Read Online Emily Hendrickson by Elizabeths Rake - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeths Rake
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shooting you like that.”
“Aunt Bel.” Elizabeth protested, “he broke into my room in the dead of night. For all I knew he might have been a robber ... or worse! What was I to do? Meekly permit him to do as he pleased?”
“Elizabeth Dancy” came a scandalized retort.
His lordship’s grin was quite the most odious one yet. Elizabeth knew she blushed, most likely a fiery red, and contained her anger just barely. Trust the two of them to put the worst possible construction on her words.
The two younger people avoided further quibbling by their providential arrival at Penhurst Place. Aunt Bel surveyed the neat brick gate with a shrewd eye, then scanned the orderly avenue to the house with an astute knowledge of what it took to keep an estate in such excellent repair.
“You have a good steward. Lord Leighton,” she commented.
“A cousin, Jeremy Vane. My father took him in some years ago, training him in estate management with the hope that some day Jeremy would have experience enough to command a good position.”
“Admirable,” Aunt Bel said. “Difficult thing for younger sons to find a niche for themselves.” She sighed. “I worry about my John. As an only son, he must assume his place before long. I trust his traveling will bring him home safe and sound soon.”
Lord Leighton gave her an inquiring look.
“John decided he wished to duplicate the journey his father had made years ago, haring across the Alps down to Italy. How he avoided the Frenchies, I don’t know.” She checked her watch, then added, “Ought to have been home long ago.” As though Aunt Bel thought her John would arrange his trip to her timetable.
“I feel certain cousin John is fine, Aunt Bel. He is as practical as even you might wish, and always manages to land on his feet no matter what happens,” Elizabeth assured her.
The topic of the missing heir to the Montmorcy fortune was dismissed as the carriage drew up before the charming home of the Percy family. Or at least one of their homes.
Sidthorp ushered them in with a good deal more propriety than he had Elizabeth the day before. She surmised that Aunt Bel made all the difference.
“We are pleased to see you home, sir,” he said to the Percy heir.
Lord Leighton gave him a lopsided smile, then removed his hat, handing it to the waiting butler. His gloves offered a problem his valet would solve later. “My father awake, do you know?”
“As to that, sir, you would have to see Filpot, his lordship’s valet,” he added for Aunt Bel’s edification.
With an apprehensive glance at Lady Montmorcy, Lord Leighton said, “Shall you wish to go with me, my lady?”
“Most definitely,” she declared firmly. Turning to Elizabeth, she added, “Wait for us in the library. We do not wish to overwhelm his lordship.”
“Yes, do,” Leighton inserted.
“Very well,” Elizabeth said with resignation.
She watched the pair slowly make their way up the stairs until they reached the open gallery. They walked along the corridor leading to the south bedroom wing until they disappeared. She found the sight of Lord Leighton bending to listen solicitously to her aunt’s conversation unsettling. Who knew what her dearest aunt poured into his ears!
Elizabeth turned to Sidthorp. “I believe I shall wish tea, if you please. I feel sure that Lady Montmorcy will as well once she has investigated Lord Crompton’s condition.”
The butler nodded, then ushered Elizabeth around the corner and down the corridor to the library. Just beyond an elaborate long-case clock, he showed her into an elegant room with book-lined walls.
The air of somber comfort must reflect the personality of the earl, for it certainly didn’t his son. Elizabeth liked the neoclassical decor of the pleasantly airy room very much. She trailed a finger along the back of one of the many armchairs scattered about the room, casting an eye at the exquisite needlepoint covers with approval. She’d wager Leighton’s
“Aunt Bel.” Elizabeth protested, “he broke into my room in the dead of night. For all I knew he might have been a robber ... or worse! What was I to do? Meekly permit him to do as he pleased?”
“Elizabeth Dancy” came a scandalized retort.
His lordship’s grin was quite the most odious one yet. Elizabeth knew she blushed, most likely a fiery red, and contained her anger just barely. Trust the two of them to put the worst possible construction on her words.
The two younger people avoided further quibbling by their providential arrival at Penhurst Place. Aunt Bel surveyed the neat brick gate with a shrewd eye, then scanned the orderly avenue to the house with an astute knowledge of what it took to keep an estate in such excellent repair.
“You have a good steward. Lord Leighton,” she commented.
“A cousin, Jeremy Vane. My father took him in some years ago, training him in estate management with the hope that some day Jeremy would have experience enough to command a good position.”
“Admirable,” Aunt Bel said. “Difficult thing for younger sons to find a niche for themselves.” She sighed. “I worry about my John. As an only son, he must assume his place before long. I trust his traveling will bring him home safe and sound soon.”
Lord Leighton gave her an inquiring look.
“John decided he wished to duplicate the journey his father had made years ago, haring across the Alps down to Italy. How he avoided the Frenchies, I don’t know.” She checked her watch, then added, “Ought to have been home long ago.” As though Aunt Bel thought her John would arrange his trip to her timetable.
“I feel certain cousin John is fine, Aunt Bel. He is as practical as even you might wish, and always manages to land on his feet no matter what happens,” Elizabeth assured her.
The topic of the missing heir to the Montmorcy fortune was dismissed as the carriage drew up before the charming home of the Percy family. Or at least one of their homes.
Sidthorp ushered them in with a good deal more propriety than he had Elizabeth the day before. She surmised that Aunt Bel made all the difference.
“We are pleased to see you home, sir,” he said to the Percy heir.
Lord Leighton gave him a lopsided smile, then removed his hat, handing it to the waiting butler. His gloves offered a problem his valet would solve later. “My father awake, do you know?”
“As to that, sir, you would have to see Filpot, his lordship’s valet,” he added for Aunt Bel’s edification.
With an apprehensive glance at Lady Montmorcy, Lord Leighton said, “Shall you wish to go with me, my lady?”
“Most definitely,” she declared firmly. Turning to Elizabeth, she added, “Wait for us in the library. We do not wish to overwhelm his lordship.”
“Yes, do,” Leighton inserted.
“Very well,” Elizabeth said with resignation.
She watched the pair slowly make their way up the stairs until they reached the open gallery. They walked along the corridor leading to the south bedroom wing until they disappeared. She found the sight of Lord Leighton bending to listen solicitously to her aunt’s conversation unsettling. Who knew what her dearest aunt poured into his ears!
Elizabeth turned to Sidthorp. “I believe I shall wish tea, if you please. I feel sure that Lady Montmorcy will as well once she has investigated Lord Crompton’s condition.”
The butler nodded, then ushered Elizabeth around the corner and down the corridor to the library. Just beyond an elaborate long-case clock, he showed her into an elegant room with book-lined walls.
The air of somber comfort must reflect the personality of the earl, for it certainly didn’t his son. Elizabeth liked the neoclassical decor of the pleasantly airy room very much. She trailed a finger along the back of one of the many armchairs scattered about the room, casting an eye at the exquisite needlepoint covers with approval. She’d wager Leighton’s
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