on the wonderful afternoon he had spent with his sister, Claire, and Trixie. If he were to spend the rest of his life with them in such a manner, he would have no complaints.

His joy was compounded when Suzanna and Claire seemed to have resolved their conflict without mentioning it anymore.

In any case, Claire appeared happier than she had been in weeks and for that alone, he was grateful.

He stared at the blueprints of the ship and sighed. It was already starting to get dark outside and if the events of the afternoon were anything to go by, he was looking forward to dinner with the ladies.

I cannot concentrate at this point, so I might as well just put it off for tomorrow,he thought with a helpless smile.

He tucked the blueprints back into the folio and slid it into his drawer. Tomorrow, there would be enough time to review it.

For now, he just wanted to enjoy the remainder of the day with the people he loved.

He had just exited his study when he bumped into Trixie, who was looking a little confused.

“Oh, Your Grace! I did not see you there!” she smiled apologetically. She bit her lip. “Have you, by any chance, seen my sister? I passed by her rooms earlier but she was not there.”

He shook his head as a foreboding feeling crept up his spine. “Have you checked her usual spot by the window?”

“I did and she wasn’t there.”

“Maybe she is in the drawing room,” he suggested, hoping against hope that they would find Claire there.

She was not.

In fact, when they questioned the servants if they had seen her, they all replied in the negative.

Claire was nowhere to be found.

“How could she suddenly disappear?” Trixie frowned. “One moment, she was in her rooms and now she is missing. Where could she be at this hour?”

“Maybe she went out for a walk,” Oliver muttered. He found it highly unlikely but Trixie was getting more agitated. He was just about to have the groom prepare his horse to go searching for Claire when his sister walked into the drawing room.

She looked at Oliver and Trixie, frowning when she noted the pensive expressions on both their faces. “You both look like something dreadful has happened.”

Trixie wrung her hands. “Something dreadful has, indeed, happened. Claire is gone.”

“Gone? What do you mean gone?” Lady Suzanna shook her head. “I do not quite understand.”

“She is nowhere to be found and no one has seen her since she went to her rooms,” Oliver bit out in frustration.

“Maybe she had just gone out for a walk,” his sister suggested. “In any case, it is getting dark and she might get lost.”

“I had feared as much,” Oliver muttered. “I shall have the groom prepare my horse. If I have to search every inch of London to find her, I will.”

* * *