Madcap Miss Read Free

again, but soon realized that Miss Thomas was not at home. After thinking for a moment, she went next door to make inquiries.
    “ Miss Thomas? ” the servant asked, frowning. “ She ’ s gone to visit relatives somewhere — a cousin feeling poorly, I believe. We ’ re not well acquainted yet. I really couldn't say where she's gone or for how long."
    “ Oh, dear! ” Grace said. Her mind ran swiftly. She would have to break in and stay at Miss Thomas ’ s cottage till she could get in touch with her.
    “ I ’ ll tell you who could help you out is the couple she let the house to, ” the servant continued, happy to assist the child. “ They ’ ll be coming this afternoon. They will know where she is gone, likely. ”
    “ Thank you, ma ’ am, ” Grace said, her heart sinking as she walked slowly away. She went back to Thomas ’ s doorstep and sat down to think. She couldn ’ t even break in and stay alone. Why had not Miss Thomas let her know? The letter was probably in the mail this minute, and when it reached Bixworths ’ , they wouldn ’ t know where to forward it.
    She was tired, hungry, and very worried, but she could not sit all day on the doorstep. She thought of her two shillings, grateful for them. She could at least have a cup of tea. Lifting the heavy case, she turned her steps back to the high street, stopping at the first tea shop she came to, for she could not carry the straw case another foot without doing permanent damage to her arm.
    The establishment was more elegant than she had thought from its plain exterior. Whether even a cup of tea was within her means was doubtful. After a careful scan of the menu, she decided a child could dispense with a pourboire and used all her money to order tea and a sandwich. This done, she sat back to look at the customers. They were not particularly interesting. Mostly females in groups, taking a break from their shopping. There was one man in the corner with his nose stuck in a journal. Perhaps one of the women could tell her if anyone needed a governess. Her plan of screening her next employer flew to the winds. When her tea came, she drank and ate hungrily, then sat on, unwilling to leave the comfortable place. She had no idea where she could go.
    The man in the corner put down his paper, glanced impatiently at his watch, then began to lift the paper again. He seemed to be waiting for more time to pass. He took a disinterested look around the shop before he resumed his reading.
    A flash of recognition lit his eyes as he spotted the girl from the stage. Odd she was alone. Whoever was to have met her had not shown up apparently. With a thought of his Augusta, he felt a rush of concern for the girl. She looked ready to burst into tears. He laid down the paper and strode over to her.
    “ Miss Jones, I believe? ” he asked, smiling. “ You remember me from the coach? ”
    “ Oh, Mr. Whewett! Was it you hiding behind that paper all the while? I thought you would be at Willowcrest by now. ”
    “ So did I, but there ’ s only one carriage for hire, and it won ’ t be back till four, so I am stuck to cool my heels in town. Has something happened to your connection, too? ”
    A wave of despair washed over her. What had happened was so disastrous that her lower lip trembled. “ I wasn ’ t met, ” she confided in a troubled voice.
    “ I thought as much. Tell me where you want to go, and I ’ ll take you as soon as I get my carriage. I have some hope my own may be repaired and forwarded before four o ’ clock. ”
    Grace looked at him in misery and confusion. “ My governess, that I was to visit, is gone, ” she said. Despite her usual courage, she felt a warm tear start inher eye.
    “ Ah, that is too bad, ” he said, patting her hand in a kind, fatherly way that caused the tears to wash over her lids and course down her cheeks in two rivulets. A hiccup of a sob caught in her throat.
    “ Now, you must not cry, my dear. It isn ’ t that serious. You