To Wed an Heiress by Rosanne E. Lortz

Author:Rosanne E. Lortz
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Madison Street Publishing
Published: 2015-04-28T07:00:00+00:00

19

Jacob Pevensey began to draw, with large, swooping lines, in the small notebook he always carried. He was rather enjoying this afternoon’s interviews. It was amusing to hear the staff whispering behind his back about the “Bow Street Runner” and then hushing to a scared silence as soon as he turned around, afraid that he had heard them use that offensive term.

Upon his arrival, he had gone through the side door into the kitchen like any traveling tradesman and introduced himself to Mrs. Alfred, the housekeeper. In most houses, the butler would be the person to apply to, but it had not taken more than a moment to ascertain that in this household the housekeeper ruled the roost. Before he had even met the earl, he had learned the names and relationships of all the inmates of the house and of most of the servants too.

A footman had taken him up to the drawing room where he had made the acquaintance of the family, or at least of most of them. The earl had been younger than he had expected—and more polite too. In Pevensey’s experience, the only thing more distressing to the nobility than a murder in the house was an investigation to look into who had committed it. But Lord Anglesford seemed willing to have him on the premises. Such cooperation could only mean one of two things—he was innocent…or he was guilty.

The younger brother had been less welcoming. He had neither the physique of a sportsman nor the style of a dandy. He seemed a bookish fellow, still a boy but on the verge of becoming a man. He looked quite capable of strangling a gnat in conversation, but not quite so capable of strangling an attractive female.

And then there was the girl—nay, the woman—with the dark blue eyes. A cousin and longstanding member of the family, according to the servants, a beauty through and through, with Irish blood in her if he was not mistaken. Though she’d been standing quite close to the younger brother, Pevensey sensed an even greater closeness between her and the older brother, the earl. Perhaps it was the way they’d exchanged a look when he’d entered…or the way they’d subsequently avoided each other’s eyes while he was in the room. He wondered if there was a past—or current—interest between the two.

Whatever the case, that woman was too beautiful by far to be in the same house party as a man’s fiancée. Especially if that fiancée were Arabella Hastings. Pevensey snorted down a laugh. He had had occasion to meet Miss Hastings during the course of his business dealings with her father. If anyone had painted him a picture of Woldwick’s inmates a week ago, he would have predicted murder…although, somehow, he would have supposed Miss Hastings to be on the other side of the equation.

Upon leaving the earl’s presence, Pevensey’s visit with William Hastings had gone much as expected. “Pevensey!” the mill owner had bellowed, pulling him into the private sitting room attached to his chamber.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.