“Yes, we had soldiers. Plenty of your soldiers. One of your regent’s brothers, too. Prince William Henry was known to strut about our shores, dance and become a drunkard in the island hotels.”
I returned to my seat, easy like I was light with no cares. “I’m not besotted. I’m concerned.”
Jemina came onto the balcony bearing a silver tray with a pitcher and glasses. “She’s not besotted. She just won’t admit to liking the duke, that’s all.” Jemina set the tray onto the table with a heavy plunk. “Lemonade?”
The countess poured herself a glass of the tart yellowish liquid and sniffed the contents as if it were medicine. “Very lemony.”
Pushing up her dark gray sleeves, Jemina sat in the vacant chair among the three. “Extra lemony.” Her voice sounded happy and loud, no longer mouselike. She’d grown stronger working at Hamlin. That was good, for she was good.
Lady Shrewsbury set the glass aside. “Have you two found anything? You’ve been installed here a little over three weeks. Your father’s payment will be sent soon. Once that’s dispensed, the main reason we suspect Markham of trying to harm you would be no more.”
Jemina’s lips puckered with each sip of her concoction. “We’ve found nothing, but we haven’t been able to search the drawing room. If anything is here, it has to be in that room.”
I tried to keep listening, but my head kept turning to the field. The duke raced back and forth again. I held my breath until he slowed.
The countess coughed.
Those cheeks of mine felt on fire. “Yes. We’ve found nothing so far. I’m confident that there’s something in the drawing room. But the duke or Lord Gantry is always in there, or the house is too full of soldiers.”
“You have to search that room. Markham’s still in the village. If he had what he needed, he’d be gone. There’s something in this house that has his attention. We must find it.”
The skunk stayed close.
Jemina lifted her fingers, she seemed to be counting. “There’s no one in the house now and on the field, there are less men. Have they disappeared, too?”
“Too?” I caught Jemina’s hand. “What do you meantoo?”
“One of the loaves of bread we made is gone. There are only eight in the kitchen. We pulled and twisted nine. Each baked perfectly, golden brown in the hearth, I might add.”
And Jemina’s laundry bundle went missing.
Had it been stolen? Those odd noises I heard coming from the attic. I still believed I heard something in the attic the other day.
Was there a thief in the house?
Or was Markham somehow getting into Hamlin? That jittery feeling in my stomach lodged and turned cold and black with fear.
The countess clasped both of our hands. Her gold rings clinking against Jemina’s and my wedding bands. “Do be at ease, dears. The duke has let some of his men go this morning. They’ve returned to their families. He doesn’t need as many men now that he’s secured Hamlin. A soldier surely took a loaf as a meal for the journey home.”
Lady Shrewsbury moved to the knee wall. “His Grace is keeping a smaller contingent. Those fellows marching can keep Markham and his ilk away. A smaller number of men mean—”
“Less things to clean? Less things missing?” Jemina lifted her glass as if it were a goblet for a toast. “This is wonderful. The soldiers left a ladder under the grand chandelier. They didn’t finish setting it. Some of the glass globes aren’t even on it.”
What? Half cleaning the chandelier? I looked down at Lionel and tried not to fume. I wanted things back in order, how I had it when Hamlin was under my control. “The chandelier should have all its globes.”
The countess looked to the field for a moment. “I guarantee you two will have more liberty to search the drawing room. Perhaps tonight, when everyone is asleep.”
Lip biting, gaze narrowing, Lady Shrewsbury placed a palm about the beaded trim of her redingotes lapel. “I hate to say this, Patience, but our friends in London have uncovered staggering debts for Colin Jordan. The tally at a few gaming hells are over two thousand pounds. Hamlin may even be encumbered. My nephew is checking.”
I closed my eyes. I sought to be numb to Colin’s recklessness. We’d be so unprotected if not for my father’s provisions. “My husband was clearly bankrupt when he committed suicide. I thought the fact that his grandfather willed Hamlin to his mother and then to him meant this place was special.”
“Desperation changes things. My nephew is looking for a financial transaction. The encumbrance is speculation. The gambling vowels are most pressing. The holders of those IOU debts are not the type to take excuses. Markham will lead them here for payment.”
Perhaps the duke’s battle plan would protect us against creditors.
Jemina sat up straight, her eyes scattered like she’d seen a ghost. “Is that why Markham is lurking in the village? Is he going to try to take Lionel for ransom?”
The countess bent and covered Lionel’s escaped feet. “Markham can’t best Repington’s men.”
