Gathering her gown about her, she lifted it out of the way so that she could climb the disintegrating steps safely. She was forced to open the heavy door herself, as there was no butler in evidence, and then remove her own wrapper and bonnet. She brushed the dust off a nearby chair and draped her belongings over it.
The foyer smelled of mildew and decay.
“Hello!” she shouted. Her own voice echoed back mockingly.
A shiver ran through her. Perhaps she ought to have kept her wrapper on.
“Hello!” she shouted again.
This time, she heard a door open and close upstairs and then footsteps approaching the landing.
A rush of emotion swept through Penelope when Danbury paused at the top of the stairs. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been… Oh, Lord. It had been just over one month since she’d been with him, since she’d lain with him.
And now here he was, his shirt hanging out of his trousers, no cravat or waistcoat, and at least three days’ growth of whiskers on his face. “What on earth has happened to you, Danbury?” she asked, forgetting the rehearsed greeting she’d planned over the past few weeks. “Good Lord, you look like death warmed over.”
The man standing above her pinched the bridge of his nose and then rubbed his eyes. “Penelope? Penelope Crone, is that you? What in God’s name are you doing here?”
Ignoring his questions, she beckoned him to come down the stairs. “I thought you were coming up here to take matters in hand! Where is your butler? Do you even have a housekeeper? And your steward, he’s got to go, Hugh! That man is robbing you blind.”
Danbury shook his head. Blinked several times, and then descended the stairs cautiously. Perhaps because he was uncertain as to his own stability or perhaps because he was just a little bit frightened of her.
After stepping off the bottom step, he grasped Penelope by the shoulders and looked searchingly into her eyes. “They do have blue…” he mumbled nonsensically. And then, getting ahold of himself, he addressed her again. “Why are you here, Penelope? Has something happened with Cortland? Did my mother send you?”
Penelope could not look him directly in the eyes. His proximity, after… Well, she was more than a little flustered. Did he not remember anything? How could a person not remember doingthat? He had been, well, inside of her! She bit her lip and lowered her gaze from his to stare at the floor.
“I, um. Well…” A tiny gray creature peeked out from beneath the settee. “Oh, good Lord, Danbury, there are mice running about this place! Did you not stop to think that you might need a little assistance after ignoring this estate for over a decade? Did you not think that perhaps a friend might feel inclined to come to your assistance?” She finally worked up the courage to meet his stare again. “I’m here to offer my assistance. God knows you need it.”
Danbury shook his head, as though trying to wake himself out of a dream of some sort—or nightmare, whatever the case may be. “You… have come all this way… to help me with the estate?” He looked somewhat incredulous at the thought.
“Do you think that because I am a woman, I do not know how to go about running an estate? Do you not wonder how my parents have prospered so well? Did you really think that myfatherwas responsible for doubling his assets over the past decade? Do you not knowme, Hugh Chesterton?”
“But, Pen—”
“Don’t Pen me, Danbury. Now, let’s take a look at your books. And then we’ll need to find a replacement for that Periwinkle fellow, and we most definitely need to find you a good butler and a housekeeper. It ought not to be a problem, though. There are dozens of people in this area looking for work.”
Chapter 5
As a gentleman, Hugh suddenly felt all of the responsibility of Penelope Crone fall squarely upon his shoulders. A lady did not travel over one hundred miles without a chaperone. It simply was not done! What was the baron thinking, allowing his daughter to gallivant all over the country alone?
And now this managing female was making herself comfortable in his home, ready to tackle the problems he’d been contemplating for over a week.
He ought to send her packing. Confirmed spinster or not, her presence here put his bachelorhood in definite peril. She was craning her neck around at all the disrepair as she led them both toward his study.
“This place is filthy, Hugh! How have you been living here?” She pulled a handkerchief out of her skirt and began wiping down any visible surface on the ancient wooden desk. As she did so, she appeared to be organizing papers and envelopes into various piles. “That Mr. Periwinkle is a crook if I ever saw one. Look at this, Hugh. I’d be willing to bet this is a second set of books. It’s most likely completely different than the reports he’s been sending you.”
“I already—” Hugh began.
“If you’ve already discovered his thievery, then why is the man still lurking about?” Penelope interrupted him. Glimpsing more receipts on the floor, she turned and bent down to retrieve them, giving Hugh an unusually disturbing view of her rounded derriere.
Disturbing because he hadn’t before considered the shape of Penelope’s body—well, he hadn’t for a very long time. Like most men, Penelope’s bluestocking tendencies had extinguished any spark of interest he’d ever acknowledged for her. He must have been up here alone too long because his hand suddenly itched to caress, squeeze, and lightly slap…
“And I’ll bet the man has finished off most of the contents of your cellar by now. Did you not notice the yellow color in his eyes or the tint of his complexion? Ah, yes!” She held out a piece of paper with several scrawls upon it. “Take a look at this. These bills are long overdue! It seems as though your steward has swindled nearly every shop in town!”
Hugh grabbed the papers out of her hand. “Not nearly every shop, Penelope. Every single one.” He dropped into the settee. “The estate owes a fortune in funds, and I’ve no idea what Periwinkle has done with them. This mess isn’t going to be cleaned up any time soon.” He’d put some feelers out to locate a new steward, but these things took time.
Glancing up, he realized that Penelope was watching him strangely. She looked different, somehow, softer perhaps. “Is it boredom that has driven you to travel all the way up here, Pen? Because to be frank with you, if anyone of consequence discovers your presence here, we’re both doomed.”
Penelope grimaced and then walked over and sat down beside him.
