“They met a few times during the weeks leading up to the wedding, but I never saw him.” Nora’s discomfort was clear. “Miss Anne kept telling me that she had no way out of the marriage, so there was no worrying about what she would do. But I swear she never told me she would run away.”

Thomasina let out her breath in a long sigh. “I believe you. We should look through her things.”

“I already did.” Juliana scrubbed a hand over her face. “That first night. I found nothing.”

Thomasina tilted her head at that revelation. Why had her sister done such a thing alone? Was it just her sense of responsibility that drove her?

“Well, perhaps you know of some secret place where she might have put letters or a journal she hid that might tell us more,” Thomasina said to Nora.

“I’ll look today,” Nora assured them.

“Good.” Thomasina got up, and Nora and Juliana did the same. “Thank you for your honesty and for your help.”

Nora clasped her hands before her chest. “Of course. I adore Miss Anne. I’m so afraid for her. I hoped she’d come home by now.”

“We all hoped that,” Juliana croaked. “And we must still hope. It’s all we have to cling to.”

Nora nodded. “I’ll go search now.” She bobbed out a quick curtsey and left them alone again.

Thomasina let out a long sigh. “I hoped she would know more.”

“So did I,” Juliana agreed as she came to put an arm around Thomasina’s waist. They stood that way for a long moment before Juliana continued, “Why didn’t Anne talk to us about how unhappy she was? I knew she was restless, but not sad.”

Guilt swelled in Thomasina. “I don’t know. I wish I knew, but she never said anything. We might have failed her if she felt she couldn’t speak to us. But we can’t fail her now. We must do more. As much as we can to…to save her if she needs to be saved. You work on Father,” she said. “Try to convince him to stay a while longer. And I will talk to Jasper about the search for Anne.”

“That sounds the best option to me.” Her sister leaned forward and hugged her. “I’m glad last night wasn’t terrible. I worried for you. And I hope that once this situation with Anne is resolved that you will be truly happy in your new life.”

Thomasina squeezed her sister hard. “I’m going to try everything in my power to ensure it. Now I will go find my husband and work on my side of this equation. I’ll see you at luncheon in a few hours, will I not?”

Juliana nodded. “You will.”

They moved into the hall together. Juliana turned one way to go look for their father and Thomasina retraced her steps back to Jasper’s office on the other side of the estate. She thought about her duty as she went, about what she would say to him. About what he would say to her.