What on earth was going on at the lodge?He was going to get to the bottom of it as soon as he finished his meal.
Unfortunately, he had to wait for her ladyship and the others to finish, too, as without Lord Angsley present, and with no real reason for abandoning the table, it would have been terribly rude for him to make himself scarce. It wasn’t like at breakfast, when everyone was loosey-goosey.
Cooling his heels, letting his mind wander as he drank a cold glass of ale and idly pushed the remainder of a potato around his plate on the end of his fork, Gray considered how Mr. Stanley had gone to his mother’s and given her the news from Turvey House.
Had that been the butler’s main purpose for visiting her? And why? What about the day before when he’d caught them in close quarters talking in the front hall?
When he finally got out of the dining room, he was going to get some answers.
Chapter Thirteen
Eleanor looked onproudly as Mrs. O’Connor copied the twenty-six letters before her. She thought the best place to start was with practicing writing them, even if they were mysterious symbols. They were as puzzling to Grayson’s mother as Captain Kidd’s puzzle had first been to her.
After Eleanor had spoken privately to Lady Angsley, telling her as little as possible, she had returned to the lodge with her supplies. Luckily, Lord Angsley had been in his private study preparing for a trip, making it easy for Eleanor to enter the library and secure some paper, pens, and books.
It had been a little more difficult to avoid Grayson, but doing so was a must, for he would be full of questions.
To that deceitful end, Eleanor told Asher how Mr. O’Connor enjoyed a good ride, especially on a cloudy day, sending the boy to find him. Since the rain had let up, she had no doubt he would indulge the young Angsley lad.
While Eleanor had started her lesson with letters and sounds, she and Mrs. O’Connor had eaten a light repast. Around some thickly sliced bread and butter, cheese, and pickled onions, she’d pointed to letters in a book, before writing them in alphabetical order on the paper.
With Mrs. O’Connor having copied and re-copied the letters thrice, they were ready to sound out vowels. In another half hour, the woman had also writtento,as, andno.
Perhaps not the most useful words to start with,Eleanor thought. Then she recalled the most used word,the, and explained about the “th” sound.
Mrs. O’Connor dutifully wrotethe.
“You’re doing very well,” Eleanor praised. It was easier than she’d anticipated. Certainly, nothing like teaching a child who had so many other things to learn. Grayson’s mother could focus and had a sharp memory.
“Let me know when you grow weary,” Eleanor told her.
“I’m too excited to be tired,” Mrs. O’Connor exclaimed. “I know you said there are double vowel words, too, witho’s andu’s put together, but I think I would like to stick to the simpler spellings today.”
Eleanor agreed with her, and they continued sounding out such words ashat,cat,dog, and evenplatewith its tricky silente. Then she realized how difficult English truly was when she considered explaining how many ways aycould be spoken, and how many other letters, especially in combination, such aseeandie, could sound exactly the same. And then there was the puzzling wordyou.
Undeniably, it would be easier if she knew the nature of the secret, for then she could teach Mrs. O’Connor those words in particular. Of course, that would defeat the whole purpose of Eleanor not learning the woman’s private business, nor having to hide it from Grayson.
A knock at the door followed by the rattling of the handle brought them both to their feet. They had planned for this. Firstly, they had locked the door, something Mrs. O’Connor normally only did at night. Secondly, Eleanor was prepared to snatch up the two books and papers she’d brought and run into the other room to shove them under the bed.
At the same time, Grayson’s mother unfolded a complicated lace piece she hadn’t worked on for years and, as Eleanor returned to her seat, Mrs. O’Connor had laid it across the table and was already unlocking the door.
“Hello, my boy. I don’t know how that got locked.” Mrs. O’Connor was the embodiment of calm, answering his unspoken question even as he greeted them both.
Seeing Grayson’s concerned expression, however, caused Eleanor to feel quite the opposite. Instead of placid, she was anxious. She would have to pretend to be doing lacework, and she feared if he looked deeply into her eyes, he would see her deception.
“How was your ride?” she asked to break the silence.
Instantly, she knew she’d said the wrong thing.
“How did you know I went riding?”
She would have to start prevaricating immediately, something she loathed doing, especially with Grayson.
“I saw you through the window. Weren’t you with another rider?”
“Yes,” he said, still looking at her strangely. “With Asher. The boy is a natural horseman.”
When she did nothing more than offer him a smile, Grayson seemed to relax. He took a seat as his mother cleaned up “their little project,” as she called it, and put on the kettle for tea.
