Nick answered. “Letitia is expecting a babe at the end of summer. A few days ago, she began to swell. Mrs. Stanhope seems to have been the answer to our prayers, as she has knowledge of how to help in these matters.”
Alice’s brow lowered in confusion. “Are you a midwife?” she asked Susannah as she handed her a cup of tea.
Susannah shook her head. “No, but my mother took an interest in such things, and she talked about them often. I remembered a few things, but I also have her old journals, so I have been able to find help there.”
Now the countess’s brows were raised. “And it has indeed helped? I have always heard that nothing could stop the swelling once it starts.”
Susannah shrugged. “It has helped, but Mrs. Powell is far from cured. My mother was herself a brilliant woman, and she kept company with some very experienced midwives, so I trust their wisdom, but only time will tell the outcome.”
Nick regarded her with sincerity in his expression. “Nevertheless, we are grateful for your help.”
Susannah felt the heat in her cheeks once more, and nodded, unable to find words.
The countess wasn’t done torturing her. She stared at Susannah through narrowed eyes, as though Susannah were a length of fabric she were examining for purchase.
Finally, she addressed her husband. “Weston, when I asked Mrs. Stanhope what she was doing at Poppledown Park today, she told me she assisted Nick with some Bible verses.”
The earl laughed, and Susannah flushed.
The countess was now grinning widely. “I know. Remarkable, isn’t she?”
Nick rolled his eyes. He sat straighter, gesturing widely with his hands. “That’s not entirely correct. I did know the Bible verses. The problem was the puzzle. She was helping me with the puzzles. For the treasure hunt.”
Susannah looked apologetically at him. “I wasn’t sure they knew about the treasure hunt. I didn’t know what to tell her.”
“Thank you for attempting to keep my secret.”
“Susannah, you may not know this, but Nick is the Bible scholar of our family. He has published a great many theological works,” Lady Weston said.
Nick flushed. “Not a great many. A few.”
Oh. Even more reason for him to look down on her.
Instead, he looked at her consideringly. “And I must confess, that even though the puzzles were what I was having trouble with, Mrs. Stanhope has quite impressed me with her knowledge of the Bible.”
A vision of Susannah’s father passed before her eyes, beaming as she recited a passage to him. A lot of vicars were content to have only a passing acquaintance with the Bible, but her father had immersed himself in it. He encouraged his daughters to do the same, and memorizing lengthy passages was a common pastime for their little family. Her mouth curved into a nostalgic smile, also passing for acknowledgment of his praise.
“A remarkable woman indeed,” the earl said to his wife.
It was too much for Susannah. Sitting in a drawing room with an earl, his countess, and a man who despised her, while they praised her for her knowledge of the Bible. Little good that knowledge had done her. Hadn’t kept her from sin. Hadn’t even maintained her belief. She was a fraud on every level, and she couldn’t suffer this pretense a moment longer.
She shot to her feet. “I believe that quarter of an hour has passed, so I’d best be on my way to Mrs. Powell. Thank you all for a lovely afternoon and for the tea.” She smiled tightly at each of them and was out the door in a trice. It was probably quite rude, but so was staying and lying to them, so she might as well be comfortable.
With any luck, Nick would turn to them for help with his treasure hunt, and she would be free of the lot of them.
Chapter 18
Nick had to get out of the house. Ever since they had arrived the day before, his brother and sister-in-law had been smiling happily and shooting him smug, knowing looks. As though he would marry a woman like her. As though he would marry any woman.
When Susannah had left the previous afternoon—or rather, fled—Alice had smiled widely. “She is delightful.”
And Terence, that bounder, had agreed. “A man could do much worse in a sister-in-law.”
Nick had gaped at them. How they had gotten the impression that he thought of her in such a way was beyond him. He didn’t. In fact, he wasn’t even sure what had made him ask her to stay yesterday. Yes, she was lovely. Yes, her eyes seemed to see through him. And yes, she was brilliant. If she had been a woman of any repute instead of one who consorted with criminals and passed herself off as something she was not, then perhaps he would have considered it.
She was nothing like Mary, of course. But still, one could imagine being married to a woman like Susannah. If she weren’t a fallen woman, which she most likely was.
He tried to explain as much. “I have reason to believe that Mrs. Stanhope is not who she says she is.”
But his brother and Alice still smiled at him like cats that had gotten the cream.
“Surely you don’t expect me to allow a woman like that to be Gabriel’s stepmother.”
But Alice just shrugged. “We are none of us perfect.”
It was beyond reason. Clearly, they were cracked.
Now he was pacing back and forth in the library, trying to figure out a good excuse to send them back to London. He had tried to interest them in the treasure hunt, but they had just smiled at one another and said, “Oh, you don’t need us. You have quite enough help.”
Footsteps pounded down the stairs. It could only have been two people, so it was no surprise when his son and nephew bounded around the corner and skidded to a stop. “Father! The Romans!”
Nick raised an eyebrow, waiting for his son to elaborate, paternal pride swelling in him at this evidence of his son’s Bible knowledge.
“The clue was in Roman numerals.”
“Yes. And?”
“The Romans! They used to live here. Stokes just told me!”
Nick blinked. Not quite what he’d expected. But Gabriel was right. Seaton had indeed been a Roman port long ago. “Yes, that’s right.”
“So we should go to them! Maybe we can find the numbers and the next clue!”
Hmm. It wasn’t a bad idea. And it would get him out of the house. “And I suppose you want to be a part of this expedition?”
Gabriel nodded. “And Charlie! And Susannah!”
Nick wondered which was worse: staying at Poppledown Park and braving the smug looks of Terence and Alice, or driving through the countryside with two young boys and Susannah? The treasure hunt and the possibility of finding a clue made the trip a little more palatable, he supposed.
There were two main Roman remains. The Honey Ditches were farther away but might be a better choice, especially given the company. The old Roman road was intact and passed right by the parish church, but had been repaved in places and didn’t make for particularly exciting viewing. Regardless, Charlie was far too small to go on such an adventure. He still took afternoon naps.
Just as he had the thought, a nurse poked her head in. “There you are, my bonny boy! It’s time for your afternoon rest!” Charlie protested, but the nurse won out, picking up her small charge and making him laugh as she carried him back to the nursery.
Nick looked at his son, one brow raised. “I don’t believe Charlie can join us.”
Gabriel sighed. “Let’s go get Susannah.”
Because the cottage didn’t have an adequate road for a carriage, Nick asked a groomsman to drive the barouche to the vicarage. Then he and Gabriel set off to see if they could find their quarry.
A gentle breeze came and ruffled the long grass leading up to the cottage, bringing with it a burst of the sea air Nick remembered from his childhood. There had been a recent rain, and the ground was moist—a fact Gabriel explored as he twisted his feet into the mud with each step.
The garden was awash with color. Red and white rambling roses grew up the side of the cottage. Bluebells were interspersed wi
th the long green grass. A bumblebee was resting in an orange bloom that he didn’t recognize but which had many siblings in the garden.
As they neared, the grass gave way to a stone path that had recently been cleared. The grass trimmings still lay all about, making the path appear more cut grass than stone. At the end was a little wooden bench currently occupied by the very lady they sought. She held a water glass in one hand, and with the other, she steadied a pair of garden shears in her lap.
As soon as Gabriel set eyes on her, he let out a whoop and started running for her. “Susannah! Susannah! Let’s go see the Romans!”
A grin broke over her face. “Gabriel! What a lovely surprise. I didn’t expect to have the pleasure so soon.”
“Father and I are going to see the Romans, and you’re to come with us!”
“Oh! The Romans?”
“Tell her, Father! Tell her where we are to go!”
Nick reached the bench and bowed his greeting. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Stanhope. I see you’ve been busy.”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Daventry. I am finally earning my keep.” Her blue eyes twinkled as she said it.
“You’ve a little smudge of mud on your face just here.” He indicated the spot on his own face.
She laughed, and he found himself enjoying the sound. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been neatening the garden path, after all.”
He turned to survey her work. “Not a bad job either. I’d never have expected a lady such as yourself to have such skills.”
“My father was an avid gardener. He had all of us help him.”
“Ah, so you do come from somewhere? You didn’t just materialize fully grown in the middle of my brother’s masquerade ball? I had wondered.”
She didn’t have time to respond, since Gabriel had clearly reached the end of his patience with grown-up small talk. “Father, tell her about the Romans!”
Susannah smiled at his son and then at him. “Yes, do!”
“My wise son noted that there may be a connection between the Roman numerals and the Roman ruins in Seaton.”
“Roman ruins? I didn’t realize that the Romans had been this far into Britain!”
“Oh yes. Seaton was quite a bustling port in its day. But apparently, the coastline has changed rather dramatically. It’s a carriage ride of a quarter of an hour from here. From the coastline, half an hour.”
“And we can go and see these ruins?”
Nick shrugged. “There’s not a lot to see. The outlines of some buildings. A tile here and there. Sometimes farmers till up a coin or two.”
Susannah nodded. “But it’s nevertheless a better guess than we have so far.”
“Precisely.”
“When do we leave?”
“Now, please!” Gabriel replied, making Susannah laugh.
“Will you wait until I’ve put away my shears and washed the mud from my face and hands?” she asked the boy.
“No!” was his resounding answer.
“Gabriel, a gentleman always waits for a lady. Of course we will wait, Mrs. Stanhope.”
Gabriel was duly chastened. “Oh! Of course we will wait, Susannah. But hurry!”
She smiled, rising from the bench. “Of course I will hurry!”
And she did too. Gabriel scarcely had time to discover that tiny green Discovery apples were beginning to replace the blossoms on the tree before she was walking back to the garden, wearing a spencer and bonnet and ready to go.
They walked to the vicarage to pick up the carriage.
“Did you go to the vicarage this morning?” she asked Nick.
“No. I wasn’t able to get away. Did you?”
“Oh yes, you have guests. I did go, but only stayed a short time. Mrs. Powell’s color is returning. And the vicar seemed more energetic than I have seen him.”
“I’m happy to hear it, on both counts.”
“Mrs. Powell and I plan to go sea bathing again this afternoon. She believes it helps her.”
“I remember that Letitia always enjoyed going sea bathing as a girl. I suppose there is still a little of that girl left.”
Susannah smiled wryly and maybe a little sadly. “There usually is.”
He wondered, not for the first time, what kind of girl she had been.
They came upon the carriage and groomsman, and Nick helped Gabriel into the back. He and Mary had often used this very barouche to drive around Seaton. By now, he supposed it was a little outdated, but he loved getting the chance to drive his son around in it. It was interesting how inanimate objects could have so many memories attached to them.
The groomsman helped Susannah into the carriage. He looked at them sitting together, this woman and his son, and wondered what it would feel like to remarry. To give a mother to his son. His own experience with a stepmother had been awful, but perhaps it could be good?
This made him think of Alexander. His very best friend until he had disappeared from the face of the earth. His stepmother had been a true horror. Nick truly believed that she had wanted Alex dead so that her son would inherit the family title. And he had always suspected Alex’s eventual disappearance stemmed from that desire. So far, the House of Lords hadn’t officially transferred the title to Alex’s half-brother, because Alex’s body had never been discovered, but it would happen eventually.
He glanced at Susannah as he climbed into the carriage. He supposed that was what made him so angry at her association with Hector Dunmore, the man who stood to inherit his friend’s title. Though it was certainly not her fault Alex had disappeared. She would have been barely out of the schoolroom when it happened. But still. Probably not the wisest choice in stepmothers.
He turned the horses out of the drive and toward their destination. He had started this adventure feeling playful, but now the memory of Alex was dampening his spirits. The weather mimicked his emotions. The day had been bright and fair when they had collected Susannah, but clouds were rolling in from the sea now, reflecting the gloom Nick felt.
He supposed cloudy summer afternoons were rather common on the seashore.
Gabriel and Susannah were chatting happily about Roman soldiers, and he was happy to be left out of the conversation.
Finally, they arrived at the Honey Ditches. Or thereabouts. He had been there as a child, of course, and he and his friends had been enthralled with all the rooms outlined in stone. They had imagined a different Roman soldier living in each and gathering daily to fight invaders. Where the invaders came from, he had no idea.
But now looking at the ruins, he considered that most of those games had been fueled by youthful imaginings. The outlines of the rooms barely showed under mounds of grass. The top of a wall rose about a foot and a half above the ground but only ran about three feet before crumbling. As Nick had expected, there was no likely hiding spot for a clue.
Fortunately, Gabriel seemed to be more interested in Roman soldiers than the treasure hunt, for he was marching around yelling “Salve!” at the top of his lungs and swinging an imaginary sword. Well, at least his son had a happy outing.
An outing that would have to be cut short, if the drops of rain falling onto Nick’s face were harbingers of what was to come. His son and Susannah hadn’t seemed to notice yet. Nick left them alone and went to pull up the hood on the barouche. It might not provide much protection to the driver, but Gabriel and Susannah could huddle in the back and stay relatively dry, should the rain increase.
He shouted to the two of them. “Any sign of a clue?”
They stopped their game and turned to him, seeming surprised he should ask such a thing of them. Susannah looked around briefly before shouting back, “No. Have you?”
He shook his head. “It is beginning to rain.”
This time it was Gabriel who responded. “Hardly any at all, Father!”
But no sooner had he said it than rain poured in earnest. His son squealed as the cold drops soaked through his clothes, and he ran toward Nick. Susannah followed, ducking her h
ead so that her bonnet covered more of it. He swept Gabriel up under the hood of the vehicle, and when he was done, Susannah had made her way. He helped her up and was surprised that she sat on the front bench rather than climbing into the back with his son.
She smiled apologetically at him when he climbed in beside her. “I am sorry that there wasn’t a clue.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t expect one. But I thought it might give us some ideas.”
“But instead we got rain.” She gestured unnecessarily to the sky.
“God sendeth the rain on both the just and the unjust,” he said, quoting Matthew.
She smiled widely, as though accepting a challenge. “Don’t worry. It’s for the best. Someone was just reminding me that Paul told the Romans, ‘We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.’”
He grinned back and had the pleasure of seeing the import of her own words hit her.
“Of all the cake-headed…” she sputtered, outrage spreading over her face. “The Romans!”
He inclined his head in acknowledgment, not quite able to stifle the satisfied grin that came of having come to the answer before her.
She pulled the wrinkled clue from a pocket in her spencer.
“Chapter 8, verse 39.” And then they recited together, “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!”
She looked at him, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “But what does it mean? It doesn’t exactly give a location.”
Nick chuckled. “Actually, it does.”
She looked at him skeptically.
“My grandfather wrote the clues. And he was also the one who taught me that particular verse.” He paused for dramatic effect.
“And? How does it help?” Apparently she had no patience for dramatic effect.
“And when he taught me, we happened to be at a folly on top of the cliff overlooking the sea to the west of town. Remember, Gabriel, we climbed the hill up to it a few days ago?”
“Yes, but you wouldn’t let me stop and explore,” his son, the perpetual adventurer, replied.
Legacy Redeemed (Redeemed, Restored, Reclaimed Book 1) Page 15