Page 61 of No Ordinary Lady

Marian stripped off the expensive gown and laid it neatly on her bed. When she retrieved her older gown and put it on, her nose wrinkled in distaste at the shabby state of it. It was old and worn and not very flattering, but it was hers.

She compared the two dresses and decided that for now, she would wear the nicer gown over her old one when she left the estate. She would travel as a woman of some affluence and perhaps hire a maid to accompany her, too.

She would keep the dress as a reminder that her greatest mistake was letting someone close to her heart.

Caring about what people thought of her had been a great folly.

She glanced out the window to determine the time of day, only to see the Kimble gig departing, bouncing madly along the front drive with Gabby at the reins and Mr. Kimble holding on to his hat with one hand and the carriage seat with the other.

Marian laughed softly, but tears were only a moment away again. The only real friend she’d ever known, a genuine original in every sense of the word, had already left the estate. Marian regretted not being able to say goodbye to Gabby so very much, but it was probably for the best.

Best for Gabby.

Marian would never see Gabby again and could not even wish her well on her journey toward matrimony next year. She hoped Gabby found someone who could love her as she deserved. Someone who met every one of her requirements in a gentleman. Handsome, kind, wealthy, and perhaps even titled.

Someone a bit like Danny.

She watched Gabby and her guardian drive away until the carriage finally disappeared from sight. But then another carriage immediately replaced it on the drive, headed toward the manor house at a stately clip. It was a large enough not to mistake the grand conveyance headed their way, pulled by a team of four white horses. It was the Wilsons’ carriage coming again.

A keen depression settled upon Marian’s shoulders then. Amy Wilson might again be among them for dinner. She couldn’t face that woman over the dinner table again, and why should she ever have to? It’s not as if anyone but Mrs. Nolan worried if she were absent.

And then, while everyone was at dinner, she could gather up whatever money she would need for her journey and leave.

Satisfied with her decision, she took one last look at her chamber and sat down on the bed. There would be plenty of time to return to Danny’s room tonight.

If she timed her leaving just right, she might escape detection by the servants entirely, too.

Marian could be on the road to the next village before the sun was high in the sky tomorrow and long before anyone realized she’d gone.

Time sometimes passed slowly when you were waiting to lighten someone’s pockets, but eventually, she judged the sky dark enough for her escapade. She crept out into the hall. As she’d anticipated, there wasn’t a soul on the upper floor or anywhere near the master bedchamber. The family should all be downstairs, dining on stuffed pig and drinking wine and laughing together in wait for a proposal while the servants waited on them hand and foot.

She moved along the hall purposefully and let herself into Danny’s bedchamber.

It was just as she remembered, empty, a bit untidy, and filled with the scent of his sandalwood cologne. She moved through the room, collecting the coins she’d found earlier in the day and hiding them away in the many pockets of her old gown. But when she got to the desk drawer, she found it was locked, which hadn’t been the case last time.

That was a small obstacle to overcome for someone like her. She put her hand to her hair and extracted a hairpin, one of the new wire ones she’d been given by Mrs. Nolan when she’d first arrived. It was not shaped quite right, and she felt a pang of regret as she twisted the object to suit her immediate needs and then went to work on the lock.

It clicked open easily, and she dug beneath Danny’s papers to find the money so imperfectly hidden at the bottom of the drawer.

She counted out the notes on the tabletop, one hundred and twenty pounds. More money than she’d ever had in her life, or ever expected to see again, but still not enough for a long and comfortable life. It was merely a drop in the ocean to someone with a thriving estate like this, but Marian felt another unexpected pang of regret. She’d rather stay than have the money.

But that was impossible.

She had to leave before she was forced to pretend the joy she just did not feel. She would be expected to celebrate Danny’s engagement along with everyone else when it was finally announced. But she couldn’t pretend anymore, because it would wrench out her heart, stab it with knives of regret, and turn her bitter.

No. Leaving was her best course of action.

She stuffed the money between her breasts, under her stays, and closed and locked the drawer again.

Then, with one last look around the room, she headed for the dressing closet, where she suspected a safe might be a hidden that was sure to set Marian up for a comfortable life far from Danny.

Chapter Fourteen

“Where is your companion tonight, Mrs. Nolan,” Amy asked as the first course of dinner was laid out before them. “Will she be joining us for dinner?”

Daniel could kiss Amy for asking that question. He’d been wondering what was keeping Marian for the last half hour, but did not wish to single her out for notice. He was missing her smile.

“I’m afraid not. She was to dine in her room tonight,” Granny answered after a moment.