James sat, glad to get off his feet, which still felt unsteady. The ladies moved upstairs, and he leaned his head back against the wall. That helped the throbbing slightly. Banks came and stood over him. “Shall I pack your things, James?”
James opened his eyes. “I don’t think I’ll need them where I’m going, Mr. Banks.”
Nine
Phil waited until her mother had finished sobbing and until they had both had a good deal of Madeira. Then she sat beside her mother on the couch and took her hand. “Mama, I have a story to tell you. It’s about a lady and a footman.”
Her mother’s sharp eyes met hers and narrowed. “I see. Is this a fictional story?”
Phil wet her lips. “It is based on a true story. Will you listen?”
The duchess took another sip of Madeira. “Go ahead.”
“It begins with the daughter of a duke. She didn’t want to marry a man out of duty. She wanted to marry for love. None of the men she met at balls or the opera or any social events made her feel anything more than friendship. But then she met a man who made her belly flutter. The moment he walked into her life, everything changed. The sun seemed brighter, the air crisper. Food tasted even more savory, music sounded more beautiful. She fell in love, Mama. She didn’t want to. She didn’t even know if the man noticed her.”
“But he did,” her mother said darkly.
“He did. He did not want to love her either. He was not a bad man, but he was desperate. His family was poor and suffering. He and his friends needed money. They hatched a very ill-advised scheme—some might call it criminal.”
Her mother harrumphed.
“He would pretend to be a servant in the duke’s household, and there he would plan how to abduct the lady and collect a ransom.”
The duchess lifted the ransom note she had clutched in her hand.
“But when he met the duke’s daughter, his plan to abduct her changed into a plan to protect her. They tried to ignore their feelings. They fought the pull of their love, but eventually it triumphed, and they gave in.”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “How hard did they fight?”
Phil went on. “The servant continued to try and protect his love, but his former accomplices had other plans. They abducted her and tried to hurt her. The servant risked everything to save her. He risked his life and his freedom.”
“And now?” her mother asked, her eyes clear and steady on Phil’s.
“And now the lady must protect him. His accomplices will implicate him. She must keep him safe.”
“Is that what he’s asked you to do?”
Phil shook her head. “No. He has agreed to go to the magistrate and turn himself in.”
“Then let him!” Her mother rose from the couch.
“Mama!”
The duchess walked away, crossing the thick Aubusson rug, then turned back. “Fine. Then let him run away. We will give him some money to take a ship far away.”
Phil nodded. “If that is what you want. But then we’ll need enough for two passages because where he goes, I go.” She stood.
“Just you sit down, young lady. You will not leave this house, and you are forbidden to run away with a criminal!”
“Mama, I am of age. I may do what I want.”
Her mother stared at her. “And this is what you want? A life of poverty and crime and...and labor!”
“I want James, and if that is the price, then I will pay it.”
“Absolutely not.” The duchess stamped her foot. “I will not have it. I will not have him. Your brother’s marriage was bad enough, but a footman. Not even a footman—a man masquerading as a footman. I will not have it, Philomena! I will not.”
“Then I will pack my things and go. We had better go tonight as the magistrate will undoubtedly return first thing in the morning.”
“Fine,” her mother snapped. “Then go.”
Phil crossed to her stiff mother, leaned down, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, Mama. Give Anne and Phineas my love as well. And tell my nieces and nephew I will write to them.” Then she turned her back and walked out the door. She started down the steps at a demure pace, then realized she needn’t behave like a lady any longer. She would be Mrs. Finnegan as soon as it could be arranged.
James saw her coming and stood, his face twisted in a look of concern. She went to him, took his face in her hands, and kissed him. The gasps of the nearby maids echoed in the foyer. “You’d best pack your things,” she said when she pulled back. “We’re leaving.”
“Leaving?”
“We’ll take the first ship we can. Where shall we go? America? India? Perhaps China?”
“Phil, no.” James caught her hand. “Ye can’t leave here. Ye can’t leave yer family.”
“I can, and I will. I’ve chosen, James, and I choose you.”
JAMES’S KNEES BUCKLED, and he felt as though he might need to sit again. No one had ever said words like that to him before. No one had ever chosen him, much less the daughter of a duke. He loved her more than anything—more than his freedom, more than his life. And she loved him too. She had chosen him over everything in her life. And yet, how could he take her away from all of this? His gaze roamed over the grand foyer with its marble stairs and crystal chandelier. How could she be happy in a dirty, cold room with only their love to live on?
“I love ye, Phil,” he said. “But I can’t. I love ye too much to take ye away.”
She put a hand to her throat. “What are you saying?”
“I plan to go to the magistrate.”
“No!”
“It’s better this way. I won’t have yer reputation tarnished or bring ye away from this to watch ye starve.”
From the top of the stairs, the duchess cleared her throat, and James started in surprise. He hadn’t known she’d been standing there.
The duchess raised a brow. “You really do love her, don’t you?”
James stared at the imposing woman, hardly daring to speak to her. “I do, Yer Grace. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I know I’ve caused a muddle.”
“Well, now,” she said, descending the stairs. “That is quite the understatement. This is more than a muddle. This is a scandal.”
“Not if I go to the magistrate, Yer Grace. No one has to know—”
“Oh, my daughter will make sure everyone knows,” the duchess said, waving a hand at Phil. “She has her heart set on marrying you, and I have known her long enough to know that once she sets her mind, nothing can sway her.”
James didn’t know what to say. He stood, looking from mother to daughter.
“Philomena,” the duchess said. “In the past few years, I have lost four sons. I have mourned those losses and clung to my remaining three children. And now you want to leave me as well.”
Phil bit her lips, her eyes turning watery. “I do not want to, Mama, but I must.”
“Because you are in love. Oh, you think I am so elderly now, but I remember what it feels like to be in love. I was in love once.” She looked at James. “But the world is a harsh place. One cannot survive on love. He is right about that.”