A day before Lord Edward's ball, the manor was in a flurry. Servants rushed through the halls, hauling linens and arranging carriages, while the frantic wife of the reaper darted between them, repeating the same question for what must have been the hundredth time.
"Has anyone seen my husband?"
After bidding farewell to Eloise, Mary had gone back to her room, dressed for breakfast, and sat at the table—only to find herself eating alone again. She had asked around, but no one dared approach his room. So she went there herself... only to discover that he wasn't inside.
Nor anywhere in the manor.
"He never told me where he went," she cried, turning to the servants. "Do any of you know where his family lives?"
It had been two days since then. Was he avoiding her? But he had been the one who told her to come to him every night. Stupid. It was because she wanted it.
