“I accept,” said Cedric. “I’ll work your claim as part of a larger arrangement to pay Adelaide’s fee.”
I forcibly clamped my mouth shut so my jaw wouldn’t drop. In the given circumstances, I had no intention of showing anything but perfect unity between Cedric and me. Once we were alone, I planned on telling him exactly how terrible this plan was. Jasper expressed my thoughts for me.
“Are you out of your mind? What do you know about mining?”
“No more than most of the adventurers who set off for the claims. I’m sure I can learn,” said Cedric.
Warren nodded. “Absolutely. We’ll get you started. Panning is the most basic type of gold extraction, and you can move on to other techniques from there.”
“There’s one condition,” added Cedric. He took my hand again. “Adelaide comes too.”
“First,” snarled Viola, “you’re in no position to set conditions. Second, you don’t get to marry her before the financial details are fulfilled. Unless you plan on some sort of sinful arrangement.”
Cedric shook his head. “Of course not. But considering all the rumors and slander that will spread around Cape Triumph, I think it’d best for her to be removed from that—somewhere far away.”
Our eyes met briefly, and in that way we had, I understood his true motivations. Taking me from Cape Triumph would offer an added level of protection, should Viola decide to take any sort of revenge and reveal my identity. It would be a lot easier to elude bounty hunters in the wilderness than the city.
“I’ll help him mine it,” I said. “I’ve read about the panning process—it’s something I could do.”
“Living on the claim with him would only stir up more rumors, regardless of your virtuous principles,” Warren told me. “But there are a number of families traveling with children, and I’m sure many would appreciate a governess with your education. We might be able to set up a boarding arrangement—though there might be some household labor involved. And the conditions would be rough.”
“I’m sure household labor wouldn’t be a problem, considering her humble background,” quipped Viola.
“I’m not afraid of hard work,” I said resolutely.
Jasper looked me over. “You’re as naïve as my son. However hard you think you worked as a lady’s maid, it is nothing compared to what you’ll face on the frontier.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Warren clasped his hands together, face alight. “Well, then it’s settled. We leave in a week, and I’ll make the appropriate arrangements.”
Despite my declaration, I was still uneasy about all of this. It wasn’t exactly too good to be true—but nearly. I needed to talk to Cedric more extensively, assuming we were ever allowed to be alone again. Jasper seemed to be undecided on this deal. He didn’t really believe we could handle frontier life. I also suspected he didn’t want us to have a happy ending after the trouble we’d caused him. On the other hand, painting this in a seemingly honorable way—one sanctioned by a man of Warren’s repute, who’d been courting me—might save face and ensure no future business fallout.
“Thank you,” I said to Warren. “This is all very considerate of you.”
A wistful look crossed his face. “It’s my pleasure to—”
The door burst open, and amazingly enough, it was Mira who entered. Jasper glared. “I told you lot not to—”
“They’re here! They’re here! I don’t understand it, but they’re here.” Mira was breathless, her eyes wide.
“Who?” asked Jasper. I think he expected a flock of angry suitors.
“The other girls! The other ship.” Mira turned to me. “Adelaide! Tamsin’s alive!”
Chapter 20
I rushed out with the others, all of us nearly tripping over one another as we tried to get through the doorway at the same time. In the foyer, we found chaos. A group of at least twenty people mingled in the room, and our girls were running down the stairs into the throng, adding to the disarray. The noise of a dozen conversations filled the air and mostly came through as an indecipherable buzz. I stared around for a moment, unable to make sense of it all, and then I spotted it across the room: a head of bright, golden-red hair.
“Tamsin!”
I pushed through the crowd, uncaring of who I ran into. She turned at the sound of my voice, and my heart sang at the sight of that familiar face. I barreled into her, nearly knocking her over with a giant hug. I didn’t care if she hated me and pushed me away. All that mattered was that she was alive and that at this moment, I could hold her in my arms. She was real and solid. My friend had returned to me.
And she didn’t push me away. She returned the hug, clinging to me fiercely. “Oh, Adelaide . . .” she began. Sobs choked her words. A moment later, Mira appeared, throwing her arms around the two of us. We stood there like that for a long time, the three of us locked together, full of joy despite our tears.
“Where have you been, Tamsin?” I whispered when I could finally bring myself to pull away. “Where have you been? We thought . . . we thought . . .”
Her brown eyes sparkled with tears. “I know. I know. I’m sorry. I wish we could have sent word sooner, and I’m sorry for everything back in Osfrid—”
“No, no.” I squeezed her hand. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
Until that moment, I’d only been looking at Tamsin’s face, taking in the features of this friend I loved so much. But now, after a chance to catch my breath, I could see so much more. She wore a dress of deep blue-gray, made of some plain fabric. It had no ornamentation or frills. Her hair spilled across her shoulders without any obvious styling and was covered by a simple kerchief. Glancing around, I saw the other missing girls dressed similarly.