She knew she was asking a lot. She knew that Minnie would inevitably be dismissed once the ruse was discovered. But this was her only chance to escape her dreadful fate. If she could reach the North, she could vanish entirely. No one would know where she was except for her maid. And she trusted Minnie implicitly. She knew that Minnie would never betray her.
“All right,” said Minnie, taking a deep breath. “I will do it. To help you, of course, for you know I would do anything for you. But that is not the only reason.” She paused. “I have been thinking lately that I want to leave this place. My grannie is ailing, like I said. I have been wanting to move north to live with her and help her in the shop, but I didn’t want to leaveyou, my lady. You have been the only thing keeping me here.”
Delia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But…that could mean we both get what we want!”
A slow smile spread over Minnie’s face. “Aye, my lady. We could meet in Bradford. I will give you the address of Grannie’s house. She’ll take you in if you explain who you are and hide you until I get there.” She paused, staring at the bag of coins. “But I will not take all of that. If they discover it on me, they will charge me with theft, my lady.”
Delia stared at the bag of coins in her hand. She hadn’t thought of that. Of course, they would accuse Minnie of theft. A lowly maid shouldn’t be in possession of such a large sum of money. Her heart sank.
“But…how will you survive?” She blinked back tears. “I cannot ask you to do this for me without proper recompense. How will you even pay for the journey north?”
“I can take a few coins,” said Minnie firmly. “Not enough to arouse suspicion, but enough to get me by. You take the bag, my lady. Protect it with your life. You will need it to start a new life.”
Delia didn’t reply. The enormity of what she was suggesting, and what she was asking of Minnie, was starting to overwhelm her. She would have to start a whole new life in Bradford. She could no longer be Lady Cordelia Pelham. And the coins would not last forever. Eventually, she would be forced to find some kind of work. And she wasn’t equipped to do anything. She couldn’t scrub floors or bake bread. If she tried to get work as a maid or cook she would be instantly dismissed as useless. What other work could a woman do?
But then, the thought slid seamlessly into her mind, as if it had been waiting for the right moment. Shecouldbecome a governess. She had been adequately educated, enough to teach the basics at least. She could learn on the job and gather books. She had heard of impoverished ladies becoming governesses.
And if that didn’t eventuate, she could always help in Minnie’s grandmother’s shop in exchange for food and lodging at least. Couldn’t she?
A small kernel of excitement was growing in her chest. This might just be possible. At the very least, it was enough to take the risk.
“Yes,” she said breathlessly. “Yes. It will work. Itmustwork.”
Minnie grinned. “Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s change outfits. I will take a few coins and give you my Grannie’s address. And then we will meet in Bradford, my lady, when all of this is over.”
***
Delia’s heart was in her mouth as she climbed onto the milk cart, pushing Minnie’s bonnet low over her face. She glanced back at the carriage, just in time to see Minnie rush into it, the hood of Delia’s blue velvet cloak pulled low to hide her face. Within a minute, she heard the crack of the whip, and the carriage was hurtling down the driveway and through the gates on the way to Lord Stanton’s house.
Minnie was gone. The ruse had commenced.
Before she could contemplate the enormity of what she was doing, the milkman was away. They turned down a dirt road. Delia could barely breathe. She kept expecting to hear the sound of horses’ hooves behind them, overtaking the milk cart, forcing it to pull over. But they never came.
By the time the milkman dropped her at the crossroads to wait for the coach, with Minnie’s small, battered trunk at her feet, she allowed herself to hope. It had helped that Papa had already said goodbye to her just after breakfast and had abruptly left the house for the day, clearly unable to stand the tension between them. He had not been there to farewell the carriage. She knew it mightn’t have worked if he had been.
She gazed down the lonely road. She was the only person at the crossroads. It struck her forcibly that she had never been more alone in her life before. The only person who knew her whereabouts was Minnie. She was wearing her maid’s frock, bonnet, and threadbare coat, which barely kept out the biting wind on this cold winter’s day.
Her old life was gone. She was a new person now.
She slipped her hand into the pocket of Minnie’s coat, making sure the slip of paper with Minnie’s grandmother’s address was still there, along with the paper ticket for the stagecoach. She checked the other pocket, which held the bag of coins. Reassured all was in place, she huddled against the wind. There was no traffic on these roads, not even a lone farmer’s wagon. She might be the only person in the world.
She blinked back tears. She was terrified. She had never felt more afraid in her life. She had never travelled on a public stagecoach before and had most certainly never journeyed alone like this. She wasn’t sure how long the journey to Bradford would take, but she knew it would be a long time. The North of England might as well be the other side of the world.
What was she doing? How could she pull this off?
Her terror started to overwhelm her. She could always walk back home. It would take a long time, but she roughly knew the way. They would be shocked, and she would be in terrible trouble, but it was better than running away on a stagecoach, wasn’t it?
But just as she was almost certain she was going to walk away, she heard the sound of the coach approaching. The rattle of wheels. The horses’ hooves. The crack of the whip. The coach appeared on the horizon, making its way towards her. She felt like she was going to be sick as it slowed down, drawing up alongside her.
Her ticket was checked. Minnie’s battered trunk was hoisted onto the top. And then she stepped inside…to a brand new life.
Chapter 6
Ambrose stood scowling at the busy juncture of Piccadilly in London, waiting for the stagecoach that was to take him to Bradford.
It is a seething mass of humanity, he thought disdainfully, watching as people scurried like mice to and from waiting coaches. The air was filled with competing smells—horses, pork pies from the street sellers, the dreadful aroma of unwashed flesh. Not everyone who took these coaches liked to bathe regularly or had the means to.
He took out his pocket watch and checked the time before impatiently putting it back in his jacket. The stagecoach to Bradford was late. Very late. It was supposed to be here half an hour ago. This final delay on his journey home felt like torture. Nothing had gone right on this trip to London. Nothing.