by Anne Herries
‘I wish that you had caught them,’ Susannah said. ‘But the estate is so large and you would need to be searching all day to be sure they were not hiding anywhere on your land.’ She bit her lip. ‘I am afraid you will be angry—but there has been more trouble since I saw you….’
Harry’s gaze narrowed. ‘Pray tell me at once, Susannah. Amelia is not badly hurt?’
‘Oh, no. She was shocked, but not harmed, though her dress was torn. You recall that your mama gave me some pearls last evening?’
‘Yes, she had shown them to me earlier.’
‘They have been stolen—at least, they are not where I placed them. My maid and I searched the room, but they have gone.’
‘Good grief! This is beyond anything!’ Harry looked startled, a glint of anger in his eyes. ‘I shall have the house searched at once in case anything else is missing. The rogues must have got in somehow during the night and taken them. I dare say they attacked Amelia because she disturbed them in the woods, or they may have had hopes of more loot. Has anyone else lost anything?’
‘No one has said anything,’ Susannah told him. ‘Your mama did not think the servants…and I am sure it was not Iris. However, the pearls were there just after I left to go driving with you.’
‘You are sure of this?’
‘Iris saw them, she told me so.’ Susannah frowned. Again, she was un certain whether or not to mention the kerchief, but decided against it. ‘Could someone have crept into the house unnoticed in daylight?’
‘I would not have thought it,’ Harry said and frowned. ‘However, until earlier I would not have thought it possible for anyone to be attacked on my land. I have doubled the patrols, which will continue through out the day and night.’
‘It is all quite horrid,’ Susannah said and shivered. ‘It was bad enough that someone attacked Amelia—but for the pearls to be stolen right here in the house is un pleasant.’
‘Yes, it is, but I am sure you are quite safe now, dearest,’ Harry said. ‘The rogues took what they could and fled. I am sure they are long gone by now. You must promise me this will not spoil things for you, Susannah?’
‘I am not such poor stuff,’ Susannah told him and smiled. ‘I sup pose it is an adventure in a way—but I would far rather it had not happened.’
The guests were asked if they had lost anything. Lady Ethel said that her silver evening purse was missing, but it was eventually found stuffed down the side of a sofa by one of the servants. No one else thought they had lost anything, and there was a general outcry against the rogues who had sneaked into Susannah’s room and stolen her pearls. The servants were not asked to submit to a search, but after some talking between them selves they asked if it could be done as a process of elimination. Nothing was found and the general consensus was that the rogues who had attacked Amelia had somehow sneaked in and taken the pearls.
‘It seems odd that just your pearls were taken,’ Mrs Hampton said. ‘But perhaps they were disturbed and they fled with what they had.’
‘That does not explain why they tried to abduct Amelia,’ Susannah said, looking thoughtful. It did not explain the disappearance of the kerchief, either.
It was later that evening that Miss Hazledeane came up to Susannah in the drawing room. Lady Elizabeth was at the pianoforte and Susannah had been intent on the music when the other woman sat next to her on the small sofa.
‘All this fuss for a string of pearls,’ Miss Hazledeane said, a spiteful note in her voice. ‘I dare say you will find them if you look hard enough.’
‘Perhaps…’ Susannah turned thoughtful eyes on her. ‘It was very odd, but the kerchief I found near the boathouse was lying on my chest—and that was taken too, though I have not mentioned it for it was not important.’
‘Your maid took it to be washed,’ Miss Hazledeane said. ‘She has probably taken the pearls too—or you mislaid them.’
‘I should be very glad to think so,’ Susannah said. ‘I should be happy if they were found and no harm done.’
‘You have caused an uproar,’ Miss Hazledeane said. ‘As if they mattered when you will have so much. The Pendleton heir looms must be worth a fortune, though I dare say they are kept in the bank.’
‘And may stay there, at least until we know for certain that no one can walk in and steal them,’ Susannah said. ‘The pearls matter to me because they were a gift from Lady Elizabeth.’
‘Well, I dare say she will give you some thing else. She has plenty of jewels, she can well spare another trinket.’ Miss Hazledeane shrugged her shoulders, got up and moved away.
Susannah stared after her. It was wrong of her to dislike Lady Elizabeth’s ward. It was quite un thinkable to suspect Miss Hazledeane of taking the pearls and the kerchief, and yet Susannah had an uneasy feeling at the nape of her neck. Something was telling her that Miss Hazledeane knew more about the disappearance of the pearls than she was saying.
She could not accuse another lady of stealing! Susannah knew it would be frowned upon. Besides, it was too embarrassing. Everyone else had accepted that the mystery was solved. Harry was having all the side doors locked and the windows checked. He had in creased the numbers of keepers he employed to patrol his grounds. There was nothing more to be done except put the unpleasant incident out of her mind.
As soon as Susannah went into her bedchamber, she saw that the drawer of her chest was opened a little. She felt a little shiver down her spine and went to look in the drawer. A silk scarf had been disturbed and when she pulled it aside she saw the velvet case. Taking it out, she discovered that her pearls were inside.
How had they come there? She was positive that they had not been there earlier, for both she and Iris had moved everything in their search. The pearls had gone missing, but now they were back.
Why had someone taken and then returned them? Susannah could think of only one reason—to make her look foolish. It was very embarrassing after the house had been searched and everyone made to feel un comfort able.
However, it was clear to Susannah that she must confess to having found them, even if it did make her feel foolish.
Lady Elizabeth told her that it did not matter. She was simply relieved that the pearls had been found.
‘Perhaps your maid found them and returned them to the drawer,’ she suggested.
‘It was not Iris, for I asked her,’ Susannah said. ‘I am sure they were not there earlier, for we all looked—but I suppose they must have been. I am so sorry to have caused so much fuss.’
‘You must not let it upset you,’ Lady Elizabeth told her. ‘The pearls were lost and now they are found. It is all settled and shall be for got ten now.’
Susannah thanked her and went to bed. There was nothing more she could say, but in her own mind she was quite certain who had taken the pearls and then replaced them. The only thing she wasn’t sure of was why….
The next morning dawned fine and bright. Indeed, it had the promise of being hot. Most people thought a storm would come before night fall to break the weather, because it was too sultry.
Harry had decided that the picnic would go ahead.
‘We cannot allow an unpleasant incident to put us off,’ he declared. ‘The boats have been brought to this side of the lake. Those who wish to go boating may join us there immediately, and those who are interested only in the picnic may wander towards the lake at noon.’
‘I am so glad you have not can celled it,’ Susannah said and smiled her pleasure. ‘I cannot apologise enough for causing so much trouble. I can only say that the pearls were not in the drawer when I looked.’
‘No such thing,’ Harry told her. ‘No lasting harm done. I am more concerned with the rogues in the woods. Miss Royston has forgiven me for allowing such a terrible thing to happen in my woods, and she will leave at the end of the week to arrange our wedding.’
‘Then we may forget it and be happy again,’ Susannah said, her face alight. ‘It was a fright for Amelia, but it is over now.’
Har
ry commandeered the first boat and rowed Susannah out into the middle of the lake. She smiled at him, leaning back in her seat, her parasol protecting her from the fierce heat as he pulled on the oars. She thought that he was very strong. Glancing back towards the shore, she saw that the Earl of Ravenshead was rowing Amelia and Mrs Hampton, while Toby had taken Lady Elizabeth for a turn on the water. Most of the other ladies and gentlemen were strolling about on the grass, talking and enjoying the sunshine. Susannah caught sight of Miss Hazledeane. She was wearing a white dress, wandering by herself apart from the others.
‘Are you enjoying yourself?’ Harry asked. ‘I think we must do this more often. I had for got ten how pleasant it is to be on the water.’
‘I like it very much,’ Susannah said. ‘Tell me, do you have a lake at your other home?’
‘No, I don’t—though I recently bought a piece of land for the construction of a small lake. I hadn’t given it much thought, but I must set the work in hand. It will make a fine addition to the property.’
Susannah smiled and trailed her hand in the water. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the tranquillity and peace of their surroundings. She was very fortunate to have the prospect of spending her life in such a lovely place.
Harry took them back to the jetty after half an hour or so, handing Susannah out. He then offered to take any other lady who wished for a trip, and Susannah was a little surprised when Lady Booker said that she would like to be rowed about the lake.
She saw that chairs had been set out, and the servants were set ting up tables for their picnic.
Toby had brought his passenger to shore. He walked up to Susannah as she stood under the shade of a tree, watching everyone enjoying them selves.
‘The picnic was a capital notion of Harry’s, was it not?’
‘Yes—’ Susannah began, but broke off as she saw a woman emerge from behind the boat house. Her attention was caught be cause of the way the woman was behaving—furtively, looking over her shoulder as if hoping not to be seen. She turned and ran in the opposite direction. Only moments later a man emerged from the shadows and began to walk away in yet another direction. ‘Did you see that man on the far side of the lake? He came from behind the boat house…’ Susannah touched Toby’s arm. ‘I am not certain but I think…it was the Marquis of Northaven.’
‘Where?’ Toby turned in the direction of her gaze, but was only in time to see the man disappear into a clump of artistically arranged trees, too far away to be seen clearly without a spyglass. ‘It couldn’t have been, surely? Here at Pendleton—with all these people around? I doubt it, Susannah. He is not welcome here. Harry would want to know the reason why. It is hardly likely—the grounds are being pa trolled day and night.’
‘Yes, I know. It does not seem likely,’ Susannah said and laughed. ‘Perhaps I was mistaken, but it did look like him for a moment.’
‘I cannot think he would come here. Northaven and Harry do not get along. I know for a fact that Northaven would not be invited to this estate.’ Toby frowned. ‘It is odd, for I do not know how any one could be there… None of the guests are missing and the men have been warned to look out for strangers.’
‘I was mistaken,’ Susannah said. ‘It could not have been he.’
‘I should say it was one of the keepers,’ Toby told her. ‘I know there are a lot of them about.’
‘I am sure you are right. It could not have been the marquis. It was just a trick of the light.’
Susannah dismissed the incident, because she did not want to cause a fuss. Yet she was almost certain it had been the marquis—and that the woman leaving the boat house was Miss Hazledeane! She had seen a flash of white and Jenny Hazledeane was the only lady wearing white this morning. If it were Northaven and Miss Hazledeane, they must have met there by prior arrangement, perhaps when they had tea in Bath. She recalled the incident in the gardens the night she had arrived. She had seen a man and a woman kissing. Could it have been Jenny Hazledeane and the Marquis of Northaven?
Susannah was thoughtful through out the rest of the morning. She managed to join in the activities and to talk about all kinds of things, but at the back of her mind was a niggling doubt that would not let her rest. If Miss Hazledeane was meeting the Marquis of Northaven here at Pendleton, Harry ought to be told about it.
Susannah knew that Miss Hazledeane had met the marquis in Bath, and she was fairly sure of what she had seen that morning. Was it her duty to tell Harry what she knew?
The question continued to tease Susannah throughout the afternoon. Several times she was on the verge of telling Harry, but Miss Hazledeane had rejoined the company, and had joined in a game of cricket. To raise doubts about her conduct might throw a cloud over the party, and after the upset of the previous day, Susannah did not feel like making a fuss. She decided that, if she got the chance, she would speak to Miss Hazledeane about it in private that evening.
However, she did not have a chance to speak to Miss Hazledeane alone until much later, because she was asked to play the pianoforte for the company when the ladies retired to the drawing room. When Amelia took her place, one of the relatives asked if she would join a hand of piquet.
Susannah found herself drawn into a lively game, which she enjoyed more than she might have expected. Harry was not a part of it, however, and when she looked for him he had disappeared.
‘If you are looking for Harry, he and some of the others took them selves off to play billiards,’ Lady Ethel told her in a loud voice. ‘Pay attention, my dear, or you will lose points. You will have plenty of time to bill and coo tomorrow.’
Susannah laughed and put her mind to the game. She managed to win at least one hand and to share another. When she was finally released by Lady Ethel, she told her mother that she was going to bed.
‘I need to be fresh for my driving in the morning,’ she said. ‘Please tell Harry that I said good night.’
After wishing the gathered company good night, Susannah went upstairs to her own room. However, her conscience would not let her rest and she slipped out again a few minutes later, going along the hall to the room she knew was Miss Hazledeane’s She hesitated, then knocked sharply.
‘Just a moment…’ Miss Hazledeane opened the door in her dressing robe, staring at her for a moment. Susannah thought there was a flicker of fear in her eyes. ‘What did you want?’
‘I have some thing to say to you—in private, if I may?’
The other girl stood back, a sullen look on her face. ‘I didn’t steal your pearls…’
‘No one stole them; they were mislaid,’ Susannah said, though she suspected the other girl had taken them to punish her, not realising that it would cause so much fuss. However, they had been re turned and there was no point in holding a grudge. ‘I haven’t come about the pearls.’
‘Why have you come, then?’ Jenny’s eyes were suspicious, her manner uneasy.
‘I thought I should warn you…’ Susannah drew a deep breath. ‘I saw you leaving the boat house earlier today and I know you have been meeting someone in secret. I believe it may be the Marquis of Northaven. I think you should know that he is not to be trusted. Harry warned me against him and I think—’
‘How dare you accuse me of having a lover? You have no right!’
‘I did not say he was your lover…’ Susannah saw the guilt and fear in the other girl’s face. ‘I am so sorry. I should have warned you sooner…when I first saw you with him in Bath.’
Tears hovered on Jenny’s lashes. ‘It would have done no good. We have been lovers for months, long before my brother died…’ She brushed her hand over her cheek, pride in her eyes now. ‘Edmund promised to marry me… He would have married me, but my brother wasted my inheritance and he is in debt.’ Her eyes glittered. ‘Edmund loves me, but he must marry a fortune. You do not know what it is like to feel hopeless! I have nothing and I love him so much.’
‘I am so sorry—’
‘I do not want your pity,’ Jenny flashed b
ack at her. ‘You come here interfering in what does not concern you, so smug because you are to marry into a wealthy family.’ She turned away, her shoulders hunched as she fought the tears. ‘Tell Lord Pendleton, then—tell Lady Elizabeth what a wanton trollop I am. I know you are dying to be rid of me.’
‘No, you are quite wrong,’ Susannah told her, her sympathy aroused. ‘I do not hate you. I would be your friend if you would let me. If there is anything I can do to help you?’
The other girl turned, her expression des per ate. ‘Please, do not tell anyone what you saw. I beg you, do not betray me. I have given Edmund an ultimatum. He must wed me or I shall never see him again.’
‘I am so sorry…’
‘Then keep my secret…please?’
Susannah hesitated. It was her duty to tell either Harry or Lady Elizabeth, but how could she deliberately shame a girl who already had so much to bear?
‘I will think about it,’ she said. ‘I shall not tell them tonight, but you must give me your word that you will not continue to meet the marquis here at Pendleton.’
‘I promise. Please—do not betray me.’
‘Very well. I shall say nothing for the moment.’
‘Thank you,’ Jenny said, the glitter of tears in her eyes. ‘I wish that someone had warned me long ago.’
Susannah wished her good night and returned to her room. She was uneasy, because she was not certain she had done the right thing in promising to keep Jenny’s secret.
Susannah woke suddenly. She was not sure what had woken her, but she got up and walked over to the window. It was almost morning, the dawn light just beginning to creep in through the curtains. She pulled them back and glanced out, catching sight of someone moving furtively through the gardens. Surely that was Miss Hazledeane? Susannah felt a tingling sensation at the nape of her neck. She was almost certain that Jenny was carrying a valise!