Charlotte Louise Dolan (26 page)

“Beg pardon, ma’am.” Sally came up the narrow stairs into the attic, followed by another of the maids and a footman. “We haven’t found hide nor hair of the boy, but we found some things we thought you ought to know about.”

She handed Anne a man’s handkerchief. “‘Tis Lord Leatham’s. It has his monogram embroidered there in one corner. I found it by Lord Andrew’s pillow.”

The other maid then handed Anne a small bottle of cobalt blue glass. “And I found this under Lord Wylington’s bed. I ain’t never seen it in this house before. It’s got something writ on it.”

Ether,
Anne read with a sinking heart. Any last hopes she might have had, no matter how faint, now died. This was not a childish prank. Whoever had taken the boy had carefully planned the abduction.

“And I found these tucked behind a bush by the little side door that is usually kept locked.” The footman held up a pair of muddy boots. “His lordship’s new pair. It appears they’ve been worn in a bog. And there’s no bogs here about, except if you go south, and no one in this house has any business going in that direction.”

From the size of them, Anne could not doubt that they did in truth belong to Lord Leatham. Nor could she doubt the condemnation that was written on the servants’ faces as plainly as the word
ether
was written on the label.

With a feeling of revulsion, she set the blue bottle down on the windowsill, where it sparkled prettily in the sunlight, its evilness disguised as completely as the evilness of whoever had thought up this plot.

Anne was feeling very discouraged. She and the servants had searched the entire house from cellars to attics, and the only result of the search was that she now had cobwebs in her hair, smudges on her face, grubby hands, and an extremely long mental list of housekeeping jobs that should be undertaken.

But of Anthony, the object of their search, there was no sign nor had they found any other clues to his disappearance other than the monogrammed handkerchief, the ether bottle, and the muddy boots.

Unfortunately, checking the house was a minor task compared to checking the endless moor around them. She decided to wash the dirt from her face and hands, then join the men searching the moor.

The unwelcome presence of Mrs. Pierce-Smythe in Anne’s room was an unexpected inconvenience, but a very minor one. With only a glance at her cousin, Anne poured some water from the pitcher into the basin and began to wash her hands.

“So, my dear Lady Gloriana, it is indeed you. When my servants reported there was a giantess living here, I thought it could be no one but you, and see, I was correct in my assumption, for here you are in truth. How very propitious to find you here.”

Mrs. Pierce-Smythe’s feline smile indicated she thought it was more than propitious, that it was a veritable stroke of good fortune, and the cold and calculating look in her eyes made it a sure thing that she would do her best to take full advantage of said luck.

With her mind full of anxiety for the missing child, Anne was unwilling to devote proper attention to Dear Aunt Rosemary’s social ambitions. “Propitious? In what way?” Actually, Anne had not the slightest doubt what Mrs. Pierce-Smythe had in mind, but she wondered to herself just how blatant her cousin’s attempt at manipulation would be.

“I am afraid I do not know a delicate way to put it, but have you perhaps kept your identity a deep, dark secret here? The servants refer to you simply as Miss Hemsworth, rather than as Lady Gloriana.”

Anne was suddenly tired of all the assumed coyness, and she decided that even if Dear Aunt Rosemary were determined to hint around, she herself was equally determined to come right to the point. “If you intend to blackmail me by threatening to reveal my ‘deep, dark secret,’ feel free. I care not one way or another who knows that my father was the Earl of Faussley.”

Momentarily taken aback, the widow made a game recovery. “But surely it will cost you your job if Lord Leatham discovers you have deceived him. Surely you do not wish that, when I ask so little of you. Merely to use your influence on my behalf ...” Again Mrs. Pierce-Smythe let her voice trail off, rather than coming right out and saying what she had in mind.

A wicked impulse tempted Anne, and such was her mood that she made no attempt to suppress it. “Oh, my dear cousin, I had no idea you wished for my help. Why of course, I shall be delighted to speak on your behalf. Blood is thicker than water, after all, and you did take me in when I was a penniless orphan.”

“Why, my dear child, that is truly generous of you.” Mrs. Pierce-Smythe was at once all smiles. “I should have known you would not forget your dear cousins.”

“I would have come forward sooner, but I had no idea you were fallen upon such hard times. But you need worry no longer. I am sure Mrs. Wiggins can find you a suitable position, perhaps as companion to some elderly lady? I am afraid you do not have the proper credentials to be a governess, but with me to vouch for you, I am sure Mrs. Wiggins can find you gainful employment.”

“Mrs. Wiggins? Employment?” Mrs. Pierce-Smythe’s look of shock was rapidly replaced by hostility, which she no longer made any effort to disguise.

“Why, yes. Did you not say you wished me to use my influence on your behalf?” Anne feigned confusion.

Mrs.  Pierce-Smythe was truly stunned speechless, but unfortunately for Anne, the condition was only temporary.

“I have
not
fallen upon hard times, and I do
not
wish to have anything to do with your Mrs. Wiggins.”

Anne finished washing up, and her towel was very convenient for hiding her smile. When she was fully recovered and no trace of amusement lingered on her face, she turned again toward her cousin.

“But what else could you mean? Oh, surely you did not think I have any influence in society?” She allowed her jaw to drop open in pretended astonishment. “But my Dear Aunt Rosemary, you cannot have thought things through carefully. I have no ‘place’ in society other than as a mere governess—although ‘mere’ is perhaps not the best description for an overly large governess, do you not agree?” And then Anne gave in to laughter she could no longer suppress.

It was indeed fortunate Dear Aunt Rosemary had never been one to pay much note to other people’s feelings, except in so far as they related to herself and to her own ambitions, else she might have realized the laughter was caused more by Anne’s overset nerves than by the humor of the request, and indeed, it was only with great difficulty that Anne was able to keep the laughter from becoming tears.

As soon as Mrs. Pierce-Smythe had left the room in a huff, however, Anne collapsed on the bed and allowed her tears for Anthony’s safety to surface. But a few minutes later, her practical nature and common sense reasserted themselves, and she rose, dried her eyes, and went to join the others.

* * * *

Anthony arrived at the rocks he was heading for, then scrambled up on the tallest one and surveyed his surroundings from that vantage point. Far off in the distance and slightly to the left a bit he saw some other rocks that looked vaguely familiar. There was a tall one at the west end, and three shorter ones to the east, and the last short one jutted out at an angle, rather than standing erect.

From the window of the schoolroom he could, on a clear day, see a similar arrangement of rocks. If they were indeed the back side of the same formation, he was not all that far from home. And breakfast, his stomach reminded him.

He was only halfway to the rocks when he became aware of several other figures on the moor, moving back and forth in sweeping patterns. One smaller figure suddenly began running toward him, and he realized it was Drew. All his anxieties vanished, now that they were together again.

His brother stopped a few feet away and regarded him with a critical eye. “You were gone,” Andrew said in an accusing voice. “Without me.”

“Somebody carried me out onto the moor and left me tied up.” Anthony held up the rope. “But they didn’t know anything about real knots, so I didn’t have much trouble getting untied.”

“Whoever it was, they should have taken both of us.”

“That’s what I thought. You want to carry the rope?” Anthony offered magnanimously.

“Course,” his brother replied.

The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder back to meet their guardian, who stood about a hundred yards away waiting for them, an impassive expression on his face.

* * * *

Anne was taking tea on the upper terrace with the twins and Lord Leatham. It was the day after the great adventure, as the boys had taken to calling it. Anne could only be grateful the experience had made them indignant rather than fearful.

Much to her relief, Mrs. Pierce-Smythe had earlier in the day coerced Trussell into accompanying her and her daughter into Tavistock to go shopping. Anne was relishing not only the resulting peace and quiet, but also the chance to be private with the twins and Lord Leatham.

To be sure, she could not keep from wishing Trussell and the two ladies would keep right on driving through Tavistock and on to London, but she would be grateful for what she had received.

“Have you noticed the gardener is spending more time watching us than tending to the roses?” Lord Leatham interrupted her thoughts to comment in a low voice.

“That is hardly surprising, considering how worried all the servants have been since they realized it was not another of the twins’ pranks,” she replied. “I think it is rather touching that they are all conspiring now to keep a careful watch over the boys, so that the perpetrator will not have a chance to strike again.”

“Touching? I had not thought you a fool, Miss Hemsworth.”

“I see nothing foolish in taking special precautions, Lord Leatham. Surely you cannot doubt that someone has on two occasions acted with deliberate malice aforethought?”

“You delude yourself. You see only what you wish to see.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning the servants are not making an effort to watch over the boys. It is me they are determined not to let out of their sights, since they have cast me in the role of arch villain.”

“You? But—”

“But what? But they could not possibly suspect me? But they could not believe that I am trying to murder my wards so that I can inherit the title and the estate? But what, Miss Hemsworth?”

Anne was silent. Now that he had called it to her attention, she did realize that the only time during the day when there had been no servant in sight was the hour Lord Leatham had closeted himself in the study with the bailiff.

“Do you wish to have me enumerate the evidence against me?” he continued when she did not respond. ‘ To begin with, there was the shot fired from my dueling pistol. Then my handkerchief was used when the ether was administered, and it was my boots that apparently decided to go for a walk in that bog. And as for motive, it is the oldest in the world—title, land, and money, it all comes to me if the boys die with no heirs.”

There was nothing Anne could say to refute the bald facts he had just recited. But the conclusions the servants had drawn were all wrong, of that she was certain.

“I think it is pointless to dwell on what is past, my lord. More to the point, we should be figuring out how to prevent a third incident.”

The boys had stopped their own conversation and were now listening intently to the adults.

“And how do you purpose to do that, Miss Hemsworth? Look around you,” Lord Leatham waved his hand at the moor and then at Wylington Manor. “It would take an army of servants watching, and still the villain will be able to find an opportunity. And the next time, if he is only patient and chooses his time wisely, he will doubtless be more successful.”

“So are you still of the opinion that it is a servant wanting revenge for a childish prank?” she asked.

“Who else? There have been no strangers around, or we would have seen them. I would, of course, prefer to cast Mrs. Pierce-Smythe in the role of villainess, but unfortunately she was still racketing around London when the pistol shot was fired.”

“It could be Uncle Creighton,” Anthony piped up.

“He is not really very fond of us,” Andrew pointed out.

“Although he pretends to be.”

“And we are not fond of him, so we wouldn’t mind at all if he got sent to jail,” Anthony pointed out.

“But your uncle lacks a motive,” Anne explained.

“Yes,” Lord Leatham added, “and furthermore, he knows very well that if I inherit Wylington Manor, he will be out on his ear in an instant, with no place he can retire to when the tipstaffs are after him in London.”

“But he is stupid enough to have done it,” Andrew explained.

“Unfortunately, stupidity is not considered reason to send people to jail,” Anne said.

“Else the jails would be full,” Lord Leatham added under his breath.

“We had better all go on a trip around the world,” Anthony suggested.

Anne started to explain why that was impossible, but then it occurred to her that although an extended trip might be out of the question, a shorter one might actually be very practical. Turning to Lord Leatham, she asked, “Do you not think it might indeed be wise for the boys to leave Wylington Manor for a while? Since we do not know which of the servants to be wary of?”

“Not just Tony and me; all four of us must go,” Andrew said.

“Drew and me and you and Uncle Bronson,” Anthony added.

“I am afraid it would not be proper for me to go with you,” Anne started to explain. “You would be staying at inns and—”

“No,” Lord Leatham said flatly. “No inns. They are by far too public to be safe. I think it would be better if we simply removed to Sidmouth.”

“Sidmouth? Why Sidmouth?” she asked, puzzled by his seemingly random choice of destination.

“Because it is on the seacoast,” Anthony said.

“And because we can go bathing in the ocean,” Andrew explained.

“And because we have been wanting Uncle Bronson to take us there for ages.”

“I own a house in Sidmouth,” Lord Leatham explained. “So it will be an ideal place for what we need. And we shall take none of the servants with us—no nanny, no grooms, no maids, no footmen.”