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No, surely whoever she was, she’d have greeted Lord Constantine too.
An eavesdropping guest, then?
For what purpose?
Was the earwigger one of those women who thrived on bearing tales?
Clasping her brother’s hand, Lady Edyth turned a friendly smile upon Faith. Curiosity sparkled in her eyes, a lighter shade of green than her brother’s.
“You know Harvey Camberg-Trainer, Edyth,” his lordship said.
“Lady Edyth Kellinggrave.” Mr. Camberg-Trainer bowed. “A pleasure as always.”
His lordship extended his hand toward Faith. “This is Miss Faith Roth, my amanuensis.”
“A woman?” Lady Edyth Kellinggrave’s eyes grew impossibly round, and her voice pitched upward. “Your amanuensis is a…woman?”
Still feeling the rolling motion of the coach and very much wanting to find a solid place to sit, Faith smiled. “Indeed.”
“Oh, Mama shall have a fit of the vapors, Con.”
Lady Edyth bit her lower lip, genuine apprehension furrowing her smooth brow. “She’s already quite put upon and has been in a dither for days with all the arrangements for the wedding.”
Lady Edyth looped her arm through her brother’s elbow.
“And why is that, minx?” he asked, giving her an affectionate sideways grin.
“Mama thought your amanuensis was a man and put him—um, her—in the same chamber as Mr. Camberg-Trainer.” She darted Faith an apologetic glance. “Which, of course, won’t do at all. The house is full to the rafters. Or it will be by tomorrow. We’ve even moved our servants to the attics. There are simply no beds available.”
“I’m sure it’s not as dire as all that, Edie,” Lord Constantine soothed.
Given Lady Edyth’s expression, Faith would wager it was as dire all that.
Perfect.
She didn’t have a bed to lie down on.
At this juncture, she’d take a pallet on the floor in a linen closet. She eyed the coach she’d just vacated. Or a seat inside a coach would suffice.
“Have our Kellinggrave cousins arrived yet?” Lord Constantine asked in a voice a trifle too nonchalant.
Edyth pulled a face. “No. They’ll arrive tomorrow. Although Martin traveled directly from Kent and arrived a couple of hours ago.”
“One day of reprieve, eh?” his lordship quipped.
Nodding, she slid Faith a glance, obviously wanting to say more but refraining in front of the others.
Ah, so the cousins weren’t on the best of terms.
Lord Constantine abruptly changed the subject.
“Miss Roth can use my bedchamber.”
The merest crease between his eyebrows, he gave Faith a searching glance. Could he see that she was about to topple over?
“I’ll share with Harvey,” he said. “No harm, no foul.”
He offered a reassuring grin to the trio that gaped at him as if he’d sprung an elephant’s trunk upon his aristocratic face.