Rebecca gaped. “That is not true.”
“Rebecca dear, it was obvious to all that you were crushed when he proposed to me instead. Things haven’t been the same between us since.”
Rebecca set down her fork. “How could you believe that? I wanted you to marry him.”
“Is that why you made sure to dance with him at every ball? I don’t think so.”
Rebecca turned in her chair and gripped her sister’s arm urgently. “Yes, I may have danced with him often, but it was so I could decide if I liked him enough to consider him a worthy inclusion to the family. If he weren’t a decent man, worthy of marrying you, I would have informed father straight away.”
Fanny appeared skeptical but then clucked her tongue. “No one has ever asked you to interfere in our lives. And did we stop you marrying your choice? No, we did not.”
Rebecca sucked in a sharp breath of shock when she spotted Lady Ava peeking around the doorway across the room. The girl ducked back out of sight quickly but Rebecca was sure she was still there hiding. She glanced around the table but no one had noticed, least of all her father. But he was still busy flirting with Lady Morgan.
&nbs
p; “I don’t care what you do anymore,” Rebecca said absently, keeping watch for the girl.
Her father would not be pleased that she had disobeyed him a second time that day.
Fanny sighed. “Oh, don’t get in a huff.”
Ava poked her head out again, and when she waggled her brows, Rebecca choked on a laugh.
Everyone at the table looked at Rebecca but, to her relief, Ava had already slipped out of sight.
Rebecca had laughed because the girl had looked so much like her father that it had taken her by surprise. She glanced at him and caught him looking away from her.
Fanny nudged her arm. “What was so amusing?”
“Oh, nothing important.”
That girl was going to get them both into trouble. Rebecca really didn’t want Rafferty to yell at Ava today, so she quickly bid her sister goodbye and went to find her.
Once outside the dining room, she looked everywhere for the girl. Eventually, a servant asked if they could be of assistance. “I seem to have lost sight of Lord Rafferty’s daughter. She was right here a moment ago.”
The servant gulped suspiciously.
“Where is she hiding?”
He pointed behind her—at the servants’ staircase.
Rebecca entered the staircase, let her eyes adjust to the dark, and found the girl backed against the opposite wall. She held out her hand for the girl to take. “If you won’t do as you are told, you will come with me.”
She took the girl down to the servants’ quarters. The great kitchens were bustling with activity, and she did not distract them by making any requests. She found the keys to the wine cellar herself, collected a candle and unlocked the door. She slipped inside, pulling the girl with her. “Here we are.”
“I don’t like it here,” Ava said immediately.
The room was cold, cavernous and every step they made echoed. Rebecca hadn’t been down here in years.
Ava nearly clung to Rebecca’s skirts as Rebecca searched the dark corners for her stored possessions, but eventually, she found what she wanted—a long wooden case hidden under a bundle of discarded sacks. She opened the box and grinned. “I think this might change your mind. Look.”
She took out a padded vest, one worn for protection, and showed the girl what was underneath.
“Is this yours?”
“Yes, I was about your age when I last wore this vest. Father insisted I needed protection from my brothers.” She took it back and helped Lady Ava don the garment, buckling the straps firmly. “What do you think?”
The girl spun about in a circle as if wearing a pretty new gown. “It’s perfect.”