"You may have permission, but I have my orders," replied the butler vaguely before continuing on his way.
Philip and James looked at one another in chagrin. Their plan of questioning the servants without the viscount's presence was about to be ruined. They were left standing in the foyer for several minutes before the butler returned.
"Lord Ridley will be with you in a few minutes. If you'll come with me into the salon, a footman will offer you refreshments. Please make yourselves comfortable, my lord will be with you shortly.” With that the old butler bowed himself politely from the room as quickly as he could.
Philip turned to James with a quirked eyebrow. “That was exceedingly strange. The fellow seemed most uncomfortable with our questions, don’t you think?”
“Yes, it does seem as though he was afraid of what we were asking. Do you suppose the viscount has told his servants not to answer our questions?”
“It would seem so, James. I should have expected as much. Let’s see what he has to say when he gets himself out of bed. I hate to think that we have wasted our time in coming all this way.”
“I wouldn’t call it a waste of time, my lord. If we know he has forbidden the servants to speak of their former master to us, it proves he has something to hide, don’t you think?”
“But we still cannot prove anything, James, can we?”
“No, it seems not,” James concluded in dismay.
“Don’t worry, James, we will get to the bottom of this eventually, it is just going to take a little longer than we had planned. Let’s wait and see what Ridley has to say.”
~~~~
“Sorry to keep you waiting, my lord. I had not expected callers so early,” apologized the viscount smoothly as he entered the room.
Philip had to repress a shudder as Lord Ridley entered the room. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination combining with what he had learned about the viscount, but to his mind the man looked like he was involved in shady dealings. From his greasy dark hair combed back in an unflattering style to his small shifty eyes and his clothing that looked like too much effort went into making him look like a man of means, the new Viscount Ridley looked like trouble. Ridley reminded one of a weasel up to no good, eyeing up the henhouse. The waiting gentlemen were again wondering how the marquis could have left a vulnerable young woman in the care of such a scoundrel.
“We haven’t been waiting long,” Philip replied politely, trying to keep the mood in a positive vein, hoping he would still be able to speak with the servants who had known the marquis and his family. “We actually did not mean to disturb you at all; we were hoping to speak to some of your servants about your cousin, the marchioness. The king is most dismayed over her continued absence in his court, and he wishes for this matter to be resolved as quickly as possible, I’m sure you understand. No doubt you feel similar concern for the young lady’s welfare.”
The viscount had paled slightly at the mention of the king and the missing marchioness but had maintained a calm veneer. He tried to smile disarmingly at the two men, but it looked more like a grimace so misplaced was the attempt at a look of innocence upon his guilty face. He cleared his voice before replying.
“Of course, I fully understand the gravity of the situation. It is such a tragedy that my poor dear little cousin has gone missing, and it is such a comfort to me that our faithful sovereign has taken an interest in our little lives.” He again tried to ingratiate himself with his two inquisitors. “I truly appreciate your efforts in your search, but unfortunately, I was not aware that you would be coming today. None of the staff will be available to speak with you today, as they are all very busy with various tasks. However, if you would care to make an appointment, I will ensure that they will be prepared to speak with you at a more convenient time. The other problem, too, is that many of the servants who were most familiar with the marquis and his family have dispersed among his various holdings. If you wish, I can have them all gathered in one place, but that could take a considerable amount of time, which I am sure you can appreciate. So my lord, when would you like to return so that I can have everyone ready to speak with you?”.
Philip itched to plant Ridley a facer for his obvious lack of cooperation. The vile man’s smug smile indicated his belief that he had somehow thwarted the earl and his assistant. A growl threatened to demonstrate Philip’s feelings but he managed to maintain his equanimity through sheer force of will. The smile he turned on the viscount had an edge of steel to it and Ridley appeared to lose some of his assuredness.
“I am sure the king will be ever so pleased with your willingness to help,” Philip said sarcastically. “Do not bother gathering the servants, I am expected at my mother’s estate in a week’s time. After my visit with her, I will return to speak with whichever of the marquis’ servants are still in residence here. Shall we say in two weeks’ time, if that will not inconvenience your household overly?”
“Oh yes, milord, two weeks’ notice should be most adequate. Thank you. Can I offer you gentlemen some refreshments before you go?” Since the threat to himself seemed lessened, Ridley appeared more inclined to be generous.
Philip was repulsed at the thought of sharing this man’s hospitality so he stood and took his leave abruptly. “I do not think so, we need to be going. This has been a vast waste of our time and there are many other things we could accomplish this day. We will see you in a fortnight, Ridley.”
Philip and James strode from the house briskly, surprised to see that their horses were left standing outside and had not been provided for. They shook their heads in disgust over such poor, miserly manners, mounted up, and rode over to a nearby village with an inn where they could feed their horses and have some refreshments for themselves while they gave some thought to what their next move should be.
After seeing to their horses and being served by the landlord who had profusely proclaimed his “honour” at their presence, Philip and James sat down to discuss their options.
“James, I think the best plan would be to go back to the house in London, pack a couple of bags, and set out on a round of as many of the old marquis’ holdings as we can manage in a week before we are promised to my mother. The viscount will then not have an opportunity to train all the servants on what they are to say, or get rid of any who do not want to cooperate. And we will not have wasted two weeks of precious time while the young marchioness is still missing. Maybe we will have found her before we have to go to Rosemount.”
James shook his head in doubt. “I think it is a sound plan, milord, but I would advise you not to expect to find her any time too soon. By my thinking, she either does not want to be found or she has met some foul end and we may never find out what happened to her.”
“Don’t be such a pessimist, James. I have full confidence in our ability to locate the wench. Now drink up, we should be on our way. If we can make good time I want to reach the seat of the earldom of Spence, one of the marquis’ lesser properties. It is not too far. We could make it there in a couple of hours, find a room at the inn, and speak to the servants on the estate tomorrow morning.” Being a man of action, now that the earl had a plan, he wanted to execute it at the first opportunity.
The two men quickly finished their repast, paid the landlord, and got on their way. They had many miles to cover in the next week and not a moment to waste.
~~~~
Philip and James were nearly numb with fatigue by the time they rolled into the courtyard of the Hatfield Inn late that night. After riding back to London and setting out again, they were decidedly travelworn. The last few miles had been rough going in the dark with only a couple of lanterns casting a weak glow upon the road ahead. Philip's eyes felt as though they were filled with sand and he could barely keep them open as they rounded the final curve in the road. It was only his keen determination that had kept them on the road that long. The earl could not bear the thought of having wasted so much time and needed to at least reach a destination where they could ask about the marquis.
It was with profound relief that the two gentlemen climbed down from their carriage and entered the inn on road weary legs. They had been quickly shown to some decent rooms and provided with a light repast before they retired to sleep off the effects of their mad dash around England. They both instantly fell into the deep sleep of the truly exhausted.
The next morning they were up with the cock crowing, determined to find some answers. The landlord was happy to provide directions to the Spence estate after serving them a hearty breakfast. Philip and James felt quite refreshed and optimistic as they drove out of the inn yard.
