Eleanor surveyed the area. There was one very large bed, a table, and a few chairs. “This should do. I would like a hot bath delivered as soon as possible. I want my footman on this floor if you have an empty chamber.”

“Right next door. I’ll have to get the key.” Obviously, the man was not happy with her request, yet he dare not refuse. Kenilworth’s family gave the inn a fair amount of custom.

“Thank you.” Eleanor gave him a gracious smile. Once the landlord left, she turned to Whitmer. “Turner should be at the back door with the family. Please show him to this chamber. After that, could you see who is in the common room?”

“I’d like the other outriders to go with me,” Whitmer said. “I saw the look on the landlord’s face too.”

“Very well.” This might be a more interesting night than she had thought it would be.

Eleanor changed from her traveling gown to a walking gown. While she had been washing her face and hands, she had heard the children speaking softly. “Jobert, I am going to assist our guests. I should like you to come with me.”

“Of course, my lady.” The maid collected some scented soap and two of the towels they traveled with, as well as one of her nightgowns. “I’m glad I packed extras.”

Eleanor did not know how her maid felt about giving a nightgown to a stranger. “You may give her one of mine, if you like.”

“No, my lady. I’ll wager she will feel more comfortable in this one.”

Because it did not have all the ruffles? “I will replace it.”

“As you wish, my lady.” Jobert bustled out of the room, and Eleanor followed.

A fire had been lit in the chamber, warming it nicely. The children were huddled around their mother. Jobert was assisting the barely awake woman when a knock came on the door.

“The bath you ordered,” a maid said.

Eleanor opened the door to find two young men with the servant. “Please, enter.”

The woman bobbed a curtsey, and the men bowed. They brought in a bathtub and started filling it.

Once they left, Eleanor helped Jobert get the mother into the tub, then turned to the children. They were all painfully thin. “I am Lady Eleanor Carpenter. May I know your names and that of your mother?”

The boy gazed up at her. “I’m Billy. This here”—he put his hand on his taller sister’s shoulder—“is Sally, and the youngest is Lizzy.” He took a breath. “Our ma is Lottie.”

Short for Charlotte. Eleanor’s sister’s name. “What is your surname?”

“Ward.”

Eleanor took his rather grimy hand in hers and shook it. “It is nice to meet you.” A moan sounded from the tub, and the children turned as one. “I hope that means your mother is coming around.”

“We do too,” Sally said.