Page 55

Cecey sat in the parlor going over lists of inventories. Her anger had solidified into a cold lump in her belly, which wasn’t helping her digestive problems. She felt tired, miserable, and slightly sick and was valiantly trying to ignore all three, when she heard the sounds of an arrival from the front hall downstairs.

Rick? Was he back at last? She had been hoping for his return since yesterday.

Starting up from her chair and dropping the pen in her hand, where it splattered ink on the pages, she rushed to the door, her heart thudding with insensible hope before she caught herself.

I’m furious with him, remember? He had abandoned her and run away to London. He had behaved very badly, and she needed to make him pay for that! Not rush into his arms like a lovesick ninny, just because she had been so miserable without him.

She stopped and took a breath, forced herself to turn around and sit back down in her chair and pick up the pen. But she couldn’t stop her ears from straining for the sounds coming from downstairs, and in a moment or two her rush of hope was dashed by the sound of two pairs of feet on the stairs. A visitor then, not Rick.

Tears of disappointment pricked her lids, and she swallowed hard against the lump forming in her throat. The door opened to reveal James the footman who said, “Lord Hereward Layne to see you, my lady.”

He stepped aside, and the solid form of Rick’s brother entered the room.

Startled all over again, this time in alarm, Cecey dropped the pen a second time and rose. “Hereward! What—?”

The footman closed the door and Hereward trod across the room to her and said, “Cecelia, I can see that I was right to come. Your footman tells me Rick left here four days ago.”

“Yes, to visit you in London,” she said, her heart racing as cold fear settled into her already uneasy gut.

“I received his letter, but then he never arrived, which is why I came. I couldn’t rid myself of the notion that something had happened to him.” His soft brown eyes regarded her with a worried frown.

“Oh, no!” She touched her fingers to her lips in distress. And I have been so angry with him! “Hereward there were several incidents—Rick would never believe it, but it seemed like someone was trying to kill him. Then it all stopped when Lord Bidenden left the county. But what if he just went to lay low and followed Rick to London?” Her lurid imagination was filling her head with pictures of his lifeless body on the side of the road. No! No! No! Please, God! No!

“Bidenden? Is that cur still bothering Rick?”

She nodded, her lips trembling. “Yes, we discovered he was staying in the area with a cousin, Lord Berrisford. But then Rick told me over a week ago it was confirmed that he had left the county.”

“What incidents are you referring to?”

She told him about the shard under the saddle blanket and the trip wire and the gargoyle and Rick falling off the roof. “Rick kept saying there were other explanations, but then there was the loose wheel on the curricle!” And she told him about her accident. “It was after that, that everything stopped.”

“Sounds like whoever was doing it got a fright and backed off,” said Hereward grimly.

“Yes, that seems likely, but what could have happened to Rick? He should have arrived in London on Sunday, he was planning to ride straight through, that is why he left so early. Or at least that is what he said in his note to me.” She swallowed a lump in her throat.

“I don’t know. Can you tell me when he left exactly? Was he traveling alone?”

Pulling herself together with an effort, she forced her panicked brain to think. “He took Sovereign, and yes, he was alone, for he didn’t take Reynolds or Pagette.” She trembled as a cold fear took possession of her, and she choked on a sob.

Alarmed, Hereward put a hand under her arm and guided her to the settee. “Here, sit down. You look very pale.”

He eased her down, and she sat, trying to stem the sudden flood of tears. “I’m sorry! He left in such a hurry, and I was so angry with him—. Oh, if anything has happened to him—” Hereward handed her a handkerchief in silence, which she used to stem the flow. “What can we do? What can have happened to him?”

“I don’t know,” he responded slowly, a frown between his brows. “Do you think Reynolds or Pagette could shed any light—?”

“I shall send for them at once!” She rose and went to the door and summoned the footman, requesting that he send Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Pagette to the parlor immediately.

Reynolds was the first to arrive. He entered the room and bowed to Hereward. “My lord, forgive me, but I thought Rick—His Lordship was visiting you in London.” His expression showed his concern.

Hereward nodded. “He was supposed to but never arrived. Can you tell us exactly when he left?”

“Before dawn four days ago. Around four in the morning? He—” Reynolds cast a look at Cecey and then went on. “He was a bit drunk and came upstairs just before three. I had waited up for him. He told me to pack him a bag and that he was going to London for a few days. I already knew, because he had instructed the footman to send a letter to you the several days before, my lord. As you would appreciate, there are no secrets in a household of this size. Everyone knew he going to London. The only surprise was the time that he left. No one expected him to go that early.”

During this speech, Pagette entered and bowed to both Cecey and Hereward but didn’t interrupt.

“And he took Sovereign and was traveling alone?” questioned Hereward.

“Yes, my lord,” said Pagette.