The afternoon passed much more slowly, since it was Saturday. With only a half day of lessons scheduled, the young ladies were allowed the afternoon free to do whatever they pleased. Most chose to go shopping in the village, which left the school unusually quiet.
Despite Arabella’s best intentions and her sisters’ attempts to divert her, Marcus occupied her thoughts far too often. Thus, she accepted readily when Roslyn and Lily suggested they take an early tea with Jane Caruthers, the spinster who ran the school’s daily operations. When Tess Blanchard elected to join them, the pleasant interlude became reminiscent of the early days before they opened the academy, when the five of them had regularly gathered to discuss plans.
Afterward, the ladies repaired to the dining room, where their pupils were partaking of their own tea. They had barely settled when Jane was summoned away by the housekeeper, Mrs. Phipps.
A short while later, Arabella also found herself approached by Mrs. Phipps, who whispered urgently, “Forgive the interruption, Miss Loring, but Miss Caruthers asks to speak with you in private.”
“Very well, where is she?” Arabella asked.
“The dormitory. Miss Newstead’s room.”
When Arabella eventually mounted the stairs to Sybil Newstead’s bedchamber, she found Jane wringing her hands.
“Sybil has disappeared,” was Jane’s immediate pronouncement, “and I fear she has left the grounds.”
Arabella frowned. Sybil had not come down to tea, but that in itself was not alarming, since one of her schoolmates had claimed she had taken ill and was resting in her room. But obviously the girl was not in her bed.
Tess joined them as Arabella asked Jane, “What makes you believe she has left the grounds?”
“Her bandbox is missing, along with several of her best gowns. And the maid we set to watch her has disappeared as well. No one but Caroline Trebbs has seen Sybil since this morning.”
Arabella’s frown deepened. The two girls shared this bedchamber, and Caroline had been the one to report Sybil’s illness.
“I think we had best talk to Miss Trebbs,” Arabella said, “before we draw any rash conclusions.”
She kept her voice calm but felt a niggling uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. Sybil Newstead was capable of most any indiscretion, although why she would have run away was puzzling. As for the maid, Sybil could possibly have bribed the servant to look the other way, although it would be worth her position-
“Do you think she might have eloped?” Tess asked, clearly worried.
Arabella’s uneasiness turned to alarm. “Dear heaven, I hope not.” But that would be one rational explanation for Sybil’s disappearance.
When Jane went to fetch Caroline Trebbs from the drawing room, Arabella waited with Tess impatiently. Her mind raced as she tried to recall observing any unusual behavior from Sybil recently-an exercise in futility, Arabella knew. She had paid little attention to any of her pupils this past week, she had been so busy being wooed by Marcus. But for an elopement, Sybil would have to have a suitor-
Her alarm twisted into a knot of dread as the answer struck her: Jasper Onslow. She had caught the notorious rake stealing a kiss from Sybil on the balcony at the Perrys’ ball. A wastrel like Onslow might be desperate enough to lower himself to marry a mill heiress for her vast fortune. But had Sybil gone willingly? Her missing gowns suggested that force hadn’t been necessary…
Arabella’s whirling thoughts were interrupted when Jane returned with Caroline. Miss Trebbs was a plump, plain-looking girl. When she entered the bedchamber with obvious reluctance, the guilty look on her face spoke volumes.
Arabella didn’t waste time with polite queries. “Caroline, we need you to tell us where Sybil has gone.”
Bowing her head, the girl mumbled something unintelligible.
“She took you into her confidence, didn’t she?” Arabella pressed, striving for patience.
“Y-yes, Miss Loring… But I promised not to tell. Sybil said she would cut out my tongue if I b-breathed a word to anyone.”
Arabella drew a slow breath. “We won’t let her harm you, Caroline. Please, we need you to tell us what has happened. She could be in danger.”
It was another long moment before Caroline said in a rush, “Sybil is not really in danger, Miss Loring. She went to Gretna Green.”
Jane let out a low moan, while Tess met Arabella’s eyes with similar dismay. Sybil apparently had eloped to Scotland with her fortune hunter suitor, just as they feared.
“Did she go with Mr. Onslow?” Arabella asked.
Caroline’s jaw slackened as she stared in surprise. “How did you know?”
“Never mind. Just tell us what she planned. It will take at least three days for them to drive to Scotland, perhaps more. What arrangements did they make? When did they leave?”
“Shortly after classes let out…when we went shopping in the village. Mr. Onslow met us there with his carriage.”
“How did she intend to deal with her maid?” Tess asked. “I doubt Martha would simply have let Sybil elope without protest.”
Caroline hung her head, as if ashamed. “Sybil knew Martha wouldn’t keep quiet, so she made her come with them. They planned to set her down further on tonight, to make her way home by mailcoach tomorrow. And I was to cover for Sybil this evening by saying she was ill. She thought the soonest anyone would miss her was tomorrow after church.”
“Yet Mrs. Phipps,” Jane said tightly, “began wondering where Martha had gotten to, and so she searched this room and found Sybil’s belongings missing.”
“Yes,” Caroline whispered. Her gaze returned to Arabella. “I am so very sorry I lied, Miss Loring, truly.”
Arabella bit her tongue to keep from lashing out at the girl, but Jane didn’t. “This could ruin us,” she muttered. “Mr. Newstead will be outraged-”
But Arabella didn’t want to discuss the academy’s business before one of their pupils. “Caroline, I wish you to return to the dining room for now. And please don’t say a word to any of the other girls.”
“I won’t, I swear it.”
Jane had had enough of patience, however. “Young ladies do not swear, Miss Trebbs.”
“Yes, Miss Caruthers…ah, no, Miss Caruthers…” With quivering meekness, Caroline gave Jane a wide berth as she crept from the room.
Arabella looked at her two friends in shared dismay, excruciatingly aware of the scandal that threatened them. If they allowed one of their wealthy young pupils to fall into the clutches of a fortune hunter, marriage or not, no parents would ever trust the academy again with their daughters.
Even worse, Sybil could suffer more than a loss of her reputation. By eloping with only a maid for protection, she risked ravishment. No matter how vexing the girl was, she didn’t deserve that fate. And regardless, her entire future was at stake. If she was merely witless enough to let herself be seduced because she fancied herself in love, she was making a grave mistake, since Onslow was not the kind of man to cherish anyone but himself. Sybil was unlikely to relish life as his wife.
Arabella hated to think of any innocent young girl at that bounder’s mercy, even the troublesome minx Sybil. Besides, she thought grimly, Sybil was supposed to be under her protection. It was her responsibility to keep her pupils safe, and it appeared that she might have failed.
“We must stop them somehow,” Tess said, stating what they were all three thinking.
“But how?” Jane asked.
“I will go after them at once,” Arabella replied, putting a hand to her temple as she thought madly. “They have nearly four hours’ head start, but they will likely put up at an inn tonight. I cannot see Sybil suffering the inconvenience of sleeping in a carriage. If I drive through the night, I may be able to catch them.”
“But you will need help,” Tess pointed out. “Would Lord Danvers be willing to accompany you?”