As she did the past few days, Tess immediately joined in. The lady was not interested in merely advising. She seemed to relish digging, sifting, or doing whatever was required to help move the excavation along. Like Dom, she was not content to sit on the sidelines and watch others work.
Within a quarter of an hour, they had the largest tarps stretched out over the central trench. Fenbridge’s groundskeeper provided them with a couple of mallets too, and Tristan and Dom quickly sank the stakes at the coverings’ edges to secure them in place as the soft cool drops of rain began to pelt them.
“Come to the inn,” Dom said to Tess as she strode toward him while he pounded in the final stakes. “We can convene about the dig and have an early lunch.”
He cast his gaze down the length of the worksite. “Tristan too, and any of the men who want to join us.”
“We don’t know how long the rain will last.” Tess stood with her hands on her hips and looked up into the light drizzle. “Summer rains sometimes pass quickly, and the men won’t want to lose a day’s pay.”
“They’ll be paid no matter what.” Dom stood and dusted off his hands. “And if it’s possible, we’ll return to the site.”
But even as he spoke, a rumble of thunder rolled across the sky.
“Oh no,” Tess murmured in an ominous tone. “Not a quick shower, I’m afraid.”
“No?” Dom had dealt with all sorts of weather challenges on various digs. A bit of rain wouldn’t daunt him.
Yet the next moment, the gentle, pelting rain turned to a torrent, bucketing down so fiercely that the noise of it seemed to swallow all other sounds.
Dom shucked off his linen sack coat and lifted it, stretching it out above Tess’s head.
She’d already been drenched and chuckled. “Such chivalry,” she teased. “But a little too late for Mother Nature.”
“I had to try.” He grinned, loving the easiness of her smile.
They exchanged a few each day, and he never took a single one for granted. Though what they never did was speak of the kiss they’d shared at the Walcotts’. It was as if she wished to forget it. He never could. But he wouldn’t demand anything of her. If an amiable working relationship was what she insisted upon, he’d told himself he’d push for no more. Yet it couldn’t stop him from hoping, or from how maddeningly attracted he was to his dig partner.
“We let them go for the day?” Tristan shouted in question.
“Let’s all head to the Randalls’ inn,” Dom called to him.
Men turned to each other as the message was passed down the line, and then a few took off walking toward the road that led to town. One scooped up an umbrella. A few broke into a run, but most ambled along, as if they weren’t at all bothered by the downpour.
Tristan approached with a couple of the umbrellas they kept at the site for anyone who needed a moment of shade.
He tossed one to Dom, who immediately opened it and lifted it over Tess. She stepped forward, so they could share its shelter.
“We could get the pony cart,” Tristan offered.
“Let’s walk,” Tess insisted. “It’s already letting up a bit.” Shecast a glance toward the trench. “And the oilskin seems to be keeping everything dry.”
Indeed, the coverings held tight across the ground they’d excavated, and the downpour had ebbed to a steady patter.
The three of them made their way through the field and to the road that led them into the village. Their hired men had beat them to the Randalls’ and the innkeepers looked pleased about the unexpected influx of visitors to their taproom.
Soon tea, coffee, and some of Mrs. Randall’s confections had been distributed.
“We’re still making good time,” Tess said, glancing first at her brother and then at Dom. “Even if we lose the day.”
“I’m not concerned about losing a day. We’re excavating far faster progress than I’d expected.”
“But we’ve still found little of note.” Tristan sounded a bit irked. They’d found some nails, animal bones, a few chips of crockery.
“I’m still hopeful,” Dom told him with a glance toward Tess.
She nodded as if she shared his optimism. “We’re only a couple of feet down. And there are the soil changes. Thosearenotable.”
Tess thought them very promising, though her brother was dubious. Experience told Dom they were a sign, but of what, he couldn’t yet say. But for now, he was willing to trust Tess’s intuition. As a result, they’d focused on extending the length of the trench rather than the depth over the previous day.
