“My master?”
“Yes, the man who owns this land. Lord Conrad, or whatever his name is. The baron.”
She thinks I am a servant,Theo realized. He supposed, dressed as he was and performing a servant’s work, he should expect nothing less.
“Do you think that your master would want his gardener scaring a lady off of his land when she needed safety?”
Theo descended the ladder to face her. “Madam, you are welcome to pass through LordConnally’sland.” He looked to see if her cheeks would redden at his correction, but her face remained as proud as ever. “You were down by the beach, you say? You must have walked a long way. Where are you headed?”
“I seek the lane, that I might find my way back to Fairclough Hall.”
“If it is Fairclough you are bound for, then that way would be more direct.” He pointed. “The lane is long and indirect. It will take you two miles to return by that route. If you cut through the orchard, you will find yourself in the moors which border Fairclough in half the time. A small gate exists between the properties, built some generations ago as a mark of friendship between the two families.” He neglected to tell her that the gate was long in disuse, had been locked, and that she would probably have to climb the wall to get over it.
“Thank you, sir. Pass on my regards to your master, and thank him for allowing me to trespass. I can assure you, it will not happen again.”
“Take care, Madam, should you find yourself walking the beach again. As you have seen, the tides here can be dangerous.”
He expected some reply, but she had already set off in the heading he had given. It was only after she was too far to see that he realized she had not even given him her name.
S
The resident gossip of the neighborhood was Mrs. Bird. No person entered or exited that part of the county without her knowledge of it. No birth, wedding, or death could take place without her hearing of it first and not a hint of courtship could take place between a man and woman without her sniffing it out. She considered it her foremost duty as the wife of the minister to be apprised of any useful or interesting tidbit pertaining to any of her parishioners, and to pass on said tidbit by word of mouth to all the neighborhood.
That she should meet the newcomers to Fairclough was a necessity, and she took the liberty of calling on them at her earliest opportunity.
Caroline, now attired in a fresh, clean gown, joined her sister in the drawing room to welcome their visitor. She had managed to enter the house unnoticed, and made it upstairs without anyone realizing she had already been down that day. Her maid seemed disgruntled over the state of Caroline’s sand-and-water-laden gown, but she said nothing as she helped Caroline out of it, and swept the floor to hide any evidence that Caroline had been to the beach.
A pair of footmen, the second being as burly as the first one they had seen the day before, assisted Mrs. Hurst to move from her wheeled chair onto her sofa. Caroline and Lousia took the chairs beside her, facing Mrs. Bird. After introductions and pleasantries were out of the way, Mrs. Bird began her usual report on all the births, deaths, and illnesses in the parish, only to be interrupted by Mrs. Hurst.
“But what of Raven’s Cliff? Have you called there yet? Have you seen him?”
“By ‘him’, I suppose you mean Lord Connally,” Mrs. Bird replied. “And as of yet, no, I have not. Not for lack of trying, mind you! Mr. Bird and I did call at Raven’s Cliff three times since His Lordship’s return, but every time, I was told he was out.”
“Out! Why, that is unacceptable.” Mrs. Hurst shook her head. “What man, just returned to the neighborhood after a long absence, has any right to be out? He ought to be home, accepting the regards and welcome of his fellow neighbors.”
“Well, I suppose he might have some long-standing acquaintances, upon whom he wishes to call,” was Mrs. Bird’s explanation. “It is rather odd, though, that all his days seem to be ‘away’ days. But, I do not know that there is any great hurry. I suppose we shall meet him again in due time.”
Mrs. Hurst had other ideas. “I am thinking of Miss Bingley here, and hoping that you will introduce Lord Connally to her.”
“Lord Connally?” Louisa’s eyebrow went up. “Er, forgive me, but is he not a littleoldfor Caroline? I understood his years to be quite advanced when I met him during our last visit.”
Caroline wrinkled her nose at the thought of a decrepit man being pushed towards her as a potential suitor.
“Not the old Lord Connally. Thenewone,” Mrs. Hurst clarified. “The baron passed away a year ago and his son has finally returned from Ireland.”
“Is he single?” Louisa’s interest was piqued now.
Mrs. Hurst nodded. “And rich. A clear twelve or thirteen thousand per annum. I have not seen him since he was a boy, but if his looks then were any indication, he’ll be mighty handsome by now.”
A baron! Young, rich, and handsome, too!It was almost too good to be true. Caroline’s pulse quickened.Of course, Mrs. Hurst could be wrong. Plenty of attractive children grow up to be hideous.She reasoned with herself that his looks did not even signify. With such a fortune and a title, she could even marry an ogre.He would be just the thing to help me put Mr. Darcy from my mind, once and for all.
Her sister seemed to share similar thoughts. “This is fortunate indeed! Mrs. Bird, are you certain of his return?”
“Oh, undoubtedly! Though I have not seen the master myself, his gardener, Mr. Hodge, assures me that he is indeed back from Ireland. Along with Mr. Hodge’s son.” There was a hint of bitterness at this last remark.
“Oh my, yes, I do feel for you, on that account, Mrs. Bird,” Mrs. Hurst sympathized. “Did he give any indication as to when the young Mr. Hodge will take orders?”
“No, but I imagine it will be soon, and then Mr. Bird and I shall have to vacate the parsonage.”
