Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Intrigue: Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Chronicles Volume 4 by Stephanie Laurens

Author:Stephanie Laurens [Laurens, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781925559446
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Standing together on the altar steps, with their gazes raised as they sang the last hymn, Jamie, George, and Lottie—who, with the other visitors to the village who had joined the choir, had today lined up with the regular choir to test the merging of their voices into a cohesive whole—saw the lady in dark brown slip out of the last pew and make for the door.

Then the lady glanced back.

With her elbow, Lottie jabbed George, who was standing beside her. Eyes widening, George nudged Jamie, who nudged back. He’d seen and recognized the lady, too.

All three looked at their Uncle Christopher, but his gaze was on his raised hymnbook.

As one, the three raked the congregation and spotted Drummond, standing in a place on the aisle farther back.

Although he appeared to be singing, as luck would have it, Drummond was looking at them.

All three signaled frantically with their eyes.

Drummond frowned, then glanced toward the door.

Just in time to see it shut.

To the children’s relief, Drummond set down his hymnal, walked quickly and quietly up the aisle, crossed the foyer, and left the church.

Without missing a note, the children shared excited glances, then returned their attention to Mr. Moody, who they discovered was looking sternly at them.

All three smiled beatifically and continued to sing.

The hymn came to an end, and with the rest of the choir, the children resumed their seats. Under cover of the slight fuss that entailed, they saw Drummond come back in and unobtrusively reclaim his seat.

Seeing the children with their gazes trained on him, Drummond nodded once.

The children shifted on their seats, keen to learn what he had found.

They had to possess their souls in patience until the benediction had been bestowed, then as Reverend Colebatch, beaming as usual, led his congregation up the aisle, the children piled into the vestry to doff their chorister’s robes, leaving them in Mrs. Moody’s care, and spilled out of the church via the vestry door. They rushed to the front of the church and spotted Drummond standing to one side of the forecourt, apparently keeping an eye on those gathering on the lawn. The children made a beeline for him.

They pulled up in front of him, and Lottie fixed him with a sharply interrogatory look. “Did you see her?”

Drummond wasn’t sure how much he should reveal to the three scamps, but in this case, they’d been the ones to alert him to Miss Sewell’s presence. Without their sharp eyes, he wouldn’t have known she’d been there. After a second’s inner debate, he replied, “She got into a gig and drove off. Leave it with me—I’ll let your uncle know.”

All three regarded him through narrowing eyes, but then one of their friends hailed them, and ending their assessing scrutiny, they ran off to join a bevy of local children.

Drummond waited.

Eventually, after the usual chatting with the village gentry, Christopher guided his mother to where Simms stood beside the manor’s gig.

Christopher helped his mother into the gig, then stood back as Simms drove off.

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