“What will you do to help Lady Evelyn find a good husband?” asked Mrs. Keegan.
“Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to discuss Lady Evelyn’s concerns. But I would like to know about the portrait…”
“Everyone knows about the late earl’s will,” said Logan. “As well as the current earl’s efforts to steal the land from Lady Evelyn. It’s a shameful thing, it is. The old earl would not want any part of it.”
“He would be most upset to think of his tenants being displaced, ‘tis true,” said Oates. “And I think it’s horrible making poor Lady Evelyn marry in such a short amount of time, especially since there’s not a man good enough for her, if I do say so.”
“She is well liked in the county?” asked Stapleton.
“All but worshipped,” said Logan. “She is most generous with her tenants and lends a hand to even those who don’t live on her land. She and the Duke of Lynwood pay for most services in the county. They make sure the church roof never leaks, they forgive rents when the harvest is poor and they provide a surgeon to anyone who needs one, regardless of whether they can pay.”
“On more than one occasion, we’ve found her taking on more than her share of the expenses,” said Mr. Keegan. “We made sure to tell the duke and he always provided the necessary payment.”
“She wasn’t too pleased the last time you did that,” said Mrs. Keegan. “She feels that since the duke doesn’t live here, he shouldn’t have to pay as much. But that’s certainly not how his grace sees it. If Lady Evelyn has a fault, and you’d have to search to find one, it’s that she can be too independent. What she needs is a good man to take care of her. Do you have any suggestions on that front, Inspector?”
“Joseph, please. I did accompany Lady Evelyn today when she went riding with Mr. Kensington.”
“You mean that popinjay?” asked Mrs. Keegan. “I would have thought he’d have given up the chase long ago, especially now that Viscount Smithton and Professor Dodson are in the running, as well.”
“What did you think of Mr. Kensington, Joseph?” asked Logan.
“I do not know him well enough to make an informed judgment.”
“But I reckon you made a decision on whether or not he was good enough for Lady Evelyn,” said Mr. Keegan, his keen gaze upon him.
Joseph was adept at hiding his emotions and intentions. He had to be for his job. But he had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to hide his thoughts about Lady Evelyn from this group of people. He sighed. “No, I did not think he was good enough for Lady Evelyn, though I have nothing to base that on, other than just a general feeling.”
“A person can tell a lot about a man, just by how they feel about him,” said Oates, with a glance at Logan.
Joseph didn’t miss her accompanying blush. “Is there a reason Lady Evelyn should avoid a marriage with Kensington?”
“None that we know of,” said Logan. “I do think she’d be better suited with the viscount or the professor, though we don’t know either of them well.”
Mrs. Keegan snorted delicately. “From what I heard, the viscount would rather talk about crop rotation than poetry or some other romantic thing to win Lady Evelyn’s affections. And the professor just likes to hear himself talk about anything.”
Joseph thought about both men he would meet in the next few days. “Well, Lady Evelyn does run her estate. Perhaps she would like to discuss crops.”
“No lady wants to hear about fertilizer instead of poetry,” scoffed Mrs. Keegan.
“And you can trust Mrs. Keegan on what women want,” said her husband.
Joseph continued. “What about the professor? Given Lady Evelyn’s love of reading, I would think they could be a good match.” And it gave him an unwelcome stab of jealousy to think of it, despite never having met the man.
Mrs. Keegan shook her head vigorously. “She may love to read, but what Lady Evelyn needs is a real man to share her burden, then give her a good bedding.” She turned to the shocked faces around her. “I did not say aught but the truth. How do you think Mr. Keegan and I have had such a long and happy marriage?”
The others were too scared to guess.
Mr. Keegan patted his wife’s hand. “There, there my love. Perhaps we should leave the young people. It is time for us to retire.” He slowly rose from the table, then helped his wife to her feet. No one in the room could miss the obvious love and affection between them.
Oates and Martha rose to clear the table, leaving Joseph with Logan. “You don’t think the Keegans still, well, exercise their marital rights?” asked Joseph.
Logan’s answer was a grin. “Trust me. They do.”
CHAPTER SIX
As Joseph arrived at Lady Evelyn’s estate the next morning shortly before eleven of the clock, he learned Viscount Smithton had already arrived and was inside the manor. As Joseph left Rocinante with a groom, he looked at the sleigh that was waiting. It was to be pulled by two matched greys, with a coachman to do the driving. The backseat of the sleigh was wide enough to accommodate four, complete with ornately carved wood and tufted leather seats.
Stapleton had never seen the like of it. Of course, London was hardly the place for such a conveyance but he had to acknowledge that it was yet another difference between him and Lady Evelyn – as if the gap in their stations had not already been wide enough. She was used to a life in the country where a sleigh ride was common. He was used to life in the crowded city, where just walking across a busy street could sometimes take a quarter of an hour.
The doors to the manor opened and Viscount Smithton emerged, with Lady Evelyn on his arm. Smithton was well over six feet tall with blond hair and blue eyes. Unlike Kensington, he had not a spare ounce of fat on him. He was laughing at something Lady Evelyn had just said. His response made her laugh in return.
Joseph took an unfair and immediate dislike to the man.
Lady Evelyn smiled at him. “Inspector Stapleton, thank you for joining us today. Geoffrey Albemarle, Viscount Smithton, may I present Inspector Joseph Stapleton, the gentleman I told you about.”
“Pleased to meet you, Inspector,” said Smithton, with an easy smile. He held out his hand, which Joseph shook with civility.
More or less.
Smithton continued. “I have brought nuncheon and there should be enough for all three of us, especially since Lady Evelyn eats like a bird.”
Joseph nudged away the irritation that Smithton should be familiar with Lady Evelyn’s dietary habits. He hoped she wasn’t the type of lady who was foolish enough to eat too little in an attempt to attract a man. He let his eyes roam over her figure. Her cheeks were neither sallow nor plump. The long line of her neck led to the graceful curve of her shoulders. Her nicely rounded bosom…
It was a good thing Smithton was occupied instructing his driver, for he did not notice Lady Evelyn neatly catching Joseph’s perusal of her form. Her lips almost smiled but did not quite. But her eyes were filled with amusement. Joseph coughed and looked away.
“Are you unwell, Inspector?” she asked.
“No, I am in good health, thank you.”
“Are you certain? For a moment, it appeared as if you lost focus. Your eyes drifted and I thought you might have the headache.”
“Thank you, my lady. But I am quite well.” The minx was teasing him, which made him want to rake her slowly with his eyes and let her feel every inch of it. But the damned viscount was finished with his driver.
“Shall we depart, my lady?” Smithton helped Evelyn into the sleigh, taking his seat on the other side of her, while Joseph sat next to her on the near end. Smithton pulled the lap robe up, tucking it around Evelyn. She unfolded it, offering some to both men, briefly touching Joseph’s thigh as she did so.
Joseph was glad the robe covered his rather intense reaction.
As the sleigh began to glide across the snow, Smithton breathed deeply of the crisp country air. “Welcome to Oxfordshire, Inspector. I imagine it’s not quite what you are used to in London.”
>
“I must say that winter in the country is a good deal more attractive than in the city. The snow loses some of its luster when mixed with the grime of London.”
“I do not care for London all that much,” admitted Smithton. “Fortunately, my title is but an honorary one. At some point in the future when I am the earl, I shall have to spend more time in town as I take my seat in Parliament. But for now, I am quite happy at my estate.”
“Where is your land?’ asked Joseph.
“Three miles to the east. But I often make the trip into Caversham when there is such good company to be had.” He smiled at Evelyn with teeth as white as the country snow. “Lady Evelyn, have I told you about my plans to sow a new barley that produces an especially good yield?”
“No, my lord. I do not believe you have,” she said.
Thus began a half hour lecture on the newest grain varietal guaranteed to improve harvests. Smithton was no gentleman farmer who left the work to his steward. On the contrary, he felt no detail was too small for his notice, none too insignificant to discuss at length. Evelyn asked intelligent questions, showing an in-depth knowledge of her estate and the agriculture of the county. She seemed interested in what Smithton was saying. Joseph usually enjoyed learning new things, but he didn’t particularly like having the viscount as a teacher. So, he concentrated instead on the picturesque – yet freezing – scenery and thought about how his left thigh had somehow found itself pressed against Evelyn’s right one. And how she hadn’t moved away.
The spot where Smithton had chosen to take nuncheon was at the top of a small hill, offering a view of the valley below. The coachman placed the picnic hamper on the seat opposite them.
Lady Evelyn began to reach for it, until Smithton stayed her hand.
“Inspector, what say we work up an appetite before we eat?”
Joseph wanted to reply that they could just eat, instead. But he was polite for Evelyn’s sake. “What do you suggest?”
“Perhaps a run to the great rock and back?”
Joseph looked to where Smithton was pointing. He could see the vague outline of a rock some one hundred yards away.
“How will we run in the snow? It must be up to our knees or deeper.”
“With snow shoes, of course,” said Smithton with great vigor. “I always carry two pairs in the boot. John, do be so good as to get the snow shoes for us.”
Evelyn cleared her throat. “It is such a beautiful day and I have already worked up an appetite. Perhaps we should all remain here and eat.”
“But what would be the sport in that?” asked Smithton with an affable grin before taking a pair of snow shoes from his coachman, attaching them and leaping out of the sleigh. He quite merrily tromped around the sleigh, patting his horses as he did so.
“Do you think it might be possible to leave him here?” asked Joseph as he rather awkwardly tried to fasten his snow shoes.
“Do not tell me this is not a part of your regular routine,” Evelyn replied, with eyes dancing.
“Of course it is,” he said, carefully disembarking from the sleigh. “Each time I must chase a villain in winter, I stop for a quarter of an hour to put on my snow shoes. Wouldn’t anyone?”
She laughed. And once again everything was right with the world.
Until the exuberant viscount called out to him. “Ho, Inspector!” With that the man was off, hopping across the snow like a winter hare. A mad one.
Joseph took a deep breath then went in pursuit, though his strides were not nearly as smooth as the viscount’s. Given the conditioning required for his job, he was in excellent shape. He was closing the gap, but the viscount’s head start was too great. It was a rare peer who kept himself in good condition, but this one obviously did. At least Lady Evelyn would not have to worry about the viscount dying of an infirm heart if she married him.
The thought gave Joseph little comfort.
“Ho!” said Smithton, as he passed him on the way back. “Better shake a leg, Inspector, if you expect to arrive back by nightfall.”
Joseph seriously considered the idea of slowing Smithton by delivering a densely-packed snowball to his head. Yet he trudged on, dutifully touching the rock and beginning the return trip to the sleigh. At this point, he began gaining on Smithton, having grown accustomed to the snow shoes. Had there been an additional ten yards, he could have caught him. But, alas, Smithton reached Lady Evelyn before him.
“It is a good thing there were no villains threatening Lady Evelyn,” said Smithton with a grin. “You might want to pick up the pace next time, Inspector.”
Stapleton once again considered the expediency of the snowball and this time was not so swift to reject the idea.
Perhaps reading his mind, Lady Evelyn said, “I took the liberty of making plates for you two. I imagine a glass of cider would be most refreshing right now.”
Joseph took his glass gratefully, purposely letting his fingers brush against Evelyn’s. Her color heightened and he liked to think it was not just because of the cold.
Smithton, in the meantime, was expounding on his daily regime of exercise. “In the summer, I run through the fields, before swimming in the lake. It is most invigorating. I also keep a few fence posts on hand to lift in order to keep my muscles in shape. Do you do anything similar, Inspector?”
“Unfortunately, there is a dearth of fence posts in Cheapside, but I do a great deal of walking and running with my job, with some lifting at night as I work on my house.”
“What are you doing with your house?” Evelyn asked.
He hadn’t wanted to reveal quite that much about his life. He rarely spoke to anyone of his world outside of Bow Street, save for a few friends. “It is nothing, really.”
“Yet, I would like to hear it.”
It was one more difference between them, the fact that he was personally doing much of the work to fix up his three-story home in Cheapside. He could afford to have someone do the work, but he chose not to. “I have been refurbishing my home. While I need assistance with some of it, I enjoy carpentry. There is something soothing about knowing what task lies ahead of you, then doing it to completion. So often in my work at Bow Street, there is no such closure.”
She was silent for a moment and he was afraid she did not know what to say to someone working with their hands in such a way.
But then she spoke. “I can imagine it to be a very fulfilling experience. Creating something from start to finish. Nurturing it along the way. I daresay you appreciate it much more when you have toiled to bring the changes to fruition.”
Just like that, Lady Evelyn summed up his thoughts on the subject.
Just like that it was like she’d visited his mind.
Just like that, Joseph knew it would be impossible to judge her potential suitors with an unbiased mind when he wanted her so much for himself.
* * *
At that moment, the servants of Jasmine Manor were also sitting down to nuncheon, but without having had to engage in athletics prior to doing so.
“I have high hopes for our Joseph,” said Mrs. Keegan. “From the very first moment when he saw the duke and duchess, I knew he was a right one.”
Her husband nodded. “His grace does not trust others easily. His closest friends have always been his brothers and sister, along with the Marquess of Riverton. We knew right away that if Joseph was his friend, he was a good man.”
“But how can we ensure that he and Lady Evelyn form an understanding?” asked Oates. “I am afraid he’ll oppose the match because he is not of her class.”
“I don’t think her ladyship would feel that way,” said Logan. “From what I hear from her servants…”
“I hope you were not gossiping about his grace’s guest with her ladyship’s servants,” admonished Mr. Keegan.
“Indeed, that would be most inappropriate,” agreed his wife. “What did they say?”
Logan lowered his voice to a whisper. “They said Lady Evelyn took special care while dressing ye
sterday.”
“That is a good sign,” said Oates. “But perhaps it was in anticipation of seeing Mr. Kensington, though that is a lowering thought, indeed.”
“Bah!” said Mrs. Keegan. “She would not marry the squire’s son, though his family would dearly love to get their hands on her estate. If you ask me, they’re just as likely to sell the land to the mining company as Lady Evelyn’s scapegrace cousin. No, she wasn’t making herself look good for the Kensington lad. She wanted to impress Joseph.”
“I just wish there was some way we could help her,” said Oates.
The four servants sipped their tea in silence for a moment until Logan said “I have an idea.”
* * *
Joseph rode Rocinante back to Jasmine Manor at a pace much slower than the stallion would have liked. But he needed time to think before arriving at the house. The sleigh ride back to Evelyn’s hadn’t been any more interesting than on the way out. Smithton had droned on and on about crops and his animals. The only moment of interest had been when Evelyn had brought up the subject of sheep wrangling, telling Smithton that Joseph was a veritable expert at it. Of course Smithton had taken that opportunity to challenge him to some sort of sheep wrangling contest, no doubt to be carried out in the middle of snow up to their chest, followed by an invigorating swim in a frozen lake.
As much as Joseph did not like the match personally – and it would do no good to dwell on that – it appeared that Smithton was an appropriate suitor for Lady Evelyn, at least as judged on what he had seen today. The viscount inexplicably liked living in the middle of nowhere, which meant Lady Evelyn could stay in the area. Joseph knew of Smithton’s father, the Earl of Coughley, by reputation. He was, by all accounts, a perfectly upstanding peer who took his duties in Lords seriously and had never run afoul of the law. Or, if he had, it had all been discreetly covered up.
If Lady Evelyn asked his opinion of Smithton, he would have to be guardedly in favor of the match. Though Smithton’s teeth were a bit too white and he did seem rather too insistent on physical challenges and significant evidence pointed to him being a boring conversationalist. But other than that, Joseph had no real objections.
Never Turn Away (Kellington Book Six) Page 5