“Molly, look at me.” Kendra raised the girl’s chin and looked into her tear-washed blue eyes. “What could you have done? You’d just come to London with me and didn’t know anyone. Would pounding on a neighbor’s door have brought help or more trouble? You did the only thing you could. You saved yourself.” She gave a twisted smile. “I’ve been feeling dreadful because I believed I was the cause of your death. I’m so relieved that you’re here and well!”

“But I abandoned you there to be ravished!”

“Actually, I wasn’t ravished,” Kendra said. “Denshire drugged me so I couldn’t interfere with his wicked scheme. He got his friends drunk, then sent a courtesan he’d hired who looked like me to seduce them. When they swore in court that they’d bedded me, they believed they were telling the truth.”

Molly blinked through her tears. “That’s . . . very strange.”

“Denshire is a very strange man. Much stranger now than when I married him,” Kendra agreed. “How did you come to Zion House?”

“With no money or friends, I was afraid I’d have to turn to the streets to survive.” She shuddered. “After two days sleeping in the corner of a cemetery while I looked for work, I went into the church to pray for help. I was weeping in the lady chapel when a woman who had been arranging flowers came to ask me what was wrong. When I told her, she said that I should go to Zion House and told me how to get here. So . . . I did.” She wiped her eyes with her wrist. “The people here have been everything that is kind.”

“We try our best,” Laurel said quietly.

The classroom door opened and Lucas entered. “Kendra?” He halted when he saw the three women clustered together. “Is something wrong?”

Kendra straightened. “Something’s very right, actually. I’ve found Molly Miller, my maid. She made her way here after escaping Denshire House, and she’s now teaching classes on how to become a lady’s maid.”

After a startled moment, Lucas crossed the room with a warm smile for Molly. “What wonderful news! Kendra has worried about you.”

Molly was watching him warily, so Kendra made a quick introduction. “Molly, this is Lord Foxton, an old friend of mine. He’s been extremely helpful. We’re trying to find a way to clear my reputation.”

“You could be very helpful in that, Miss Miller,” Lucas said as he took a seat, not too close since he’d seen Molly’s nervousness. “We’re assembling witnesses to prove that Denshire falsely accused your mistress of adultery in order to divorce her.”

“Tell him what happened to you that night, Molly,” Kendra asked.