A Chance Encounter by Mary Balogh Page A

I was the only one who was punished,” Ferdie said dryly. “The dratted man sat me down at the foot of a tree and told me that if I wanted apples, I could have them. He made me eat one after another until I was sick.”
    â€œYou ate eight and a half,” Cecily remembered.
    â€œAnd have never eaten one since,” he added.
    They all laughed. Mr. Mainwaring touched Elizabeth’s hand briefly and smiled directly into her eyes. She had been glad of the lively conversation provided by the younger pair. She was thankful now for another interruption. Lady Worthing had touched her on the shoulder.
    â€œMay I speak with you a moment, Miss Rossiter?” she asked.
    Surprised, Elizabeth rose to her feet and followed the older lady into the deserted ballroom. Squire Worthing was there, too.
    â€œMiss Rossiter, will you help us?” the squire’s lady asked. She was obviously distraught.
    â€œWhat is it, ma’am?” Elizabeth asked, helping the lady to seat herself, taking her vinaigrette from her nerveless fingers and waving it in front of her nose.
    â€œLucy is missing,” Squire Worthing said gruffly. “Has been missing for an hour or more. We do not wish anyone else to notice but cannot find her ourselves.”
    â€œWe know you to be discreet,” his wife continued, “and perhaps you would be less conspicuous moving about than we are. The silly girl must be hiding somewhere and does not know how much time has passed.”
    â€œGracious!” said Elizabeth. “Is she alone, ma’am?” Lady Worthing hesitated. “I believe Mr. Dowling is absent too, Miss Rossiter,” she said. “Oh, it is too provoking. I quarreled with Lucy just this afternoon. What does she want with that dull, undistinguished man when her father and I are sacrificing a great deal in order to take her to town next winter?”
    Elizabeth bit her lip. “I shall walk into the garden,” she said. “Rest assured that I shall keep looking until I find her. There is no chance that she has left altogether, I suppose?”
    â€œOur carriage and Dowling’s are both still in the stables,” Squire Worthing replied.
    â€œThen there really is nothing to be worried about,” Elizabeth said practically. “I am sure it is as you say, ma’am. They have just forgotten the time.” She smiled and hurried away.
    She stepped out through the French windows onto the balcony and down the steps at one end. Lanterns had been hung in the trees close to the house. Elizabeth wandered over the lawn and peered among the shrubs that surrounded it, but was afraid to go farther as the lighting was not good and she did not know the grounds at all. She decided that Lucy would probably not have wandered beyond that area for the same reasons. She must return to the house, it seemed.
    The house was difficult to search for all the same reasons. Most of the rooms were in darkness and Elizabeth had never been inside the house before. She dreaded being caught apparently snooping. But she felt compelled to continue with the search. She felt responsible for the apparent attachment between Lucy Worthing and Mr. Dowling. It was her advice at a dinner table that had set Lucy talking to this neighbor, whom she had not noticed before. And it seemed that the girl was in trouble with her parents’, who looked higher for a husband for their daughter than to a mere gentleman farmer.
    Elizabeth crept down the stairs into the downstairs hall. There was no one there. Apparently all the servants were busy either abovestairs with the refreshments or in the kitchen below. She turned a door handle and peered cautiously into a darkened salon. It appeared to be empty, though she whispered Lucy’s name and listened a moment before closing the door again. She repeated the performance at a smaller room that appeared to be Mr. Mainwaring’s office, and at another, larger room that was obviously a