Satisfied with his solution, he was about to announce that the festivities were over when two new faces appeared.
“Mr. Godwin!” Kenny dashed over on skinny legs. “May I have one more lesson before you go? Please?”
“Where are your manners, Kenneth?” Wally chided. “Mr. Godwin’s a busy man and might not have the time.”
That fact didn’t dissuade you from giving me a half-dozen tours, you old codger.
“But, Great-Grandpapa, Mr. Godwin has time for a short lesson, doesn’t he?”
Hands clasped together, Kenny turned huge, shimmering eyes upon Conrad. Above the boy’s freckled nose, faint traces of the shiner lingered.
Christ.
“A short lesson.” Conrad sighed. “In the garden.”
“Hooray! I’ll see you there, sir,” Kenny sang as he darted off.
“It’s kind of you to take an interest in my great-grandson,” Wally said. “Lord knows his own papa doesn’t.”
“He’s a fine lad,” Conrad said gruffly.
“Not much of a fighter, though.”
“It doesn’t matter. Survival is what counts. That was my first lesson to Kenny: if you can’t win, you run or hide.”
“A good lesson. You’re like him, you know.”
“You, er, think I am like Kenny?”
“No, Thomas. Thomas Mulligan.”
Wally had a faraway look, as if he’d drifted into the past. During the tours, this had happened a few times, and Conrad knew the old fellow would eventually find his way back.
“He had fought battles before arriving here,” Wally said dreamily. “They scarred him, I think. But, like you, he was a survivor, and in the end, he found his peace.”
“In Chuddums, you mean?”
“With Rosalinda. He wasn’t looking for love, but he found it anyway.”
I know what that is like.
“If only he’d trusted her sooner, the curse could have been averted,” Wally said sadly.
Conrad drew his brows together. “Wait. What are you talking about?”
After their steamy interlude, Gigi had told him her theory that their meeting was somehow tied to the local legend. She’d shared her dreams and belief that their relationship might play a part in undoing the curse. Amused by her fanciful reasoning, he’d chucked her under the chin and told her that if the legend convinced her to marry him, then he would invite Bloody Thom to the wedding himself.
Now Wally reminded him that the legend wasn’t just a ghost story. During their tours, the nonagenarian had told Conrad that he’d known the real Thomas and Rosalinda. As a young boy, Wally had seen the lovers together by the stream…the stream where Conrad had met Gigi.
A tingle crossed Conrad’s nape.
Wally blinked. Once, twice.
“Isn’t that something?” Chortling, he scratched his ear. “I don’t remember what I was saying.”
Conrad left for London early the next morning. He’d informed Redgrave and Marvell of his schedule, and he arrived to find them waiting.
They’d barely settled in his study before Marvell blurted, “It’s happened. The Westfield railway bubble burst this morning. Soon it will be all over London.”
