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“As I inevitably do. But I must point out that Ferrington Hall isnota ducal property and is quite out of the way on that round.”
“It is. Lady Wilton’s nagging grew insupportable. But now that we are here, I’m glad.”
“Indeed?” The duke looked mystified.
“There’s something odd about Harriet.”
“She seemed much the same to me.”
The duchess shook her head. “No, she’s…softer and…brighter. But at the same time, wound very tight. Something has happened to her.”
“Surely this is just fantasy? Miss Finch appeared cool and collected, as usual.”
“You don’t know her as well as I do.”
“True.”
“Living with her grandfather must be hard,” the duchess said.
Her husband conceded this with a shrug.
“I shall find out.” She cocked her head. “You will enjoy finding Ferrington,” she added, as if offering a rare treat.
The duke acknowledged her teasing with a smile. “If I do. I have a great deal of sympathy for the fellow. I’d hide from Grandmama if I could.”
“She said she wouldn’t come here.”
“We are off at once if she does.”
“Agreed.” She nestled close and raised her face for another kiss to seal their pact.
Five
When Jack looked up the next morning and saw Harriet Finch hurrying toward him across the field, he felt a rush of delight. She looked so lovely in a dress of white muslin sprinkled with tiny blue flowers. She carried no parasol today, but a broad-brimmed straw hat shaded her face and hid her ruddy hair. Which was a shame. He had often imagined it tumbling over her shoulders, a glory of curls.
So many of his thoughts now centered on this girl, a new piece to the puzzle that was his life. Jack felt that circumstances were closing in on what had started as a pleasant summer escape. He’d run impulsively from London, but he had to make a decision about his future soon. And he was more and more certain that Miss Finch must be a part of it.
He went to meet her and turned her back toward the trees.
“I had to see you,” she said.
He was delighted to hear it, because increasingly he had to see her as well. A day when he didn’t felt melancholy and empty. He took her arm and led her to a little clearing near the edge of the wood, a more private place with a large, dry log to sit on. He handed her to it, daring to drop a kiss on her hand as he let it go.
Her green eyes flashed up at him and dropped. A flush warmed her cheeks. “I have something important to tell you,” she said.
He was glad she looked for an excuse. He was happy to see her whenever he could.
“We visited Ferrington Hall yesterday,” she went on.
Jack knew this, of course. He’d seen the carriage arrive and her party enter. He’d felt jealous and excluded as she disappeared inside. Intohishouse! Now occupied by agents of his poisonous great-grandmother.
“The duke has a letter written by the Earl of Ferrington, and he is going to compare the writing with the one received by the magistrate here,” she blurted out.
“Is he?” The duke was an interfering busybody, apparently. Why did he have to stick his nose in?
“You swore to me that you didn’t write to Sir Hal.”
“I said I didn’t forge any letter.” Jack was aware this was deceptive. He had to tell her the truth. But he hated being forced by his great-grandmother’s minions. “I didn’t,” he repeated. “Because…” Remembering she despised all earls, he couldn’t go on.
