“That she does,” Mr. Timothy Linfield agreed, his face taking the look of a clearly besotted newlywed. After a moment, it cleared, and he turned back to Kitty. “If I understand correctly, my aunt, Lady Fulbourn, introduced you to my twin while he was recently in London?”
Kitty had heard of identical twins, but she was not sure that she’d ever met a pair. The resemblance between Mr. Oliver Linfield and his brother was uncanny. The vicar’s dark waves were untamed, unlike his brother’s fashionable hair. But otherwise, the man in front of herappeared identical to the one in her memory. She could have sworn she was talking to the same man. And yet, she wasn’t.
“Yes. I attended a musical evening at Fulbourn House,” Kitty confirmed.
The vicar nodded. “Oliver mentioned the evening in passing, though I will have to chastise him for not mentioning being introduced to a single person.”
“Come now, Tim. You should just be pleased that Oliver attended the event at all,” Lady Sampson replied, a note of teasing in her voice.
“True,” Mr. Timothy Linfield replied with an overly solemn nod.
“Would you like to join us for tea?” Lady Sampson addressed the gentleman. “My housekeeper has standing orders to start a pot as soon as my carriage pulls into the drive, so it should be ready shortly.”
“Perhaps another time, but I am already overdue at the vicarage,” he responded. “I saw your carriage and wanted to welcome you.”
“I’m glad you did,” Lady Sampson gave him a motherly smile. “Please give my greetings to Arabella.”
“I will.” He turned to Kitty. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Childs, and I hope to have the chance to introduce you to my wife while you are in the neighborhood.”
“I would like that,” Kitty agreed. And she would. She was quite curious about a wife who both inspired such devotion and encouraged mischief.
The unconventional vicar disappeared back around the corner of the house as Kitty followed her hostess through the front door. They soon found themselves in a sitting room, where a few sandwiches and a pot of tea were alreadywaiting.
Once they were situated with teacups in hand, Kitty spoke. “Mr. Timothy Linfield appears to be…” she considered her words, “an energetic vicar.”
Lady Sampson laughed. “I think most would choose the word ‘impish.’” She took a sip of tea before continuing. “It is likely for the best that my sons have never spent much time in Hampshire. They got into enough trouble without the help of the Linfield twins.”
The twins? Oliver Linfield did not strike her as the impish type. But then again, he had tried to hide behind a pot during a social event. So perhaps she was wrong.
“If Mr. Timothy grew up in the neighborhood, does that mean that the Linfield estate is nearby?” Kitty did her best to sound as though she were merely making polite conversation. In truth, she was dying to know. What were the odds that she’d escaped London just to find herself in company with the penniless nephew of an earl? Her mother would be ecstatic, not that she intended to inform her.
“Blackthorne Park is not our nearest neighbor, but not far off. The estate sits just on the other side of the village.” Lady Sampson set a half-eaten cucumber sandwich on her plate. “I did not realize you were acquainted with Oliver, or I would have mentioned that he lived in the neighborhood.”
“I’m not.” Kitty cleared her throat. “Not really. We’ve been introduced, but I have not seen him since. He might not even remember me.” That was unlikely given their original encounter, but that was not a story she intended to share with anyone.
Lady Sampson’s eyes narrowed as she watched Kitty. “We will have to see when he comes to dine tomorrow.”
“Oliver Linfield is dining here? Tomorrow?”
“Along with a few other neighbors,” the baroness confirmed. “Nothing lavish, just an opportunity to catch up with some old friends.” She paused for a moment and then added, “Is that a problem?”
“Not at all. Why would it be?” Kitty did her best to hide the strain in her voice.
“An excellent question,” Lady Sampson noted before rising from her seat.
Oliver stepped out of the carriage and looked up at Arbor Hill before turning to offer a hand to his mother. Lord and Lady Sampson had not been in residence since Tim and Arabella’s wedding the previous summer. And rarely in the few years before that. Oliver remembered his parents dining at Arbor Hill before he was old enough to join them. But he could count on one hand the number of times he’d dined at the estate.
“Shall we?” He offered his mother an elbow, a well-practiced gesture, before taking three steps towards the front stairs. Before they even reached the edge of the gravel drive, the door opened and his mirror image stepped out.
“Tim.” Oliver’s mother let go of his elbow and reached out to take her younger son’s hands. “What brings you out here?”
“Am I not allowed to greet my mother?” Tim asked with a familiar glint in his eyes.
Oliver narrowed his eyes as he studied his brother. “You are up to something.”
“Isn’t he always?” their mother observed dryly as she retook Oliver’s arm, and they continued up to the front door.
“I merely wanted to warn you that Lady Sampson brought a friend from London,” Tim explained as he followed them through the open door.
