She slowly climbed down from her perch, took back her parasol and reticule, and nodded at the lane. “Come along, Merry. We should not have come.”
“The place is so…” Merry’s voice trailed off as she trudged along beside Felicity.
“So sad,” Felicity finished for her. “What a terrible mess the earl must have inherited.”
“The home is so small. How can this be the Wakefield country seat? Did Seri not say that the young earl came from landed gentry?”
“Chance said that,” Felicity said, her heart heavy. “I would lay odds this was his land before he became the earl.”
“But why has he not taken better care of it? And how could the old earl lose the family’s country seat? Would it not be part of an entailment?”
“Entailments can be dissolved if all parties are willing.” Felicity slowly shook her head. “Poor Lord Wakefield. It looks as though he had to let everyone go because of the debts he inherited. He must have used all that he possessed to pay off what the estate could not cover upon his uncle’s death.”
“How on earth do you know these things?” Merry asked.
Felicity gave her sister a frustrated glance. “Do you never listen to the conversations when Mr. Sutherland the elder and Mr. Sutherland the younger come to dinner? You could learn a thing or two from our solicitors. Things worth knowing.”
“Do not be surly.” They trudged along in silence for a while, then Merry asked, “What will you do when he calls upon you?”
A heavy sigh worked itself free, even though Felicity attempted to hold it back. “I don’t know.” He had been so nice to her when he thought her a penniless kitchen maid. Had he truly liked her, or was he simply a charming flirt who played up to the help to get what he wanted? The maids had spoken to her about those sort of lordlings. And if he behaved as if he liked her now, how could she know if it was because hetrulyliked her or her dowry? For heaven’s sake, he certainlycould use every penny that came with her. “I do not wish to be the solution to someone’s dire straits. It makes me question the truth of their intentions.”
Merry nodded. “You need to be the problem. The entire problem. Not the solution.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“It means he should want you so badly, he will do anything to win you because you are the air he needs to breathe.”
“You have been reading too many of Fortuity’s books again.”
“Actually, that came from one of Serendipity’s forbidden books that she thinks she keeps hidden.” Merry winked and linked her arm through Felicity’s. “Will you send him away tomorrow when he calls?”
“I told you I didn’t know. What would you do?”
Merry’s mouth drew into a thoughtful pucker as she stared off into the distance as if the answer lay somewhere among the wildflowers in the meadow. “I would see him and confront him.”
“I cannot very well tell him I spied on his garden.”
Merry snorted. “Well, of course not. You must be a bit more tactful…and sneaky about it. Simply tell him you heardrumors.That is believable enough. Even out here in the country, gossip is rife amongst theton.”
“Or I could tell him I am not receiving callers.”
“You already told him you would.”
“Yes, but one never knows when one’s health might keep one to their bed.”
“Oneis the poorest liar in creation. Do you really think Seri and Chance will believe you and allow you to hide in your bedchamber when you have a perfectly nice gentleman calling?”
“Some days I do not care for you at all, Merry.”
Merry grinned. “Thank goodness you just wiggled your nose, or I just might have believed you!”
Chapter Five
“Ineed enoughmilk to make a stiff paste of the flour, butter, and sugar.” Felicity studied the calculation she had scribbled onto a note, frowning at her measurements. “The last batch was so very dry and bitter. Do you think too little milk was the problem, or not enough sugar?”
“Too little butter, and I think old Scratch bumped your elbow when you was measuring out that vanilla of yours.” Cook ambled over and peered over Felicity’s shoulder at the paper. She tapped a calloused finger on the note. “Did you steep them vanilla beans longer this time to make the extract? Mayhap the brandy you used last time was not the quality you needed.”
“Oh dear.”
