The next morning, as I finished my morning toilet, there was a light knock on my door. "Miss Nelson," Fanny called. I heard her try the doorknob, but I hadn't had a chance to unlock it yet. "Sir Horace is requesting to see you in the library. Immediately."
Such a summons was not unexpected, though not at this hour. "Thank you," I said, raising my voice. "Please have Lady Leith's tray taken to her in the meantime. She should not be kept waiting."
"Of course."
It was at least an hour too soon for Lady Leith's morning tea. I'd risen early to clean the dressing room, not having the courage to do so the previous night. If I had to guess, Mr. Stone had handed over the cipher to Sir Horace and I was being called to account for it. I was going to need my new friend's help in getting out of this fix.
Before I left the room, I checked my appearance in the mirror. Black shadows no longer lurked under my eyes, and my skin was not as pale as I'd been when I first arrived at Clarendon. When I held my chin up, I thought I could see a resemblance to the dignity my mother had always exhibited. I would need all the confidence I could muster fot this coming interview.
My steps were even and without hesitation as I made my way down to the library. The door was ajar when I reached it. Before I stepped in, I took a moment to rub my sweaty palms on my skirt.
As I entered the room, I spotted Sir Horace was seated at the desk in front of the large windows. My gaze shifted to the second person in the room, who stood behind the baronet.
Mr. Oswyn Harper. What was he doing here? He was one of Sir horace's friends?
"Miss Nelson," he said, nodding toward me. His tone was cold. "We meet again. Why am I not surprised?"
"Good day, Mr. Harper." I curtsied, clasped my hands behind my back, and kept my eyes down. Through my eyelashes, I peered at Sir Horace. He had yet to say a word. "You asked to speak to me, Sir Horace?" I asked, anxious to get the conversation over with.
"I did," he finally said. His gaze was steady as he watched me. Was he trying to see me flinch? Was he trying to see through me? "Do you know why?"
His tone was impossible to read. "I have my suspicions," I said honestly. "My guess is that you have asked me here because Miss Hanson trespassed in my room and removed a cipher from the book I was reading. She then gave it to Mr. Stone who passed it on to you because of how strange it is."
Sir Horace's eyebrows went up. "That is an accurate guess, Nelson."
"You don't seem worried about the situation," Mr. Harper said, stepping closer to Sir Horace's chair.
Oh, if only he knew how much worry was twisting up my insides. I didn't even glance at him as I answered. "Why would I be worried? I have done nothing wrong."
"How do you know Miss Hanson is to blame for stealing the message from you? She has had a long history in this house and has always been honest," Sir Horace said, his tone sharp. "You would do well to think twice before accusing her of anything."
He knew it was a message and not some frivolous puzzle. "I have judged the evidence before me," I informed him. "Miss Hanson was seen around my door yesterday, and she has made it clear she dislikes me. What else was I to think when the cipher went missing, even though I always keep my door locked?"
"Why would you need to keep your door locked?" was his next question. "Do you have secrets to keep from us?"
He had no idea. "At my last post, the son of the house attacked me in my room," I said, keeping to the truth on this particular detail. "Lady Leith understood I felt uneasy without some security against such an attack happening again."
My honesty made both men tug at their cravats as though they were uncomfortable. I wished I knew what detail iot was that discompsed them. Was it that I, a woman, had been attacked, or that I felt the need to protect myself?
"Dunbar's sudden 'illness' and removal from Bath," Mr. Harper said in a low voice. He narrowed his eyes. "What did you do to him?"
I lifted my chin and met his gaze. "Only what I was forced to do, Mr. Harper. I warned him to leave me alone and then I defended myself when he did not listen to my warning. I was left little choice in the matter."
Though he shook his head, there was an expression of admiration and amusement on Mr. Harper's face. "How, exactly, did you defend yourself?"
Before I could answer, Sir Horace cleared his throat. "I don't think we need to discuss the matter any further. I do want to know how it is you had this paper in the first place," the man said, holding up the folded paper. "It does not belong to you."
Of course he'd recognized it. If I said I'd found it in his secret compartment, he'd want to know why I'd been searching the office. I still wasn't sure if either of the men were the mysterious 'H' mentioned in the cipher found in my brother's papers. I could not trust either of them, even ifthey had been my brother's friends.
"I know there was only one made and yet this is an exact copy," Sir Horace continued, his eyes narrowing as he stared at me. "The hand alone is different. At some point you must have seen the original and made a copy. How did you come to have it? Come. Tell me!"
"She had it because I asked for her assistance in finding the key to solving the cipher," Lady Leith's voice rang out. Twisting around to hide my sigh of relief, I watched my employer sweep into the room. She had a dressing gown over her nightgown and her hair was a tangled mess. "She was comparing it to the poems in the book Miss Hanson removed the cipher from."
"Celia!" Sir Horace exclaimed, standing up. His tone was one of astonishment"What are you doing down here?"
"Good morning, Lady Leith," Mr. Harper said, a blush appearing on his cheeks. He managed a respectful bow, showing more composure. "I was not expecting to see you at this hour of the morning."
"Really, why did you not speak to me about this before disturbing my maid at her work?" Lady Leith demanded, keeping her eyes on her husband. She showed no shame at being seen in such a disheveled state. "Nelson answers to me and no other person. Not even you, Horace."
"My lady, Miss Nelson has been near other situations of national concern," Mr. Harper said, his tone reasonable. "We only—"
Lady Leith cut him off with a sharp glance. "Mr. Harper, my question was directed at my husband. Not to you."
National concern? The valet in the Burnham house had been stealing information from his employer and selling to French spies. What other situation had I been near that had been of concern to the government?
The flush on Mr. Harper's face deepened and he took a step back. "Celia, please. Allow Harper and I to handle this matter," Sir Horace said, his town soothing. "There are things you don't know—"
"And who's fault is that? Did you imagine that the secret compartment in the desk would remain undetected?" She raised her eyebrow at her husband. "I did find it strange for you to keep my letters in such a place with letters from the government."
Again, Mr. Harper was tugging on his cravat. He, if I had to hazard a guess, found the situation more uncomfortable than I did. Well, it served him right for being so high-handed! "Then, you were aware of the message being in Miss Nelson's hands?" he asked, daring to speak up again.
"Of course," Lady Leith said, barely glancing at him. "After all, two eyes on a problem can be better than one. Since my curiosity is such an inconvenience to you, I shall leave it in your hands and be on my way. With Nelson. I have no desire to go about in my night clothes any more than necessary. We do have guests in the house."
She spun on her heel and started for the door. "Come along, Nelson," she said over her shoulder. "My chocolate was cold."
Before I followed Lady Leith, I took a moment to appreciate the dumbfounded expressions on both men's faces. Matters had clearly not gone as they had expected. I did regret not knowing the key to the cipher and what it said. There was no way for us ladies to get it back in our hands without causing suspicions..
No one crossed our path as we went to the dressing room. "That was inconvenient," Lady Letih said just loud enough for me to hear as we entered.
"I wasn't sure what I was going to say," I admitted, closing the door firmly. "Though I should have expected this to happen. I'm sorry I roused you in such an unconventional way."
"You were right to do so." Lady Leith sat down and covered her mouth to hide a yawn. "My husband's practice of returning home to be lord and master without a concern for what I have done or decided, is tiring. How dare he question you without bringing it to me first!"
The previous night's argument had not resolved any of her hurt feelings.
"I do wish we had discovered what the cipher said," she admitted with a sigh. "Not knowing will prey on my mind, I'm afraid."
"I completely understand," I said, moving to check the water in the pitcher. It was cold. I would have to take that up with Fanny. "I'm sorry I did not keep it in a better hiding place. Sopmewhere Miss Hanson would not have been able to find it. Or I ought to have thought to make another copy."
"It is not your fault. Who would have thought a locked door would not be sufficient." Lady Leith shook her head. "How Hanson found a key to your door, I do not know. Mrs. Horner is good about keeping her keys on her."
Out of habit, I went to the wardrobe. "What would you like to wear today?"
"What? Oh, the blue morning gown will suffice. There is nothing strenuous planned this morning, but we will be on the lawn later for games. I am hoping by the end of the party, the Dowager House will be ready to be occupied. I refuse to have a sneak in the house."
I couldn't help but laugh at her statement. "You forget that I was the sneak not so long ago."
A reluctant smile came to her lips. "Yes, I suppose that's true but you were not a sneak to cause trouble. Your purpose in poking around was to find answers. Hanson did so simply to cause trouble. There is a difference."
"I'm sure she thought she was searching for answers." I laid aside the dress. "In any event, we have evaded one situation, but I don't think we are out of the woods yet. Nor are we closer to learning the truth."
"Have you met Mr. Harper before? He seemed to be glaring at you with immense disapproval and suspicion."
"He was my brother's closest friend," I said, remembering the summers when Mr. Harper had come home with Jonathan. "He has also accused me of being a spy for France. I would say he is not fond of me."
Lady Leith tilted her head. "A friend of your brother and he hasn't recognized you as Juliet Sinclair?"
"Eugenia Burnham was also a friend when I was a child and she did not know me. It would seem a person only sees what they expect to see." Eugenia Burnham had also been distracted with the whirlwind of her season and so had no reason to look too closely at me.
Mr. Harper had been as close to me as any person could be and did not have distraction as an excuse for not recognizing me.
A maid brought in hot water, nearly dropping it when she saw we were there. Taking pity on her, I took the water and hurried her on her way. "Well, I suppose there is nothing else to be done now," Lady Leith said with a sigh. "We are no closer to knowing the truth behind my husband's actions."
"I am sorry there is so much discord between you."
"He ought not keep secrets from me or go around me under the pretense of 'protecting me.' In any event, I can only hope he will be polite to the rest of the guests and somehow we can manage not to let anyone know we have quarrelled." She gave an unladylike snort. "The dowager would just love that."
****
As I went about my duties that day, I kept expecting Mr. Harper to come out of the shadows to demand information from me. He had done so before, so why should this time be any different? Perhaps he was hesitant to annoy Lady Leith with such tactics? After all, she hadn't been afraid to stand up to him earlier.
The maid eyed me out of the corner of her eye when she brought me my breakfast, but she said nothing. Mrs. Horner swept in a few minutes later and kept up a cheerful dialogue of all the things she had to oversee that day, which included the opening of the Dowager House. Her non-stop chatter revealed the truth: the staff knew about the discord between the master and his wife.
That they did not try to talk to me about it was a mixed blessing. What did they know? How much had they discussed?
"I don't know what to do," Mrs. Horner lamented, getting my attention. "I need someone to deliver a basket of food. With her ladyship occupied with her guests and my own girls overloaded with work, there is no one for me to send."
A chance to get out of the house? "I would be more than happy to take the basket for you. I've met Mr. Leith. He seems to be a charming young man and I am sorry his affliction keeps him so secluded."
"Would you? Oh, thank you, Miss Nelson," Mrs. Horner said with relief. "I know you have your own duties to see to."
"I'm certain Lady Leith would understand. In fact, she may even envy me for being able to take the basket when she is not able to do it herself," I said lightly. "She does enjoy her walks and visits with him."
Mrs. Horner nodded, her expression sympathetic. "The poor dear. She does what she can but there's some who do not like being replaced."
She could only be referring to the Dowager. We exchanged knowing looks and left the matter at that. Mrs. Horner said she would have the basket ready for me at two o'clock, which would give me time to complete the most important tasks of the day.
The thought of leaving the house and the increase in tension was an incentive for me to go about my work quickly. My half day had been stressful and not the least bit relaxing, so I was looking forward to a peaceful walk.
I heard distant laughter when I stepped outside. The party was playing games on the lawn and from the sound of it, they were enjoying themselves. Hopefully, Lady Leith was amused and distracted by the games as well.
It was a fine day to be out of doors. The sun was bright in the clear blue sky, and a gentle breeze provided some relief from the heat. Bees buzzed around the flowers and birds sang their songs from the tree branches.
How I'd loved days like this at my childhood home!
Before too long, the cottage was in front of me. Mr. Leith was seated on the grass, his sketchpad in his lap. He seemed to be examining a blade of grass. When he caught sight of me, though, he dropped the grass and stood up.
Just as before, Mr. Leith made an elaborate bow and then looked up at me with an expectant expression. Though he must have been no more than a year or so younger than I, there was a youthfulness about him that was endearing.
Making a deep curtsy, I smiled at him. Beyond him, I saw the curtain in one of the windows shift. Miss Webber was watching, and would no doubt be along soon to send me on my way. I closed the distance between myself and the young gentleman.
"What are you drawing?" I asked, gesturing to his sketchpad.
Bending down, Mr. Leith picked up the item, which he then held out to me. Curious to see what he wanted to show me, I set down the basket to take it from him. As he watched, I began to flip through the pages.
He really was a skilled artist, much better than I had ever been and I'd had the benefit of a master's instruction! Had anyone ever tutored Mr. Leith? He'd caught birds in flight, a daisy in a field, even a few of Lady Leith. Glancing up, I smiled again and nodded to show my approval. His chest puffed up with pride as he grinned.
I turned to the last two pages he had been working on. The scene was of ladies playing a game of lawn bowling, and if I had to guess, from the imperfect lines, he'd been spying on the party. Of course he would look on from afar.
Then, my gaze shifted to the adjoining page. My breath caught in my throat as I recognized the sketch.
Henry Bladen's profile was captured in perfect detail.