"Get out! Get out of my house and don’t ever come back!" he shouted.
So she turned on her heel and did not quite run, but certainly hurried from the house.
Her heart was racing the entire time as she walked back to her horse, mounted, and rode in the direction of Grandmamma’s home. She had never been spoken to like that before, let alone by a man, and she realised now that the place must not have been abandoned – but it was an honest mistake. She glanced down at her simple dress and wondered if that, and her matronly hair, which she had pinned up quickly that morning, had made him think she did not belong in such a home.
But then again, she had been trespassing. Even if she hadn’t intended to.
She felt shaken all the way home, and when Grandmamma asked how her visit had been, she simply shook her head and said, "It seems it has not been abandoned after all."
"Oh! That’s strange. I was sure that was what Lady Brimsbury said, or maybe it was just that he’d retired from society…" her grandmother murmured.
Constance sighed and wished that her grandmother had been a little more thorough in her research before passing on such information. She felt like a fool, embarrassed that she had been somewhere she shouldn’t be, and that she had been shouted at like a child.
Still, she supposed she would never have to see the man again. That was something, at least.
???
"And make sure that darned door is bolted properly tonight," Ezra snapped as Soames cleared the table after dinner. "Don’t want just anybody wandering in here, do we?"
"No, of course not, my lord. I don’t know how it happened. I can only apologise," Soames replied.
Ezra waved his hand through the air. "Yes, yes. That’s all well and good," he said. "This time, the intruder seemed like some poor maid, but she did not seem desperate to pilfer the silver. But who knows next time? I know we live in the middle of nowhere out here, but we cannot be too careful."
Later that night, in bed, he found himself wondering where the woman had come from and who she was. After all, he had been right when he had said it to Soames – they did live in an exceptionally rural area. No one ever came out here unless they intended to. Why would she stumble across his home and come in? If she truly thought it abandoned, why had she made the pilgrimage there? Or perhaps she was a looter, hoping to find something worth selling. She looked as though she could be a lady’s maid – perhaps she wasn’t paid enough.
But then he put her from his mind, sure that he would never see her again, and that Soames would make sure there were no more intruders.
"I’ve been thinking it might be nice to redecorate some of the rooms this winter, dear," his mother said, as they sat drinking tea on another afternoon when she had turned up unannounced.
"There’s no need, Mama," Ezra said with a sigh. "It’s not as though I entertain often, and the rooms were redecorated not so long ago."
"Six years ago, Ezra – Laura did so just after you married, as was her right. But she only did the countess’s chambers, the nursery, and the parlour."
Ezra gave a slight shudder at the mention of two of those rooms, which he never entered. He did not like talking about Laura, as his mother well knew. He wasn’t sure how she thought she was going to win him over to her side by bringing up a topic he hated to think on.
"Rooms which are rarely used, as you know, so they will surely be fine after just six years. And as for the rest—"
"The rest," she interrupted smoothly, "I do not believe has been redecorated since your father was alive, Ezra. I understand you do not wish to entertain now, but you will in the future, I am sure. And you do not want the castle to be left stuck in the past, do you?"
If he were honest, he wasn’t sure he cared whether the décor of the castle was considered modern or not – but he was confident that was not the answer his mother wanted.
"I suppose not."
"You needn’t lift a finger. I have decorated this castle numerous times in the past, as well you know. I can organise it, be here to oversee the tradespeople – none of it need bother you."
"Fine," Ezra said with a sigh, feeling it was easier to capitulate than to argue over something he didn’t truly care about. "But I do not want anybody in my bedchamber or my study. Understood?"
"If you insist, dear. Although they are looking a little tired…"
"I do insist," Ezra said in a half-growl. "I do not like people in the house at the best of times – and certainly not in the areas I wish to be alone. If you cannot agree, then you shan’t do any of it."
His mother hurriedly shook her head.
"No, no, that won’t be a problem. You’ll be pleased, I’m sure, once it’s done. And the rooms Laura decorated—"
"Are wholly out of bounds," Ezra said sharply. "Under any circumstance."
He wasn’t particularly bothered about people being in the parlour, but he did not wish to wash away the last choices Laura had brought to the castle. And as for her chamber and the nursery – no one entered those. That was not about to change.
