A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder Read online

  Within fifteen minutes of our departure, I was to find out what they were like without the watchful eye of their mother. The compartment we occupied was spacious and fitted out with comfortably upholstered chairs situated against both the forward and rear walls, carpet, curtains, and a table along the side, all of which made it feel like a smallish sitting room. Leo and Durant took two seats along one side of the compartment and made a makeshift desk between them, leaving not quite two seats beside them. Regardless, Anne and Clara chose to squeeze into the space. The result was explosive.

  “You are sitting on my dress!”

  Anne looked up from her book and rearranged the skirts between them. Peace reigned for less than thirty seconds.

  “Stop reading over my shoulder,” Anne said, never lifting her eyes from the book.

  “I am not reading over your shoulder. Who but you would want to read such boring, dusty old tomes? Why didn’t you bring a novel to read?”

  “If I did, you would read over my shoulder.”

  “Aha! So you admit I am not now reading over your shoulder.”

  “If you weren’t, you would not know what I was reading. And why didn’t you bring a novel of your own if you wish to read so badly?”

  The bickering continued for a quarter of an hour at least. I cast a glance at Lily sitting next to Mr. Treadwell a seat away from me. Though they were directly across from the girls, they seemed not to notice and maintained a conversation that had Lily smiling. I began to wonder if I was the only one bothered by the argument.

  “The two of you are behaving like children.” The outburst came from Eliza. Her fine brows were drawn together, her dark eyes narrowed. As she leaned in toward her sisters, her profile to me, she looked for all the world like a hawk poised to attack her younger siblings. “I’d expect you to behave better in company than you do at home.”

  Her rebuke seemed rather harsh. The two sisters jerked back in surprise, but in the space of time it took to draw a breath, they joined forces against Eliza, and the worst kind of caterwauling ensued.

  Through it all, Leo and his brother-in-law remained oblivious. The two men busied themselves with some documents, though how they were able to concentrate at all amazed me. I could take it no longer.

  “Anne.”

  All three young ladies turned their gazes on me, surprised to hear someone else speak.

  “Why don’t you trade seats with me? I believe the light is better here for your reading.” I stood before she could answer, giving her no choice but to comply. With the exchange made, I sat on the bench next to Clara, with Lily and Treadwell now across from me. Eliza pulled out some needlework and Anne returned to her book.

  Perhaps this new configuration would allow us some peace. I gave Clara a smile. Dressed in a tailored traveling suit of plum wool, her warm brown curls upswept and supporting a tiny hat with a matching plum feather, she looked very grown up. I had to remind myself she was still only seventeen and not yet “out.” “Have you spent much time in the country, Miss Kendrick?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “I really haven’t traveled much outside of London. Once to Oxford when Leo was at school there. My parents travel for business of course, but they leave us at home.”

  “Then this should be rather exciting for you.”

  But I’d already lost her attention. I followed her gaze to Lily and Treadwell, who were still in conversation and—heavens! His hand rested atop her hand, which rested atop her knee.

  It lasted less than an instant. Lily laughed and moved her hand. Treadwell pulled his back. In the next moment, he leaned forward to say something to Anne.

  Lily’s expression was perfectly calm—no blush, no glance about to see if anyone had noticed. Surely, my imagination had exaggerated his touch, blown it up into something more intimate than it really was. Lily loved Leo. Of that there could be no doubt.

  Treadwell was Leo’s closest friend and a gentleman. Not that a gentleman couldn’t be a bounder, but Lily had no interest in men who had nothing with which to occupy themselves but their own entertainment. She wanted a man like our father, who worked and made something of himself. I undoubtedly imagined the incident and should put it out of my mind. I glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed and caught Eliza just as she turned away, her lips tightly compressed. Perhaps I hadn’t imagined it. Would she say something to Lily? Or worse, to Leo?

  “Clara, can’t you see you’re crowding Lady Harleigh?” Eliza’s tone was sharp.

  This brought me from my reverie to see the girl leaning almost into my lap and nearly clipping my jaw as she shot back into her seat.

  “I am not,” she said.

  “You were.”

  The balance of the trip continued in this manner. A short silence, followed by bickering, followed by admonishments, and a full-scale argument. When Eliza snapped at her sisters, I wondered if she was truly annoyed with them, or upset by Treadwell’s forward behavior to Lily, and taking her anger out on the girls. By the time we arrived at the Harroway station, I had reached the end of my tether and could not have suffered their company for another mile.

  As the train came to a stop, I smoothed a hand over my skirts, chasing the wrinkles, and straightened my hat. Once I felt presentable, I glanced around the compartment and realized everyone waited for me.

  “Shall we?”

  Leo stepped around me and opened the door. Before my foot hit the first step, George reached up to hand me down. He had never looked better to me. With his homburg in hand, the sunlight cast a sheen on his dark, neatly trimmed hair. His suit was impeccable; a light gray with a darker waistcoat. And there I stood, rumpled from travel. His smile told me however disheveled I might be, he was delighted to see me.

  “How lovely you’ve come to meet us,” I said, loathe to release his hand once I’d reached the platform. “I thought you’d be shooting.”

  Apparently, George didn’t want to break the connection either. He brought my hand up to his chest and drew me away from my travel companions. “And miss your arrival? I wouldn’t think of it.”

  We paused at the end of the busy platform to wait for the others. “How was the trip?” he asked.

  “Next time, I think I’ll sit with Rose and Nanny.” I boggled my eyes. “Or perhaps the luggage.”

  I brightened at the sound of his laugh. “That bad?”

  “No, I am just feeling peevish.” With a sigh, I returned his hand and clasped my own in front of me. The rest of our group would soon catch up with us. “The Kendrick girls are not quite the traveling companions I’d hoped for, but all will be fine, I’m sure.”

  “Then you’ll be delighted to hear I have two conveyances to take us back to Risings.”

  “You are my hero,” I whispered as Lily and Leo brought the Kendrick party our way.

  “We’ll have to take the footbridge to cross the tracks to the carriages,” George said. “Shall we be on our way?”

  George led our little group off the platform toward the stairs with Leo by his side. I turned to see if Lily was nearby as I’d hoped to avoid sharing a carriage with the Kendrick sisters. Of course, she lagged behind. I parted my lips to urge her to keep up just as another train pulled into the station with a screeching of brakes.

  I chose to save my breath until the noise subsided, but then a new disturbance caught my attention—a rumble and banging up ahead. I glanced up at the stairway to see a cart full of baggage fairly flying down the steps directly at George and Leo. I gaped in horror as bags and trunks fell off the cart and tumbled down the stairs. In one fluid motion, George clamped a hand on Leo’s arm and jumped to the side as the bags and cart landed on the pavement with a crash and a cloud of dust.

  Chapter 3

  After an instant of shocked paralysis, the rest of us rushed forward as one, stumbling over and around the offending luggage. George and Leo climbed to their feet, brushing off their clothes. Certain as I was that we’d find them at the bottom of the heap of bags, I nearly sagged
with relief.

  I looked George up and down, then turned to assess Leo. “I can’t believe neither of you were injured.”

  “Good thing Hazelton acted so quickly,” Leo said, “or that might not be the case. I’ll admit when I looked up to see those bags tumbling toward me, I thought that might be the end.”

  “I shall not be done in by a rogue baggage cart.” George drew me aside as Lily bounded past us and threw herself into Leo’s arms. I felt quite jealous as I could do no more than touch George’s sleeve while we were in such a public space.

  Indeed, the rest of our party stood around us, watching with interest. Treadwell stepped up and handed George his homburg. “We should call for the stationmaster, I’d say. Have him explain how the deuce such a thing could happen.”

  “I find it shocking we would have to call him,” Eliza said with a sniff. “He should already be here to see what caused all this racket.”

  Anne gave her sister a look of scorn. “The train was arriving at the same time. I doubt anyone on the platform heard a thing.”

  “Unless you’ve a mind to call for him, Hazelton,” Leo said, “I’d rather we just move on. Obviously, someone left the cart unattended.”

  “And at the top of a stairway.” Treadwell clucked his tongue. “Someone should lose his position for such a careless act.”

  “I do believe we should call for the stationmaster,” I said. “I’d like to give him a piece of my mind.”

  George grazed my fingers with his own. “While I dislike denying you the satisfaction, Lady Harleigh, I’m of the same mind as Kendrick. We are off to a rather sticky beginning, but both of us are fit, so I say we head to Risings and enjoy the rest of our week.”

  “Hear, hear,” Leo added.

  With the two of them determined to brush off the incident and get on with the week’s entertainment, it would be churlish for any of the rest of us to kick up a fuss. One by one, we nodded or shrugged, and our little party climbed the stairs and set out for the carriages.

  The accident had delayed us long enough to meet up with the servants outside the station. A few footmen and another man in a suit, probably an upper servant, were directing the loading of our luggage onto a cart. I spotted Rose holding Nanny’s hand and took her into my custody, while George quickly dispersed our party into the two carriages. Leo, Lily, and Rose rode with us, and Mr. Treadwell, Mr. Durant, and Leo’s sisters climbed into the second carriage. The servants would follow us to Risings with our bags.

  The drive took less than an hour but was long enough to calm my nerves. George and Leo were fine after all, and while the accident had been quite bizarre, no venture was without its stumbling blocks. I stole a glance at George through the corner of my eye. He appeared unscathed.

  “I am fine, Lady Harleigh.” His lips twitched into a smirk. “Stop worrying about me and enjoy the scenery.”

  I leaned forward to see we were approaching a bridge that crossed a lake. “Are we close to the estate?”

  “We’re on the property now,” he said. “Change seats with me so you can see it from the window.”

  “I’d like to see, too,” Rose said, wriggling forward in her seat opposite us.

  “Excellent. Step right up to the window, young lady. Your mother and I can easily see over your head.”

  George took Rose’s hand to steady her as the three of us exchanged our seats. Lily and Leo, on the opposite seat with their heads together, were oblivious to our activity. “Is that your lake, Mr. Hazelton?” Rose asked.

  “Not mine, but it belongs to the estate, yes.”

  I absorbed the fact that the Hazeltons owned this lovely lake, and while we crossed at the narrows, I could see it widened to our right and reflected the gold-tinged meadowland surrounding it, as well as an enormous edifice. Pushing my head closer to the window, I let out a gasp as the house came into view. The meadow gave way to a manicured lawn, which in turn gave way to a graveled drive along the front of the house which seemed to stretch on forever in pure grandeur.

  The carriage stopped in front of a grand stone stairway leading to a great hall at the center of the house. It was framed by two wings, three stories high, with balconied porches on the second floor leading to what must be state apartments. The house was apparently designed to accommodate royal visits. It was the fantasy of any young girl who ever dreamt of becoming a princess.

  As we climbed down from the carriage, Rose stared in awe, reminding me to close my mouth and stop gawking. “My goodness, Mr. Hazelton, your sister has described Risings to me, and indeed I’ve heard of its beauty, but nothing prepared me for its sheer size.”

  “Is this your first visit?” George looked surprised. “I’d thought surely you’d been here with Fiona.”

  I took his arm as we all headed for the entrance, gravel crunching under our shoes. “The first time I visited your sister, she was already a married woman with a country home of her own.”

  “Then you must allow me to give you a tour,” he said as a gray-haired, painfully thin butler bowed us inside.

  We entered a great hall, as large as a ballroom, walled with carved oak panels, and topped with windows that reached up to the two-story ceiling where three chandeliers were suspended. The housekeeper, Mrs. Ansel, waited in the entry to take everyone up to their rooms. Once they’d freshened up, tea would be served in the drawing room.

  George held my arm when I would have joined the group heading up the stairs and sent Mrs. Ansel on without me. “Lady Nash will be joining us shortly. She wished to greet Lady Harleigh.”

  “I am here now.” Fiona’s voice rang through the hall as she entered from a door at the opposite end. Her shoes tapped on the marble floor as she sailed across the room, holding out her hands to take mine. Fiona was one of only a few ladies of my acquaintance taller than I, and as she looked down her narrow nose and into my eyes, I could see true happiness glowing in hers. She was the only person I’d informed of the understanding between George and me, and this was our first meeting since I’d sent that letter, so I could well understand her enthusiasm.

  She nearly burst with joy, bouncing on the balls of her feet until her chestnut coiffure threatened to come tumbling around her shoulders. Once Nanny arrived to take Rose to her room up in the nursery, and only the three of us remained in the hall, she caught my hands in hers.

  “Frances, I cannot properly convey my delight that you and George are to be married.” She gave my hands one final squeeze and released me in favor of her brother, declaring he had made her the happiest of sisters.

  “Your happiness was uppermost in our minds, Fi,” George replied, earning him a poke in the chest.

  “Now, I suppose I should leave the two of you alone. I know George plans to keep you to himself and show you the house.” She kissed the air near my cheek. “Welcome to Risings, Frances. I planned a meeting with the vicar this afternoon, so come find me when you are through with George.”

  With that, she was off and George and I were finally alone.

  “I missed you,” he said.Taking my hand he lead me across the hall and through ornate double doors to the drawing room.

  “I saw you just yesterday,” I said, though I was thrilled to hear I’d been missed.

  “That’s one day too long.” As he whispered the words his breath tickled my ear and his arm encircled my waist.

  I turned around within the enclosure of his arms. “Well, I’m here now.”

  “There you are!”

  George and I leaped apart as Lottie Evingdon came bounding into the room like a puppy, her flailing arms disturbing an arrangement of framed photographs on a nearby table. Though several of them wobbled, none hit the floor. For Lottie, I’d count that as a triumphant entrance.

  She took my hands and spread them wide as if looking me over. There was likely no more change in me over the last two months than I saw in her. Her dark ginger hair still refused to stay where her maid pinned it, a smudge of ink marred one creamy cheek, and a shawl had falle
n from her shoulders and now lay on the floor. “I was so excited to hear you were all to join us. This is the first I’ve seen of you since my wedding.”

  Lottie Evingdon, formerly Deaver, was a friend of Lily’s from New York. She’d come to stay with us last summer and met my cousin, and George’s friend, Charles Evingdon. They fell in love while we were all trying to prove him innocent of murder. Perhaps the fact that I’d allowed her near an accused murderer means I’m not the best of chaperones, but given the fact that they married, it all worked out in the end.

  Except she’d just interrupted what might have been a tender moment between George and me. I supposed I’d better get used to it. This was a house party, so it was likely to happen more often than not.

  We chatted for a moment and I sent her off to find Lily. Once she departed, I turned to George. “Is there perhaps a more secluded part of the house you could show me?”

  “An excellent idea.” With a smile, he took my arm and led me out of the drawing room and into a gallery that ran behind the great hall and connected the two wings. He drew me outside to a formal garden in the courtyard at the back of the house.

  “There’s something I want to show you,” he said, pausing in the middle of the courtyard between a fountain and a tall spray of asters.

  “Indeed? Is it a flower?”

  He removed a small box from his pocket and held it between his finger and thumb. “It’s a ring.” His lips quirked into a crooked smile. “A betrothal ring.”

  My hands fluttered before my chest until I clasped them together and brought them to my lips to cover a squeak of excitement. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. “Forgive me, George. I’m as giddy as a schoolgirl.”

  “I can’t recall the last time I was this nervous.” He held the box before me and opened the lid to reveal a single round diamond in a setting of intricate gold latticework, studded with more tiny diamonds.

  I gasped. “It’s beautiful!”

  “Then you like it?”

  I tore my gaze away from the ring to look at his face. His brows were drawn down in concern. An uneasy smile played on his lips. “You truly are nervous,” I said.