The Barrister's Challenge: Sweet Regency Romance (Heirs of Berkshire Book 2)

by Karen Lynne

  Henrietta wouldn’t mind the company. She could ask about the maid and the groom that Daniel hired. Henrietta would know more than Walter, since she had been home at the time of their employment.

  In the guise of riding, she changed into her riding habit, and pinned her hat to her head. She slipped down the back stairs, avoiding her mother as she made her way to the stables. A stable hand had her mare ready within the hour, and she soon had her horse galloping across the field.

  She loved this time of year. The summer had cooled into fall and the air had that crisp feel, like winter was just around the corner.

  Making her way to the front of the manor, a groom took her mare as she walked to the door. Patience banged the large brass knocker at the entrance, then stepped back and waited.

  The butler opened the door. “How may I assist you, miss?”

  She smiled at the old man who had been serving the Longman family for as long as she could remember. “I’m here to visit Miss Henrietta. Is she accepting callers?”

  “Right this way, miss,” he sniffed, stepping aside, letting her into the front parlor.

  “Thank you.” She settled on a chair while she waited for Henrietta.

  Her eyes wandered to the paintings hanging on the walls, then to the vases of wilted funeral flowers lined up along the mantel.

  Footsteps sounded from the hallway, then Henrietta entered, looking at Patience in surprise.

  “Miss Hawthorn. I wasn’t expecting your visit today.”

  Patience stood. “I was hoping to give you some company, Henrietta. We haven’t talked in so long.” She hoped she wasn’t intruding on the girl. She had been closer to Walter’s age and had always gravitated toward him instead of his sister.

  Henrietta looked at Patience, her eyes still sad about losing her brother.

  “I haven’t seen many people since the accident.”

  Patience’s heart fell. This entire time she had been giving all her worries to Walter, forgetting that his family had been grieving as well, if not more so because they had depended on Daniel for so much.

  “I understand, and I’m sorry I’ve stayed away for so long. I should have remembered you and not just Walter.”

  Henrietta looked to her with questioning eyes, and rightfully so. After things fell apart with her brother and then being brought back from London so suddenly, it was a wonder anyone in the neighborhood welcomed her at all.

  Henrietta paused, glancing awkwardly at her, and Patience took this as her opportunity. She looked around, trying to communicate her true purpose in coming.

  “It’s especially tidy in here. Did you acquire a new maid?”

  Henrietta looked around, a frown creasing her brow. She looked like Walter when she frowned.

  “Yes, I believe so. Anna. She’s a sweet woman. About your age.” Henrietta gestured to the loveseat. “Please, won’t you sit down?”

  Patience complied. “How are you faring? Is there anything I can do to help ease your burdens?”

  Henrietta sat gracefully across from Patience and clasped her hands in her lap.

  “I’m as well as one might expect. I suppose only time will dull the pain, but it will never go away. Not completely.” She lifted her eyes to Patience. “I’ve been writing a new song to pass the time. Would you like to hear?”

  “Yes, I certainly would,” Patience said, thankful to have more time in Walter’s home.

  Henrietta led her to another room where the pianoforte stood against bay windows. “Do you play? I can’t remember.”

  “Not well,” Patience admitted.

  Henrietta sat at the pianoforte and began a melancholy song, infused with whatever grief she carried. Patience felt for Walter’s young sister and wondered if there was more to offer the girl in support, for Patience knew what it was like to have little hope of the future to anchor one’s feelings to.

  Henrietta played another melancholy song, and Patience soon became weary of the depressing tunes of the minor chords. She stood as Henrietta finished.

  “I am thirsty. Do you think it is almost time for tea?”

  “Oh, I am sorry. Yes, let me fetch Mama.”

  Henrietta stood, but Patience waved her down.

  “No, it would be a delight if you would continue playing. You have such a wonderful talent. I can find a maid.”

  Henrietta hesitated, then took her seat again behind the pianoforte and began playing yet another dreary song.

  Patience took a relieved breath before ducking out of the room. She walked up the stairs to the study. She wanted to search for any more useful records Daniel had kept regarding the new hires. Walter had been so focused on that letter she was sure there was something they missed. The house was quiet, and she didn’t encounter any servants. Opening the door softly, she quietly entered the study, closing the door behind her. Going to the cupboards first, looking through the nooks and crannies. She knew she shouldn’t be snooping, but Walter had practically given her permission. She kept an ear out for the music downstairs, its melancholy tones easily sounding through the house.

  She found the book she sought with information of the servants. She scanned the new groom’s documentation. He’d come with good references from respectable people in the neighborhood, names she recognized. There didn’t seem to be anything suspicious, though it didn’t seem they needed another groom. Why would Daniel have overstaffed the house? Perhaps Daniel had been planning on purchasing more horses.

  Setting aside the groom’s documentation, she found the maid’s. Anna Hopkins seemed to have gone from household to household, hardly able to keep a job, though there was no mention of Anna’s shortcomings in the file.

  Patience frowned, scanning the list of her previous employers. Her heart nearly skipped a beat as she read the well-known name. Lord Danbury. Anna had worked in his household for two years, being dismissed after Lord Danbury’s latest wife had passed away.

  Patience listened when she noticed silence echoed throughout the house. Henrietta had stopped playing. She quickly gathered up the documents and stuffed them back into the file, replacing them into the drawer. When the keys of the pianoforte began tinkling again, Patience relaxed. She needed to return to Henrietta before they caught her snooping.

  Patience stepped back into the corridor when a movement caught the corner of her eye. Patience looked up at a maid with light brown hair pulled back into a bun, staring, her eyes narrowed.

  “What’s all this, miss?” the maid asked.

  Patience wavered, trying to think up an excuse. “Henrietta asked if I might fetch her a shawl. I believe I got lost.”

  It was clear the maid didn’t believe her.

  “I reckon I’d best ask Henrietta about that shawl,” she said slowly.

  Patience bit her lip. “Are you Anna?”

  The maid’s frown deepened. “Who wants to know?”

  “My name is Patience. Patience Hawthorn. I have a few questions for you.”

  The maid looked taken aback for a moment, but she quickly replaced her scowl. “What questions?”

  As the music still hung in the air, Patience took courage. “I wanted to know… where you were the day Daniel Longman died.”

  Anna’s eyes lit, and Patience wasn’t sure if she liked the way Anna’s lips quivered into a little smirk. “I can show you if you like.”

  Surprised at the maid’s answer, she nodded her head, accepting the offer. “By all means,” she said.

  Anna led her down the servant’s stairs, wiping her hands on her apron. “Mr. Longman was a kind soul he was,” she said over her shoulder as Patience followed. “Took me on when no one else would.”

  “Why ever not?” Patience inquired, relieved she was finally getting somewhere.

  Anna opened the back door, leading Patience out into the back gardens.

  “Too much history,” Anna said darkly. “One master couldn’t bear the sight of me and sent me off. Another didn’t like the way I polished his shoes and sent me packing. One’
s child died in my arms—nothing I could do. The child was sickly—blamed me and let me go. It’s been a hard life, miss.”

  This was true enough, but the maid’s smirk set something off in Patience and she instantly put her guard up, watching the maid carefully as she led her through the gardens toward a thicket of trees just ahead. She was a woman of unfortunate circumstances but was it entirely coincidental? Anna had a child die in her care, Lord Danbury’s wife had passed away while she was there, and now Daniel… It was too coincidental.

  Patience stopped in her tracks when Anna made no sign of slowing.

  Realizing Patience was no longer following, Anna turned to face her. “Coming, miss?”

  “I… I don’t want to leave Henrietta’s company entirely. Not while she’s expecting me back any moment.”

  “It’s not far,” Anna promised. “There’s something there you should see.”

  Patience hesitated, looking at the thick trees and underbrush ahead. She and Walter used to play there. A small candle factory lay just off Walter’s property, but not much else stood near it. Why would Anna be out here?

  Anna shrugged. “Fine by me. Mr. Longman had told me to keep it a secret, so a secret it shall remain.”

  Patience bit her lip as Anna walked back to the house. “Wait.”

  Anna turned. Her eyebrows raised.

  Patience let out a breath. “Just hurry, please.”

  Anna nodded. “Right this way, miss.”

  Patience followed her into the thicket, which turned into a dense forest. Squirrels and birds chattered in the trees, giving Patience comfort as she walked.

  “How much farther?” she asked.

  “Nearly there.”

  Patience’s senses heightened, her heart beating in her eardrums as she realized they were indeed heading for the candle factory. The situation she was in made little sense. Why was a maid showing a complete stranger a potential secret of Daniel Longman’s? Why would it be all the way out here in the first place?

  The old factory cropped up in the underbrush. The caved-in roof was visible from afar. It was even more run down since she and Walter explored it when they were children. How long had it been? The years had slipped away.

  Anna pointed. “In there.”

  Patience stopped, peering into the dark interior. Only patches of light filtered through the broken roof.

  “We need not go any further,” she said, doubtful of the maid’s motives.

  “It’s safe,” Anna assured, though it did not bring much comfort as Anna’s hands twisted in the fabric of her dress.

  Anna’s eyes flickered from tree to tree as if she were nervous.

  Patience felt unsettled, something in the maid's behavior. It was time to leave, return to the house. Henrietta would wonder where she’d gone. But something inside her urged her to continue on. If she were to find the answers to Daniel’s murder, Walter would come back to her. Let her share his life, even without her parents’ blessing. She was sure the maid knew something.

  Swallowing her misgivings, she stepped forward.

  Anna entered the factory first, ducking through the rotting door. Taking a deep breath, Patience moved inside behind her, confident she could stave off the maid if she were attacked.

  A weird thought. Her imagination was running wild.

  She stopped just inside, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness while she looked for Anna. Where had she gone? Her eyes focused, then her blood ran cold. A sinking feeling settled into her heart.

  She’d walked into a trap.

  Walter’s face flashed in her mind as the end of a shovel whizzed toward her head, giving her little time to react. She turned, splitting pain blossomed at the side of her skull, then she fell to her knees. The world darkened around her as she fell to the ground, her hands scraping against twigs, dried leaves, pain, then blackness.

  Chapter 14

  Walter rode on horseback into Wallingford in his haste to return promptly, thinking of his family and Patience.

  He was always thinking of Patience.

  Lord Danbury’s threat had shaken him, and he needed to know his family was safe. He made it back to Wallingford in record time, only stopping twice to rest his horse before riding out again. He rode up the cobbled drive, praying to find his mother and sister safe, painting and playing the pianoforte. If everything was sound, he would check on Patience. He needed to inform her of everything he had learned. With the two of them working together, he was sure they could come up with the evidence he needed to bring Lord Danbury to justice.

  He dismounted, ran up the steps, and stepped into the hall. An unusual quiet met his ears. The pianoforte was silent. Henrietta had been drumming on the thing incessantly since his first arrival. It was her way of dealing with the loss, so he couldn’t deny her the distraction.

  It felt like his heart was in his throat as he ascended the stairs. “Henrietta!” he called. “Henrietta, are you here?”

  A door to the drawing room opened, and his mother appeared. “Walter, whatever is the matter? Why are you shouting?”

  Walter rushed to his mother, catching her elbows.

  “Mother, have you seen Henrietta?”

  His mother blinked, alarm welling in her eyes. “Yes, she was at dinner not half an hour ago. Tell me what has happened, Walter.”

  He turned toward Henrietta’s room, leaving his mother standing in the hall.

  “Henrietta?” He knocked loudly on her closed door.

  “Leave me alone.” Her voice sounded thick with anguished sobs.

  His concern spiked as he twisted the knob, pushing the door open to find Henrietta laying on her bed, hugging a pillow. Tears streaked down her face. She was otherwise unharmed, though she cast him an icy glare.

  “I told you to leave me alone,” she whimpered.

  Walter slowly sat on the edge of her bed as his mother entered behind him, hovering in concern.

  “Why are you crying, Henrietta?” he gently asked.

  They had all been through so much as of late.

  His sister buried her face in her pillow. “I don’t want to talk of it,” she mumbled through the cushion.

  Walter looked to his mother, who had taken a seat on the opposite side of the bed. She bent to stroke her distraught daughter’s hair. Henrietta turned to her mother as she softly comforted her daughter.

  His mother looked up, concern in her eyes. “Miss Hawthorn came to see her this morning. Henrietta began playing for her, and Miss Hawthorn left without a word.”

  “She hated my music!” Henrietta wailed into her pillow.

  Walter’s heart twisted. This wasn’t like Patience at all. “Miss Hawthorn was here? When did she leave?”

  “Before noon, I imagine. That’s when Henrietta realized her guest had left her while she was playing.”

  The story made little sense. “She just got up and… left? Without a word?”

  “She left under the guise of getting the maid to ring for tea,” Henrietta moaned, lifting her head. His mother nodded her confirmation.

  Walter nearly cursed under his breath. He knew exactly what Patience had done. She’d gone to interrogate the servants, but why had she left without a word? The sickening answer penetrated his mind.

  “Mother, have you noticed anything unusual from the servants?”

  His mother frowned. “What an odd question to ask. Of course not.”

  Walter ground his teeth. “Where is the new maid? I want to speak with her.”

  “Anna?” His mother pursed her lips. “We haven’t seen her all day. A shame, because she was supposed to finish the wash today. I must have a talk with her about how this house should be run. It is not the first time she has disappeared, neglecting her duties.”

  “You’re saying she’s missing?” Walter’s mouth went dry.

  His mother nodded. “Yes, I haven’t seen her since noon.”

  About the time Patience went to ask for tea, he thought. “There is something I must attend to. Excuse
me, Mother.” He exited the room before anyone protested.

  He needed to visit Patience to reassure himself everything was as it should be. Patience was safe, surely. At her mother’s side, needlepoint in hand, wishing she was with him. He hoped it was just a coincidence that Anna and Patience had gone at the same time, but doubt niggled in his gut.

  Walter went straight to the stable, retrieving his mount, who was still saddled. He untied the reins as Benjamin appeared. He noticed Patience’s mount grazing in a stall. Strange, she wouldn’t have left without her mare. Panic raised in his gut.

  “Benjamin, I need you to gather the men and safeguard the house ‘til I return. Do not let my mother and sister leave.”

  “Yes, sir.” The groom’s eyes widened.

  He mounted, urging his horse forward, passing a carriage on his way down the road. He’d seen the carriage before, in London, but he had no time to stop. He must see that Patience was safe.

  Patience winced, slowly peeling her eyes open, her head pounding in pain. The setting sun pierced through a broken window, blinding her. Groaning from the throb in her head, her hand moved to feel her temple, only to meet resistance. Her hands were fastened tightly behind her back. How long had she been lying here? Where was she? Memories muddled in her mind.

  Anna. The factory.

  She squinted, trying to look around, gauging her situation, but her head pounded, and her wrists burned from the rope. She closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer.

  Leaves crunched across the ground. Patience opened her eyes, turning toward the sound. She could just make out Anna leaning against the stone wall.

  Her heart sank.

  A shovel stood within arm’s reach of Anna, propped against the corner wall. Anna didn’t smile as she watched Patience, her eyes glinting in the filtered light.