“Yes ma’am,” Beatrice replied quietly.
Her heart sunk at this news, but there was nothing she could do about the new arrangement but hope that her roommate was kind. On the second floor, Beatrice followed Mrs. Kilborn down a long hallway lined with doors. She stopped at the very last one on the left, and she gave a quick two knocks before opening the door without permission.
A gasp left Beatrice’s lips as she saw a familiar face, and she forgot herself as she rushed past Ms. Kilborn and into the other woman’s waiting arms.
“Deborah!” Beatrice exclaimed, hugging the woman tight.
“Oh, my days, Beatrice?!” Deborah exclaimed with a laugh.
Mrs. Kilborn let out a rather unladylike grunt.
“I see you two know one another?” she asked dryly.
“Oh, yes,” Deborah replied. “Do not worry Ms. Kilborn, I shall keep her in line.”
“Best see that you do,” Ms. Kilborn replied grittily. “There is something a little uppity about this one.”
Beatrice ignored the slight, too overcome with relief that her roommate was someone she already knew, and she hugged Deborah closer.
“Beatrice,” Deborah sighed once they were left alone. She tenderly pulled away from their hug and held Beatrice back to look at her face. Beatrice immediately looked down, her eyes already swimming with tears.
“The last I saw you, you were so very happy! What has happened?” Deborah asked, her tone full of worry.
Unable to hold them back anymore, Beatrice burst into tears. At once she was in Deborah’s arms again and was being led to the nearest small, hard bed—so very different than the one she’d had at Algernon’s. Together, they sat down, and as Beatrice laid her head in Deborah’s lap, she let her tears run free, and she told her story.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“Goodness old man. You look terrible.”
Algernon raised his head wearily, his brooding expression unmoving as he took in Henry’s appearance. As usual, he looked perfect, not a hair or garment out of place.
“What do you want, Henry?” Algernon gritted out, turning his gaze back to his open file. Not that he was reading it. He had just been sitting there for hours now, staring blankly at the pages. It had been days, nigh on a week, since he’d been able to focus. He’d lost the ability even before his final argument with Beatrice—just as he’d lost the ability to do many things. Sleep, eat, take care in his appearance. All he seemed to be able to do was mourn the woman that was never his in the first place.
“I wish to acquire your assistance on a matter of Beatrice and my wedding,” Henry informed him, taking the vacant chair across from Algernon’s desk. “The Church nor the Crown seem to want to expedite our license. I know you have a few friends that canpull certain strings, and I was hoping you could reach out to them.”
Algernon’s felt another crack open in his already broken heart, and he screwed his eyes shut to breathe through the pain.
“Why do you need to expedite the marriage?” he grumbled. “Would it not look better society-wise to wait the proper time?”
“If Beatrice was still residing here, I would agree,” Henry replied matter-of-factly. “However, her current place of residence is less than lacking. I do not wish her to be there any longer than she has to be.”
Algernon’s head snapped up as his eyes flew open, his aching heart racing. He’d known she’d left, but as much as he’d pressed Mira, the maid refused to speak of Beatrice’s whereabouts.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“A boarding house just outside of Mayfair,” Henry uttered, his expression matching his unhappy tone. “The matron is strict and seems to be able to keep the riffraff out. And Beatrice had a stroke of luck being bunked with a woman she already knew. Still, I do not like her being there. She deserves better.”
“And why did you not offer her better?” Algernon all but growled.
Henry answered Algernon’s hardened look with one of his own.
“Of course, I did,” he hurled back with obvious offense. “She refused.”
“You should have given her no choice,” Algernon seethed.
Henry scoffed.
“Yes, and that worked out so well for you when you tried such a thing, did it not?” he retorted accusingly.