“Arthur and I left our horses this way. We’ll meet you back at the barn.”
As Vincent turned and loped off in the opposite direction, Arthur strode to join Eunice, taking her hand. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Of course not. In fact, I’m remarkably clearheaded right now. Vincent’s not here out of the kindness of his heart, and I intend to find out exactly why, although I have a few suspicions.”
“I might need a little more to go on than that.”
She didn’t slow her pace. “He may have been an accomplice in Grandfather’s murder and may believe his name is also included in that letter, along with his mother’s name.”
Arthur stopped in his tracks, pulling her to a stop as well. “If that’s even a remote possibility, the last thing we should do is meet him in the barn to begin a hunt for a letter that doesn’t exist. He won’t react well when he realizes you don’t have any secret hiding places.”
“Oh, but I do have secret hiding places spread all over the estate,” she said, her lips curving. “Granted, none of them are going to hold a letter, but we need answers. If Vincent had something to do with Grandfather’s death, I need to know. And to relieve the worry that’s now residing in your eyes, I suggested the barn because it’s not that far from the house. There’s every chance that Ivan will see us approach, because Judith’s sketching him this morning in the backyard, which has an unfettered view of the barn. And,” she continued, holding up her hand when he opened his mouth, “if Ivan doesn’t see us, and after we don’t find a letter in the barn, we’ll move to the stables. I know for a fact there’ll be plenty of people there, which should dissuade Vincent from doing anything rash.”
“Such as shooting us?”
“Indeed.”
“And isn’t that reassuring,” Arthur muttered as Eunice pulled him into motion again.
“If you need more reassurance, know that if Ivan doesn’t notice us and matters turn concerning, he’s only a pistol shot away.”
“You’re armed?” he asked as they reached the horses.
“Do you really think you need to ask that?”
“Sorry.”
She released his hand and gave his arm a bit of a pat. “Just because I’ve begun dressing in the first state of fashion—well, not today of course—does not mean I’ve abandoned habits my grandfather instilled in me from an early age. He believed I should always be armed, and even if I wasn’t, I can rely on my boxing skills to buy me time to escape.”
“You should let me handle Vincent.”
Eunice stepped away from him, swinging up in the saddle a second later and wrinkling her nose. “And while it’s very gallant of you to want to protect me, I can’t let you handle this for me because I need to find out why Vincent wants that letter. If I’m right in my assumptions and he is an accomplice in Grandfather’s death, then, and only then, will I be able to put my past firmly behind me once and for all and get on with the business of living my life to the fullest.”
CHAPTER
Thirty
Even though Arthur continued to mutter about the idiocy of prolonging their time with Vincent as they rode for the barn, he did assure Eunice that he’d have her back as well as tell her he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot Vincent if he thought the man posed a threat to her safety.
There was something remarkably appealing about a man who would do whatever was needed to keep her safe, even if she knew he was rather annoyed with her for not allowing him to deal with the Vincent situation on his own.
Before she could do more than send him a smile, Vincent galloped into view, swinging out of the saddle and joining Eunice after she jumped to the ground. He immediately backed away from her, though, when Wyatt tossed his head and began pawing the ground the moment Arthur dismounted. That Wyatt didn’t have his attention settled on Eunice and instead on Vincent almost seemed to suggest he sensed something about Vincent he didn’t like, which had Eunice ever so discreetly reaching under her jacket to ascertain her pistol was easily accessible.
“I never liked that beast,” Vincent said, stepping away from the horse when Wyatt tried to lunge closer to Vincent, an action that left Arthur struggling to hold the horse back.
“Maybe we should go into the barn so Arthur can get Wyatt settled,” Eunice suggested, which earned her a look of disbelief from Arthur, one she ignored as she sidestepped around Wyatt, Vincent trailing behind her.
Striding through the barn door and into the shade of a large rectangular room that sported stacked bales of hay and stalls with goats, donkeys, and a few pigs, Eunice stopped and took a moment to look around before she nodded.
“If memory serves me correctly, I believe I stashed some of my most prized possessions in a toolbox.” She strode into motion across the barn, snatching up a pitchfork that was leaning against a wall. Using the pitchfork to lift away the hay that was scattered over the floor, she lingered on the task, taking the time to gather her thoughts.
“You have a secret spot underneath the hay?” Vincent asked, interrupting what few thoughts she’d managed to gather.
“It’s underneath the floorboards, but I can’t remember where the loose floorboard is.” She paused with the pitchfork as Arthur came to join her. “Did you get Wyatt under control?”
“He settled down after you and Vincent got out of sight,” Arthur said before he held out his hand. “Allow me to do that for you.”
“Always the gallant,” Vincent muttered.
