Masterful Trickery

XVIII. Beautiful Intrusion

Perhaps it would be best to take Alex with him to the village of Puck later in the day.

*****

Ralph had an enormous collection of trinkets he obviously collected in his travels. Alex wasted her time looking at each of them, always finding herself going back to the egg-shaped trinket basket that caught her eye that morning.

"Ah, bleedin' hell," she uttered, pocketing the trinket. "Just this once."

Before guilt could strike her, Alex turned away from the table, quite triumphant that finally—finally—she stole something from an Everard.

Now, what else was she to do?

She would probably have to wait for Ralph until the wee hours. She was not aware where Nicholas was found or how long it would take him to get there and back in Wickhurst.

For a moment she wondered if she could acquire Ysabella and Emma's help in contacting their brother-in-law, Cole, to inquire on his progress in finding the caveman. But she hastily brushed the idea from her mind as she realized that it would be best that the sisters be left alone.

Merely two hours later after Ralph had left, Alex was walking down the corridor to find the stables where she could spend the day with Siege.

But to her utter horror, a small commotion suddenly erupted when a young woman forced herself into the hallway despite the butler's insistence that his master was not in residence.

It was then that she saw Alex who realized too late that she ought to have fled away.

The woman had perfectly donned black hair, her face radiant although surprised. The pale yellow gown made Alex's blue gown a rag should she have been wearing it. All in all, the woman was far above Alex's station and obviously someone who knew Ralph too well.

The woman skidded to a stop, alarmed, when she saw Alex. "Who are you?" her voice demanded. The butler looked like he would rather be somewhere else at that very moment. So did Alex.

The mistress.

From behind the butler, Alex saw one of the footmen rush out the door. She did not have to guess where the man was going for she knew where and she approved of it. It would be best to drag the master back to his home before his mistress could murder another woman—or be murdered by that woman.

"Who are ye?" Alex retorted, squaring her shoulders.

The woman let out an exaggerated gasp as she turned to steal a glance at the distraught butler, her mouth gaping in disbelief. When she returned her gaze at Alex, they were nowhere near kind. She looked Alex up and down as if she was trying to figure out whether or not she was facing a toad or a sheep.

"His lordship's not 'ere, Miss."

Another exaggerated gasp. The lady's hand went to her chest as she said, "Miss? Miss!" Letting out a dry chuckle, she said, "I am a gentry, woman. Lady Claire Forsythe, in fact, daughter of the Lord of Langworthy." Her brow arched higher as she continued to glare at Alex. "Now, who might you be?"

"The woman who robbed yer 'Ma and 'Pa," Alex muttered under her breath, remembering how Lord Langworthy shook with fear as he threw his gold coins at Alex and her cousins many years ago.

"What?"

"Nae, never mind," she said with a wave of her hand. "I'm no one."

"What are you doing in Lord Beechworth's estate?" Lady Claire insisted. She turned to the butler. "Who is this woman?"

Before the butler could offer any reply, Alex sighed and said, "Just another poor girl saved by his lordship, milady." She forced a smile on her face.