Chapter Four #3
“You believe? I thought you were certain.” Felicity halted again, eyeing the home that seemed unusually quiet.
It was much smaller than Broadmere Hall, and no gardeners or other servants could be seen moving around the grounds tending to their duties.
For lack of a better word, the place looked deserted.
“This cannot be it. There is no one about, and the shutters are still closed on some of the windows. I do not believe anyone is in residence.”
Merry insisted on pulling her off to the side while pressing a finger to her lips. “Shh…look at the nameplate. Wakefield. See? And where else would he live? If he had a room at the inn, we would have heard about him long before Chance and Seri spoke up.”
There was no denying the name on the gatepost. Felicity ducked lower as they moved along the solid stone wall, even though it was taller than both of them. “How are we to see over it when it is higher than we are tall?”
“We shall find a rock or something on which to stand.” Merry stretched and hooked her fingers along the top stone block but couldn’t pull herself any higher. “Drat. I have snagged my gloves. Promise not to tell.”
“How in heaven’s name could I tell when it would incriminate me along with you?”
Merry grinned as she scampered farther down the wall.
“Here. A rock that should just do the trick.” She climbed onto what amounted to a small boulder that should have been cleared away by the gardener or sentry long ago.
A fit young thief would have no problem at all using it to vault over into the garden.
That is, a fit young man not tangled in muslin and petticoat skirts.
“Well, what do you see?” Heart pounding in fear that they might get caught, Felicity pressed a hand to her chest. “Merry? What do you see?”
Frowning, Merry hopped down and reached for Felicity’s reticule and parasol. “Have a look for yourself.”
“You do not sound the least bit impressed.”
Merry wrinkled her nose and tipped a nod at the wall. “Have a look.”
Dreading what she was about to see, Felicity stepped up onto the rock and cautiously peeped over the wall.
“Oh dear,” she said under her breath. Choking in weeds and vines, the dilapidated garden had suffered badly from neglect.
Weeks and weeks of neglect. The only part appearing to have been tended to in the least was a patch of ground closest to the back entrance of the home.
Vegetables and herbs thrived in a sunny spot cleared of weeds and the unwanted encroachment of the ivy that had taken over the remainder of the garden.
A table with its paint peeling and a bench that had seen better days sat nearby.
One of the back windows with a broken pane had been repaired by boarding it up.
Felicity almost choked on the pity that made her heart swell.
Poor Lord Wakefield. Such a kind man, and look what he had inherited.
It would take months of work and a team of servants to return the Wakefield estate to its former glory—if it had ever possessed any.
Hadn’t Serendipity mentioned that the old earl had lost everything in the gaming hells and the new earl sought to restore honor to the Wakefield name?
This was so sad. The place cried out for care and attention.
She slowly climbed down from her perch, took back her parasol and reticule, and nodded at the lane. “Come along, Merry. We should not have come.”
“The place is so…” Merry’s voice trailed off as she trudged along beside Felicity.
“So sad,” Felicity finished for her. “What a terrible mess the earl must have inherited.”
“The home is so small. How can this be the Wakefield country seat? Did Seri not say that the young earl came from landed gentry?”
“Chance said that,” Felicity said, her heart heavy. “I would lay odds this was his land before he became the earl.”
“But why has he not taken better care of it? And how could the old earl lose the family’s country seat? Would it not be part of an entailment?”
“Entailments can be dissolved if all parties are willing.” Felicity slowly shook her head.
“Poor Lord Wakefield. It looks as though he had to let everyone go because of the debts he inherited. He must have used all that he possessed to pay off what the estate could not cover upon his uncle’s death. ”
“How on earth do you know these things?” Merry asked.
Felicity gave her sister a frustrated glance. “Do you never listen to the conversations when Mr. Sutherland the elder and Mr. Sutherland the younger come to dinner? You could learn a thing or two from our solicitors. Things worth knowing.”
“Do not be surly.” They trudged along in silence for a while, then Merry asked, “What will you do when he calls upon you?”
A heavy sigh worked itself free, even though Felicity attempted to hold it back.
“I don’t know.” He had been so nice to her when he thought her a penniless kitchen maid.
Had he truly liked her, or was he simply a charming flirt who played up to the help to get what he wanted?
The maids had spoken to her about those sort of lordlings.
And if he behaved as if he liked her now, how could she know if it was because he truly liked her or her dowry?
For heaven’s sake, he certainly could use every penny that came with her.
“I do not wish to be the solution to someone’s dire straits.
It makes me question the truth of their intentions. ”
Merry nodded. “You need to be the problem. The entire problem. Not the solution.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“It means he should want you so badly, he will do anything to win you because you are the air he needs to breathe.”
“You have been reading too many of Fortuity’s books again.”
“Actually, that came from one of Serendipity’s forbidden books that she thinks she keeps hidden.” Merry winked and linked her arm through Felicity’s. “Will you send him away tomorrow when he calls?”
“I told you I didn’t know. What would you do?”
Merry’s mouth drew into a thoughtful pucker as she stared off into the distance as if the answer lay somewhere among the wildflowers in the meadow. “I would see him and confront him.”
“I cannot very well tell him I spied on his garden.”
Merry snorted. “Well, of course not. You must be a bit more tactful…and sneaky about it. Simply tell him you heard rumors. That is believable enough. Even out here in the country, gossip is rife amongst the ton.”
“Or I could tell him I am not receiving callers.”
“You already told him you would.”
“Yes, but one never knows when one’s health might keep one to their bed.”
“One is the poorest liar in creation. Do you really think Seri and Chance will believe you and allow you to hide in your bedchamber when you have a perfectly nice gentleman calling?”
“Some days I do not care for you at all, Merry.”
Merry grinned. “Thank goodness you just wiggled your nose, or I just might have believed you!”