Lady Adalyn (The Saga Of Wolfbridge Manor Book 1), Sahara Kelly [the best e book reader .TXT] 📗

“You’re back…” She dropped the hands she held and rushed toward Giles and Daniel, allowing them both to catch her in hug, even as she looked past them in a vain attempt to see if there might be a third on the way.

“Indeed we are, and have been craving a cup of tea for the last hour or so,” said Giles with a pointed glance at Evan. “Not to mention there are papers in our bags.” He let a large leather bag drop to the floor. “If you’d take these to the Rose room for us, Jeremy, we’d be very grateful.”

“I’ll put the kettle on,” Evan nodded and vanished into the kitchen.

Daniel stretched. “I swear I’ll not be sitting on a horse again for some days.” He put both hands against his spine and leaned backward. “Or at least not for that long.”

“It is wonderful to see you back here, even if Trick isn't with you.” Adalyn choked down tears of relief. “I know it was important, but you were very much missed.”

“That is good to hear, Lady Adalyn.” Giles gave her a slight smile, his eyes roaming her face. “You are well?”

She nodded. “Jeremy and Evan have taken good care of me, but even so…we are all still quite worried.”

“We couldn’t leave any sooner,” said Daniel, coming to her side and touching her shoulder. “We had to make an appointment to see Sir Gerald. And that took some time.” He breathed out slowly. “I am coming to loathe Society gentlemen. Perhaps I can even understand the urge to poison one.”

“Daniel.” Adalyn stared at him.

“No, you misunderstand. I know Trick had nothing to do with it…I was just saying that a certain sort of aristocratically minded country gentleman can drive one to such thoughts.”

Adalyn eased. “All right. Yes. I see your point, and since I was not in the least bit impressed with Sir Amery Fairhurst when he was on his best behaviour, I can imagine what it would be like were he to be less than polite.”

“Well, enough of this,” said Giles. “I need to change and then I’d enjoy that tea. Perhaps in the Rose room, Adalyn. There we can tell you what we’ve learned about this whole damned mess…”

“Of course.” She looked at him uncertainly, not being used to the edgy tone in his voice. “Fifteen minutes?”

“That will be perfect.” He walked away, and Daniel followed with a brief nod.

“I’m glad they’re back,” said Jeremy. “But I’ll admit I’m a bit concerned about what they have to say.”

Adalyn couldn’t but agree. “Oh dear.” She watched him pick up the bags. “Perhaps we should get out the brandy…”

Chapter Eighteen

The atmosphere was thick with concern in the Rose room as the Wolfbridge residents gathered to hear what the Lord Lieutenant had to say about Trick’s arrest.

Giles and Daniel had refreshed themselves, Evan had put together a tray for anyone who might want sustenance, and Jeremy made sure that teacups were filled and distributed. The brandy lay waiting, just in case.

Adalyn waited, along with the others, trying to contain her impatience. She desired nothing more than to scream at Giles to tell them everything.

Now.

As if he read her thoughts, he put his cup aside. “Well, here it is then. First I will say that Sir Gerald isn’t a bad chap overall.” He glanced at Daniel. “Feel free to interrupt if you need to…I may have forgotten something important.”

Daniel gave a quick shake of his head. “I doubt it, but thank you. I’ll keep it in mind. And I’ll agree with your assessment of Sir Gerald. He’s a fair man, but a bit out of his depth in a matter such as this.”

“We are, essentially, a very quiet county,” continued Giles. “This is the first unusual death he’s had to deal with and I found him a little askew when it came to the formalities. I wondered if he’d been intimidated, or thrown off his game by the whole thing.”

“Can you explain that?” asked Adalyn, frowning.

“He wasn’t sure of the procedures that he should be taking, I think. It was up to us to ask for a doctor to examine the remains of Sir Amery. We had to remind him about an inquest. It appears the remains are being kept in the Fivetrees wine cellar since nobody knows what to do with them at this point. The cellar is cold, so it is still feasible for such a post-mortem examination to take place. Until that has been concluded, Trick must remain at the Roundhouse.”

“I never thought to ask about a funeral,” muttered Jeremy. “And whether we should attend?”

“It will be at the Fairhurst seat, Jeremy,” said Daniel. “Quite some way from here. There are more than a few members of the Fairhurst lineage, all of varying importance. So the most important one gets to host weddings, christenings and funerals. I doubt whether anyone from around here will attend. He was not one for local pleasantries. It wouldn’t surprise me if we begin hearing about arrangements soon. They will not want to leave that property without supervision for very long.”

“Daniel acted as my right arm—and my left ear,” said Giles. “I asked him to note the important business, but also to talk to the servants, and elicit what information they might have about all this.”

“What a good idea,” Evan approved. “Lord knows servants hear everything.”

“Indeed,” agreed Giles. “Anyway, we eventually managed to arrange an audience with Sir Gerald. He was away from home when we arrived, but we were told he was expected within the hour. It turned out that an hour to Sir Gerald is two or three hours to everyone else. So it was quite late when we finally met him.”

“The two of you?” Adalyn inquired.

“Yes, he saw us both. And for a somewhat scatterbrained official, he had a pretty good recall of the details of