Chapter Ten #2
“It may be that she’s gone broody on hearing Fenny’s news.
Oh, but that’s indelicate of me, isn’t it?
Forget I said anything. You’ll get to meet Latymer, and my sister Fenella, too, if she’s feeling up to it.
Lissy will get dragged into the arrangements as well, running errands at Mama’s command until she’s too exhausted to enjoy herself. Poor girl.”
A masked ball? Roland adored masked balls, except for the ones where duke’s daughters were dressed too convincingly like servants. However, as an employed member of the household, he could hardly expect an invitation. He might have to man the portcullis, however, to keep out undesirables . . .
Hugo had, by this time, escorted him downstairs, and now paused outside a door.
“That’s the estate office, where you’ll be most of the time.
You can explore that at your leisure, I’m sure.
I’ll show you the coach house directly—you’re far too superior to be put in the attics.
Not that they get used for much more than storage—we’re so close to the town that most of the servants live out. ”
Mr. Hugo Ashby was proving to be a valuable source of information. Roland must make sure to spend as much time with him as possible before he returned to his mine in Somerset.
“Do they keep late hours in this house?” It would be useful to know when he could sleuth without being observed.
“Surprisingly not. We tend to keep country hours. Up with the lark and down with the blackbird. Very unfashionable, I know.”
“Do you have a housekeeper, or a steward?”
“Yes, we have both. There’s not that much land left to need stewarding, mind—it’s been sold so the town can expand.
Lissy acts as Mama’s lady’s companion when she can’t escape, and the housekeeper does as you would expect.
You can take your meals with her if you want or have them on your own in the coach house.
Dashwood usually ate with her—I think perhaps they took a fancy to one another. ”
So, Roland could not expect to make an ally or a friend of the housekeeper, since he had replaced her precious Mr. Dashwood. Useful to know!
Hugo flung open a neighboring door, and for a moment, Roland was blinded by the amount of golden autumn sunshine that flooded the room.
He blinked, and as his eyes adjusted to the glare, he realized he was standing in a room constructed of glass and white-painted wrought iron.
The place was festooned with foliage. Numerous pots with outlandish plants stood about the room, and the fronds of a small palm tree reached almost to the ceiling.
“Our famous orangery,” remarked Hugo.
There was a movement in response to his voice, and Roland saw that there was someone else in the room. He felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach.
Lissy!
He wasn’t prepared for the surge of feeling that hit him at the sight of her, stealing his breath. They’d only been apart for a few hours, and already, she had this effect on him? Madness!
She glanced up from her artwork with polite enquiry, saw him, snapped her drawing book shut, and leaped to her feet.
Roland made frantic signals behind Hugo’s back to make sure she didn’t give any indication of recognizing him.
With considerable aplomb, Lissy turned her scowl into an expression of surprise.
“Oh, my goodness, Hugo, you startled me! Have you forgotten how to knock?”
Roland clasped his hands together in a praying gesture, and after a moment, Lissy gave him the faintest of nods.
Thank goodness! His secret was safe for now, but they would need a private conversation so he could explain himself.
What, exactly, was he going to say, though?
How much of Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s schemes did he dare to reveal?
He dreaded the thought that Lissy would despise him.
“Our new secretary, Mr. Cowley. Cowley, this is my sister, Miss Ashby. She’s been staying with our cousin Sarah in London, so she could visit a sick friend and has just returned. I bet you’ve missed your studio, eh, Lissy?”
That answered an important question. As far as the family was aware, Lissy had been staying with a relative, not absconding with her art tutor. How quickly her mother had rewritten events! Lissy was safe from scandal—for now.
“What are you sketching there?”
Hugo took a step forward, but Lissy immediately held the book behind her back. “I’m very tired after my long journey. Please don’t plague me now, brother. Don’t you have some tunnels or something to entertain Mr. Cowley with?”
“I most certainly have. I’ll see you at luncheon.”
“I’ll be here the rest of the morning. Please don’t disturb me again.”
Roland appreciated that the first part of the sentence was directed at him and the second at Hugo. Judging by her expression, Lissy was going to ring a peal over him as soon as she got him alone.
It was a damnable shame that what could have become a beautiful friendship would be trampled into the dust so soon.
Without a word having passed between them, he felt what it was like to be held in contempt by Miss Felicity Ashby.
If her displeasure made him feel this terrible, how much worse would it be if he were to admit the reason for all his deceit?
It was unthinkable that she should ever find out.