Most likely the woman was fast asleep. When Pamela had seen her earlier, she said Mrs. O’Leary had given her a tisane to drink that would help her sleep better.
Pamela returned to her room, undressed, washed and changed into her comfortable nightgown. She read for a while and then feeling sleepy, blew out the lamp and climbed into bed.
The last thing she thought of before she fell into a sound sleep was Mr. Smith.
The next morning, she once again walked down to Miss Spencer’s room. She was surprised to see the door standing open and Mrs. O’Leary packing boxes of what seemed to be Miss Spencer’s belongings.
“Mrs. O’L-Leary? Where is Miss Sp-sp-spencer?”
The woman jumped at Pamela’s voice. “Oh, dear you startled me.” She placed her hand on her bosom. “Miss Spencer moved.”
“Moved?”
“Yes. She just up and left. Didn’t even take her things with her.”
Pamela frowned. “How v-v-very odd. She was feeling ill l-last night and when I spoke with h-h-er she never m-m-mentioned moving out.”
Mrs. O’Leary shrugged. “One thing I have learned as a landlady is people never do what you expect them to.”
“When d-d-did she leave?”
“Last night. Right after you left to visit with your friends.” With a quick switch, she said, “Did you have a good time, my dear?”
Still wrestling with the disappearance of Miss Spencer, Pamela just nodded. “Yes, it w-w-was quite nice, actually.” She turned back and entered her room, closing the door behind her.
‘Twas very strange, indeed. Another concern was how quickly that particular room lost tenants. In the three years she’d been living here that room had been occupied by more than a dozen young ladies, none of them staying more than a few weeks.
It appeared that room was jinxed. Then she chastised herself for being so dramatic. There was nothing wrong with the room. To think so was quite silly.
She checked her appointment schedule and noted that Miss Mary Parker was due for a piano lesson in a half hour. Just enough time to have a light breakfast.
Mrs. O’Leary had been kind enough to allow her to use the piano in her back parlor to instruct her students, which helped a great deal. She was a very nice landlady and many times Pamela had thanked God for her luck in finding this boarding house.
3
Nick entered the Assembly Rooms, not expecting to see Lady Pamela since he’d been here every Saturday night since he’d first met the woman. His attempts to visit with her and entice her to accompany him for a ride in the park, or tea, or ice cream, or anything else was getting him nowhere.
Each Saturday he would stop in, stay for about a half hour, then return to his club. His employees had started to question him, but he wasn’t about to admit to his almost school-boy infatuation with a woman who rejected him more than once.
Therefore, it was with a great deal of surprise and pleasure when he spotted Lady Pamela, along with the Berkshires and Westbrooke and his wife standing in a huddle on the other side of the ballroom. He immediately made his way past several groups conversing, waiting for the master of ceremonies to announce the next dance.
“Good evening, ladies. Berkshire, Westbrooke.” Nick joined the group and nodded at them.
“Good to see you, Smith,” Westbrooke said. “I assume you know everyone?”
“Yes.” He looked over at Lady Pamela to see her studying the floor. But she did offer a slight dip as did the other ladies.
“I didn’t think this sort of amusement was to your taste,” Westbrooke said.
“Oh, once in a while.” He turned to Lady Pamela. “How are you this evening, my lady?”
She looked up and smiled, practically stopping his heart. He could spend the rest of his life staring at that smile and never get enough.
“I am w-w-well. And you?”
Only one stutter. He tried not to make too much of that. “I am well, also. May I request a dance?”
“Y-y-yes.” She flushed, most likely annoyed with herself. The condition must be very frustrating for the woman. He’d been attempting to do some research on stuttering, but there was very little information available, although someone told him an inventor in America was doing some work on the condition. He planned to investigate that.