Chapter 25
After sharing tea with her, Colin excused himself, stating he had more business to attend to. Anne wasn’t sure what to do with herself. Colin’s suggestion to make herself at home seemed futile considering how the servants had responded to her.
At least he had delivered a setdown which, as she told him, was a delightful surprise. She found she liked that Colin very much.
His support meant the world to her. “He may not love me, but at least he defends me,” she muttered, grateful she was alone. Hope rose that perhaps he would grow to love her, and she would be more than simply a vessel to produce an heir.
Determined to win over the staff, Anne wandered through the halls and did her best to offer words of praise to each servant she encountered.
One of the maids—Hattie, Anne believed, she was terrible with names and there were so many new ones to remember—blushed at Anne’s compliment of how well the woman kept everything dust-free.
One of the footmen—Murray? Monroe?—grinned when she told him he had the whitest teeth she had ever seen, then hoped she wouldn’t go to Hades for her lie.
However, Mrs. Campbell and Greene would be her biggest challenges. As Anne strolled through the house, she noticed Mrs. Campbell trailing about twenty paces behind. At the end of a hallway that branched off into two wings, Anne darted to the right, then waited.
When Mrs. Campbell turned the corner, nearly colliding with Anne, she jumped back and grabbed her chest. “My lady, I didn’t see you there.”
“Really? Because it appeared you were following me. Is there something you want?”
Flustered, the woman’s gaze darted everywhere but Anne’s face. “I-I didn’t want you to get lost or go somewhere you shouldn’t.”
“Somewhere I shouldn’t?” The last both enraged Anne and piqued her curiosity.
“I didn’t realize there were areas forbidden to the mistress of the house.
” Not quite true. Colin did mention that the secret passageway was off limits to the girls.
And although he advised Anne not to discover it, he hadn’t expressly forbidden her. Had he?
However, Mrs. Campbell would not be the person to enquire as to its whereabouts.
For that, Anne would need an ally. She forced a sugary-sweet smile.
“If you would be so kind as to let me know where those areas are so I may avoid them, I would be most appreciative. I certainly don’t want to keep you from your important duties.
Running this large house must take enormous effort and incredible skill. You shouldn’t have to worry about me.”
Mrs. Campbell’s eyes narrowed as if considering Anne’s sincerity.
Perhaps her smile wasn’t as convincing as she’d hoped.
“Lord Manning does not like to be interrupted when he’s in his study.
Nor does Cook like to be bothered by small details.
You may provide any menu suggestions or requests to me, and I shall pass them along. ”
“Anywhere else? Anywhere dangerous?”
The woman wasn’t much taller than Anne, but her back stiffened when she straightened her shoulders. “Dangerous? I will have you know I am quite conscientious about maintaining a safe home for the girls.”
Perhaps she didn’t know about the secret passageway. Or did she, and she was simply refusing to acknowledge it to Anne?
“Of course you are. I only meant that for a house with such a long legacy, there can be loose runners on the stairs, or cracked floorboards that go unnoticed.”
Mrs. Campbell gave a defiant jerk of her chin. “Not by me. I assure you.”
Anne needed to get rid of the woman, at least while she explored the house. “I have no doubt. I will avoid disturbing my husband, and I will leave instructions for the cook in your capable hands. You may be excused.”
After a moment’s pause, Mrs. Campbell returned the way she came.
“Thank goodness.”
A laugh sounded behind her, and she twirled to find the friendly maid she’d encountered earlier. “Hattie?”
“Mattie, ma’am.”
“Yes, sorry, Mattie.”
“It’s all right, my lady. Don’t mind Mrs. Campbell. Ever since the former mistress died, she thinks she runs the place.”
Anne smiled at the girl’s forthrightness. “Well, I suppose she basically does.”
“Not any longer, my lady. Now that you’re here. Don’t let her bully you. I think you’re just the right medicine to bring his lordship out of his doldrums.”
Anne really liked this girl. “Mattie, tell me. Do you know about the secret passageway?”
She cocked her head, and Anne admired her dark, lustrous curls. She would find some of her decorative hairpins to give the girl.
“I heard Greene talking about it once to his lordship, but I don’t know exactly where it is. Something about it being in plain sight, whatever that means.”
Anne thanked the girl, resolved to make sure Colin paid her well and, confirming Mrs. Campbell no longer trailed behind, left to explore and find the hidden passageway.
“Now where and why would someone want to hide?” Anne mused as she peeked into the various parlors.
She could think of several reasons why. If there were also places hidden to peek and listen through, it would be an ideal place to spy on someone.
Or perhaps ways to travel from place-to-place unseen.
Or that led to a hidden room where they kept their victims chained to the wall.
She gave a little shudder, hoping she wouldn’t find such a room. A ghost knight was enough to worry about.
Rather than start with the obvious places one would wish to eavesdrop, Anne returned to the sunny blue parlor where Colin had reprimanded the servants and then shared tea with her.
It certainly seemed innocuous. But wouldn’t that be the best place to design such a secret hiding place?
Where no one would suspect? Delicate flowers comprised the subtle design of the wallpaper, and Anne was quick to note that there were many circular shapes to disguise a peephole.
With slow, careful sweeps, she ran her hands along the wall, probing with her fingers for any slight indentation or raised anomaly.
Only when she’d reached the end of the first quarter did she realize that such a device would probably be at a greater height than her own.
Perhaps that would be why Colin told the girls it was dangerous.
If they used something to stand on, like a chair, it could tip over and injure them.
She also pressed her hands against the areas where the wallpaper seams joined, hoping to find a hidden panel—to no avail.
After checking two additional parlors, she grew weary but not discouraged.
There were still many rooms yet unexplored, and she devised a plan to approach them systematically, going between one innocuous room to an obvious one such as the library or Colin’s study.
But she would have to be careful and find a way to lure Colin away so she wouldn’t be caught where she was forbidden to go.
Colin passed the solarium on the way back to his study. The girls sat at a long table in the sunny room, working on what Colin presumed were their lessons. Ellie’s tongue poked out as she typically did when concentrating.
“Much better, Ellie,” Miss Hart said.
His youngest daughter peered up at her teacher and beamed. Then Colin caught her eye. “Papa!”
“Sorry to interrupt, but may I have that word, Miss Hart?”
Miss Hart nodded, said a few words to the girls about continuing their penmanship lessons, and approached.
Twin lines formed on the woman’s forehead, her normally congenial countenance a mask of worry. “Will you be dismissing me, my lord?”
Dismissing? “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Now that you’ve remarried, I thought perhaps Lady Manning would be in charge of the girls’ education.”
Colin choked back a laugh at the things Anne would most likely teach his daughters.
But he hadn’t considered the possibility that Anne might like to take a more active role in his daughters’ lives.
They would have to discuss it. Unwilling to commit either way, he couched his answer carefully and left the matter open.
“We have no such plans at this time. However, I wished to speak with you regarding another matter.”
His response did little to assuage Miss Hart’s obvious unease, but, like the excellent governess she was, she waited patiently.
“First, thank you for welcoming my wife with such warmth. Understand that I did not direct my earlier comments to the staff toward you. However, I had no wish to single out anyone in particular.”
“You speak of Greene and Mrs. Campbell.”
Patient and astute. “Yes. I’m fully aware that Greene, in particular, is not the epitome of jocularity, but do you have any idea why both his and Mrs. Campbell’s behavior bordered on rude?”
Miss Hart’s gaze darted to the floor.
“Please speak freely without fear of repercussions.”
“You are familiar with the scandal sheet The Muckraker?”
Colin straightened to attention, and the muscles in his neck tightened at the mention of the gossip rag. “I am.”
“Mrs. Campbell received the latest issue yesterday. It mentioned something about Lady Manning and you.” A blush rose to her cheeks. “It implied some unsavory things about Lady Manning in particular.”
Not wishing to embarrass the woman further, and in truth, he wished to see the exact report himself, he asked, “Do you still have a copy of the rag?”
She shook her head. “Mrs. Campbell might.”
“Thank you for your forthrightness, Miss Hart. You may return to your duties with the girls.” He turned, eager to return to his study.
“Sir,” Miss Hart called, stopping him. “Just so you know, I don’t believe a word of it. It’s clear the girls adore Lady Manning, and I’ve found children to be excellent judges of character.”
Turning his head toward her, he gave a curt nod and left. Once in his study, he tugged the bell pull. Greene appeared moments later.
“Fetch Mrs. Campbell immediately and have her bring the recent copy of The Muckraker.”
Greene had been with the household for fourteen years, ever since Colin had taken up residence at Blackthorne Manor.
But at the moment, he wondered if he’d ever truly known the man.
Disappointment was too weak a word for what Colin felt.
He only hoped he wouldn’t have to dismiss the man or the housekeeper. “And return with her.”
Wisely, Greene held his tongue before rushing off to find Mrs. Campbell.
Colin had an inkling of what the gossip rag had probably said, but he wanted to read it with his own eyes. Well aware that Honoria and her friends, including Anne, had formed a club to discover the identity of the culprit, perhaps he could glean some clues from the wording.
But whatever the scandal sheet reported, he would not have members of his staff disparaging his wife. He rose and stared out the window, his mind drifting to how quickly his life had changed, which no doubt had been the focal point of the gossip.
“Sir?” Greene pulled him from his musings, and he turned to find the two as thick—and their expressions as guilty—as a pair of thieves standing in front of his desk.
Mrs. Campbell held out the spurious rag in a trembling hand. “You wished to see this, my lord?”
Colin scanned the rag, bypassing irrelevant reports.
Not that he didn’t care that the culprit maligned other people, but news that one of a matched pair of chestnuts Lord Highbottom purchased at Tattersall’s had immediately gone lame—although unfortunate for Highbottom—seemed rather mundane for the culprit’s usual attacks.
Nor did he care that Lord Felix Davies had been seen escorting Miss Lydia Whyte around town, or that Lord Edgerton was purported to have invested a large amount of money into the railroads.
Where was it?
Tucked away toward the bottom of the page, the name Miss Anne Weatherby caught his eye.
It would appear that Miss Anne Weatherby has an affinity for seeking a husband at the Duke of Burwood’s infamous house parties, this time with success.
No doubt growing desperate from her advancing age, this lady of easy virtue has now trapped a grieving widower in her snare.
Reports have it that Lord Manning, heir to the Marquess of Stratford, reluctantly sees wedding bells in his future.
One can only hope his new bride will be young enough to produce the heir he needs.
How the hell did the culprit find these things out?
Who in Burwood’s household could have sent word to London?
Colin crumpled the paper in his fist and tossed it across the room.
He wanted to shout at his housekeeper that his wife’s virtue had been intact and that their compromising situation had not been the result of Anne’s machinations but his own daughters’.
But the truth, although not as black as the spurious gossip sheet implied, was still enough to stir whispers.
“Lies. All of it.” His own lie condemned him, but he refused to justify and defend himself or his bride to his servants.
“And from now on, I forbid you to have that”—he pointed to the crumpled paper on the floor—“that sorry excuse for news in my home. You are dismissed.” To solidify his point, he turned his back on his two—previously—most trusted servants.
“Dismissed, sir?” Greene’s usually steady voice wavered.
Regardless of Anne’s initial impression of him, Colin was not an ogre.
Grouchy, taciturn, sullen? Yes. Or at least he had been until Anne barreled into his life.
But he was not cruel, and the implication of his butler’s question hit him.
The man thought Colin had sacked him. “From this room. Go back to your duties.”
Soft footfalls and the click of the door informed him he was once again alone.
He slumped into the chair at his desk, and he dropped his head into his hands.
The comforting sanctuary of his study no longer felt like the haven he loved.
Even in his own home, he felt like a charlatan.
Always struggling to present the right image.
The correct image. The image expected of him for any given occasion.
“Who do I want to be?” The question hung in the air, unanswered. He truly didn’t know.