Free A Mother's Shame by Rosie Goodwin

tap at the door. Charles frowned with a mixture of irritation and anxiety. Joshua had already left for the ribbon factory and the staff knew better than to disturb him and their mistress whilst they were eating, but he guessed who it would be. No doubt Polly would have returned to find that Isabelle was missing by now.
    ‘See who it is,’ he instructed the young maid who was hovering at the end of the table.
    ‘Yes, sir.’ She bobbed her knee and hastened away, only to return almost immediately to tell him, ‘It’s Polly, sir. She says she has to speak to the mistress on a matter of some urgency.’
    ‘Can it not wait?’ he snapped.
    ‘It’s all right, Charles,’ his wife assured him as she rose gracefully from the table. ‘I shall soon see what the problem is. Perhaps Isabelle is unwell again.’
    She moved past him leaving the scent of rose petals in her wake, but she had barely reached the door when he said anxiously, ‘Actually, I believe that Boyd has come to tell you that Isabelle is not in her room.’
    ‘What?’ Helena stared at him blankly then with a wave of her hand she dismissed the servant.
    ‘So where is she then?’ she asked bluntly once they were alone.
    Shame-faced, her husband avoided looking at her. ‘Let’s just say that since I learned of our daughter’s . . . condition, quite by chance some days ago, I have taken steps to ensure that she will not ruin the rest of her life.’
    The colour drained out of Helena’s face and she leaned heavily on the edge of the table. Surely he could not have carried out his threat to place their child in Hatter’s Hall. He could never be so cruel . . . could he? Especially as he knew how strongly she had been against the idea.
    ‘Surely you realised that we had to address the problem?’ His voice was loaded with accusation now, and lowering her head she nodded miserably.
    ‘Of course I did. But what have you done with her, Charles?’
    ‘I have placed her somewhere where she will be safe and well cared for until after the birthing.’ His eyes dared her to argue with him. ‘You must see that I had to do something before her condition became common knowledge.’
    Helena could not argue with that. Hadn’t she been thinking along the very same lines? But even so, she had to know where her daughter was.
    ‘Is she somewhere local?’ she asked in a trembling voice.
    Charles stared back at her. ‘It should not concern you where she is,’ he said stubbornly. ‘I have told you she is safe and that is all you need to know. You will see her again when this whole sorry mess is over with. As soon as the child is born I will find someone to foster it and no one need be any the wiser.’
    ‘B-but the baby will be our grandchild,’ Helena objected, as she had done before. ‘And what will we tell Polly and the rest of the staff? They will find it strange that Isabelle left so quickly.’
    ‘I have already thought of that.’ Charles strummed his fingers on the table, a clear sign that he was agitated. ‘We shall tell them that a schoolfriend of hers has taken ill and Isabelle has gone back to France to stay with her for a few months. But as for your remark about a grandchild, you must rid yourself of that notion immediately! How could we
possibly
have the child here without setting the tongues wagging? The staff are not completely stupid, you know!’
    Composing herself as best she could, Helena took a deep breath. ‘And how is Isabelle supposed to manage if she has none of her clothes with her?’ she asked in a voice that was as cold as the snow outside.
    ‘You may tell Polly to pack her trunks and have them placed by the front door. I shall get Jacobs to have them delivered to her.’
    ‘Very well.’ Her heart was pounding now. If Charles was sending his manservant with Isabelle’s things then that must mean she was not that far away. But where? Could he really have carried out his threat? Her mind was working frantically as she considered the