Page 7 of Benefactor to the Baroness (The Seductive Sleuths #3)

R osemary jerked upright in bed. Her face was covered in a sheen of sweat and the room was uncomfortably warm. A sound came from outside, a kind of moaning, and then a knocking, like a woodpecker, but at an odd interval. Her heart thudded in her chest as she curled beneath her blankets, the fog of sleep still obscuring her thoughts. She should do something. Rise and peer out the window? Or pretend to ignore the sound and go back to sleep, assuming it would stop?

But if there really was someone outside, what was stopping them from barging in? Even living with only one maid, she had never felt unsafe, as her cottage was fairly remote, on the far edge of the Briarwood estate. The only people who ever ventured near were the staff and the occasional villager.

The rapping came again, followed by a moan.

What if there was a highwayman, a brigand, or someone who wanted to steal from her?

She threw the thin blanket off her legs and crept to the window. When she peered outside, her heart leaped into her throat. A black-cloaked figure leaned against the outside of her cottage. Then the figure spun around and, in that moment, the terror that had filled her vanished, replaced by a searing heat that spread from her chest down her legs. The stranger was no bandit, but Dowager Baroness Kerry.

Lady Kerry was outside her cottage.

She rushed to open the door. It was raining, but not a heavy downpour. Just enough that as Lady Kerry stumbled inside, she left a puddle of muddy water in her wake. Beneath her robe, she wore an orange day dress with a full skirt, cap sleeves decorated with black, knitted lace, and a bonnet covered in orange ribbon tied in bows. As she removed her cloak, she wavered on her feet, and the smell that radiated from her was distinctly alcoholic.

Lady Kerry was drunk.

What was the proper decorum for managing a drunk woman of higher social status who appeared at one’s door in the small hours? The situation was certainly one in which many other ladies would have squealed with delight to find themselves, as when Lady Kerry regained her senses, she would certainly owe Rosemary a significant apology and a boon, unless she wanted news of her escapades to ripple through the ton . Not that Rosemary would have considered indulging in such a thing. Only the cowardly used blackmail to accomplish their goals.

“I apologize for coming to see you at such a scandalous hour, Mrs. Summersby,” Lady Kerry said, slurring her words only slightly. “I have something I must speak to you about.”

Rosemary turned to the side so the woman could enter. The small space did not quite allow her to move far enough away, so when Lady Kerry walked past her, the hem of her orange skirt flirted over the edge of Rosemary’s feet.

Her cheeks burned, and she chastised herself for her entirely unacceptable infatuation with the baroness. Nothing could come of such feelings. They were both women. Being caught engaging in intimate matters with another woman, especially a member of the peerage, would only result in them both being cast out of society. Rosemary had engaged in short-term intimate relationships with lower-class women in the past, but they had inevitably ended when it had become too difficult to keep the secret. She was too old and too tired for such things now.

She realized Fontaine was speaking and forced her attention back to the baroness.

“…no choice,” Lady Kerry said as she paced the cottage. “If Mr. Hill finds out, he’ll expel me from the board.”

“Mr. Hill?” Rosemary asked as she returned to her chair. She didn’t attempt to stop her unexpected visitor. Doing so would have been an exercise in futility. The woman was obviously overset and needed some time to vent her anger.

At least they had not yet woken Nelly. Rosemary would have struggled to explain to her maid why a dowager baroness was visiting the cottage in the middle of the night. The only thing that would’ve been more scandalous was if Lady Kerry were a man. Rosemary had struggled with her nieces allowing themselves to be placed in similar positions with men before they had married. It had taken all of her restraint to stop herself from locking the girls in their rooms.

That was irrelevant now, though. Both of her nieces were wed, and both were with child, or a mother already. There was nothing left for Rosemary to do. Her duty was complete.

Lady Kerry buried her fingers in her hair. “Insufferably proper arsehole. If I even step a toe out of line, he chastises me.” She uttered a strangled scream. “I’m so sick of it. Sick of playing his game. One more month, and then he’ll be out, but what of me? There’s no time. I don’t know what to do.”

To Rosemary’s horror, tears ran down Lady Kerry’s cheeks.

“I apologize, but I haven’t the faintest idea what you are talking about,” Rosemary said. Then she softened her tone. “What happened?”

“So many children,” Lady Kerry said on a sob. “I’ve failed them all.”

The muscles in Rosemary’s shoulders tensed. “Annie and the others?” She would never forget how the poor orphans had clung to each other in the cramped room. It would break her heart to learn that something had happened to them, even though she’d only met them hours ago.

That was the danger of getting oneself involved. It became much more difficult to maintain the necessary emotional distance. Now that she knew the names of the orphans, she couldn’t forget them.

Lady Kerry brushed her cheeks with her gloved hands. “Not Annie and the others. I’ll be picking them up tomorrow and taking them to one of the foundation’s homes. But others have been taken from the street and transported to the new world. I’ve had no luck trying to track down what gang is doing it. That is why”—she met Rosemary’s gaze—“I’ve decided I have to see for myself. I have a ship willing to transport me to Halifax, but the captain won’t take me unless a lady comes with me.”

Several seconds passed before Rosemary realized Fontaine was done speaking, then the implication of her words hit her like a punch to the throat. “You want me to accompany you across the ocean?” The request was so absurd, it was not even worth considering. She was content in her cottage. She did not need to experience the adventures her nieces had involved themselves in throughout the previous several years. Her life was interesting and satisfying enough, without excitement.

Maybe if she kept telling herself that, she would believe it.

Lady Kerry shook her head. “You are right, of course. I’m sorry. I should not have come here. It was unfair of me to involve you in such matters.” She chuckled. “The eminently proper Mrs. Summersby, traveling to Halifax at the drop of a hat. What was I thinking?”

At those words, the contrary creature inside of Rosemary awoke from slumber and reared its head. Lady Kerry’s scorn, her quick dismissal before even receiving a response, rubbed against Rosemary like coarse wool on freshly bathed skin. Why shouldn’t she have her own adventure?

Saffron’s words from that afternoon returned to her in a flash.

“You would not recognize excitement if it leaped into your lap.”

What would Saffron and Angelica say if they learned their aunt had abandoned her new “friend” to her own affairs, despite knowing that Lady Kerry could likely get herself in significant trouble?

“Wait,” Rosemary said before she realized what she was doing. Lady Kerry seemed to draw an impulsive urge out of her, which was both thrilling and terrifying. “Are you certain the children are coming to harm?”

Lady Kerry chewed on her lower lip. “The Halifax branch has stopped responding to letters and telegrams.” She pressed her fists to her temple. “I established the relocation scheme, Mrs. Summersby. It was on my orders that the foundation sent children. If something has happened to them…” Her shoulders slumped. “I have witnessed the worst of what can befall street urchins. Fates I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy.”

Rosemary gulped. She had almost forgotten that Lady Kerry had not always been a lady and had likely suffered more than anyone Rosemary had ever met. Despite that, Lady Kerry didn’t seem to grasp the danger of her plan. She might be scammed, or worse, once she arrived in Halifax.

Rosemary remembered what she’d told Saffron earlier, that she’d attempt to convince Lady Kerry to focus on more socially acceptable ways of achieving her goals. This was a perfect time to start.

“There must be someone else you can send,” Rosemary said. “Why must you do this yourself?”

Lady Kerry threw up her arms. “Don’t you understand? If I’ve allowed those children to come to harm…” She put her hands over her face. “I would never forgive myself.”

Lady Kerry was somehow even more beautiful in her misery, with flashing eyes and flushed cheeks. Rosemary wanted nothing more than to pull the woman into an embrace and mutter nonsense words until Lady Kerry calmed down. But she dared not risk such a display of affection when any of her guests might see them. She wasn’t quite ready for any of them to learn that secret.

Suddenly, she remembered how she had initially rejected Angelica, Saffron, and Basil. The children had not been her responsibility. She wasn’t related to them by blood. She had sent the solicitor who had come to her door away, certain that someone else would take in the children. If she hadn’t changed her mind, they could have ended up with their distant cousin, who had inherited the baronet title after Basil’s death. The man might have done nothing for the children beyond the bare minimum required by the law.

She could not fault Lady Kerry for her dedication to children for whom she obviously felt responsible. Rosemary had been in such a place and had made the same decision. One that she had never expected to make but did not regret.

Still, a trip to Halifax ? Canada?

It was ridiculous. There had to be another way, even if Lady Kerry could not see it.

“I will accompany you to retrieve the children from the Whitechapel workhouse,” she said. “After we’ve secured them, then I will consider your…other request.”

During their trip to the workhouse, she would use every argument she could think of to make Lady Kerry realize she had other options available to further her goals. There was no need for her to do everything on her own.

“You will not regret this,” Lady Kerry said. Then she threw her arms around Rosemary’s neck, causing her to imagine many impossible things, such as lying in bed with Lady Kerry curled up against her, their tangled limbs slick with sweat.

She mentally shook herself. Lady Kerry was a virtual stranger, a dowager baroness and the daughter of an earl, a woman who had shown no sign that she was interested in anything more from Rosemary than companionship.

Unless that changed, she would not allow herself to consider scenarios that could never happen.