“Owen!” she said excitedly, looking up from the parchment as he burst into the room. “Look, I’ve started another one. I’ve had such a brilliant idea – Owen!” She was startled as he took her arm and pulled her to her feet. “What has you so excited?”
“I’m sorry, Diana, but we must go now. There is someone we must see.”
“What on earth is going on?” she said, laughing at his exuberance. In the hallway, he helped her quickly into her pelisse and the shawl around her shoulders, before throwing open the door and urging her down the steps.
“Where is that carriage?”
“Carriage? Owen, you are not making any sense.”
“Diana, a man just arrived at the house – he went in through the kitchen door. He called himself Lord Haroldson. He was demanding payment from the Duke of Somerset for something, and he couldn’t accept the fact that the duke wasn’t in.” Owen revealed as much information and as quickly as he could, before turning around, listening as the phaeton carriage approached, with the horses’ hooves clattering against the pebbled drive.
“There is so much that does not make sense in those statements.” Diana shook her head as she pulled the shawl tighter around her arms.
“Exactly,” Owen said as he took her hand and pulled her towards the carriage as it stopped. “I think we should go and find out what he wants with your husband, before he leaves, and we can’t track him down again.”
Owen urged the stable boy out of the driver’s seat and took over as Diana clambered into the carriage bench. With the top of the phaeton carriage down, she could lean forward, practically level with Owen and calling out to him as he flicked the reins and drove the horses on.
“You think it has something to do with the fires?”
“That I do not know,” Owen said, setting his eyes on the road ahead, “but if a lord goes into a duke’s house through the back door, I do not think their business a legitimate one.”
Chapter 26
“There he is!” Diana said, pulling on Owen’s shoulder and pointing across the estate. Where the driveway curved, heading along a track back towards the road that led out into the village, there was a horse plodding along at a sedate pace. In the bright winter sun, the man was clearly visible, with a top hat pulled low and a fine suit. “Are you sure he is a lord?”
“He said he was,” Owen called back to her as he angled the carriage down the driveway, urging the horses on faster to try and catch up with the man.
It seemed odd to Diana’s mind that any lord would travel alone without a footman or some kind of attendant, but the closer they got to the man, the more Diana could see he was indeed dressed finely, with a top hat made of beaver fur and such a fine frock coat that the lapels were embroidered. Even the hessian boots tucked into the stirrups of the saddle were finely made, waxed to such a degree that they shone in the sun.
“Lord Haroldson!” Owen called out to the man the closer they got. He whipped his head around, turning so sharply that his chestnut steed reared his nose in objection. Lord Haroldson was forced to turn back and get his horse under control, pulling him to an ungainly stop, giving Owen the time he needed to pull the carriage up alongside him.
“Lord Haroldson?” Diana asked, her voice much quieter now they were so close to the horse.
“Your Grace.” Lord Haroldson angled his body towards her and bowed his head, tipping the top hat with it. “You must be the Duchess of Somerset. I must admit, this is an awkward place for introductions.”
“So would have been my kitchen,” Diana said, sidling along the coach bench so that she was a little nearer to the man. “I understand you came to see my husband.” She watched the man closely for a reaction, observing the way a muscle ticked in his jaw and he looked away, feigning interest in ensuring his horse was well. “What do you want of him?”
“We had business to discuss. That is all, Your Grace.”
“Then why not call at the front door like any other visitor?” Owen asked. Diana smiled a little as she looked towards him, seeing he was impatient for an answer. She didn’t blame him. She felt they kept coming up against a wall every time they tried to find out more about Gilbert. Perhaps at last there was someone before them who could be willing to speak.
To Owen’s question, Lord Haroldson lifted a narrowed glare in his direction.
“I will not be spoken to in such a way by a servant.” His voice hissed with anger.
“And I will not allow a stranger into my house to address my servants in such a way.” Diana was unsure where she had found the confidence to speak in such a way, but she found her chin lifting higher, pleased with what she had done as Lord Haroldson blushed bright red.
“He made something of a mess in our kitchen too, Your Grace,” Owen said, earning her gaze. “The food our cooks were preparing is ruined.”
“Lord Haroldson! What an interesting guest you have been to my house, especially after so short a visit,” Diana said calmly, turning back to face him.
“I will explain myself to your husband when he returns. When will he return?”
“I will answer your question when you have answered one of mine.” Diana held his gaze, aware that Lord Haroldson was pulling on his horse’s reins, clearly intent on leaving once again, but she wouldn’t let him go just yet. “What business did you wish to discuss with him?”
“He has not paid me to conclude our business. He has broken our deal.” There was anger in his tone, making his fists curl around the horse’s reins with the knuckles turning white. “No man likes being betrayed in business, and I will not stand for it.”
“What business was it?” Diana asked, but the man did not answer. He merely looked ahead, further down the driveway. “Your silence suggests it is not lawful. What other reason could you have for staying quiet?”
