“I’m sorry to do this, but I can’t leave you unprotected.”
He doesn’t want my company; he’s forced to endure it.Disappointment washed over the pleasure of his touch. She didn’t respond. She couldn’t speak and could think of nothing to say.
He rode with confidence across the fields to the place where the ridge began its rise, the easiest spot to cross to Caulfield land, without ever saying a word. As he directed the horse unerringly through the woodland, Lucy pondered with amazement that a man she had never met a month or two before had such knowledge of terrain she held dear.He’s comfortable here, at home.Foolish thought, that.He wants only to leave.
“What do you think of London?” His breath, warm in her ear, startled her as much as his gruff voice.
The question baffled her. After a long pause, she asked him what he meant.
“Simple question. Do you like London?”
“I hardly know. I’ve never been.” Silence greeted that. “It’s the great capital, is it not?”
“In its way, yes. It isn’t Paris, but it is ours.” He sounded disappointed in her answer.
Paris.Emma said he spent over a year there after Waterloo. Consorting with grand duchesses and princes.He must think me a backwater simpleton.
“Would you live there?” His words flowed like molasses, slow, thick, and dark. The sound warmed her, but the words baffled her.
“Why would I? I’m a countrywoman. I need a place for my bees. A house in London would never do.”
He didn’t respond. They rode without further conversation to the hall, where he dismounted. “I hope the countess makes herself scarce,” he muttered.
Lucy felt the blood drain from her face. She’d rather face a poacher than the Dowager Countess of Clarion. She could address a poacher with a musket. She gripped the horse’s mane and stared down at him, ignoring the hands raised to lift her down. “The countess? You should have warned me she’s here.”
“I thought you knew.”
“Take me to visit Maddy—Lady Madelyn!”
He grabbed her waist and pulled her down. “Sorry. I can’t do that. Until we solve this mystery, I won’t let you out of my sight.”
She gave his shoulder a shove and glared at his high-handed remark.
“I’m sorry,” he said with a cocky grin, sobering quickly. “Until this mystery is solved, we must keep you safe.”
Safe. How could she argue when it made her feel warm inside?Warm and loved. The foolishness of that thought made her turn away and head to the door.
A red-haired footman opened the door; the butler was nowhere in sight. “Welcome back, Sir Robert. The earl said to show you to the breakfast room when you came.” He bobbed a bow to Lucy. “We weren’t expecting you, Miss Whitaker. Would you like to…”
Rob interrupted him. “Please send word to the dower house and inform Lady Madelyn that Miss Whitaker has visited and requests her presence.”
So I won’t be caught alone with the countess.
“No need, Sir Robert. The lady is already here.”
“Is the countess with her?” Rob asked.
The young man’s face lit up, eager to supply news. “No, sir. The countess left before dawn this morning. She took that dog with her. And her maid.” He paused for effect before adding, “And Higgins went with her,” as if it were the most important point.
Lucy’s puzzlement at the abruptness of the old woman’s departure was surpassed by her astonishment over what Rob said next.
“Did anyone go in pursuit?”
The footman appeared equally puzzled. “No, sir. Should we?”
“We’ll see what the earl has to say. Kindly show Miss Whitaker to Lady Madelyn.”
The irritating man strode off toward the breakfast room without any word of explanation about the countess and why he thought she ought to be pursued. Lucy loathed being kept in the dark. Her feet itched to follow him. She decided to consult with Maddy first.
