That sunny morningRob rose with resolution in his heart. He would ride to the dower house and ask Maddie to help him with a plan he worked out during the sleepless night, then settle things with Lucy. With luck, he’d be in London in a day or two with a glimmer of hope for a life with the stubborn woman of Willowbrook.
He sauntered through the tap and dining rooms to the kitchen, snatched up a Chelsea bun and coffee, and joined Da in the bower by the river. Bird song reverberated up and down the banks, and the smell of honeysuckle surrounded them.
“You look satisfied with yourself this morning,” his father said. From the looks of the old man, he found life a joy as well.
“I am indeed. Maybe I’ll tell you why this evening.”
Eli wandered out, still sleepy, coffee in hand, and the three sat in comfortable silence, content to let the birds praise the morning and the sun warm them.
“Sorry to disturb your peace.” Gibbons strode purposefully into the bower and did just that.
Rob rose at his approach. “Problems at Willowbrook?”
“Not that we heard. The countess scampered again. I thought you’d want to hear it immediately.”
“How the hell did she get away?” Rob frowned at his lieutenant.
“Good question. The earl had few answers. She took those emeralds she wore yesterday, the rest of the contents of the safe in his study—and the same damned carriage.”
“Back to her cousin’s?”
“East this time. More likely Dover.” Gibbons met Rob’s eyes and let the words sink in.
“You think he looked the other way,” Rob said.
“You can’t blame him. It’ll be easier than spending the rest of his life watching his back and making sure she didn’t escape that dump in Northumberland,” Eli put in cheerfully.
A few hours later, after an awkward conversation with his half-brother, in which David casually mentioned what a stroke of luck it was that he had moved most of the cash from the safe in his office to one hidden under the pavement in the estate office, Rob was certain of it.
The earl, of course, admitted to nothing. He declined the use of Rob’s forces but sent two grooms off to retrieve the carriage, “from whichever port in which she abandons it.” In Rob’s opinion, the man looked too damned smug about the outcome. Still, as long as Willowbrook—and Lucy—were safe, David could do what he wished with his vile mother.
When Rob changed the subject, David’s eyebrows rose. “You plan to ask Maddy to sponsor Lucy in a London season? Are you daft? I’ve never been able to convince either one to come.”
“I imagine your mother’s presence was enough to put them off.”
David allowed Rob’s point, agreed to house the two ladies at Caulfield House if they could be convinced, and walked him out to his horse. “Explain to me again what you hope to accomplish.”
Rob grinned down at the earl. “I plan to court the woman. Properly. Show her the delights of the city—the respectable ones—and entice her with my charm.”
David blinked. “Seems a complicated way to go at it. Maddy will have thoughts on that.”
The duchess’s “thoughts,” left Rob’s ears ringing. “Daft” was the least of it.
“Drat it, Maddy, just answer yes or no. Will you do it? With the countess gone, a season in London might do you good.”
“If it comes to it, I will, but you might try talking to the woman, you foolish man.”
Try talking to the woman… Da’s words and Maddy’s.“I’m on my way to Willowbrook to do just that. I needed my plan in place first.”
“Your plan won’t get you far today. She isn’t there,” Maddy said.
“What do you mean? Has she gone down to the Willow? Did I miss her?”
“She drove over to Botkins to meet an estate agent about a property just north of there that has her interest.”
“Property?” Rob felt like someone had smacked him over the head with shovel. His eyes wouldn’t focus, and his thoughts couldn’t.
“She said it sounded ideal, with tall trees, space for her bees, and room for a garden. When you gave her access to the funds she put aside for the steward’s wages, she worked out a business plan.”
