Legacy Redeemed (Redeemed, Restored, Reclaimed Book 1)

by Aubrey Grayson

  He’d passed by this particular sign a thousand times at least. But now he observed it with new eyes. Could the clue be in the words of the sign themselves? Was there a hidden compartment? Both Gabriel and Susannah appeared to study the sign in the same way.

  His eyes lit on the wooden finial at the top of the post. He’d always assumed it had been carved of one piece with the sign. But now he wondered.

  “Can the top piece be removed?” Susannah asked.

  Could he not have an original thought? he grumbled to himself. Still, no time like the present. Nick shrugged and walked toward the post. He was tall, but the post was taller. He looked around for a nearby stone to step on, but not finding one, jumped on the post, and shimmied up a couple of feet. He reached between the sign’s arms and grabbed the finial. It wiggled but didn’t come off. He shimmied up a few more inches, increasing his leverage. He tugged again. He could feel wood scrape across wood, both layers swollen from the elements. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was probably better measured in seconds, his hands scraped and legs aching from holding on to the post, the finial popped off in his hand.

  A piece of paper fluttered to the ground, and Susannah dutifully retrieved it. Nick replaced the finial, which went on much easier than it came off, and slid back down to the ground.

  Susannah held the paper out to him. It read: VIII XXXIX.

  “Roman numerals? That’s a bit odd. The other things have had to do with the Bible. What do you make of it?”

  Susannah shrugged. “I don’t know. I was going to ask the same of you.”

  Ha! How hard could it be to come up with the answer before she did on this one? In fact, he was pretty certain he already knew. But if he was right, it might be better to collect the next clue without the woman and child tagging along.

  “Let me see, Father! I want to see!”

  Nick chuckled and let the boy see the paper. “We’ll take all the help we can get, son. Does it mean anything to you?”

  Gabriel shook his head.

  “Well, we wouldn’t even have it if you hadn’t thought to bring us to this signpost. Job well done, son.”

  Gabriel beamed at the praise, but then added, “And I wouldn’t have thought of the signpost if Susannah hadn’t mentioned it. We make a great treasure-hunting team!”

  The boy’s joy never failed to touch his father. Nick felt one side of his mouth tilt up. “That’s right. Job well done, Susannah,” he said, using the same name his son had used. She had not invited him to use her given name, but he could see in her answering grin that she didn’t mind.

  “Thank you, gentlemen. Happy to help. I just wish I could be of more service this time.”

  “We’ll figure it out. We have time,” Nick said, his spirits still high from the silly exchange with his son.

  Back at the house, Nick found some paper and made a copy of the clue for Susannah to take home, and promises were made that if either party had an idea, they would let the other know. Nick wasn’t being precisely honest in this promise, but he assuaged his guilt by reminding himself that this woman hadn’t always been precisely honest with him either.

  Nick was getting ready to escort their guest to the door, when Gabriel invited Susannah to stay to tea. She ruffled his hair affectionately and thanked him, but said she must decline.

  “Please, Susannah, stay and play with me. Or read me a book! The nursery has lovely books! You could read me Cinderella, since you look just like her in the drawing. And I will be Prince Charming! Please, Father, may she stay?”

  Ugh. He hadn’t anticipated that Gabriel would actually enjoy her company. But now she was looking at Nick expectantly instead of telling the boy no herself. He’d just begun to tolerate her, and now she was back to making his life difficult.

  “I suppose that if Mrs. Stanhope wishes to read to you, you may bring a book down. But only one book, not a stack. I know your tricks!” he said with a wink. “And then after that, it’s back to Nurse, with no more requests from you!”

  Gabriel beamed at him. “Thank you, Father,” he managed before darting out the room, the pounding of his feet on the stairs echoing into the room a few seconds later.

  And now he was in the library alone with her. He hadn’t really analyzed his reasons for allowing Gabriel along on their expedition to the signpost, but he supposed part of it might have been that he hadn’t wished to be alone with this woman. It wasn’t seemly, of course. And also he had no blasted idea what to say to her.

  And she just stood there, occasionally flashing a tight smile in his direction.

  He couldn’t take the silence. “I must thank you again for your assistance. I was always diligent in my studies, but these puzzles… Well, I suppose it’s not the way I think.”

  The tight social smile was back. “You are quite welcome. I have always enjoyed puzzles.”

  The pounding sounded on the stairs, and Nick sent up a quick prayer his son wouldn’t slip in his haste and roll the rest of the way down. He gestured to a cozy sofa. “Please, make yourself comfortable.”

  She had barely seated herself when his boy bounded in and hurled himself onto her lap. She gave a little “Oh” of surprise but then laughed and adjusted his position so that she could hold both him and the book comfortably. Then she began to read to him. Cinderella reading Cinderella.

  He sat down at the desk to listen. When she arrived at the part with the godmother, Stokes poked his head into the room through the open door. His mouth set in a grim line, he motioned to Nick. Not wanting to interrupt the story, Nick stepped out of the room to join his servant. “What is it, Stokes?”

  “A carriage approaches, sir. With the Weston coat of arms.”

  Nick groaned aloud. Terence and Alice were here. That in itself was bad news enough, but the fact that Susannah hadn’t left… He would never hear the end of it. He poked his head back through the door and heard that Cinderella’s sister had just told her that the prince had found the glass slipper. Close to the end, but not close enough.

  “What would you have me do, sir?” Stokes asked.

  Nick sighed and smiled. “I think there’s nothing to be done but to welcome the earl and his family to Poppledown Park.”

  Stokes gave a little bow. “Indeed, sir. The staff is preparing for it.”

  As the servant walked away, Nick glanced in once more at his son, sitting so cozily on Susannah’s lap. If it looked to him like a mother reading to her son—he could only imagine what his family would think.

  Chapter 17

  Cinderella had just finished marrying her sisters off to noble lords when Susannah’s reading was interrupted by the arrival of yet another small boy, this one even younger than Gabriel. Also, this one was screaming Gabriel’s name at the top of his lungs and running around the library as though he were out of doors.

  “Charlie! Charlie! You’re here!” Gabriel shrieked back, sliding off of Susannah’s lap and hopping up and down. “Susannah, it’s Charlie! He’s my cousin! Charlie, look. It’s Susannah. She’s been reading to me!”

  Charlie skidded to a halt in front of them and peered up at Susannah. Then apparently remembering his manners, he bent into a low bow. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Susannah,” his small voice piped up to her.

  She dipped into a curtsy. “And a pleasure to meet you as well, Master Charlie. Any friend of Gabriel’s is a friend of mine.” She smiled at the boy, despite having a foreboding that his appearance meant that she would soon have an awkward encounter with his parents. Whoever they were.

  But she didn’t have to wonder for long. The butler, Stokes, came to claim the children and send them to the nursery. Gabriel gave a swift hug to Susannah’s knees and thanked her for reading before he scurried off. She waved in the wake of him and discovered she was still holding on to the chapbook. She dropped it awkwardly onto the sofa.

  Stokes was waiting for her. She smiled at him and raised her eyebrows as she walked toward him. “It seems a good time to take my lea
ve, doesn’t it?”

  He had just opened his mouth, presumably to agree with her, when an elegant woman sailed up behind him in the corridor. “I should say not! If you take your leave now, how will I ever pepper you with questions?”

  Not knowing what to say to that, Susannah stood frozen in place, just an arm’s length from the door, mouth agape, feeling very much like a deer hiding from the huntsman.

  Now Nick had joined the party standing in the corridor. “Alice, leave the poor girl alone. She is simply a neighbor that Gabriel is fond of.”

  Relief gave new life to Susannah’s limbs. She breathed deeply and smiled her agreement.

  But the elegant blonde raised a single eyebrow and looked rather archly at Nick. “Gabriel? Hmmm.” Then she turned her wide smile onto Susannah and said, “I am Alice, Nick’s sister-in-law. And you are…”

  Susannah stammered. She actually stammered. “I am Susannah Stanhope. I am a guest of the vicar.”

  Alice peered briefly around the room and said, “There’s no place good to sit and talk in the library. Please come with me into the drawing room. It is so nice to come upon another young lady!”

  Now Stokes was caught in that smile. “Would you be so kind as to bring tea to the drawing room?”

  Stokes stammered back his reply, making Susannah grateful she was not the only one so affected. “Y-yes, Lady Weston.”

  Lady Weston. Of course it had to be Lady Weston. It couldn’t be some lowborn relative of Mr. Daventry’s late wife, but a blasted countess. Just one more person to remind her of how short she measured up. Susannah stopped herself from rolling her eyes heavenward.

  And now the countess had turned her attention back to Susannah and was beckoning her to follow. Susannah glanced at Nick as she did so, and the resigned expression on his face did little to comfort her. He tried to follow them, but Lady Weston shooed him away. “Go and see if Terence needs help. You can join us later.”

  Nick tried to protest, but this young woman was clearly not to be trifled with. She simply waved her hand at him, amusement playing around her pursed lips, and his protest died. “Of course, Alice. Be gentle with her.”

  Lady Weston rolled her eyes. “For heaven’s sake, Nick. What do you expect of me?”

  This made him grin. Susannah wasn’t sure whether that should make her feel better or worse. He met her eyes and gave a little wave as he took his leave, and suddenly Susannah felt lost at sea. How was it even possible she had been relying on this man to steady her nerves? He didn’t even like her.

  “Here we are! How glad I am that the furniture in this room is more comfortable than the bench of the coach!” Lady Weston threw herself onto a large, well-stuffed sofa, groaning inelegantly as she did so. “Oho, my weary bones.”

  Susannah was still standing, and the other woman gestured for her to sit. She found a small armchair.

  “So, Miss…Stanhope, did you say?”

  “Please, call me Susannah.” She might as well keep as much to the truth as possible.

  “My mother’s bosom friend was a Stanhope. Lady Edith Stanhope. Are you a relative?”

  Susannah almost choked on air as the countess said the name of the very aunt Susannah had named herself after. So much for sticking with the truth. She shrugged and gave a wry smile. “I was only married for a short time before I was widowed. I am not familiar with most of my husband’s family, but I suspect if she was Lady Stanhope, she was not related.”

  A cloud passed over Lady Weston’s face, and Susannah thought it might be from her admission that she was not good ton, until Lady Weston said, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  Susannah nodded but said nothing. Liar though she might be, she was not going to feign grief for a man who never existed.

  “You mentioned earlier that you were a visitor to Seaton. What brings you? Are you visiting family?”

  Here, at least, she could be truthful. “I found myself at a loss for what to do next. At an opportune time, I heard that the vicar here allowed travelers to stay and think over their dilemmas.”

  The countess considered that bit of information. “And are you traveling alone? I should think that it is very rare that a woman comes to stay in a cottage such as this.”

  “Yes, it is very rare for a woman to be without husband or brother or father.” Susannah left out the guardian bit. “Fortunately for me, the vicar did not hold this against me.”

  “I see. I have often heard from Nick what a kind and fair man this vicar is. I look forward to meeting him.” The countess smiled once more. “Well then, Susannah, what do you think of our Nick?”

  Susannah was as much taken aback at the sudden change of subject as she was the words themselves. “Excuse me?”

  “Nick. What do you think of him?”

  And now she was back to lying. “I suppose I haven’t thought much about him. He seems to be a good friend to the vicar and his daughter. And today when I saw him with Gabriel, he seemed an attentive father.”

  “What kind of husband do you think he would make?”

  At this, Susannah’s body utterly betrayed her. She felt the blood creeping into her face, and her throat worked as she tried to gather enough thought to say something. Anything. After this reaction, there was no way the countess could not know Susannah had spent many moments thinking how lovely it would be to be loved by a man like Nicholas Daventry.

  No point in denying it. Another chance to be honest. “I am certain that Mr. Daventry would be the perfect husband. To a woman of his equal, of course.”

  The countess looked at her all too knowingly. “Of course.”

  There was nothing unfriendly in her expression. Nothing of the haughtiness that Susannah would have expected of a countess. In fact, if Susannah had met this girl under other circumstances, she supposed she would have liked her very much. In fact, she found herself liking her a little bit even despite this awkward interview.

  The countess’s expression was all curiosity now. “I know you are a near neighbor. But how did you come to be here at Poppledown Park today?”

  How much did the countess know about the treasure hunt? She didn’t wish to tell a secret that was not her own. She settled for a half-truth. “I was helping him with some Bible verses.”

  For the first time, she managed to surprise the countess. “With Bible verses? Nick needed help with Bible verses?”

  She didn’t know exactly why this was so surprising, but since it was mostly the truth, she nodded.

  Fortunately, or unfortunately, she couldn’t quite tell which, the men entered at just that moment. The man with Nick was obviously his brother—same hair and dark eyes, same build. Lord Weston’s nose was narrower, his face thinner. Handsome, but not quite so handsome as Nick.

  Lady Weston perhaps disagreed, for her eyes lit up when she saw her husband, though it couldn’t have been a half an hour since she’d seen him last. She patted the sofa next to her in invitation for him to sit.

  Lord Weston did so, his smile indicating he was as pleased to see his wife as she was to see him. A happy couple among the ton. How unusual.

  Nick remained standing, looking first at his brother and sister-in-law, then at Susannah. He seemed hesitant and unsure, a little like a boy being called before the headmaster.

  Susannah stood, hoping to put him out of his misery. “Lady Weston, it has been such a pleasure meeting you. But now I see that you are in good company, and I will leave you to it.” She smiled broadly at the countess, trying to hide her desperation to be anywhere but here. Well, not anywhere. Not London, of course.

  “No! No, no, no. Susannah, please don’t leave me yet!” She glanced affectionately at her husband and brother-in-law. “If you leave, the conversation will quickly devolve into discussion of the merits of this or that carriage design or how to select the best horseflesh. Please stay and save me from such a fate!” She shot an exasperated look at Nick. “Nick, please insist that she stay.”

  Nick was clearly surprised by this. He g
lanced at his brother, who gave a barely perceptible nod. His gaze traveled slowly to Susannah. She stared back at him, her eyes begging him to let her go, leaning toward him to convey the intensity of her desire to be gone.

  His expression transformed from one of slight befuddlement to one of amused resignation. His eyes crinkled into a smile, though his mouth remained unchanged. He shook his head conspiratorially, as though to say he could do nothing for her. He bowed slightly before he said, “Please stay a little longer, Mrs. Stanhope. My son and sister-in-law have monopolized your conversation, and I should like to enjoy some of it.”

  Ha! A likely story. Susannah felt her mouth tighten into a grim line before she remembered herself and relaxed it into a sweet, if false, smile. “I also would enjoy it. But I must check on Mrs. Powell,” she said pointedly.

  He nodded his acknowledgment. “That is true—you must. But then again, one in her condition must rest, and another quarter of an hour would probably benefit her as much as it would me.”

  There was nothing for it. And he wasn’t wrong that another quarter of an hour would benefit Letitia. If Susannah weren’t trying to get out of here, she wouldn’t have considered visiting Letitia for a while yet. She resumed her seat on the armchair, smoothing her skirts as she sat. “Of course, you are right.”

  Nick sat heavily on another armchair, leaning back, legs relaxed.

  Just then Stokes appeared at the door, holding the door for a plump older woman Susannah presumed was the housekeeper, and a maid Susannah suspected was only just old enough to hold the position. The women carried in tea and biscuits, which delighted the countess.

  “Oh, and Susannah, you can stay for tea! How lovely! I have heard about Mrs. Hill’s lemon biscuits and am so looking forward to trying them!”

  The housekeeper beamed at the praise, setting down the tea tray in front of the countess. The housekeeper and maid curtsied and were gone in a trice.

  Alice poured and, as she did so, asked about Letitia.