"I have had a message sent to the constabulary, madam," Hathorne answered. "He will dispatch an officer of the peace to assess the situation. If he finds it warrantable, he will arrange the riders."

"And when will he arrive?"

"I assume as quickly as he can, madam. It is late, and the roads bad."

Hathorne set down her tea. "Will that be all, madam?"

"Yes, I shall be remaining here until he arrives and the whereabouts of Helen can be found." she informed him

"Very good, madam," Hathorne said, pursing his lips slightly as he bowed himself out of the room.

About twenty minutes past, the doorbell rang again. Hathorne answered it and escorted the constable into the parlor.

"Constable Fitzgerald, madam," he said, bowing.

The mustachioed constable lifted his hat. "How do you do, ma'am?"

"Not well at all sir. We have a missing young lady and no one seems to have bothered themselves enough to look for her!"

"I see." The constable seated himself and took out a pad of paper and a pencil. "Can you give me the particulars, ma'am?"

"Of course." she replied settling herself comfortably "Miss Helen Ducansby was last seen in the gardens of Haversham Manor last evening. No one has seen or heard from her since."

"Right." He scribbled the names down. "And what does the young lady look like?"

"Well, she is a short, plump, and rather plain young lady. But she has the sweetest temperment."

The constable wrote down 'short, plump, plain.' "So there is no chance of an elopement." It wasn't a question.

"Why of course not." she replied appauled at the suggestion "Helen is a dutiful daughter and proper young lady. She wouldn't dream of an elopment."

"Of course," the constable said, "of course." Although he was thinking less of the dutiful and proper aspects of Helen's character that would prevent her from eloping and more of the physical plainness that would do the preventing.

He cleared his throat. "And does she have any close friends that she might possibly have gone to visit?"

"I spoke with her friends at the Masquerade and none of them have heard from her." she told him, not mentioning that they were all matrons. "I am increasingly concerned for her safety."

"I see," the constable said seriously, scribbling on the paper. "And she has no beau or fiancé, I presume?"

"None." she replied trying to think if Emmy had ever even looked at a gentleman before.

((Emmy works, too...XD))

"Right." The constable scribbled that down. "And are you the lady's mother?"

"If I may be of assistance," broke in Hathorne imperiously. "The madam has suggested the implementation of a search party."

The constable tapped his chin with the end of the pencil. "I am beginning to think such measures necessary."

"I most certainly believe it warranted. When will you be able to gather then men?" she asked

"Well, certainly within the hour, I should think," said the constable. "Now, I'd like to know...are you the lady's mother?"

"No" she replied "I am a friend of the family. Helens mother passed away sometime ago."

"I see." The constable scribbled this down. "And does the little miss have a father?"

"He is currently indesposed." she told him "A little too much after dinner brandy. I will be handling the matter for the family."

The constable looked up at Hathorne, who simply bowed.

"I see." He put the pencil back in his pocket and stood up. "Will you want to be included in the search party, madam? Or shall I instruct it to commence without you?"

"Commence without me." she said "But I expect regular updates."

"Of course, madam," the constable said, bowing awkwardly.

Hathorne pursed his lips. "Will that be all, madam?"

"It will be. I shall return home. Please have all reports brought to me. When Helen is found I expect to see her before any other."

"Of course, madam," Hathorne said with an almost disapproving twitch of his eyebrows. "Come, sir, I shall show you the door."

((How do you want to pull off the search party-ing?))

(I was hoping you had an idea.)

((Errrr...not really. Um...we don't have to RP it, but we can FF to the next day and just say they found nothing?))

(Lets talk in OT)

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