Chapter Fourteen #3
Once on the estate itself, Lord Chester had a look around.
The house sat on a gentle rise. On one side, there was the substantial lake and he could see the line of boats beached on the shore.
He presumed Lady Dudmore would be having another one of her ridiculous regattas where the gentlemen were set up to fail in some manner.
Perhaps he could help with that and ensure Harrelston failed more than anybody else.
There were numerous outbuildings, including stables, an armory, a shed that appeared to be just for tools of all shapes and sizes, and one very large structure at the bottom of the hill.
He suspected that building contained Lady Dudmore’s famed tennis courts.
There was a green for bowls and in the distance beyond an expanse of lawn were pastures, fruit trees and a hothouse.
It would be very easy to move around unseen, particularly at night.
As was typical for the style of the house, the main floor featured very tall windows.
With any luck, he would be able to peer through them.
These country houses with no close neighbors often did not bother to pull the curtains at sunset. After all, who would be peering in?
He must just be careful of the queen’s guards.
He did not know if they would be roaming outside of the house after dark.
He thought they might be vigilant on the first night and then slack off on the job.
There were bound to be pretty housemaids to take their eyes off their duties.
Further, Lady Dudmore was an intimate of the queen’s and Queen Charlotte often stayed in the house. That would lull them into complacency.
He made his way down to the lake and slipped into a stand of trees to wait for Monroe. The fellow was not a sharp knife when it came to intellect, but Lord Chester hoped he’d been able to observe something useful.
As he bided his time, he had a look at the boats. If it proved possible, it would be entertaining to do something to Harrelston’s boat. He did not know what, or how, but he would keep it in mind.
Finally, he saw Lord Monroe trudging down to the lakeshore. The fellow stopped and gazed around. As if he was looking for somebody. Lord Chester sighed. Subtlety was not his strong suit.
He shook a branch to get Monroe’s attention and then briefly showed himself. Monroe hurried over, again not very subtly.
“I almost did not see you,” Monroe said.
“That was rather the point.”
“Ah yes, it would be, would it not?”
“What have you been able to discover so far? What are the entertainments to be? What is the schedule of events?”
“We have not been told any of that yet. As in other years, the queen will arrive after everyone is assembled in the drawing room. Then at dinner, Lady Dudmore and the queen together will spring whatever is to happen.”
“I’ll attempt to lurk outside, but especially on this first night I will have to watch out for the queen’s guards.”
“Oh, I did find out something. I was able to discover where Lady Beatrix stays, if that will be helpful. As we were led up, I lingered at my door and looked out of the side of my eyes to find it out.”
“Her father did not notice you lurking in the corridor?”
“Not at all, I was very clever about it. I pretended to fumble with the key, even though I didn’t have a key. Lady Beatrix is in the east wing, the second to last door on the left. The earl and countess are in the very last room next to her.”
Lord Chester peered through the trees to the house. “That will be the front of the house. I will at least know when she is in there or not when I see lights or the lack of them. Perhaps that will come in handy at some point.”
“How?”
“I do not know,” Lord Chester said, a bit aggravated that Monroe could not grasp that everything done here would have to be spontaneous and entirely depended on what opportunities arose.
He said, “Now look, here is a flat stone and a smaller one I’ve put atop it that we can use to communicate.
We can pass information back and forth and arrange meetings and such.
Leave a note here between the rocks and I will do the same. ”
Monroe walked to the rock and picked up the smaller one. “There’s nothing here, though.”
“There would not be, would there?” Lord Chester said, resisting the urge to tear his hair out.
“Because we are both here at the same time, talking.” Lord Chester would like to inquire into Monroe’s thinking on the subject, but he did not.
He suspected Monroe’s thought processes, if there had been any, would only aggravate him further.
“Oh right, I see now,” Monroe said, nodding thoughtfully at the rocks.
“Keep your ears open for word of a regatta and if we can divine which gentleman will be in which boat. The boats’ hulls are painted different colors. I’m sure I could figure out a way to sabotage Harrelston’s boat if I know which one it is.”
“Right you are. Well, I better get back. Lady Beatrix will be wondering where I’ve gone off to.”