The Rightful Lord (The Saga Of Wolfbridge Manor Book 3), Sahara Kelly [english novels for students .TXT] 📗

be sold and the whole business of Mortmain would rise up once again. It was a messy situation, without a doubt. And even he wasn’t sure if Royce’s outrageous plans could settle it.

So he simply sat astride his horse beside Royce and observed the remains.

The Wolfbridge residents were getting themselves back to something approaching normal.

Gwyneth, being the courageous woman he always knew she was, had refused to give in to her terror and insisted on taking care of both Jeremy and Gabriel the minute they got home.

It wasn’t until the following day, when Jeremy’s arm was re-bandaged and Gabriel’s foot and lower leg properly dressed and wrapped, that she dragged herself away from her patients and came to visit Giles in his old office.

She walked in, he stood, and she headed straight into his arms where she promptly burst into tears.

He couldn’t help a tiny grin as he recalled that moment.

“You’re amused.” Royce shot him a curious look.

“Just thinking of something,” Giles confessed. “I am so proud of the way Gwyneth has grown into her position. I knew she would, but she had layers of protection wrapped around her heart. It’s taken all this time for her to abandon them.”

Royce nodded. “You’re right. She is indeed the perfect Lady.” His fingers clenched on the reins briefly. “Giles, I—I need to tell you something.” Looking straight ahead, Royce’s cheeks coloured. “A confession of sorts.”

Hiding his amusement, Giles nodded. “By all means.”

“I…we…uh…Gwyneth and I…”

“You slept together.”

Royce blinked. “Yes. How did you know that was what I was going to say?”

“Well…” He debated telling the other man about Gwyneth’s note, but then thought better of it. “You’re human, lad.”

“But I wasn’t supposed to…”

“I know. But there is no penalty for loving the Lady. Everyone in your position has. I’ve loved all the ones it was my honour to serve. But I always believed it would benefit Wolfbridge to have one man above the lure of her body. That was my opinion, and I held to it. It was easy for me, since I had Ione waiting. And I am older than the Ladies, by quite a few years.” He sighed and looked at Royce. “Have you been derelict in your duties since you slept with her?”

“Er…no, no I don’t think so.”

“Does your relationship interfere with anything else in the house? Your work?”

“No.”

“Do the other men know, and if so have they complained at all?”

Royce shook his head. “Yes and no. In fact, they’ve welcomed me. It was a bit embarrassing, to be quite honest. I felt as if I was being inducted into some sort of club.”

“You were.” Giles straightened in the saddle. “And I have no problem with it at all.” He grinned. “It does explain these extraordinary machinations you’ve set in motion.”

Royce grinned back, his face relaxed and happy. “I’m glad you think so.”

Giles turned his horse. “Let’s go back to Wolfbridge. There’s little to see here now.”

Both men turned for the lane leading away from Fivetrees.

“I believe some of our tenants will be raiding the stones,” Royce said thoughtfully. “I see no problem with that, do you?”

Giles shook his head. “No. If a new house is ever planned, it will be built from scratch, I’m sure, so there’s no good reason to stop the remnants of this one going to good use.” He chuckled. “And I’m quite sure Mrs B will be proud as a peacock to have some of Fivetrees in her garden wall.”

As they neared Wolfbridge, a sombre sight greeted them. A wagon carrying a casket was leaving and heading for Little Maddington.

“The woman who shot Jeremy?” Giles glanced at Royce.

He nodded. “Her name was Henrietta Burke, Susanna Brockford’s sister. And she was Gylbart’s mistress, we believe. They were seen together quite often. They both had grudges here; hers against Jeremy for what she perceived was his mistreatment of her sister, and of course Gylbart was getting angrier all the time about not getting Fivetrees. Once she realized what Gylbart was going to do to the mansion, she decided it was her time as well, and she came after Jeremy. Both of them let their hatred get the better of their common sense.” He sighed.

“Did she have family?”

“It’s taken the devil of a time to track down, but yes. A distant cousin, a few miles west of St Polycarp’s. I believe she has requested that Henrietta be buried in their graveyard. She doesn’t know Susanna is there too, but for those of us who do, it’s a comforting thought.”

“Nobody knows then that Miss Burke was Gylbart’s mistress, or that she took her own life?”

Royce shook his head. “No. We made sure of that. Our official statement says that we found her just outside Wolfbridge. She had fallen and broken her neck. Animals had unfortunately discovered the body before we did, so we made sure to wrap the winding sheets snugly.” He sighed again. “It worked, and saved anyone from terrible distress. And also allowed her to be buried in hallowed ground.”

“A sensible solution. I trust this closes the door for a while on such violence. We’ve all had enough, to be sure.”

“God forbid we have to deal with any more fatalities. Two young women are more than enough, and I doubt our stories would be accepted without question should something like this happen for a third time.” He looked at the other man. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all this, Giles. This was supposed to be a quick visit to go over paperwork.”

Giles grinned. “I have no complaints, Royce. For once I can be at Wolfbridge with all the strange goings-on and not have to come up with anything other than a smile and a kind word. It’s all on your shoulders, lad.”

Royce rolled his eyes. “Thank you for