We said nothing more until we reached the Brandon house in Brook Street. A startled Matthews said that the master and mistress were breakfasting, but if we cared to join them, he would take us up.
In the dining room, we found Louisa picking at her meal, looking troubled. Brandon was lifting his newspaper, his face red and his breathing quick. We'd interrupted a quarrel, I guessed.
Louisa raised her head when Matthews announced us and started when she saw Lady Breckenridge. 'Your ladyship.' She rose hastily. 'Might I offer you breakfast? We are eating simply today, but my cook would be happy to prepare anything you like.'
Brandon rose as well, his veil of politeness descending. He pulled a chair from the table and swept a gesture at it. 'Please, sit here, your ladyship. You may have coffee, or chocolate, as you prefer. Matthews, get a footman up here. Her ladyship is hungry.'
'No, indeed.' Lady Breckenridge gracefully slid into the offered seat and rested her hands on its arms. 'I could not eat a thing at this appalling hour, but I am craving coffee. Fetch some very strong for me, Matthews, if you please.' She flicked her gaze to Louisa. 'I would never dream of calling on you this early, Mrs. Brandon, and it is horribly rude to interrupt your breakfast, but Gabriel is in trouble, and we must help him.'
Brandon and Louisa exchanged a glance. I sat down, nodding at Matthews that I, too, wanted coffee.
'We have heard the news,' Brandon said stiffly. 'My wife insists that it is her fault. Please talk her out of this nonsense, Lacey.'
Chapter Eleven
Louisa did indeed look haggard. Her face was gray except for spots of color burning in her cheeks.
'How on earth is this your fault, Louisa?' I asked. 'Gabriella walked away from the rooms in King Street and either has lost herself or someone sinister has her. Or someone benevolent,' I added, praying that this was the case. The benevolent person might even now be returning Gabriella to her mother. I wanted that circumstance so much it put a sharp taste in my mouth.
Louisa lifted her gaze, and the shame in her eyes startled me. 'I went to see her,' she said.
'Did you? When? You and I were to go together.'
'I know.' Louisa's voice strengthened. 'I was too impatient, for which I will berate myself for the rest of my life. I did not want you with me, you see, because I did not want you to hear what I had to say to Carlotta.'
I grew still. 'I never gave you the direction to the boardinghouse.'
'You said King Street, Covent Garden. It was easy, once there, to ask for the house in which the two people from France and their daughter stayed. I boldly asked the landlady if I could see Gabriella.'
I gripped the arms of my chair. 'And did you see her?'
'Yes.'
Louisa's eyes moistened. She must have felt what I had-wonder that Gabriella had grown into such a beautiful young woman, love and pride. I saw in Louisa's eyes joy in Gabriella's intelligence and sweetness, sadness that Louisa had missed watching her blossom.
'You spoke to her,' I said.
Louisa nodded. At that moment, a footman bustled in balancing a tray with a coffeepot and cups. The wonderful aroma of coffee filled the room. Louisa wiped her eyes while the footman set down the tray, arranged the cups, and laid out the sugar bowl, silver tongs, and a jug of cream. He took the tray and slid from the room while we sat in silence.
Donata took up the pot and poured coffee into my cup. She knew I liked it black and strong, so while she dropped sugar and cream into her own liquid, she offered me none. She stirred her coffee and cream until it became the color of Felicity's skin.
Lady Breckenridge tapped her spoon lightly on the edge of the cup and set it down, her movements elegant and economical, polished by a host of governesses and nannies. 'What did you say that upset her, Mrs. Brandon?'
Louisa's cheeks burned red. Brandon looked on, brows lowered.
'I told her that her mother had deserted Gabriel,' Louisa said. 'I told her exactly what Carlotta had done- cuckolded him and left him for no good reason. I told Gabriella she'd been taken away and lied to because Carlotta did not want her returning to her true father. I told her what Carlotta's actions had done to Gabriel, how wretched he'd been when he'd learned that his daughter was gone forever.'
'Louisa,' I whispered. 'Dear God.'
'I know it was utterly stupid,' she said in an anguished voice. 'But Gabriella deserved to know the truth. I know that Carlotta painted you a villain and would have said that she had to run away from you and your cruelty. Carlotta wants her little nest in France with her lover and her children, and you know she will not risk losing Gabriella to you.'
I fell silent, having no idea what to say. Louisa liked to be my champion, but I could imagine the effect her words must have had on Gabriella.
Donata sipped her coffee thoughtfully. 'And Gabriella was visibly upset?'
'Yes.' Louisa bit her lip, not wanting to look at us. 'She cried. I tried to comfort her, but she would not have me. She told me very clearly to leave. It broke my heart, but I did.'
'You did not see… Mrs. Lacey?' Donata asked.
'No. I left Gabriella in the downstairs parlor. By that time I was crying too, and I knew I could not face Carlotta. I decided to go home.' Silent tears trickled from Louisa's eyes. 'It must have been after that interview that Gabriella left the house. I upset her, and she ran away. She might have been coming to see you, Gabriel, to demand the truth from you, or perhaps she simply wanted to walk and think, I do not know.' She wiped her cheeks with the heel of her hand. 'I will not ask your forgiveness, because I do not deserve it.'
I sat in stunned silence, trying to take in what she had told me.
Brandon noisily gulped his morning chocolate, leaving a dark stain above his upper lip. He wiped it away with a napkin. 'You are not to blame, Louisa. She might have walked out of the house because you upset her, but if she got lost, it is not your fault.' He shrugged his broad shoulders. 'Who knows? She might have gone straight upstairs and had a row with her mother, and then decided to run away. Carlotta Lacey, as I recall, could try a saint's patience.'
He flicked a glance at me but did not apologize. He had thought Carlotta a flighty woman from the first and had never been overly friendly to her.
'The point upon which we must focus,' Lady Breckenridge cut in crisply, 'is not why Gabriella left the house, but where she went.'
'I have been over that in my head,' I said. I felt relief and gratitude toward Donata for simply being there. 'If she tried to go back to Grimpen Lane, she'd walk through Covent Garden to Russel Street. That is a straightforward route, no reason to go any other way.'
'Perhaps she stopped to shop in the market and got turned around,' Donata suggested. 'She thought she was heading toward Grimpen Lane when, in fact, she was walking down Southampton Street. This is her first time in London-England even-and she might easily have become confused.'
Louisa had said nothing, remaining with her head bowed, the golden curls at her forehead trembling. So worried was I over Gabriella's disappearance that I did blame Louisa at present. She'd had no right to tell Gabriella those things, no right to interfere. Louisa thought she'd acted for my sake, but had she? I had told her to leave Gabriella and Carlotta alone, and Louisa had not listened.
Colonel Brandon broke in. 'It seems to me, Lacey, that you are predicting dire events before the fact. Perhaps the girl simply made her way back to France. She was upset and wanted to go home. If she had money and was resourceful, she could buy a coach ticket to Dover. Or she could have stolen whatever tickets and money her parents had put aside for their return. Or sold gewgaws or some such, in her determination to go home.'
'Alone?' I asked. 'A young woman as well raised as she would not think to travel alone. No maid went with her.'
'My reasoning takes in the fact that she is your daughter,' Brandon said. 'And you are the most bloody stubborn man I know. If Gabriella decided to return by herself to France, I am certain she would try to do it no
