Free Silver Sea by Cynthia Wright Page B

have work to do?" Hortie scolded as she rose. "Lord Harms arrives tomorrow evening, you know, and her ladyship will have a list of preparations."
    When Lady Thomasina's abigail was out of earshot, Nathan murmured, "You don't suppose the old peahen will want to do a complete spring housecleaning by tomorrow? The staff would probably revolt."
    "It would take a year, not a day, to clean this place."
    "My point exactly."
    Adrienne pushed her bowl away. It made her nervous to be so close to him. "I should check on Lady Thomasina. She may be too excited to stay in bed until her usual late hour."
    He followed her partway up the servants' staircase, waiting until they were out of earshot of the kitchen. "I must speak to you."
    A hot tide rose in her face. He had grasped the back of her skirt, and their fingers tangled when she tried to free herself. "I don't want to talk to you," she hissed.
    "It's not about our interlude in the garden, if that's what's worrying you," Nathan said bluntly, then softened his tone. "More important, at this moment, is tracking down Walter Frakes-Hogg before he tracks you down. I want you to be on guard during the times I am not within your sight, but I'll try to join you just as soon as I've had a good look around outside and another talk with Fred, now that he's sobered up."
    "It's all like a terrible dream," Adrienne protested.
    "Well, it was not a dream." He caught her gaze in the dawn shadows for one meaningful instant. "Every moment was quite real."
    She started away, up the curving steps. "I'll see you later then. I hear Lady Thomasina's bell."
    * * *
    "Do you know, my Hunty has the most beguiling brown eyes!" her ladyship rhapsodized from her tub chair in the library. "Lady Caroline Lamb once said that Hunty's eyes were more beautiful than Lord Byron's!"
    Adrienne looked up from her sketches of the still-in-progress Systems and managed a wan smile. "How nice."
    "Are you listening, Miss Beau?"
    "Of course, my lady. However, Tavis and Sam are about to embark on the next phase of the Systems, and I want to be certain that the instructions are quite clear—"
    "The maroon bindings are next?"
    "Just as you have written, my lady."
    "Good!" Bending to pet Angus, she fretted, "I do hope the staff has begun preparing in earnest for my son's arrival. There is so much to do! When do you suppose the floors were last scrubbed?"
    "Which room were you thinking of?" Adrienne wondered cautiously.
    "Why, all of them, of course! Jarrow and that new housekeeper, Mabel, have been organizing the rest of the servants, haven't they? Where is the house steward?"
    "Visiting his mother in Cornwall, I believe, my lady."
    "Oh!" She fell back dramatically, and her brocade turban came loose. "Does no one understand the value of a hard day's work any longer? Is this the way these people repay me for all my kindnesses?"
    "I'm sure that your son's true concern is for you, my lady. He doubtless won't even notice the condition of Harms Castle..."
    A while later Lady Thomasina heard the hall clock announce the noon hour and put a pudgy hand to her brow. "I am faint with hunger. Where is that girl with my tray?"
    "Let me go and see." Seizing the opportunity, Adrienne hurried out of the room and nearly collided with Nathan. "Oh, thank goodness it's you! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!"
    "A gratifying change of heart," he replied with decided irony. Reaching in his coat pocket, he found his spectacles and put them on. "Particularly since I must speak to you."
    Adrienne checked to be certain that Lady Thomasina's meal was on its way, suggesting that Hortie sit with her mistress while she ate, and then Nathan led her off into the conservatory.
    "Sit down. Don't worry; her ladyship will be occupied for quite some time. The rat catcher is roaming the house, and I assured him that Lady Harms would be eager to discuss his findings, so he'll visit her in the library within the hour. When I left him, he'd already killed five