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“Give it a rest, Perceval. I was merely joking as well.”
Perceval turned around, his focus intent on the ground. “Let us tie up the horses, Your Grace. There are tracks on the earth. Something large. A deer, maybe.”
“Are you sure that you are not a huntsman in disguise? How can you even follow tracks?”
Perceval shot him a smile. “Some experience with your father, may God bless his soul. I must say that he was an accomplished hunter, even if it was just for fun.”
Theodore got down from his horse, sinking a little into the moist ground. Swiftly, they tied up the horses and started following the tracks.
“Does this gun have any powder? It does not feel right in my hand,” he said, shaking up the rifle.
“Yes, Your Grace. Even polished to perfection. Come now, we did not finish our previous conversation.”
“You bore me, Perceval. The Dowager has paid you to convince me, has she not?”
Perceval laughed quietly as they started heading uphill. “I am not quite as skilled as to entrap you, Your Grace. Now that you are assured of my allegiance, may we indulge ourselves in idle conversation till we find some game?”
The woods got denser as they walked, and soon they were jumping over rotting tree trunks and stepping on mushrooms. Theodore inhaled the scent of the moist earth, relishing the calm it brought to his troubled soul.
“You recall the time I was in the garden? After leaving the lovely lady at the top of the stairs?”
“She was hardly lovely, Your Grace. A bit too presumptuous and suggestive. And not to mention the choking perfume.”
He laughed a little too loud and the birds in the trees took to flight, the noises from their flapping wings echoing in the warm afternoon air. Turning around, he muttered quick apologies to Perceval and crept even lower.
“The perfume got to you too? I thought I was the only one who hated that combination of lavender and musk.”
“Even the Dowager cringed when she got too close. What was her name again?”
Theodore’s lips pursed for a moment as he thought. “I cannot recall. Her perfume messed with my head so much that I barely remember anything from when I was around her. And I am not speaking about her.”
“Then which other young lady has your mind in a twist, Your Grace? You shunned them all at the ball. I bet the young ladies are holding a meet and hatching plans to enmesh you as we speak.”
“No matter what they say, I shall not lower myself to their standards. Since none meet my requirements, they will not even be put up for consideration.” Theodore replied with a grimace. “But enough about the twittering ladies and their angered mamas. Do you remember any Jarvis girl from the ball? Or perhaps you know about the Erbury House?”
They moved in silence as his steward wracked his brain for answers. Theodore carefully stepped over a twig, careful not to make any noise that would scare the game away.
“Erbury? I might have heard some news in the past few weeks. Something about a ruined reputation?”
Theodore nodded. “Exactly. Can you tell me more about it? Lady Patridge was telling me something about virtues while juxtaposing Miss Edna as a potential bride.”
“And that caused your early return to Wallington, I suppose. You must have created quite the ruckus with Miss Edna.”
“That is beside the point, Perceval. What do you know about the Erbury chit?”
Perceval turned around for a moment, his eyes checking the bushes and undergrowth. When he was assured that there was no animal lurking, he turned back to Theodore.
“I heard she was ruined in the gardens. By some unknown assailant, she claimed. But everyone claims quite the opposite. She was a sight to behold.”
“A sight? What do you mean by that?”
“I heard from Lady Carstairs’ butler. A crowd formed when she came in, looking flustered and disheveled. What else do you think happens in the dark without a chaperone, Your Grace?”
Theodore was lost in thought for a moment. “Nothing happens if she is on her own. But she came out of the garden looking disheveled?”
“Positive, Your Grace. Someone said the chit came to the ball all powdered up, hair made elaborately,” Perceval said. “Another said her gown was the center of admiration at the ball. Her dance card was full even before the end of the evening. But when she came from the garden with her hair down, sticking in all directions…”
“I see what you imply,” he replied, looking through the trees. “But I feel like all of it is my fault.”
