He listened for a woman’s voice, wondering who could possibly have dropped by to visit without informing him, but he didn’t hear anything. He moved to the nearby rooms—the parlor and the sitting room—but they were empty.
Shrugging, he decided he must be smelling things. After all, Bridget had been filling his mind of late, and he absolutely loved her fragrance. Perhaps that was why he detected a woman’s scent. He would recognize her smell anywhere.Lilacs. He loved how her gentle fragrance had always put his mind on a dreamy cloud of bliss.
He continued down the corridor, and an eerie feeling washed over him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood. He stopped and scanned the spacious hall in front of the winding stairs. A noise from the second-floor landing caught his attention, and he jerked his gaze upward. Suddenly, a potted plant came flying over the railing, heading straight for him.
Cussing, he jumped out of its way just before it crashed to the floor. A mixture of dirt and plant scattered across the tile in a complete mess.
Blowing out an exasperated breath, he ran his fingers through his hair.What is going on around here?One thing was certain—this was not an accident. Another certainty was that Collin was not the only person being targeted, especially given his brother was nowhere in sight.
After being shot at the other day, Collin had contacted the constable. Both Adrian and his brother told him of the strange things that had been happening around the house. The constable acted as if the brothers were making up stories just to get attention. It had irritated Adrian that the so-called lawman hadn’t taken them seriously.
Hopefully, now the man would. Everything that was going on was planned to hurt the Worthington brothers, and Adrian would not tolerate this any longer.
A clamor of footsteps shook the floor as servants and Aunt Beatrice ran toward him. When she reached him, she grasped his arm. Her gaze jumped between him and the broken potted plant.
“What in heaven’s name…” Her wide eyes met his gaze.
“It fell,” he said, not realizing his voice was shaky. “From up there.” He pointed toward the stairs.
She glared at the nearest servant. “Go upstairs to see who did this. Make haste before they get away.” She returned her gaze to Adrian. “I pray we won’t have to postpone the dinner social.” She shook her head. “Things are happening around here that are unexplainable, and I won’t have rumors being spread through town.”
Postponed?Although he understood his aunt’s distress, the only thing that would calm Adrian’s nerves now would be to see and talk to Bridget. Her sweet smile would help him in so many ways. Of course, her passionate kiss would be nice to have as well.
“No,” he snapped. “The event will still take place. I won’t hear of it being postponed.” He glanced at the servants. “Andmyword is final.”
They nodded, and most of them turned to go back to the kitchen. Two servants brought brooms and dustpans to clean up the broken pot and plant.
“Adrian, my dear,” Aunt Beatrice said, shaking her head, “I pray you are right. I don’t know how well your guests will handle having something terrible happen during the party.”
“Not to worry. I know what I’m doing.” Of course, the first line of business would be to question all the servants, especially the ones on the second level. Someone must have witnessed something. He wouldn’t believe otherwise.
Whoever was behind these incidents was in for a big surprise. The Worthington brothers wouldn’t admit defeat. They would continue with their daily lives and pray that the person responsible was caught and punished soon. Of course, Adrian’s reasoning for the haste was that having visitors at their estate would be dangerous until the culprit was apprehended. He didn’t want to imagine Bridget’s being injured because of something he or Collin had done.
Chapter Thirteen
Bridget was reluctantto go to the party tonight, but her father was very insistent. It didn’t help that Pa had pulled her aside yesterday to question her about how things were progressing with the earl. It hurt to do so, but she confessed her feelings—that titled men wouldn’t marry a woman without a dowry.
Pa’s anger had surprised her, but then she realized he was acting out because he knew she was right but wouldn’t admit it. She waited patiently for his tirade to end, and when it did, he told her that the family would be going to tonight’s dinner social, and that she would wear her nicest gown. Once more, he warned her what would happen to their family if she failed to get a wedding proposal.
Since then, she had been fighting tears. More than anything, she hated disappointing her father, but she feared this time couldn’t be helped. Lord Hanover wouldn’t offer marriage to her, and even if by some odd chance he did, she doubted she could honestly accept. She wanted love to be part of the deal, and for certain, she didn’t have those feelings for Collin Worthington and never would. In fact, sometimes she wondered if Priscilla liked the earl more than her.
She did as her father requested and wore her best gown and had Priscilla style her hair. Her sister knew Bridget didn’t want to go tonight, but thankfully didn’t ask about it. During the carriage ride to the manor, she grew impatient for the night to be over with. Her sisters were anxious, just as they had been before the Worthington brothers’ ball.
The vehicle stopped, and her father opened the door to help his daughters out, but he pulled Bridget aside before they walked up to the porch.
“I want you to know I’m proud of you and I love you.” His throat jumped in what was probably a hard swallow. “And whatever happens tonight will be because it was meant to be.”
She nodded. “Yes, Pa.”
“But please promise me that you won’t turn away the earl’s attention.”
“Pa, I haven’t done so yet, and I don’t plan on doing it. But as you said, whatever happens tonight is for a reason.”
She hooked her arm around her father’s elbow and walked beside him up the steps to the door. Immediately, it was opened by the butler. He nodded a polite greeting to her, and she gave him a smile.
The family was shown into the large sitting room. Already, some of their neighbors had arrived and looked their best. Of course, when invited to events such as this, it was expected to appear even better dressed than one would going to a wedding.
It didn’t take long before the earl and Adrian came over to greet them. It seemed Adrian tried to beat his brother to her side, and although she wanted to laugh, she refrained.
