That’s what you think, Maggie wanted to say, remembering the events of the morning, but of course she couldn’t mention that. It was simply too personal. “Have you ever met Reeve before?” Maggie asked, following a hunch.

Eleanor sighed. “No. But of course I’ve seen him—he’s well-known in Sydney, after all. He’s a magnificent man.”

“Yes,” Maggie replied. “If you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.” She had nothing to do, if the truth were known, now that she’d given up her role as Kate, but she would have died before admitting that to Miss Eleanor Kilgore.

Eleanor smiled and rose from her chair. “I wonder if you could spare the time from your busy schedule—I do hate to impose—to show me the way to Reeve—er—Mr. McKenna’s room?”

Seething, Maggie nonetheless smiled her most fetching smile. “Of course,” she said, and she gritted her teeth as she led Reeve’s nurse up the stairs and along the second floor hallway. Why couldn’t Dr. Claridge have engaged someone different, someone matronly and plain, she wondered as she indicated the door of Reeve’s bedroom.

Eleanor knocked and then went in, at a summons from the doctor, and Maggie was left standing in the hall, wondering what to do.

She finally made her way down to the study, where the walls were lined with books. She chose a volume of fairy tales and went in search of Elisabeth, only to learn from a maid that Cora had put off packing the little girl’s clothes to take her to the park instead.

At a loss, Maggie returned the book to the proper shelf in the study and then went outside. She longed to visit Tansy and pour out all her doubts and fears to her friend, but of course she couldn’t. Tansy was working, and her duties would not be fulfilled until nightfall.

Jamie had apparently left for New Zealand already, and Maggie missed him. She would have been able to confide in Reeve’s brother, and she craved his reassurance.

Opening the gate, Maggie set out in the direction of the corner where the streetcar stopped. She had money in the pocket of her skirt; maybe this was a good day to shop or visit the menagerie.

She rode into downtown Sydney in something of a stupor. Was it possible that Reeve had made all those promises and given her all those presents just because he thought she knew something about Jamie? Had he changed his attitude so abruptly, after his first furious reaction on learning that she’d encountered his brother in Melbourne, only because he hoped to persuade her to confide some secret concerning Jamie that he thought she was hiding?