The man took in a shaky breath and returned a tight grimace that may have been an attempt at a half-smile. “His lordship will wish to explain, Mr. Prince. Shall I escort you back?”
“He’s in his study?” Tess confirmed.
“He is.”
“Then we know the way. Thank you, Teague.”
Tess made her way down one corridor and then another while Dominic followed, and they were soon outside the nobleman’s study. As usual, the door stood cracked open a bit and Tess rapped once and pushed her way inside.
Fenbridge was on the far side of the room and turned as they entered the room. Only once they were inside did Tess note that the elderly nobleman was at the drinks cart. At shortly after eight in the morning.
“A cordial for my health, Miss Hawthorne, so you may remove that pinched look of concern from your pretty face.” He sipped at a tiny glass as he faced them. “And good morning to you too, Mr. Prince.”
Tess couldn’t deny that whatever he was sipping put some color in the nobleman’s cheeks.
“We’ve had a bit of a surprise at the hall.”
“Visitors?” Tess asked.
Fenbridge grimaced. “Indeed. Uninvited. Unexpected. But they’re here all the same, and I wanted you both here. To prepare you.”
“Prepare us?” Dominic asked. “Foryourvisitors?”
Fenbridge nodded with a strange solemnity. “The American and his heir.” Fenbridge locked eyes with Tess. “I suppose he wants to see what he’s purchased.”
Tess’s belly dropped into her boots, and she cast a look at Dominic, who looked as shocked and dismayed as she felt.
“We’re only at the beginning. There’s not much to show him,” Dominic said, then cast a quick glance at Tess.
She wondered if he was thinking what she was. If their deductions were correct about what they’d found, there wouldlikely be a great deal for him to see in the coming days, provided previous treasure hunters hadn’t beaten them to it.
Tess’s heart raced. She thought of what Dominic had told her before they’d begun the dig, that he’d ask Van Arsdale if some items could be kept in England. She looked up at him, wondering if he’d follow through now that the man was here in the flesh.
Dominic looked irritated, if not outright angry.
“Have you ever met him before?” she asked him quietly.
“Yes, once, on his first visit to London.” He looked at her, his expression softening. “It was brief.”
Fenbridge made his way back to his desk without the aid of the cane he usually used to assist him. He settled heavily into his worn leather chair.
“This visit won’t be brief, I fear,” Fenbridge told them before sipping again from his cut crystal glass. “The brazen man arrived last night, banging on my door, startling the staff. Apparently, the man and his heir had tried the local inn and found it wanting. Decided a suite at the hall would suit the two of them better.”
“That seems rather presumptuous.”
Fenbridge lifted his glass to her. “A far kinder description than I’d opt for, Miss Hawthorne.”
“Should we speak to him now?” Dominic asked, his back straighter, shoulders squared.
Fenbridge exhaled a long sigh. “I would say yes, Mr. Prince, except that they’re still breaking their fast in my dining room.” He flung his arm out. “They’ve all but taken up permanent residence.”
Tess’s father had always taught her and Tristan to face the difficult tasks first. “Shall we go and speak to him?” Tess directed the question at Dominic.
He worked his jaw. “Perhaps we should discuss it first.” He stepped away from her and went over to close Fenbridge’s study door.
“What lies under that mound on your land, Lord Fenbridge, may be of greater historical value than we anticipated.”
Tess stared at him wide-eyed. When he’d come to Wiggenstow, she’d been certain all he cared about was treasure. Now, as she’d confessed to him, she knew he was so much more than what the papers portrayed.
