The Incorrigible Mr. Lumley (28 page)

Joanna patted her hand. “You are my dearest
friend. Your happiness makes me happy. Even if I don’t visit over
the summer, I expect an invitation to your wedding.”

Starley cleared his throat from just inside
the room. “Lady Hannah Lumley wishes to know if you are receiving
callers.”

Joy filled Joanna. “Yes, show her in,
please.”

Lady Hannah and her maid entered with the
decorum due the finest of houses, then Lady Hannah rushed forward
to grab Joanna’s hand. “I was so worried when I heard. Are you
quite recovered?”

“I am, thank you. Please join us. I’ll send
for tea.” After doing so, Joanna returned to her seat on the chaise
near the fireplace. The days grew warmer, but she couldn’t seem to
rid herself of the chill that invaded her bones. “When did you
return to Town?”

“We came back shortly after Stephen and
Jane’s wedding. Mother, Trey and I, that is. I guess you know David
and Knightwick went to Ascot Heath, not London. They’ve been on the
road more than home since then.”

The footman arrived with a tray, which
Joanna had him set on the table in front of her. She poured the tea
into the cups. “Traveling to race meetings?”

“I don’t believe so. Trey said something
about investigations.”

“Into what?” Amelia took the cup and saucer
Joanna handed her.

“Into who tried to kill Lady Joanna.” Lady
Hannah’s expression said she thought the answer was obvious.

Amelia gasped. “I thought it was merely
tainted food. Someone intended for you to die?”

Joanna shook her head. “No one could have
known I would eat those oatcakes. They were given to our groom.
Someone wanted him dead.”

Lady Hannah accepted her cup and saucer then
sat back in her chair. “Trey said that makes two of your grooms who
have been poisoned. Why would anyone do that?”

“I don’t know. It seems a severe scheme to
ensure Patriot doesn’t race, or doesn’t win. They could accomplish
the same with a burr under his saddle.”

Amelia stirred sugar into her tea and took a
sip. “Please say you won’t attend any more race meetings, Joanna.
At least not until they find who is doing this.”

“I won’t be traveling, other than to Bath
with my aunt. I tire so easily.” Even sitting with her friends was
taking a toll, but she nibbled a biscuit to keep up her strength.
Speaking of her illness was also taxing, so she changed the
subject, asking Hannah, “How was your cousin’s wedding?”

“So lovely. I hope my wedding breakfast is
just as beautiful.” Hannah went on to describe in great detail the
décor and the foods served.

Joanna became increasingly tired as she
listened. She didn't want to credit it to the thought of a wedding
she would not be having, so she smiled and made what she hoped were
appropriate comments.

How had her life become such a mess? When
she’d arrived in London this spring, she’d thought the best days
were in front of her. But they’d quickly proven themselves to be
worse than she could imagine living through. She almost hadn’t
lived through the last two weeks.

Hannah must have noticed her expression.
“Are you truly well? Have we stayed too long? You look peaked.”

Joanna smiled. “The doctor says I’ll regain
my strength soon. Cook has been making me some of her horrid gruel.
I believe I shall heal quickly if only to escape eating any more of
it.”

“Would you care to go riding tomorrow?”
Hannah asked, then shook her head. “No, you aren’t strong enough
for that, are you? I could ask Trey to take us in the curricle. We
could go back to Richmond Park and feed the ducks in the pond.”

Memories flooded Joanna of David kissing her
and asking if he could speak to Robert. It was more than she could
bear. Her eyes welled and spilled over. The pain of her loss
overwhelmed her.

“Oh, no, what have I said?” Hannah jumped up
and rushed over, taking Joanna’s hand.

Amelia came to her other side and wrapped an
arm around her. “Please don’t cry, Joanna. What can we do for
you?”

Taking her handkerchief from her pocket,
Joanna blotted her eyes. “I’m sorry to fall apart on you this way.
All I’ve been through is catching up to me.”

“Will it help to talk to us?” Hannah brought
a small stool next to the chaise and sat by Joanna’s knees.

Joanna hesitated. “I feel rather awkward
discussing it.”

“Because you love my brother,” Hannah
suggested.

“Yes. I don’t want to hurt your
feelings.”

Hannah laughed. “I’m the first to admit when
my brothers have done something foolish, but this time even David
agrees with me. If he could find a way to undo his mistakes, he’d
have done it weeks ago. There’s nothing you could say against him
that would hurt my feelings.”

“Thank you for that.” Joanna smiled, the
tears not quite dried yet. “In recent weeks I’ve wished I never
came to Town, but I would not have met you two. I’ll be forever
grateful for your friendship.”

“And we are pleased to know you, aren’t we
Hannah?” Amelia said. “Maybe in time the bad memories will fade,
and the good will rise to the top.”

“I hope so.” Joanna rested her head on
Amelia’s shoulder for a moment. “Will you both return for the
Little Season? If so, we can attend the balls together and meet a
whole new set of gentlemen.”

Amelia patted the back of her head. “Well, I
hope to be engaged by then, if Sir Richard asks when he comes back
to Town. But being engaged doesn’t mean I must sit home every
evening. My beaux and I will help chaperone you two.”

They all laughed at the idea of their
parents agreeing to that. Joanna realized the friendship she shared
with these two ladies was worth all the painful experiences she’d
been through.

Well, all except almost dying. Nothing was
worth going through that fearful time.

After Robert came home that evening, Joanna
found him in his study. “May I interrupt you for a moment?”

He set down his pen and smiled. “Of course.
What is troubling you?”

“Lady Hannah was here this afternoon, and of
course, Mr. Lumley was mentioned. You know I overheard you two
talking that night, don’t you?”

“He said as much, yes.”

“Yet, you continue to seek his aid in
finding the person behind these poisonings. After he told the
constable you were guilty of it.”

“That’s correct. I don’t feel capable of the
work needed to investigate all the incidents, while keeping you
safe. I’m grateful for his help, and that of Knightwick.”

Joanna scratched her fingernail on a spot on
her dress, trying to find the right words. “How can you forgive him
for believing you capable of murder?”

Robert leaned back in his chair, resting his
elbows on the arms and making a steeple of his fingers. “Perhaps if
he knew me, if he’d been a friend before making the accusations, it
might have hurt more. There is history you are unaware of, however,
between our fathers. Bridgethorpe and Father had a rivalry of
sorts, and David grew up not trusting our father, and by extension,
me.”

She pursed her lips. “I don’t find it any
more comforting he thought father was a murderer.”

“For as much as he said so, he didn’t truly
believe it. He was angry over Zephyr’s death, and needed someone to
blame.” Robert’s lips thinned and he drew in a deep breath. “I have
a confession of my own. I have tried to protect you and Mother from
the depths of Father’s problems in his final years, but I can see
I’m doing you no favors. You need to see what kind of man Father
was. He’d let his obsession for owning a winning runner drive him
mad. He borrowed money to buy horses, but they didn’t win. He
couldn’t see how he was destroying his own life, and all of
ours.”

“Father was borrowing money?” Those words
sank in, making clear some other questions she’d had. “From…Sir
Frederick?”

Robert ducked his head as if unable to meet
her gaze. “Yes. And yes, that is why I was unable to turn down his
suit for you. I thank God that matter was resolved in time.”

“How were you able to pay him off?”

Again, he looked away, reaching for some
letters on his desk. “I’m not at liberty to say. The debt is paid,
and you are not under any obligation to marry Sir Frederick.”

Robert’s manner was very odd, but she knew
better than to push too far. She tried a vague question. “Is Mr.
Lumley responsible for the debt being paid?”

“I cannot discuss the business with you. But
let me say this: David Lumley is a good man. Whether or not you
intend to marry him, you need to move past this if you want to be
happy.”

“I don’t know if I can.” She sighed. “Thank
you for speaking with me. I shall see you at supper.” She rose, and
went to the small garden behind their home to consider her
thoughts. Of one thing she was certain, she owed Mr. Lumley a great
debt if he was responsible for saving her from Sir Frederick. But
gratitude wasn’t enough to base a marriage on, and she didn’t know
if she could trust him enough to believe he cared for her. He had
pretended affection for her while alleging her brother was a
criminal. Could she forgive him that?

Starley showed David into Northcotte’s study
and closed the doors as he exited the room. Northcotte rose and
motioned for David to sit. “Any news?”

David grunted. “None. The old woman at Ascot
Heath might never have existed. You?”

“How can he leave no trace? He must pay the
men who work for him quite well, because my man has offered a hefty
purse in exchange for information.”

“Knightwick has been inquiring at the clubs
to see if anyone will admit to borrowing from Sir Frederick. I
don’t know what good it will do us to speak to them, but if he has
threatened any of them, or if they’ve suffered some suspicious
loss, perhaps we can persuade them to inform their magistrate, or
Bow Street.”

“Have you considered stationing men to watch
the stables at each race meeting coming up?”

“My brother has several men lined up for
Bibury next week. Will Patriot be entered?”

“I don’t feel right entering him since he is
now your horse. Besides, I still don’t think it’s wise to enter
Patriot. If anything happens to that horse, it will kill Joanna. I
have another horse I can enter.” Northcotte licked his lips as if
he’d swallowed something bitter. “I hate to risk a good runner to
draw the man out, but it has to be done. I’ll do as you have said,
have someone stay with him at all times. And send my older grooms,
whom I trust.”

“Very well. It will be a long summer if we
must continue like this, keeping watch over our horses ‘round the
clock.”

A knock came at the door and Starley opened
it. “Sir Frederick Ardwen is here to see you, my lord.”

Northcotte met David’s gaze before
responding. “Tell him I’m not available.”

“Very good, my lord.”

When the door latched, David asked, “Don’t
you want to know why he’s here?”

“I’ve paid my father’s debt, so the only
business he could have with me is my sister.”

“You didn’t refuse his offer for her?”

“I did, just as soon as I had his signature
on my father’s vowels. He didn’t accept it as my final answer.”

David rose. “What does he expect to do?
Persuade Lady Joanna with the charm he doesn’t possess? I wish
she’d accepted my proposal so I could send him away for good.”

“About that…do you plan to renew your suit
with Joanna?”

“Would it do any good? She was in tears when
she sent me away. I don’t wish to hurt her further.”

“She’s been in tears since she refused you.
I believe that hurts more than marrying you could ever do.”

Combing a hand through his hair, David
glanced at the door. She was probably upstairs. He could ask
Starley to inquire if she’d see him. He didn’t think he could bear
it if she sent him away. “You know I’d give her everything she
wanted. I thought, perhaps, in time…She seemed happy to see me in
Windsor.”