return.
“No,” he said with consonants so posh he had to have been either very well educated or some sort of upper-crust type, “just a student of history. Had a free day and thought this might be interesting. And you?”
“Ah,” she said. “I’m just a tourist.”
“And your boyfriend?”
“He isn’t my boyfriend,” she said quickly. “Just someone I know.” She almost added
unfortunately
, but thought that might have been too much information.
He only lifted his eyebrows briefly, then nodded. “Have a lovely visit,” he said, then he turned and walked away.
Samantha was slightly surprised by the abruptness of his departure, but since that seemed to be the state of affairs with the men in her life during the past half hour, she supposed she couldn’t expect anything else.
She sat down on the bench surrounding the pillar in the middle of the room and tried to regroup. She attempted it until the room filled with foreign-speaking tourists and she realized she wasn’t going to get any serious thinking done.
She managed to get out of the castle and catch a bus back to the Cookes’ without seeing Dory. She could only assume he’d stomped off in a huff and was intending to punish her by his absence.
Lydia answered the door at her knock. “Have a good morning, love?”
“It was interesting,” Samantha said, because there was absolutely no way she was going to talk about what she’d seen. She was almost convinced she’d imagined the whole thing.
Lydia smiled. “You know, Samantha, I was just wondering if you might be up for a little errand tomorrow.”
“Will it require my traveling long distances?” Samantha asked hopefully.
Lydia laughed a little. “Actually, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind nipping down to London and delivering something to a colleague for me. I’d go myself, of course, but Edmund and I start rehearsals soon.” She smiled apologetically. “You know how that goes.”
“I do,” Samantha said, and boy, did she ever. Her father’s stage career had been all consuming for him. Even the university lived in fear of conflicting with his theater schedule.
“There is no hurry, actually, about your arrival,” Lydia said. “I’ll give you a phone number to ring when you reach the city. I hadn’t intended for you to do this, but I thought you might want to—what’s that phrase you have?”
“Get the heck out of Dodge?” Samantha supplied.
“That’s the one,” Lydia agreed. “I can suggest a place or two of interest, or you can just wander without a plan.”
“Oh,” Samantha said, feeling something akin to unease take hold of her. “No plan? I’m not sure that’s wise.”
Lydia smiled gently. “Then let me choose for you, just this time. Castles or gardens?”
“Castles.”
“Medieval or Renaissance?”
“Medieval,” Samantha said reverently. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“Then I’ll book you a couple of spots to stay, suggest a well-preserved medieval relic or two, then send you off in the morning to the station. I’ll get you a key to the house as well, of course. You’ll need to get back in when you return, won’t you?”
Samantha nodded. “I’ll pay you for the hotels—”
Lydia shook her head. “Of course you won’t. You’re doing me the favor of running an errand for me. The least I can do is cover your travel expenses. You can see to your meals, if you like.”
“You are too generous.”
Lydia shrugged, as if she were a little uncomfortable with the thanks. “Not to worry, darling. I’ll go make your arrangements.”
Samantha thanked her again, then made her way up to her room to consider what to take. The entire place was comfortingly free of Elizabethan specters and obnoxious New Englanders both, which was a bonus as far as she was concerned.
Now, if she could have perhaps encountered an extremely handsome guy wearing Middle English sayings on his shirt—and no doubt knowing what they meant—she might
“No,” he said with consonants so posh he had to have been either very well educated or some sort of upper-crust type, “just a student of history. Had a free day and thought this might be interesting. And you?”
“Ah,” she said. “I’m just a tourist.”
“And your boyfriend?”
“He isn’t my boyfriend,” she said quickly. “Just someone I know.” She almost added
unfortunately
, but thought that might have been too much information.
He only lifted his eyebrows briefly, then nodded. “Have a lovely visit,” he said, then he turned and walked away.
Samantha was slightly surprised by the abruptness of his departure, but since that seemed to be the state of affairs with the men in her life during the past half hour, she supposed she couldn’t expect anything else.
She sat down on the bench surrounding the pillar in the middle of the room and tried to regroup. She attempted it until the room filled with foreign-speaking tourists and she realized she wasn’t going to get any serious thinking done.
She managed to get out of the castle and catch a bus back to the Cookes’ without seeing Dory. She could only assume he’d stomped off in a huff and was intending to punish her by his absence.
Lydia answered the door at her knock. “Have a good morning, love?”
“It was interesting,” Samantha said, because there was absolutely no way she was going to talk about what she’d seen. She was almost convinced she’d imagined the whole thing.
Lydia smiled. “You know, Samantha, I was just wondering if you might be up for a little errand tomorrow.”
“Will it require my traveling long distances?” Samantha asked hopefully.
Lydia laughed a little. “Actually, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind nipping down to London and delivering something to a colleague for me. I’d go myself, of course, but Edmund and I start rehearsals soon.” She smiled apologetically. “You know how that goes.”
“I do,” Samantha said, and boy, did she ever. Her father’s stage career had been all consuming for him. Even the university lived in fear of conflicting with his theater schedule.
“There is no hurry, actually, about your arrival,” Lydia said. “I’ll give you a phone number to ring when you reach the city. I hadn’t intended for you to do this, but I thought you might want to—what’s that phrase you have?”
“Get the heck out of Dodge?” Samantha supplied.
“That’s the one,” Lydia agreed. “I can suggest a place or two of interest, or you can just wander without a plan.”
“Oh,” Samantha said, feeling something akin to unease take hold of her. “No plan? I’m not sure that’s wise.”
Lydia smiled gently. “Then let me choose for you, just this time. Castles or gardens?”
“Castles.”
“Medieval or Renaissance?”
“Medieval,” Samantha said reverently. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“Then I’ll book you a couple of spots to stay, suggest a well-preserved medieval relic or two, then send you off in the morning to the station. I’ll get you a key to the house as well, of course. You’ll need to get back in when you return, won’t you?”
Samantha nodded. “I’ll pay you for the hotels—”
Lydia shook her head. “Of course you won’t. You’re doing me the favor of running an errand for me. The least I can do is cover your travel expenses. You can see to your meals, if you like.”
“You are too generous.”
Lydia shrugged, as if she were a little uncomfortable with the thanks. “Not to worry, darling. I’ll go make your arrangements.”
Samantha thanked her again, then made her way up to her room to consider what to take. The entire place was comfortingly free of Elizabethan specters and obnoxious New Englanders both, which was a bonus as far as she was concerned.
Now, if she could have perhaps encountered an extremely handsome guy wearing Middle English sayings on his shirt—and no doubt knowing what they meant—she might
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