Page 60 of Lavender’s Lost Duke

He scrubbed his skin raw, dumped the water, and then repeated the entire process all over again. By the time he entered the kitchen for supper, he looked like a different person from the afternoon.

Jack bumped Thomas’s shoulder when he sat next to him on the long bench. “Where did my friend go? I don’t recognize you.”

Those who had gathered at the table all laughed. Mrs. Bitters wagged a finger at Jack. “Don’t you give him a hard time. If you’d had to sit next to him in his previous state, the only thing you’d be smelling for supper would be your own vomit.”

The stable boys were washing their hands in the kitchen sink, but one of them called over his shoulder. “Next time, Tom, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make us all look like sluggards. I’m tempted to eat supper straight off the floor of the stables; it's so clean.”

“It isn’t natural,” his companion said. “Stable floors don’t need to be that clean.”

Mrs. Bitters only shook her head at them all. “Be that as it may, thank you, Tom.”

“Huzzah, Tom!” called the two stable boys. It wasn’t the first time Thomas had heard that cheer today.

His face was likely as red as Jack’s hair. He looked at Mrs. Bitters with as much desperation as he could muster. “Can we eat now?”

She laughed. Conversation around the table turned to other things, but every now and then, Thomas would overhear his companions talking about his glorious display of mucking the stables. One thing was certain: he had made an impression on them all.

Jack leaned over. “You’re going to watch the garden tonight, right?”

Thomas nodded, his mouth being full of mutton stew.

“Then I’m off.” Jack tipped his head toward Thomas and climbed back from the bench.

Thomas put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Be careful.”

Jack smiled. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Chapter 29

Lavender stared out her window into the darkened garden. She could see the outline of Tom’s burly frame sitting on her swing. He’d been there for hours, hardly moving at times. Other times he’d been pacing. But not once did he look up toward her window. It was long past time he ought to be getting to bed. As much as she had wanted to, Lavender hadn’t gone down to meet him. Her heart was battered enough.

Suddenly, Tom turned around and started jogging toward the house. When he made it just below her window, another figure joined him in the dark. Tom threw his arms around the other man in greeting. The two men immediately began talking. Lavender was beyond curious at the meeting. She leaned forward and unlocked her window. Hoping the two men were distracted by their conversation, she pushed the window open a crack and let go of a pent-up breath when the glass moved without a sound.

“You’ve been pacing out here all night like my grandma, haven’t you?” It was Jack’s voice. Lavender knew that for certain.

Tom answered with a laugh. “Not all night, but I admit to part of it. How did it go? Did anyone suspect you of anything?”

Lavender closed her eyes and pressed her ear closer to the window. Their voices were getting more difficult to decipher as they walked back toward the garden.

“I can’t rightly say if I was suspected of anything, but I have some good news . . .” Jack’s voice trailed off.

Lavender fingered the lace on the edge of the shawl she’d wrapped around her. If she weren’t in her nightgown, she’d go down to the garden and demand to hear what it was Jack was up to. Why was Tom so nervous, waiting for his friend? Knowing she wouldn’t sleep unless she got at least some answers, she pulled on her slippers and made her way silently down the stairs. If there was one thing Lavender was good at, it was hearing things when no one knew she was listening.

When she got to the back door, she held her breath and twisted the handle as slowly as she could. As soon as she could feel the night’s chill from outside, she listened hard. Nothing. She opened the door wider and slipped out silently into the night. Lavender pressed herself close to the edges of the shrubs and tiptoed down the garden path until she heard Tom and Jack talking again.

“I don’t know, Jack. That seems dangerous. I don’t like it.”

What had she missed in the few minutes it had taken her to get here?

Jack’s chuckle was followed by the sound of boots scuffing against the stones. “But it might be the only way to get you out of here.”

Lavender’s heart was pounding far too loudly. Why was Tom leaving?

“You may be correct, but allow me to speak with the duke. He might be able to help.”

“You’re asking for his help, too?” Jack asked. “Here I was thinking I was as special as a purple cat.”

Lavender shook her head in the dark. Jack and his odd sayings about animals always made her smile. But what did the duke know about Tom? And what did Jack know about Tom?