“You know of her?”
“Is she a redhead with the brightest blue eyes and an intelligent manner?”
“I don’t know about the intelligence but the rest of your description is correct.”
“Then she is Old Andy’s niece. She visited him last spring, the same night as our last Cotillion. She was on her way to see her husband in London. Good family. She’s related in marriage to Lord Latimer. You say she is at The Garland? I should go welcome her.”
Summerall would have charged away if not for Ned’s catching his arm. “But did Old Andy leave The Garland to her? Do you know this?”
The reverend gave him a quizzical look. “Well, I don’t know anything for a fact. Andy never confided in me... It is possible, I suppose. Is there a will?”
“Not one Lord Marsden and I could find. We searched everywhere. However, she says she has a letter stating that The Garland is hers.”
The Reverend Summerall shrugged his shoulders. “Then she might. I considered Andy a friend. However, I was not privy to all the details of his life.”
“Damn.” Ned pivoted away.
“Is something the matter?”
“Issomethingthematter?” Ned couldn’t help but repeat. “She wishes to destroy The Garland.”
“Destroyit?”
“Yes.”With an angry wave of his arm, Ned said, “She has no respect for the traditions of the place.”
“Such as the Logical Men’s Society?” Summerall accurately questioned.
“Exactly.She says she is going to change it into a tea garden—and includewomenas patrons—andthen, she is going to set up shop as a dealer of potions and spells and nonsense.”
“Spells—?”
“Why are women the way they are?”Ned demanded. The whole lot frustrated him. He could have had Mrs. Estep on her way if not for the interference of Mrs. Warbler andClarissa.
Yes, Clarissa, whom he’d wager was behind everyone in the village knowing of his agreeing to marry her in two months—which was difficult to swallow because he hadn’t had a second to process what he’d agreed to. Or, in truth, todetermine a way to postpone the marriage ceremony.
He wasn’t ready to be a husband.
“Inwhat wayare women the way they are?” Summerall asked.
“Foolish, wrongheaded, willing to believe in the stars or incantations or the power of grass and leaves.”
“Thurlowe, are you feeling all right?”
Ned answered him with a frown. He’d believed The Garland would remain in the control of the Logical Men’s Society, that his plans for his lecture series could continue unabated.
She was going to ruin his plans, and in a way he wasn’t certain he understood. His reaction to her was too strong. She threatened his sense of peace. He both wanted her gone... andwantedher.
Lust was an uncomfortable emotion for Ned. Men, such as his father, made fools of themselves over women. He prided himself on his temperate nature. He had no desire to be the rake or the scoundrel. Education and hard work had been his lifeline. Yes, he was accepted, and yet, there was always in the back of people’s minds that he was the bastard of an infamous courtesan. Even Summerall had brought the topic up once.
And yet, having met Mrs. Estep, Ned discovered he felt a stronger resistance to marrying Clarissa than he had before.
What the devil was going on with him? Drinking, lusting, acting like every man with a hard dick...
“I’m fine, Summerall. It’s just that I’m not going to let her walk off with something as important to this community as The Garland.”
Summerall responded as if he spoke gibberish. “It is a tavern, Ned. I mean, it is a fine meeting space. However, a tea garden does sound interesting. We can all meet there, including the ladies—”
Ned wanted to roar his frustration. “Are you aman?”
