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As soon as he did so, the box dropped to the floor, contents spilling, and Reginald fell into an uncontrollable bout of sneezing. She caught a whiff of table pepper.

Albie grabbed her arm. Diana would have headed toward the front, but Albie pulled her to the kitchen, where Monsieur Bacri waited. But no look of disgust crossed his face. He bowed to Albion, handed him a small portmanteau, and escorted them to the back door.

"Those supplies should help fortify you on the voyage home," he told them in English.

"The Comtesse's son should be waiting in the appointed place, along with your men.

If constables are approaching via the high road, they shall soon surround the house.

Leave at once and cut through the back garden.

That path will take you directly to the boat landing. "

“Thank you,” Albion replied. “I believe Reginald will have difficulty communicating instructions at present. That should provide sufficient time. But once Reg has recovered, you might continue to berate him for allowing an orc to tarnish your fine establishment.” Then, with a wink for Diana: “How fortunate to have friends who are such devilish fine actors. Now, let us retrieve your sister and escape this place.”

And Diana joined Albion in the gray twilight descending over the coast.

When they reached the groundskeeper’s cottage a few minutes later, Lillian, William, and Edward Langley were waiting.

At Lillian’s side stood a thin, pallid boy of about fourteen, who kept his gaze downcast shyly when introduced as Jacques.

Diana was granted only a quick squeeze of Lillian’s shoulder by way of greeting.

Then Albion thrust the portmanteau Bacri had given him into Edward’s arms, clasped his hand in Diana’s, and wasted not one more second hurrying the group along the garden’s cobblestone pathway to the dock.

Two men in loose shirts, trousers that hung just below their knees, and matching duck cotton vests busied themselves, lowering a platform from the bow of a modest-looking boat.

It was perhaps sixty feet long, its hull a subdued shade of blue that nearly blended into the gentle waters lapping the dock behind Monsieur Bacri’s inn.

“A private conveyance?” Diana gawked at the vessel.

“Christened Hyacinth ,” Albion said. “My cousin is to thank for it. Hugh. We shan’t need to wait for the next packet ship to cross the Channel.”

“It is a most unusual design.” An upper deck was stacked above the main one atop the hull, providing sufficient room for perhaps a half-dozen passenger berths.

While masts and rigging extended vertically on either side of the deck, they currently bore no sails.

Instead, she saw a steam pipe rising from the ship’s center and a paddle wheel at the stern.

“A steamship!” She exclaimed, louder than intended. “Is it seaworthy?”

“You’ve so little faith in me, madam. Never underestimate Orcan ingenuity.

” Albion smiled. “Dash it all. I sound like Dunc! But the design is remarkably clever. It requires a limited crew: a captain to steer and a first mate to provide relief. And they can raise the sails when we reach open water. But I am assured that under the power of a steam engine, we shall depart with all due haste.”

Diana nodded, taking in the marvel she was about to board. “We are bypassing Calais, then. But what of the customs officers on the other side of the Channel?”

“In the past, they were easy enough to convince to look the other way,” Albion said.

“A few crisp banknotes, and they needn’t bother themselves with us.

However, given the excessive bounty on the Phantom, I took an extra precaution.

We shall sail north along the English coast to Yarmouth.

It will take longer than going to Dover, for sure, but Bacri’s supplies should help fortify us.

And then Hugh will meet us forthwith and serve as a companion for Lillian if it pleases. I trust him with my life.”

“As long as we are all safe,” Diana said. “I don’t think I will ever ask for more from this life.”

As they hitched their skirts and lightly touched the captain’s hands to board the steamship, Diana took note of her sister’s condition.

Lil’s face looked wan, but the firm set of her jaw was encouraging.

No doubt Lil had numerous tales to relate about her time as a nurse, and she seemed no worse for the experience.

But how close she has come to losing her. And Albie, as well.

Diana extended her arms to balance as she followed Lillian up the stairs leading from the first to the second deck.

The Langleys had enlisted Jacques to help stow luggage, and Albie had left to have a word with the first mate to see if he needed assistance when it was time to hoist the sails.

The mere thought of Albie trading his elegant Bond Street attire for the loose shirt and trousers of a sailor, his muscular calves bare as he worked the sailing ropes, made Diana smile to herself, both for the sheer wonder of it and the familiar thrumming desire for her husband.

For now, she and Lil were alone in the main cabin, its walls bare of furnishings and the doors to each of the berths closed. Perhaps she would want to sleep in another few hours, but right now, she wanted nothing more than to be near those she loved most.

At last, Diana turned to Lillian and drew her close in a tight hug.

“Are you all right?” Diana whispered. “Truly?”

“I was disappointed to have my trip cut short, but I am so grateful to Albion.”

“It is my fault you were in danger,” Diana exclaimed. “It has been my fault all along. With everything.”

Lillian shook her head. “You mustn’t think that.”

“I fancied Nigel,” Diana said, the words locked inside of her for so long now pouring forth, as a sinner in a confessional. “For a short while, only. But it was not appropriate. I grew too intrigued by his politicking. It was shameful. I’m sorry, Lil. I’m so sorry. You must hate me.”

Lillian regarded her calmly, elegant and unreadable as ever, before releasing a sigh.

“Di, I know.”

“You know?”

“You have always been a female politician. How could I expect anything less? But you did absolutely nothing to encourage him. I know that as well. Nigel was never a good match for me. Were he a better man, I would say he was a better fit for you. Father encouraged the proposal. He was afraid I would be left on the shelf and a burden to him. I was less enthusiastic but felt pressured to accept. I’m the oldest. It’s my duty.

Were I to become a burden to my family, how could I live with the shame of it? ”

As Lil spoke, the tension Diana had carried in her shoulders for so long slowly started to relent. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were even more thrilled than Father! And I had to marry someone. That is how I saw it. I had been through a season already, after all. Truth be told, Di, by the time of the incident. I’m ashamed to admit this.

” She lowered her head. “A part of me was glad it happened. That is the truth of it. I couldn’t wait to call off the engagement.

But I couldn’t share as much because I felt too much shame over it.

You suffered. Mother treated you abominably.

And you were sent away. Across an ocean! It was terrible.”

“In the end, I did not mind my time away from London.”

“And I did not mind your interactions with my fiancé. I think the lesson to take from this whole affair is that we must always trust and be honest with one another.”

Diana smiled at her sister. Naturally, Lillian would want to draw a lesson from all this.

She was the elder sister and saw it as her duty to do so.

As for Diana, she saw the entire affair in a different light now: as a silly and cruel result of the social rules they were raised to obey as though their lives depended on them.

In many ways, their lives had depended on them.

But not anymore.

“I don’t know if I consider all of this a lesson, as such,” Diana said. “But I whole-heartedly agree. As long as we are honest and open with one another, our bond will remain strong.”

“Whether we live near one another or farther away,” Lil added.

“So you’ve still plans to become a nurse,” Diana said. “And not in London?”

“I don’t know yet. But I believe your destiny lies elsewhere, Di. For now, anyway.” She worried a bit of lace edging her pelisse. “Or should I call you Daisy? As your husband does.”

“I am proud of both my names, Lil. You use whichever you feel moved to.”

They embraced again.

“And now, go to your husband,” her sister said. “I’m sure the two of you have much to discuss.”