After Laura’s phone call, Nathaniel’s fingers remained clenched around the handset for several minutes before he hung up. He should have been there. Laura’s voice had faded in and out, the line atrocious. His blood drummed in his veins while he hoped the bad line had hidden the surprise and horror in his voice. Would Mallory turn up at Wolfram? He had enough gall to do it. It was doubtful he’d arrive before Nathaniel, but if he did, Laura was unlikely to meet him. Still, he would count the hours until he could return. The only calming thought was the knowledge that Hugh would do as Nathaniel requested and keep his eye on Laura.
Chapter Fifteen
Laura still felt uneasy the next day. She stared out of her bedroom window, her restless gaze taking in little of the landscape. What had happened to her dreams of a rich, cultured life, sharing her husband’s thoughts and dreams? Annoyed with herself, she stared upward, where wisps of cloud drifted across the pewter blue sky. The weather in Cornwall was so changeable: calm with blue skies one day, stormy the next. It mirrored her thoughts.
As there was no sign of storm clouds lurking out over the horizon, she decided to ride to the estuary. Nathaniel hadn’t had time to show her more of the coastline said to be a beautiful part ofCornwall.
After breakfast, Laura set out alone, taking the road which led away from the village into undiscovered terrain. Now familiar and comfortable with her roan mare, Velvet, a good-natured horse, she rode past fields of cows and horses. A dray loaded with produce passed by on the way to the house. The driver smiled and touched his hat. Laura decided she must visit the home farmnext.
Trotting along a road heading west, she called “good morning” to a man who straightened from his garden and removed his hat. Farther on, a woman bobbed as she walked to the market with a basket over herarm.
“It’s a fine day, isn’t it?” Laura calledout.
“That it is, my lady.”
The cottages grew sparser, and then the road followed the rivulet, which fed into a wide lake alive with bird life. Long-legged, wading birds flocked noisily over the reeds. Wild grasses covered the rounded, sandy hills dotted with wildflowers. Laura left the road and urged her horse up a trail over the hillocks. Buffeted by the wind, the ocean’s roar in her ears, she peered down upon a sheltered bay, which looked like a giant had taken a bite out of the coastline. Laura dismounted and tethered her horse to a spindly tree. She walked over soft sand to the desertedshore.
At the water’s edge a set of footprints crossed the damp sand. Someone had walked here not long ago, for the waves were now sweeping the sandclean.
A gust whipped off her hat. Laura grabbed it as the strong wind toyed with the bun at the nape of her neck, unraveling her hair from its pins. She gave into it, removing the remaining pins and combs while staring out to sea, her locks and her skirts billowing around her. The horizon was a hard line of dark metallic gray beyond the turbulent water. She took a deep breath and felt alive in a way she’d never experienced before. The ocean was so vast it was both humbling and awe-inspiring. With a rush, she realized that Wolfram had become home to her. Her passion for this small piece of England, and for Nathaniel, filled her heart. She hugged herself with her arms. Shelley’s poem,Mont Blanc,rushed into her mind, and she murmured a line:
And what were thou, and earth, and stars, and sea,
If to the human mind’s imaginings…
“My, my. We have an educated lady among us.”
Furious, Laura swung around. With that insolent smile, Theo Mallory had emerged from a pile of boulders and retraced his footprints across thesand.
Laura disliked being alone with him. More annoyed than afraid, she kept her features deceptively composed as he approached, destroying her peace. His manner, coupled with what Cilla had told her about him, made her wary.
She nodded, coolly polite. “Mr. Mallory.”
“Lord Lanyon does have excellent taste, I’ll give him that. Your hair is like a red sail at sunset,” Mallory said with a bland half-smile. He held up a hand, as if he wished to stroke herhair.
“Your opinion is not welcome, Mr. Mallory.” Laura attempted to gather her hair into some semblance of order. “I came here to enjoy the beauty and solitude.”
He laughed. “This is not Lanyon land, my lady, although I admit there’s very little around here that isn’t. I have as much right as you to enjoy the scenery.” His gaze roamed over her body.
Laura resisted the urge to cover her chest with her arms. “It appears my pleasure has evaporated.”
Having twisted her hair into a rough bun, she secured it with combs and turned away to walk back to her horse. On the crest of the hill, Hugh Pitney appeared on his chestnut.
“It seems you have company,” Mallory said, eyeinghim.
So, Nathanielhadasked him to keep an eye on her. Right now, Laura could only be glad. Curious, she looked back at Mallory. Praise generally worked on an arrogant man. “I believe you worked closely with the former Lady Lanyon in the design of the rose garden.”
His gaze sharpened. He smoothed back his golden hair. “That’s correct.”
“Then I must congratulate you. The arbor is a work of art.”
He shifted his feet. “We had great plans for the Wolfram gardens, Lady Lanyon and I,” he said softly. “Many plans.” He stared up at Pitney again, who’d made no move toward them. “They crumbled to dust when someone killed her.”
Laura took a sharp breath. “What makes you think she was murdered? The coroner’s finding was accidental death.”
He scowled. “Am… Lady Lanyon was nervous of the cliffs. She would not have gone too close.”
“You were not her ladyship’s confidant, surely.”
