Skeffington Manor was something very different. As they moved from room to room, there was very little to distinguish one from the other. The billiard room had a table. The cloth was freshly ironed and ready for play, but there were no scratches or scuffs on the sides. In his own house, players had been chalking their cues on the back wall for a hundred years and there were divots to prove it. But here, the plaster was unblemished.
As they passed through dining and sitting rooms, Thomas inquired about paintings and ornaments, expecting the stories of how they’d come into the family. For many of them, Percy only shrugged. For others, he admitted that his grandfather had bought them and he believed that they were valuable.
There was no common ground beyond that, no sign that the house’s owner had a favourite style or artist. He did not collect. He acquired. And he did not waste money on paintings of family members. Any portraits he’d bought were of strangers in historical dress but with no connection to the line.
Thomas was tempted to announce that Percy’s faux ancestors were an attractive lot and the finest family a man could buy. But he suspected his friend was aware of the fact and would not be amused.
When they came to the library, which he was sure would be full of new books, Louisa was already there, in a chair by the window. She had a book in her lap, and tea and biscuits on a table at her side. It was a prettier picture than anything Lord Skeffington had purchased. Thomas smiled.
When she saw them in the doorway, she rose with the same resigned smile he’d seen earlier and stepped in front of her cup, dropping the book behind her on the seat of her chair. ‘I have already called for refreshments to be served in the blue sitting room,’ she said. ‘Would you like me to pour for you?’ The words were as mechanical as her movements. The spark of life he was used to seeing had been carefully hidden.
‘No need, Lou,’ Percy replied with an equally guarded smile. ‘We will not keep you from your reading. But wouldn’t you be more comfortable having tea in your room? You have not even changed out of your travelling clothes.’
‘Perhaps later, when you show Thomas to the guest room.’ Then, she noticed his fresh coat and sighed.
Percy nodded. ‘Too late for that.’ He gave her a reassuring smile. ‘I don’t blame you if you didn’t want to be the first one up the stairs. But he must know we are here by now, what with the servants running back and forth with the luggage.’
‘I don’t want to walk past his room. The door might be open.’
Percy nodded. ‘Take the servants’ stairs. You will want to be ready when he summons us.’
‘I suppose you are right,’ she said with a sigh. ‘I will go up, as soon as I have finished my tea.’
‘If he calls before you are ready, we will drag our feet and share the blame.’ Percy stepped out of the room.
Thomas followed and the tour continued.
It had been like watching people speaking a language he did not understand. Some things were clear from the context. She did not want to go upstairs because her grandfather was there. But he had no idea what would happen if she did. It must be worse when she was alone. Percy had said they’d wait for her. But there’d been no details as to what was really going to happen.
The tour continued with no further explanation. When they reached the blue room where a plate of bread and cold meats and been laid to accompany their tea, Thomas gave up and asked, ‘Why is your sister hiding in the library instead of going upstairs to remove the dust of the road?’
‘The old man,’ Percy said, shaking his head. ‘If he sees me, he might huff and bluster a bit, but it will be no great burden. I have heard it all before and it is nothing more than water off a duck’sback. But if he sees Louisa?’ He gave a small shudder. ‘She will have to hear the shortcomings of every servant in the house for the last six months.’
‘She is hardly to blame for things that happened when she was not here,’ Thomas said, making himself a sandwich.
‘If you listen to my grandfather, he will have you believing that my sister is responsible for everything from an unpolished teaspoon to Napoleon’s invasion of Spain. He has never spoken a kind word to her or about her in all the time we’ve been in his care.’
‘She should be allowed to make a life away from here.’ Thomas cast a dark look towards the upper floor. Although he had much power, in his role of duke, he rarely had a chance to do anything that felt truly heroic. But then, he rarely dealt with people as innocent as Louisa Skeffington. It was hard to imagine that a member of her own family would abuse her so. Her grandfather, who should know her better than anyone in the world, should be able to see the worth in her and treat her with the same care as her brother did.
‘It was kind of you to offer your help with acquiring her inheritance,’ Percy said. ‘If we fail, I will take her in, of course.’
‘We will not fail,’ Thomas cut in.
‘I warn you, the old man will make the whole thing as difficult as possible. He might pretend that he wants to see her married. But I think he has grown used to the idea of having her here as some sort of unpaid housekeeper for the rest of his life.’
‘She is very efficient,’ Thomas allowed, staring at the meal she’d arranged for them before they’d even thought to ask.
‘She’s a wizard with the account books and all aspects relating to the management of a house,’ Percy replied. ‘She runs my life when I am in London with no trouble at all. Keeps track of my bills, sees to it that food is ordered and the servants are paid. Iwill have to get a man of business if she ever leaves me. I have no head for such things.’
‘You are lucky to have her,’ Thomas remarked.
‘She will make someone an excellent wife,’ Percy added.
Thomas nodded. ‘She is beautiful, as well,’ he said and instantly regretted it. He did not want Percy thinking he was taking too close an interest in her.
‘And she has a quick mind,’ Percy said, not seeming to notice. ‘She is far smarter than me, though she rarely shows it.’
‘She is very quiet,’ Thomas said.
