A Debt From the Past (8 page)

‘I see.’ She had the grace to calm down and try to look at the scheme dispassionately. Greenway was a loyal man, and she respected his judgement in matters pertaining to the estate. Indeed, she could never have managed since her father’s death without his guidance, and she looked upon him as almost one of the family.

‘In that case, will you talk to him about it?’ She gave him an imploring look. ‘I don’t want him making changes unless it is for the benefit of the estate and everyone who lives and works here.’

‘Leave it with me, Miss Langton. I’ll seek out his lordship at once and see what plans he has for the field.’

‘Thank you.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘You must forgive me for my outburst, but this situation has been thrust upon me, and when I consider what damage he could do in a year, it throws me into a panic.’

‘I understand. We are all living on tenterhooks, wondering what he is going to do. If only we knew more about him.’

‘He is certainly a mystery. I would ascertain his age to be around thirty, and yet it is as if he never existed until my godfather died.’

‘That is true, but –’ the estate manager gave a conspiratorial smile – ‘there are plenty of us trying to unearth the truth, and he cannot keep his past hidden for ever.’

‘I agree. However, I cannot help but fret.’

‘Don’t you worry yourself too much, Miss Langton. If he starts to act with disregard for the welfare of the estate, then we shall find a way to trim his sails.’

She laughed. ‘That will not be easy, I fear, for he does appear to be in complete command of his ship.’

‘For the moment, yes, but he must have a weak spot below the water line, and we shall find it eventually.’ Greenway walked out of the room with a determined expression on his face.

The needle stabbed into Beth, and she muttered under her breath, placing the punctured finger in her mouth. The man sitting opposite her did not appear to have noticed her exclamation of pain; he was still engrossed in his reading.

She studied him through lowered lashes and sighed. The hostility between them was unnerving, and it was all her fault: she should never have spoken to him so accusingly yesterday. She was being unwise to allow her anger to show too much. Mr Edgemont had not returned for dinner, so they were alone – apart from Helen, of course, who was always with her, much to her relief.

‘Lord Sharland.’ She spoke quietly, but he looked up immediately. ‘I wish to apologize for my outburst. I have spoken to Greenway about your suggestion of making that field over to pigs, and he thinks the idea has merit.’

He put the book aside. ‘I have discussed it with him; we are in complete agreement.’

‘When will you go ahead with the scheme?’ It was no good her fighting against it if her estate manager was also in favour of the plan.

‘There is a little work to be done before purchasing the animals. They must have huts to protect them from the elements, but that should take no more than three days.’

‘You have not wasted any time,’ she told him, not able to hide the distaste she felt.

‘Greenway tells me you have a fierce dislike of the beasts.’

‘Indeed I have! When I was a small child, I came face to face with a sow. She chased me, and when I dropped my doll in terror, the disgusting animal ate it.’ She struggled to keep a serious expression but was not very successful. ‘I have never forgiven the breed.’

A deep, rumbling laugh came from his lordship. ‘Do not be concerned, Elizabeth; they will be well away from the house and you need never see them.’

His tone was friendly, and he appeared more relaxed than she had seen him thus far. Emboldened by this, she decided to complete her apology. ‘I was very rude to you yesterday; I do beg your forgiveness. I have an unruly tongue at times,’ she admitted.

‘I have already forgotten the incident.’ He gave another brief smile and picked up his book again.

She took a deep breath and made pretence of returning to her sewing, but in truth she loathed the task and resented this forced inactivity. Running the estate had kept her busy from dawn to dusk, and she had loved every minute.

Tears of self-pity clouded her eyes, and she blinked them away. It was not the slightest good her riling against the situation; she needed to keep her composure and not enrage his lordship. If she did not keep her wits about her, then disaster could creep in without her noticing it, and she must not allow that to happen. But it was so very difficult, and, to be truthful, she was frightened. She had believed that her father and godfather had all matters concerning the estate and her future in prime order. It was distressing to discover that that was not the case.

The door opened, and Jenkins came into the room. ‘Sir Peter Gresham has called to see you, my lord.’

The book was tossed aside, and for a fleeting moment his expression was thunderous, but he was soon in control of his emotions again. ‘Tell him I am not at home.’

Without another word, he stepped through the open door into the garden and strode away from the house.

‘Well!’ Beth was astonished at such conduct. ‘What do you think that was about, Jenkins?’

‘I would say his lordship has no liking for the gentleman,’ he remarked dryly.

‘So it would appear, and that I can understand, for I also find Sir Peter a rather unpleasant person, but one has to be polite.’ She frowned. ‘I was not aware that his lordship had any acquaintances here?’

‘Nor I,’ the butler said with a thoughtful expression. ‘Apart from his friend, Mr Edgemont, he appears to be a solitary man.’

‘That is the impression I had gained – you would have expected the whole district to come visiting as soon as word got round, but Sir Peter is the first one to call since he arrived.’ She settled herself elegantly in the chair and gave a mischievous smile. ‘You had better show him in; I shall entertain him myself.’

Jenkins quickly checked that Helen was in her usual place on the window seat and then bowed. ‘I shall see that refreshments are served in five minutes.’

Beth smiled to herself as she waited for her visitor to be shown in. This was the first time she had ever felt any pleasure at the prospect of meeting the gentleman. It was a novel experience.

She rose to greet him. ‘How good of you to call, but I’m afraid Lord Sharland is unavailable.’

‘That is disappointing, Miss Langton, as I so wished to see him today.’

‘Perhaps you would allow me to take his place; it is an age since we met.’ She smiled and simpered, hating herself for acting like this, but she wanted to keep him here and find out why he had called.

‘Thank you; that is most gracious of you.’ He waited until she was seated again and then sat down.

‘I would not like to think that your visit was completely wasted.’ She gave that smile again and hoped it did not look like a grimace. ‘Ah, here is tea.’ She poured and handed him a cup. ‘Have you known Lord Sharland long?’

‘We have never met, but when I heard he had arrived, I thought I should pay a visit.’

‘He will be sorry to have missed you,’ she lied with aplomb.

Sir Peter sipped his tea and then put the cup on the table. ‘He is your guardian, I understand.’

‘Yes, indeed.’ She smiled brightly again, but her instinct was urging her to be careful what she said. ‘He is a charming man and full of wonderful ideas for expanding the estate. After the unexpected death of my beloved godfather, I am fortunate to have such a wise guardian.’

He nodded, but she did not miss the glint of curiosity in his eyes.

‘That was tragic, and I hope you will forgive me for calling so soon after your great bereavements?’

‘You are welcome, sir.’

He smiled, sat back and crossed his legs. ‘I was not aware that the late Lord Sharland had any direct heirs?’

‘Really?’ She tried an innocent look. ‘He is a much-loved relative. He has lived abroad for many years – and that is why you have not heard of him before – but he has returned to shoulder his responsibilities.’

Beth was aware of a feeling of danger. She had never liked this man – she had heard he was violent – and, for some inexplicable reason, she felt it imperative to protect his lordship. Which was ridiculous because he was clearly very proficient at protecting himself.

‘I see.’ He appeared to relax. ‘That would account for the fact that no one seems to know him.’

Now it was time to change the subject. ‘And how is your sister?’

‘Distressed!’ He held his cup out for more tea. ‘Our London residence was broken into two days ago, while she was asleep in her bed.’

‘How terrible!’ She poured and handed the cup back to him, hoping her expression was suitably outraged. The sister was no more likeable than the brother. ‘I trust she suffered no hurt?’

‘She was unharmed and did not know anything about it until the servants rose to go about their chores.’

‘That is indeed a blessing. Did the thieves take anything of value?’

‘No, that was the strange thing: nothing was missing. But the house had been thoroughly searched.’ He glowered. ‘By an expert.’

‘That is most distressing,’ she sympathized. ‘What do you think they were looking for?’

‘We do not have the faintest idea.’

He was lying; she was sure of it. ‘Ah, if nothing was taken, then it is clear that they did not find what they were looking for.’

‘No, they did not!’

The certainty in his voice told her that he knew what the intruder had been after. How exciting! Another mystery.

He smiled and stood up. ‘I must not take any more of your time, Miss Langton. Will you tell Lord Sharland I am sorry to have missed him and hope I shall have the pleasure of meeting him very soon.’

‘I shall tell him, and please give my regards to your sister.’

‘Well, well,’ Beth murmured when they were alone again. ‘What did you make of that, Helen? I cannot remember Sir Peter ever visiting us before.’

‘Strange indeed. He was clearly disappointed at not finding Lord Sharland at home.’

‘That was the impression I had as well. He could hardly sit still long enough to be polite.’ Beth pursed her lips thoughtfully. ‘And the way his lordship practically ran out of this room made it clear that he didn’t want to see Sir Peter. I do believe you are right to suggest that there is more to this than a stranger taking over as my guardian.’

Both girls nodded and poured themselves another cup of tea.

‘The mystery continues to grow, Helen. I find it very curious that his lordship should not want to meet Sir Peter – and that Sir Peter’s London home has been recently broken into, but nothing taken. It feels as if there is a connection there.’

Helen pursed her lips. ‘And Mr Edgemont has been missing for a while.’

‘Indeed!’

James appeared just in time for dinner that evening and was even more uncommunicative than usual. They were well into the second course when Beth broke the silence. ‘Is Mr Edgemont not joining us this evening?

‘No, he is still out ... visiting.’

‘Oh, does he know people who live in the area?’

‘He knows a great many people.’

The expression on his face told her quite plainly that the subject was closed, so she didn’t probe any further. ‘I entertained Sir Peter Gresham in your stead this afternoon, and he appeared most interested in you.’

That did gain his attention. ‘And what did you tell him?’

‘I could not say much because, in truth, I know very little about you, so I lied shamelessly.’

‘Really?’ The corners of his lordship’s mouth twitched.

‘Yes, I do not like the Greshams and I told quite a few untruths.’ She looked at him through lowered lashes as if ashamed of her conduct, but she doubted that her poor acting ability was fooling him.

‘Such as?’

‘I told him you were a charming man and I was fortunate to have you as my guardian.’ She sighed and fanned herself with her napkin. ‘I cannot understand why I should have told such a blatant untruth.’

The corners of his mouth twitched again, but otherwise his expression did not change. ‘And did he want to know my relationship to the Sharlands?’

‘He did.’ She glared at the infuriating man; he was finding this far too amusing. ‘But I had to wriggle out of answering that, because although you have told me you are his son, and the lawyer assures me that you are, and has papers to prove it, they could be forgeries.’ She heard Helen draw in a sharp breath but ignored it. She had always spoken her mind and had no intention of changing now. ‘I got around it by saying that you were a close relative and had been abroad for many years.’

‘That was very inventive of you. Almost as inventive as you consider me to be.’ His eyes regarded her intently. ‘Did he believe you?’

‘I don’t know. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but we had better get our stories straight before you meet him.’

‘I have no intention of making his acquaintance ... yet.’ He sat back and folded his arms. ‘However, you had better tell me exactly what was said.’

She gave a full account of the conversation. As she drew to a close, he was smiling broadly.

‘I don’t think this is anything to laugh about,’ she declared indignantly. ‘I have behaved in a most improper manner and I cannot understand why I should have acted in this way.’

His smile spread, and he stood up, came to her, then bent down and touched his lips to her cheek. It was no more than the touch of a butterfly wing, but she was startled that this cold, stern man should show gentleness. It was quite out of character.

‘Why did you do that?’ she gasped, taken completely by surprise.

‘To thank you for trying to protect me.’ He went back to his own place and started to eat again. Then he looked up. ‘But it was not necessary; I am quite able to take care of my own affairs. And you can be assured that I shall not tell anyone that you are such an accomplished storyteller.’ He drained his wine glass and stood up again. ‘Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I have something to attend to.’

When they were sure he had left the house, Beth said to Helen, ‘So much secrecy and it is quite driving me to distraction.’

Helen nodded. ‘It is frustrating, I know, but you must learn to guard your tongue. You as good as accused him of criminal activity, and I do not feel that is wise.’