He took a long puff.“I find it curious that a ghost who is not Mother Hobart showed up only after Miss Walden arrived.”He tapped the ash off the end of his cigar.“When we walked through the tunnel back to the kitchen the other day, I could swear she took my arm only so she could tug me along.As if she wanted me out of there quickly, that there was something she didn’t want me to see.”
“Have you considered she was flirting with you?Pretending to be frightened in the dark tunnel so the big, brave man could protect her?”Gert chuckled.
He gave a non-committal grunt.He had considered it, and almost immediately dismissed it.The woman who had the wherewithal to calmly threaten an unknown man unexpectedly arriving in her bedchamber in the middle of the night was unlikely to be scared walking through a dark tunnel.
“She and I are both aware that her employment as my amanuensis is temporary.I know she is reading the newspapers and replying to Help Wanted advertisements.I am confident it has occurred to her that marriage to someone like Matthew or you would solve her looming problem.And she must count in your favor the fact you can sing and play reasonably well, as a match to her skills.You two seem to hit it off.”
Yes, she very nearly hit him during their first meeting.Vincent kept his grin to himself.“I do not find her repulsive or clinging.”In fact he’d had a hard time not staring when he noticed some of her hair had come unpinned tonight, one long tendril falling loose down the middle of her back.Several other pins had appeared in danger of falling out.Would he ever see all of her hair down?She wore it braided even to bed.
Gert’s words sank in and he gave an aggrieved snort.“Reasonablywell?I’ll have you know my group came in second this year in the Noblemen and Gentlemen’s Catch Club competition.A very prestigious competition, if you recall.”So prestigious, in fact, the marquess had kept his son cooling his heels in London for months of rehearsals and vocal training, overriding Vincent’s stated intent of departing for Italy.
Gert cackled.“My brother and now your father have managed to be clever enough to keep the marquessate comfortably solvent, so you do not need to marry an heiress.Your father expects you to marry someone appropriate to give you a proper heir.Miss Walden may be a teacher, but since her father was a baron, her blood is blue enough to satisfy all but the highest sticklers, even if his title did revert to the crown when he and his wife died five years ago.”
“Of course I plan to marry.That is what Father wants me to do.”And he always did as his father asked, whether he wanted to or not.“He let me off his leash long enough for an extended visit to the Continent, with the caveat that I choose a bride when I return if I don’t find one while I’m over there.”Vincent blew a final cloud and stubbed out his cigar.“What of you?Would you approve such a match?”
“Henry likes her.”As though that was enough to settle the matter, Gert tossed back the last of her port.“And the chit doesn’t even keep a pocketful of treats for him.”
“High praise indeed.”He had noticed the terrier often curled up at Miss Walden’s feet.Several times he’d seen her slip one shoe off and scratch the dog’s back with her stockinged foot.Stockings that were not, in fact, blue, but were a practical brown or cream depending on the color of her gown.
Not that he should be noticing such things.
Gert grunted as she stood and stretched.“Walk me to my room.”She patted her thigh.Henry shook himself and trotted over from where he’d been dozing in the flowerbed by the fountain, and followed at their heels.
“There is still the matter of the person walking on the property late at night.”Vincent kept his voice quiet.
“What do you intend to do about it?”Gert hooked her arm through his as they made their way through the quiet, semi-dark house and up the stairs.
“Matthew and I will poke around.Take a look in the caves.Stroll on the beach around the same time the ‘ghost’ has been spotted.”
They stopped in the hall and Gert opened her bedchamber door.The windows were open, as usual, admitting cool night air and the murmur of the waves.Only blackness was visible outside at the moment, but this room had the best view of the beach in the entire house.He’d spent many hours in here watching storms while kneeling on the cushioned window seat, his nose pressed to the glass.
“Keep in mind the history of this property, young man.The average landowner does not need secret passages and tunnels out of the house and on the property, never mind half a dozen of them.Several times over the centuries, they’ve been used by smugglers and other nefarious people withandwithout the consent of the owners and occupants.”
“And the Revenuers in pursuit of them.I remember.”Vincent bent down and kissed her weathered cheek.“And I’ll remind Matthew.”
“Just be careful.”She stretched up to cup his cheek.“Your father would never forgive me if something happened to you while in my care.”
Vincent was about to argue, to remind her he was an adult, not a recalcitrant child sent away to the countryside until he could improve his behavior.But the unusually tender look reflected in her eyes made him swallow the retort and instead offer a conciliatory, “Yes, ma’am.”
Once Gert had closed her door, Vincent headed down the hall to his room.Hisguestchamber, as his real room was occupied by Miss Walden.He paused outside her door, listening.He had no real reason for doing so.No expectation.And it would certainly be awkward if for some reason she were to open the door just now.
He dropped his chin to his chest.Yes, he did have a reason.Did she sing to herself or hum under breath as she prepared for bed, as he so often did?When they all lived at the family estate, his siblings had teased him about how often he hummed or sang, just making noise.It had been a relief to find friends at school like Matthew who liked to make the same kind of noise with the same degree of frequency.
No sound emanated from the bedchamber, though.Given the length of his conversation with Gert and how long he’d been in his chamber before going down to join her on the terrace, Miss Walden was probably already in bed, perhaps asleep.
In the same bed he’d occupied dozens if not hundreds of nights.
He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, then strode for his currently assigned room.He had no business imagining Miss Walden in his bed.Her bed.Anybed.
And he definitely was not going to contemplate the idea of her marrying his best friend.
* * *
Dawn was barely peeking above the horizon when Sophia went downstairs, trying to walk confidently in case any staff spotted her, yet quietly enough she wouldn’t be spotted.She had to know that Mildred had returned to the cave safely after dinner last night, and that she had enough candles.She would hate for the girl to run out.The very idea of being in the cavern without light made Sophia shudder.With any luck, Ruby and the other maids did not notice how quickly the candles “burned out” in Sophia’s chamber.Feeling guilty at how many she was giving away, she blew out all but one as soon as Ruby left her each night.
The morning breeze tried to fling the door back on its hinges but Sophia held tight.She had wanted to take the shortcut through the kitchen to the tunnel.Mrs.Bickford was already banging pots and giving orders to the scullery maid, and delicious scents wafted from the kitchen, so Sophia took the zigzag path down the bluff.
Once outdoors, she began humming as she walked.Inspired from hearing the men sing last night, she had decided the song she’d been working on would definitely benefit from a basso continuo part in addition to the tenor, to balance the top-heavy alto and soprano.Naturally the tones she heard in her head were Mr.Huntley’s tenor and Lord Fairfax’s bass voice, rather than a violincello and double bass.
