‘Ah reckon he’ll be fizzin,’ Finn offered helpfully.
‘Shut up, Finn,’ chorused the other two in heated whispers.
Shaking his head, the Reverend stepped out onto the landing, muttering, ‘Lord save me from foolish chits and jaw-me-dead boys.’
‘What be jaw-me deid?’ Finn quizzed, following at their heels.
‘Someone who talks too much,’ Augustus Shackleford threw over his shoulder.
Seconds later, they were standing outside a bedchamber door. ‘How do you know this is the right one?’ the Reverend asked.
‘I don’t - I thought you did?’ Henrietta retorted. ‘How am I supposed to know which room an unmarried gentleman is sleeping in?’ They stared at each other. After a few seconds, Finn shook his head with a sigh and stepped between them muttering, ‘tumshie heids,’ under his breath as he pushed open the door.
Ten
‘Of course I didn’t know it was your parents’ room?’ Henrietta declared as the two cousins sat dutifully in the breakfast room the following morning waiting for the inevitable lecture. Though breakfast wasn’t due for another couple of hours, their respective fathers had ordered the two women and their grandfather to make themselves available at seven a.m. prompt. While they were still awaiting the arrival of the Reverend, the housekeeper, Mrs Bellamy, had very kindly stoked up the fire and brought them some tea and toast, declaring that no one should take a roasting on an empty stomach. Henrietta certainly couldn’t argue with that.
‘I’m merely not in the habit of searching for men’s bedchambers in the middle of the night,’ she continued, taking a thoughtful bite of her toast. ‘Do you think we’ve got Grandpapa in serious trouble?’
Roseanna sighed. ‘Grandfather thrives on serious trouble – he’s never happier than when he’s in the suds. Everyone knows that.’
‘Yes, but none of this was his fault.’
‘It wasn’t yours either, Henri,’ Rosie sighed. ‘I’m the one who’s made a mull of the whole thing. I should have simply knocked at the front door like any normal person. My mother would have understood. After all, it’s not like she’s never tied her garter in public.’
‘Really? Aunt Hope has always seemed the most sensible of all the sisters – nothing like Aunt Tempy or Patience.’
‘Papa’s always said the quiet ones are the worst,’ Roseanna admitted with a small grin, before leaning forward and adding, ‘Mother and Father were actually locked together in a cellar by a perfectly horrid man.Beforethey were wed...’
‘What, alone?’ Henri didn’t know whether to be intrigued or horrified.
‘Totallyalone,’ Rosie confided. ‘It’s not something they talk about much, but I do know it was Mother’s voice that saved them.’ She took a sip of tea.
Intrigue definitely won out over horror. ‘How?’ Henrietta asked. ‘Did she sing or something?’. To her surprise, Roseanna nearly choked on her tea. ‘I can only assume that you’ve never heard my mother’s singing voice…’
They were interrupted by their grandfather’s arrival. ‘Is that fresh?’ he quizzed cheerfully, pointing to the teapot and helping himself to a piece of toast. Henrietta regarded him dubiously. He certainly didn’t look Friday-faced.
‘See what I mean?’ Roseanna whispered, eyebrows raised.
‘Have they let you see your Frenchman yet?’ Augustus Shackleford went on, seating himself at the table.
Henrietta gave an embarrassed cough. ‘I didn’t realise it, but he’s not actually staying in the house. He’s lodging at the Poulton’s Hotel with Mr Augustin.’
The Reverend favoured her with a disbelieving look and shook his head, but before he had the chance to comment, Roan and Gabriel entered the room. Directly behind them was Tristan.
The supposed roasting turned out to be more of a reproach than anything else, and there was no argument over whether Roseanna would accompany them other than they should both be ready to board theFaith and Fortuneimmediately after breakfast on the morrow.
Finally, after inviting their grandfather to accompany him into the study, Henri was drily ordered to attend her cousin in the library so that she could speak with her fiancé without damaging any reputations…
Delighted that Rosie was not to be sent home, Henrietta followed the couple into the library, seating herself to the side of the large picture window. Once there, she discreetly turned her chair, better to observe the garden, and occupied herself by watching two seagulls fight over a few crumbs of bread. After only five minutes, they flew off, squawking, leaving the unfinished breadcrumbs scattered in the grass.
In her experience, seagulls did not usually relinquish their prize quite so easily. Surprised, Henrietta leaned forward to see what had spooked them and caught sight of a man who’d clearly entered the garden via the back gate. As she watched, he casually sat down on a bench underneath a large cherry tree and pulledout a pipe. While the bench was placed to take advantage of the glorious view over the harbour, it was not easily visible from the house, and Henri suspected he’d chosen the location deliberately. Frowning, she leaned forward but was unable to get any more than a side view. However, from what she could see, the man was wearing a uniform the colours of theFaith and Fortune.
Clearly, he was waiting for someone, most likely her father – but why was he sitting outside rather than coming into the house? Whatever his reasons, the man didn’t wait for long. A mere fifteen minutes later, he emptied his pipe and left the same way he’d arrived.
The rest of the day was chaotic as packing was finalised and trunks were loaded onto carts to be taken to the ship.
The Duke of Blackmore departed, taking Emma and Eliza with him. On hugging her youngest daughter, Faith had laughingly cautioned her not to become too accustomed to having her own lady’s maid.
