“And now they’re coming back,” Dom reminded him. “Will you allow them to take over again?”
Fenbridge grabbed a cane and stomped over until he was in front of Dom.
“You are in their employ, Mr. Prince. Are you suggesting I be less than courteous to your employers?”
“We’re suggesting precisely the opposite, Lord Fenbridge,” Tess told him. “We’re suggesting that you host a soiree to celebrate their return.”
Fenbridge stared at her a moment and then burst into a chortle of laughter. “Do you not recall who you’re speaking to, Miss Hawthorne? When have I ever wished to host a soiree?”
“What if we did all the planning?” Dom asked him. “We’ll handle the guest list, help the staff with the menu, even pay for the expense, just as the Van Arsdales did before their departure.”
Fenbridge strode a few steps closer, glaring at each of them. “What nonsense are you two concocting?” He tipped his head at Tess. “You’re an honest young woman, aren’t you, Miss Hawthorne? I’d hate to think the man you’ve promised yourself to has drawn you into some deception.”
“It’s not nonsense,” she told him, notching up her chin an inch. “It’s a marvelous solution that will allow what’s found in that mound to stay on the island where it lay for a millennium.”
Fenbridge shook his head and looked at her indulgently, as a parent might with a whimsical child. “It’s a very fine notion, but you’ve met Mr. Van Arsdale. He won’t retreat.” He stuck out a finger toward his desk. “And I signed the damnable contract.”
His shoulders slumped in his finely tailored coat. “I’m sorry, Miss Hawthorne.” He looked up, his gaze fixed on her face. “Though I explained last time we talked, it wasn’t a sufficient excuse. I should have given you permission to dig.”
Tess let out a little gasp and pressed her lips together. “Thank you for acknowledging that, my lord.” She stepped a bit closer to the old nobleman. “But if you truly have any regret, then help us with this.” For a moment, she hesitated.
“We know our plan may fail,” Dom admitted. “Please help us try.”
“This is a moment,” Tess told him quietly, “for courage.”
Fenbridge turned away from both of them and made his way back to the long window behind his desk. He stared out onto the garden for a long moment.
Dom reached for Tess’s hand, and she squeezed his, then nodded slowly. She believed the nobleman would relent.
Then, after a stretch of silence, he did.
“When will this... event take place?”
“We’d like it to happen this evening,” Tess told him. “They’ll arrive any moment from London, and we think they’ll like the notion of a dinner hosted to celebrate their return.”
“And we have a few important guests expecting to travel to Wiggenstow to attend,” Dom added.
Fenbridge spun, both brows arched high. “Out with it then, the two of you might as well tell me your plan.”
Dom and Tess exchanged a quick smile, savoring their success, if only this part of it.
And then they told him their plan.
“We couldn’t have pulled this off without you.” Tess approached Mrs. Wells and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Thank you.”
Wellsy drew in a deep breath. “It’s not even begun yet, my dear.”
“No, but the food looks marvelous, and that will matter to the Van Arsdales.”
Mrs. Wells had returned to Foxdene, and Tristan had filled them in about the plan to host a party where the Van Arsdales might be persuaded to be magnanimous.
The Fenbridge staff had panicked a bit when Tess went to the kitchen to explain what they hoped to accomplish. It was very short notice, and Mrs. Wells’s oversight helped them greatly. They’d settled on a somewhat simple menu, but with rich flourishes and a sumptuous dessert, which the Van Arsdales had favored earlier in the week.
Now, they’d secured the Van Arsdales’ agreement to attend the meal and the staff had put the finishing touches on the dining room setup.
The Van Arsdales were out at the dig site with their chairs and umbrellas. Dom had been out with them part of the morning, then made his excuses, claiming he had to speak to Fenbridge. Tristan had promised to keep them there in the afternoon following a lavish lunch to prevent them from interfering with the dinner arrangements.
Tess looked up when she heard the thud of footsteps in the hallway and let out a big exhale of relief when Dominic appeared in the doorway.
