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“And you jest about owning gentlemen,” said Miss Deeping. Her dark eyes were lit with amusement.
Teresa thought again of a wolf pack, hunting as a team. “It will also save Lord Macklin from being besieged backstage at the theater.”
“Besieged?” asked Miss Grandison.
Which brought them back around to where they started. Why was this carriage ride taking so long? “Should we visit again about the disappearances,” she added. Perhaps this was a better reason for her slip? Even though there were to be no more visits.
“We must do that,” replied Miss Deeping.
“We need to know a great deal more,” said Miss Moran.
Teresa felt like an angler who’d hooked a fish. She looked out the window to gauge their progress.
“Lord Macklin deserves happiness,” said Miss Finch.
Really, this red-haired young lady was becoming irritating.
“He’s been so kind,” she added.
“Kind to you?” Teresa couldn’t help asking.
“To Ada,” replied Miss Moran. “She wouldn’t be engaged if he hadn’t helped matters along.”
Miss Grandison nodded, though she still looked distracted.
“And others. He’s been doing quite a bit of matchmaking,” said Miss Deeping.
“He doesn’t like to call it that,” replied Miss Moran.
Miss Deeping nodded. “I know.” There were giggles in the carriage. “He looks positively pained. But when you bring couples together…” She shrugged. “That is the word.”
“And yet he is alone,” said Miss Moran. “His wife died ten years ago.”
The young ladies nodded. Miss Finch gazed at Teresa. “I wonder what would make him happy?” she said.
More than irritating, Teresa thought. A positive menace. She endured their scrutiny—cataloging, evaluating—as if she was a puzzle they were determined to solve. She could have told them that she was not the one to make any man happy, but she did not. She owed no explanations.
“He likes being of use,” said Miss Moran.
Her three friends turned to gaze at her, clearly surprised.
Miss Moran seemed lost in thought. “But not all by himself,” she added. “He likes having…allies.” She noticed the stares. “Or so Iobserve.” She made the last word sound portentous.
After a moment, Miss Deeping nodded, and then Miss Finch. Teresa wondered what the girl meant by allies. And what about love? It seemed that Lord Macklin had spent time…promoting it for others. What an unusual sort of man. Not that his nature was any of her affair.
“I must talk to Tom,” said Miss Grandison, whose thoughts had clearly been taking their own course. “I think he knows more than he said about Papa.”
The faces of her friends suggested that they agreed with the sentiment and were worried about the plan.
“Your earrings are beautiful,” said Miss Moran to Teresa.
This one didn’t like conflict, Teresa thought.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like them,” she added. “Are they Spanish?”
“No, I design them myself.” Teresa launched into a discussion of the process, in great detail. She saw to it that the topic filled the short remainder of the drive, resisting all interruption. When the young ladies got down together at the Finch house, they appeared more than ready to escape further information on metallurgy. And they’d had no chance to question her further about Lord Macklin. Now she just had to find a way to divert herself, Teresa thought as the carriage took her home.
Six
