Read Online The Earl's Revenge by Allison Lane - Free Book Online Page B

pictures so they look pretty. She does the most fantastic drawings, often out of her head, for she does not need to see a real thing to paint it.”
    “Does she live here?” he asked in surprise, though if she did, surely Mrs. Burgess would have consigned Helen to the woman.
    “Of course not. She lives in the village with her friend, Miss Anne. But she likes to walk out on the moor and draw. I often see her there. And sometimes I go into the village to have tea with them. We all went to the vicarage one day. There was a fat old cat with a secret smile. I think he had just caught a mouse.” She jumped off the last step and laughed.
    Mark was becoming more horrified by the minute at this artless recital. “Do you go out alone?”
    She nodded. “Nana cannot walk more than a few steps anymore, but I am always very careful. Miss Elaine showed me places that are too dangerous to go and taught me how to read the clouds. I never leave the grounds when a storm is coming. She says the paths are dangerous with wind and wet. She thinks I should stay closer to the house, but that is boring, and she does not mind me visiting.”
    Mark’s head was swirling. Clearly she was not being properly cared for. Deciding that he must investigate the local spinsters that his daughter claimed as friends, he thrust aside annoyance and allowed Helen to introduce him to the house.
    It had not been used as a residence for a long time, though he believed that an uncle or cousin had lived there in his father’s youth. The furniture was heavy and dark, dating back at least a hundred years. The library was hardly worth the name, containing fewer than fifty volumes, most of them sermons. It was good to get outside.
    “Today is pretty,” observed Helen, holding her face up to the sun. “It is often foggy or rainy here. Nana complained about the damp when we first arrived. She suffers dreadfully from rheumatism. Jenny often has a hard time making her comfortable.”
    “Who is Jenny?”
    “One of the nursery maids at home. She looks after Nana and Lily looks after me.”
    “Why did they not come with you?” he questioned idly.
    “Nana wondered that too, but the orders were to send only the two of us, so she assumed there were other maids here. Lily and Jenny were happy enough to get a holiday.”
    “Let us look at the stables,” suggested Mark as his guilt increased. It was his own unthinking words that had led to that order.
    “There is not much to see,” said Helen with a shrug. “Mr. Bowles keeps his horse here because his cottage has no stable, and there is another that Mrs. Burgess uses with the gig, but that is all. Toby wanted to keep a pair to use with our coach, but Mr. Bowles said it was a waste of money for nought but an old lady and a brat. I heard them arguing about it just after we arrived.”
    “Toby is the groom?”
    “No, that is Freddie. Toby is our coachman from Westron. He wanted to teach me to ride, but Mr. Bowles refused to let us use his horse, and the other is unaccustomed to a saddle.”
    “Mr. Bowles is the steward, I believe.”
    She nodded. “I don’t like him. He has an angry face.”
    “Most people do during an argument. Or did you say something to upset him?”
    She giggled. “No, he never talks to me, though he is annoyed that we came. He will be even more annoyed to see you. I don’t think he likes people much. Or maybe he doesn’t like to answer questions. Anyway, Miss Elaine showed me how to draw eyes and mouths so that the face can be happy or sad or angry. Mr. Bowles always has an angry face. Mrs. Burgess usually has a happy face. Jenny had a sad face when we left, though she is usually happy. Burgess has what Miss Elaine calls a butler’s face. It shows nothing. She also says that many people use a false face so that no one can tell what they are really thinking. Mrs. Hedges in the village is like that. She wants to know everyone’s secrets, so she pretends to be friendly. But I saw her hit a