A Solemn Promise

XXIII

"That's quite enough," Adam said firmly. "I won't stand for any member of my household being the recipient of slander. It is not warranted." If she continued to label Grace foul names, he would certainly lose his temper. "Sarah," he said again, "I am sorry. I am so sorry for the pain I have caused you. If you would like to speak again a little later when you have had a chance to think, I understand. But if you would never like to see me again, I understand that, too. Lady Ashley, if you would like to have a discussion with my mother, I trust her to help you understand." Adam never thought he would use his mother and trust in the same sentence, and yet he had. He stood up and bowed his head, though it felt quite silly. "I will leave you ladies. Good morning."

Adam shut the door to Sarah's room and immediately started back towards the family's hallway, and the concealed panel he knew was there that would lead down to the kitchen. He knew there was a panel along this hallway, but he wasn't entirely sure which one it was, and he did not want to waste vital time pushing on walls when he wanted to get down to Grace.

***

Grace ate her breakfast quickly, becoming accustomed to needing to consume her food in a timely manner for when Sarah's bell rang. The general demeanour of the servants at breakfast that morning was quiet. They had all gotten over the initial shock of the duke's diagnosis, and were all internally preparing for when the house would move into full mourning. Grace had no idea what that would look like, but she did not spend much of her energy thinking about it.

Her thoughts never strayed far from Adam, as well as Jack and Susanna. If she could, she wanted to help all three of them. She had overheard Mrs Hayes fretting to Mrs Reynolds about Susanna's weeping, which had been passed on to her from the footmen at dinner the evening before. Grace wondered when she would get the opportunity to comfort her friend, to offer her the same comfort that she had given to Adam yesterday.

She quickly scraped the last remnants of the porridge out of her bowl and took the last sip of tea as the bell rang. Sarah seemed to always be the first awake, and so Grace was the first to leave the table.

Mrs Reynolds motioned to the tea tray that had been left on the benchtop for her as usual, and Grace smiled in thanks as she took it and went towards the stairs. As she diverted towards the back of the house where Sarah's bedroom was, she heard the faint sound of quick footsteps on the stairs. Someone was in a hurry, she mused. Grace balanced the tray against her hip as she pushed her way out into the hallway and closed the panel door behind her.

Grace walked up the hallway towards Sarah's room, balanced the tray once more and knocked twice, before letting herself into the bedroom. Sarah was not in bed, nor was she at her dressing table. Grace frowned as she quickly looked around the room before finding Sarah sitting by the fire with her mother. Sarah was in tears.

Grace abandoned the tea tray on Sarah's dressing table and raced over to Sarah, kneeling down before her. "Milady, are you ill? What's wrong? Would you like me to send for the doctor?"

"How dare you," growled Lady Ashley, in a tone that Grace had never been on the receiving end of before.

She stumbled backward in shock, falling on her rear before the fireplace. "I beg your pardon?" she gasped.

"My pardon is denied," snapped Lady Ashley as she protectively rubbed her daughter's back. "How dare you," she repeated. "Don't you know your place?"

"Milady, I am not at all certain of what you are accusing," Grace stammered. "What have I done?" Grace immediately tried to retrace her steps between when she had last served Sarah to now, and she could not think of any way in which she had behaved inappropriately. Yes, she had offered Sarah advice, but that had been meant with genuine kindness. She had certainly held her tongue when Lady Ashley had celebrated the duke's illness the day before. But Sarah had apologisedon her mother's behalf. Surely that was not what was making Sarah upset.