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What on earth had she done to him? He had kissed women before and they had never had this profound effect on him. Yet here he was considering asking her to become a part of his, well, his sort of new life. Had he already made the decision to return to Briggleberry on a permanent basis? He hadn’t even realised he had but wasn’t all that perturbed about the possibility now that he considered it more closely.
Shaking his head in disbelief, he turned his attention back to the room, just in time to watch a scene unfold that would give him plenty to think about later.
Delilah suddenly spilled her tea. “I am so sorry,” she gasped.
Pearl suddenly launched out of her chair and rushed off to fetch something to clear up the mess.
“I am not feeling very well,” Delilah moaned theatrically. “I have the most frightful headache.”
Jeb almost smiled at the sceptical look Sophia threw at her aunt, and suspected from the somewhat calculating look in Delilah’s eyes that there was nothing wrong with her. Why did she want to leave? He glanced around, but could see no reason for Sophia’s aunt to want to go so soon after her arrival.
Not convinced for a second that she was ill, Jeb watched Pearl flutter around their guest, trying to blot the mess. Willing to play along to see what happened, he raised no objection when everybody took the opportunity to offer their excuses and leave.
Sophia stared at the bag in her lap and mentally cursed when she realised that Delilah was already halfway out of the door.
You cunning witch, Sophia thought spitefully and turned her attention to the hairbrushes.
Now more determined than ever that Delilah wouldn’t keep the hairbrushes, or anything else she had stolen, Sophia looked for somewhere to leave them.
In the end, the problem was resolved far easier than she had expected. The usual hustle and bustle of the guests collecting their coats, saying their goodbyes, and making their way out of the front door caused temporary chaos in the narrow hall.
“I have forgotten my shawl,” Sophia declared suddenly to nobody in particular.
Once the Squire had stepped outside, and the Harvells were busy saying their goodbyes to the rest of the guests, Sophia hurried back into the sitting room and quickly dropped the brushes into the empty coal scuttle beside the fire. Heaving a mental sigh of relief that she was finally rid of them, she collected her ‘forgotten’ shawl and left the house without a backward look.
“You will never do that to me again,” she declared coldly once she had caught up with her conniving relative. “You are scandalous, and the most self-centred creature I have ever had the misfortune to meet. Right now, I sincerely wish I was not related to you.”
She saw Delilah look at her and open her mouth to speak, but something on Sophia’s face must have warned her to mind what she said because she remained mute all the way home. Instead, she continued to throw occasional worried looks at her niece and the bag she carried. It was evident she wanted to ask if the brushes had been returned but didn’t.
As soon as they walked in through the front door, Sophia stalked straight upstairs and slammed her way into the room. As far as she was concerned, she was going to return the trinket boxes Delilah had stolen from the Hutchinson residence, mainly because she liked Jeb. The rest of the items in the box were Delilah’s concern. If anything else disappeared at any of the other social engagements Sophia attended, or the items remained in the house unreturned, then her thieving aunt could deal with the situation she had brought upon herself.
As soon as the Squire’s ball was out of the way, Sophia was going back home and was never coming back to Framley Meadow ever again. She had tried everything to become better acquainted with her aunt but it was clear that Delilah was an unknown entity who didn’t want familial connections, and had no respect or consideration for anyone other than her own pursuit of pleasure.
In spite of her heartache, and the sad knowledge that whatever might have blossomed between her and Jeb Hutchinson was now going to go nowhere, Sophia knew deep inside that it was for the best. Losing him was inevitable once it became known that Delilah was a common thief. It was better to let go now before her emotions became any more engaged in him. Wasn’t it?
Later that night, after a rather bountiful dinner with his father, Jeb made his way to the tavern. He was aware that the workers had yet to find any trace of Tabitha, and had called the search off for the night now that it was too dark to see. However, he wanted to find out if anyone new was in the area, and if anyone else had noticed a new arrival loitering around the village.
Maybe it was his Star Elite experience lurching into action, but he felt it was strange that Sophia had seen this stranger at the same time that Tabitha had vanished. It would lie heavily on his conscience if he didn’t look into it and someone else disappeared.
Given the amount of time this seemingly innocuous young lady had been gone, her fate looked increasingly dire. At some point, he suspected her body would be found, and it would be evident she had been murdered. With that in mind, the sooner he could start his investigation into what happened, the better chance he stood of finding whoever was responsible so he could bring the matter to a conclusion.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Everson,” Jeb drawled as he approached the bar where his father’s man of business stood sipping the remains of a pint.
“Evening,” Everson replied. It wasn’t that he was surly, just uncommunicative.
Jeb carefully ignored the slight snub and ordered his ale. He waited until it was served before he turned his attention back to Everson.
“I didn’t realise you frequented the pub.”
“Everyone does it,” Everson replied dully.
“How do you like working for my father?”
Everson looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “It’s a job.”
Jeb nodded.
Everson downed the rest of his ale and slammed his mug back onto the bar and turned away.
