I wanted to seize Lily and hug her too, but I didn’t dare go near Aidan. As I watched them, an elegantly dressed woman with red hair and too much rouge appeared and extended a gloved hand to me.

“You must be Lily’s governess,” she said in a smoky, foreign-accented voice. “I’m Francine. I manage the dance hall in the hotel.”

I gaped at her, unable to utter a word.

“The darling girl came to the hotel looking for her daddy, and when she didn’t find him, she came downstairs to find me. We’ve been best friends since she was a baby, haven’t we, honey?” Francine beamed down at Lily, who looked up at her with a tearstained face.

“Why are you crying, Lily?” I said, ignoring Francine. “Everything is all right now.”

“I didn’t mean to . . . to get myself lost.”

I looked at Aidan, then back to Lily. “It wasn’t your fault, Lily, it was mine. I should not have let you out of my sight.”

Lily let go of Aidan and threw her arms around my waist. I hugged her as I watched Francine slip her arm through Aidan’s.

“Come on, let’s go and have a drink to celebrate your daughter’s safe return.” She paused and looked at me. “I expect we can trust you and Mrs. Humboldt to escort Lily safely back home.”

Mayflower looked from Francine to me, one eyebrow raised. I took Lily’s hand and turned to go. But Aidan pushed Francine aside. “Another time, Francine. I will escort them to the car. I have something to say to Miss Sweeney.”

Without waiting for an answer, he took Lily’s hand in his and began to stride ahead of us back down the main street. Even though he must have been filled with relief that Lily had been found, I could see that he was still fuming, and that his anger was directed toward me. I was “Miss Sweeney” again and my heart sank. Mayflower tried to calm him.

“It was all my fault, Aidan. Delia had no idea where I was fixin’ to take her when we set out. She knew nothing until we arrived in Shotgun City. Besides, Hans said you were going to be out of town. Blame me if you must.”