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“So, why are you here?” she snapped. “I seriously doubt any of my guests would be bothered even to try to find the Priory. If you want to ask them, you will have to come back later. They are all out at the moment.”
The magistrate nodded, but Jessica had no intention of being fooled by the man’s bonhomme. The look in his eyes was cold and ruthless.
“Who do you have staying here now?” he drawled.
Jessica sighed and turned her glare on Carruthers. However, without seeming rather too defensive, she could see no reason not to tell the magistrate what he wanted to know. She doubted he had any interest in the guests, or would be bothered to speak to any of them. He was stretching out the visit; trying to irk her. If she refused to tell him, she knew he would suspect she had something to hide, and would badger her even more.
“I have four guests here at the moment. But they are not likely to want to steal anything.”
“Do they take their meals here?” the magistrate asked.
Although Lloyd’s face was placid, there was a slight hint of a sneer on his lips as he looked around the shabby room. It left Jessica with no misunderstanding that he considered it less than satisfactory.
“Not all of them. I provide breakfast and an evening meal if the guests wish to eat here in an evening. Otherwise, they eat out.”
She hated being made to feel that she had to tell him so much. As far as she was aware, she had done nothing to give either man any indication she had done anything wrong. It wasn’t her they should be pummelling with probing questions. Still, it was better than them questioning Ben. Thankfully, neither of them saw fit to mention her brother yet. Unfortunately, neither had they come up with a justifiable reason for even lingering so much either.
Placing her hands on her hips, she turned a fierce glare on the magistrate.
“Just what is your purpose for calling round?” she demanded bluntly.
Lloyd shrugged and plucked absently at a piece of lint on his breeches. “We are just seeing what you are doing; that’s all.”
“I cannot help you. I don’t know who is poaching. I doubt you will find the person responsible for the lord’s loss sitting in my sitting room,” she replied flatly. “I suggest you tell him to keep an eye on his staff. Now, I am sure that if you are making house calls, then you need to move on and pester some of the other villagers. I haven’t ever been to the Priory, much less taken anything from them. Moreover, I haven’t seen or heard a thing. However, I cannot speak for the guests. If you want to talk to them directly, you will have to do so later. Now, if there is nothing else, I have things to be getting on with.”
She knew she was rude, but their behaviour was offensive so they could hardly take her to task for not welcoming them with open arms.
When neither man made any attempt to leave, she stalked toward the door.
“Before you go,” Lloyd called after her.
She turned to glare at him. She refused to show him how discomforted she was in his presence. It took effort not to take her instinctive step back from him, especially when he suddenly lunged to his feet and practically flew across the room until he was inches away from her.
“I am sure the owner of the Priory can withstand the loss, but I don’t expect anything else to disappear,” he murmured quietly.
“I don’t see why you are telling me,” Jessica protested brazenly.
She struggled to withhold her shudder, especially when the magistrate’s gaze dipped to her cleavage and lingered. She wished there was enough material there to cover her, but there wasn’t. Ignoring his visual assault, she squared her shoulders and threw the man a defiant look of contempt.
Lloyd studied her for a moment. He hesitated, as though about to tell her something. At the last moment, he appeared to change his mind. With a quite false smile, he bowed politely and clicked his fingers at Carruthers.
“Come on, Carruthers. It is time we were going,” he drawled.
“We are just trying to find out if anybody has seen anything, that’s all,” Carruthers mumbled.
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bsp; “I haven’t,” she protested again.
“Are you sure?” Lloyd drawled quietly.
“Yes, I am sure. Now, if you don’t mind? As I have said, I have work to do,” Jessica repeated, trying to keep her desperation out of her voice.
“So do we, my dear. We are just reporting that the Priory has had a brace of pheasant stolen. If you know where they are likely to be you should tell us,” Lloyd warned without taking his eyes off her.
“I have told you what I know. I suggest you get out there and find the person responsible,” she ground out through clenched teeth.
She refused to break eye contact with him while she spoke. He would see that as some twisted victory, and she couldn’t allow that to happen, or she would never get rid of him.
