Gatehaven Page 7

  “At once.” The earl reached in Leon’s vest pocket, retrieved the box, and opened it. “How foolish of me. I should have rang for the butler—with the water.”

  “Are you an idiot? Forget the water! Just put the pill on my tongue.”

  The earl did as he was told. Then he pulled the gold-colored cord that hung from the ceiling by Leon’s chair. “The butler should be here shortly. Now, let me help you to the settee.” The earl reached out and tried to take Leon’s arm. “In this instance, it might be wise if you lie down and put your feet up.”

  Leon pushed his hand away. “Stop treating me like an old man. I will be as good as new long before the water arrives. Besides, I fear you brought the wrong woman from Scotland. Where is she?”

  “In her room, of course.”

  “I must go and see her for myself.”

  “Are you sure you are feeling well enough?

  “Would I have suggested it, if I thought otherwise? Besides, I am already feeling better. I wish to meet the woman you brought at once.”

  The earl hesitated. “That might not be possible, sir. She is tired from her long journey and went to her room. Until she is feeling more rested, why not investigate our gardens? We have some new plants, and the fresh air will do you good. I will invite my mother and grandmother to go with us. I am sure they would enjoy an outing, and they always delight in visiting with you.”

  “I am very displeased.” Leon glared at the earl. “Have one of your servants tell the woman to join us as soon as she is able.”

  Still standing near where the carriages were parked, Ian watched an attractive young woman in a white maid’s cap as she stepped out a side door of the mansion. She poured water from a bucket—probably dishwater— onto the grass by the small porch.

  Ian moved toward her. Maybe she could provide him with information.

  A footman started across the grass straight for her as well. He wore a gray uniform that was nothing like the blue ones worn by the earl’s footmen, and he was quite plump. In fact, he looked as if he might pop out of his jacket at any moment. Ian waited a moment before moving forward as the maid and the rotund footman talked in whispers. Then they started toward a group of men in blue uniforms.

  “Wait!” Ian hurried to catch up with them. “I need directions.”

  The couple stopped and turned.

  “Might I help you?” the young maid asked.

  “Yes. I need for someone to direct me to the guardhouse.”

  “I’ll help you if you’ll first help me.” The portly footman had a heavy Scottish accent. “One of the earl’s guards is sick and cannot deliver boxes to the servant’s quarters below stairs. I promised to do it.” He motioned toward Shannon’s belongings on top of the second carriage.

  “Are you sure those bags and boxes go to the servants’ quarters?” Ian asked.

  “Yes, sir,” the woman said. “I took the pretty lady to her room meself.”

  “What does the pretty lady look like?”

  The woman shrugged. “She is not tall—about my size—but a wee bit thinner. She has auburn hair and green eyes.”

  “And her name?”

  “Miss Aimee.”

  What was Shannon doing in the servants’ quarters? Ian planned to find out.

  “I will be glad to help you with the boxes.” Ian smiled at the attractive young maid. “And on the way, one of you can direct me to the guardhouse.”

  Shannon heard a knock at the door. Had the earl come to her rescue? Or had someone arrived with her bags? She hoped it was the earl. She produced her prettiest smile and opened the door.

  Ian stood in the hallway outside beside the large box where most of her belongings were stored. A plump man she didn’t know in a gray uniform stood beside him.

  Her smile fell away. “Ian, what are you doing here?”

  “Helping deliver your box from home. May we come in?”

  “Of course.” She motioned for them to come inside.

  “Where should we put this?” Ian asked.

  Shannon looked around. “Against the wall next to the bed will do. It will have to be moved anyway.”

  “Why must it be moved?” Ian asked as he and the Scot dragged the heavy box inside.

  “Look around you,” Shannon said. “Obviously, I was assigned the wrong room.”

  “I see.” Ian motioned toward the box. “So is this where you want it?”

  “For now, yes. But you could have put it anywhere because as I said, I will not be staying here long.” She tossed back her curls. “This is the servant’s quarters, and I am the earl’s future wife. He will have me in a better room upstairs soon enough.”

  “I will go and get the other bags, sir.” The portly footman headed for the door.

  “Yes, that is a good decision. Thank you.”

  “No, wait!” Shannon shouted.

  She’d wanted to tell the footman not to bring in the rest of her bags. But the door was already closed.

  “Why were you given a room in the servants’ quarters, lass?”

  She tossed her head with all the indignation she could muster. “The earl’s mother and grandmother made a mistake. They must have thought I was hired as a maid. But I am sure the earl will clear it all up.”

  “Either that or they plan to make you their servant,” he said under his breath.

  Shannon heard what Ian said but didn’t want to start an argument.

  Ian glanced around the room. “It is a little stuffy in here, and I know how much you like flowers. Would you like to go outside and take a turn around the garden?”

  “I would love to. But I have to be here in case the earl comes.”

  “Well, if you’re looking for the earl, I can tell you where he is.”

  “Where?”

  “Strolling in the garden with a distinguished-looking gentleman with a cane and two arrogant-looking women. I noticed them just before I came inside.”

  Shannon laughed. “The women are the earl’s mother and grandmother. And we cannot know for sure that they are arrogant. Can we?”

  “Maybe not. But considering what I have seen and heard so far, they are not two sweet little ladies. I can tell you that. In fact, the older one is anything but little. She is quite large.”

  Shannon laughed again. “Shame on you. You should never say such things.”

  “Then why are you laughing?”

  “It was wrong of me to laugh.” She felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Let us go outdoors. I wnant to talk to the earl.”

  Despite the foreboding tone of the rock mansion with its shadowy exterior and dark inner walls, Shannon thought the manicured garden in the front of the house looked green and lush. Lined with trimmed hedges and flowers in a variety of colors, the cobblestone walkway comforted her as well.

  Papa put down walkways like this around our house at the farm.

  Shannon heard a rustling in the trees nearby. She whirled around. Was someone watching them? She saw a black flash. A man in dark clothing went behind a tree.

  The warmth she’d felt an instant before evaporated. “Who was that man?”

  “What man?” Ian asked. “I see no one.”

  “Neither do I. Now. But someone was hiding behind that tree. I saw him.”

  “I agree that this mansion is rather morbid, lass. But please refrain from telling me you saw a ghost. I see no such thing.”

  “The man I saw was no ghost. Besides, he is gone now. Still, I know what I saw. Furthermore, I dislike it out here. I want to go back inside.”

  “We cannot go back.” He motion toward three people standing on the opposite side of the yard. “I just saw the earl and the two women standing beyond those hedges. I think they might have seen us.”

  The earl stood with his mother and grandmother amidst a riot of pink and red flowers. As soon as Shannon saw him, all interest in going back inside disappeared.

  “There he is. There is my beloved.” She started toward the earl, sensing that Ian was righ
t behind her. The earl looked right at them. But instead of rushing toward her as Shannon so wanted, he simply stood there— watching them.

  “My lord.” She waved.

  He glanced back at the two women for a moment as if asking their permission, and then he strolled slowly toward her. When she hastened her steps, he moved a little faster.

  “Miss Aimee.” The earl stood in front of Shannon as if he was trying to keep his mother and grandmother from seeing her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you. What else?”

  “I thought you would be unpacking or something.” He glanced at Ian. “Mr. Colquhoun, I hope you are settling in.”

  “Not yet, I am afraid.”

  “Really?”

  Shannon thought the earl looked mildly surprised.

  “You might not have heard but the vicar is on holiday,” Ian said. “I have no place to stay.”

  “Sorry. I was unaware of your problem. But you need not worry. I am sure a bed can be found for you in the guardhouse until the vicar returns.”

  “That is exactly where I hope to stay.”

  The earl looked back at Shannon. “And you, Miss Aimee. Are you all settled in as well?”

  “I am afraid not. My room is unsuitable.”

  “Your room does not meet your needs? I am sorry to hear that.”

  “My room, as you call it, is down in the basement, my lord, and it is miles from my chaperone. My parents will be very displeased should they learn that I am not situated near my chaperone.”

  Shannon didn’t like the earl’s attitude. He seemed cold and distant again. Where was the man she fell in love with back in Scotland?

  She managed a weak smile. “You will find me a new room as soon as possible. Will you not, my lord?”

  “Of course.” The earl glanced toward the two women waiting near the maze of hedges. “But first, I must get back to my family. My mother and grandmother are discussing something important, and we have a guest.” He glanced around. “I do not see him now, but he is here—somewhere in the garden. I must go at once.”

  Are not my needs important? Shannon wanted to say. Somehow, she knew that they weren’t important—at least, not today.

  “You and Mr. Colquhoun should take a long walk, Miss Aimee. Explore the grounds. And if you get hungry, there is food in the kitchen. Just tell Cook, and she will fill your plates.

  “Later,” the earl went on, “perhaps I will take you to your new room or have one of the servants do it.”

  The earl smiled. Shannon didn’t.

  “Until then, I hope you both will enjoy your walk.” The earl turned back to his family and hurried away.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  SHANNON WIPED MOISTURE from her right eye with a white linen cloth. “Ian, why would the earl treat us as if we were servants? I don’t understand why he walked away.”

  “Remember, he said he had important business to discuss with his mother and grandmother. Perhaps he did.”

  “But I am to be his wife.”

  “I know.”

  Ian nodded as if he understood how terrible she felt. Shannon felt very close to him.

  “I hate to worry you,” Ian went on. “But you must consider the possibility that the earl is not the man you think he is.”

  That did it.

  Shannon tensed, glaring at Ian. It was one thing when she listed the earl’s shortcomings. But she refused to hear them from anyone else.

  “Do not start on that topic again, Ian. It is disloyal to the man I love.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I was looking for a reason for his strange behavior—not condemnation.”

  “Your loyalty is to be commended, even if slightly misguided, and you are certainly loyal.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “I have the feeling I have just been insulted.”

  “Take my words any way you wish, lass.”

  “The earl is still the man I love,” she insisted. “He is just—he is behaving strangely because he failed to tell his family about me before I arrived. That must be the reason. He needs time to explain who I am.” She forced another smile. “Then everything with be splendid again—as it was in Scotland.”

  “For your sake, I hope you are right. Still, I think you should give some thought to my conclusions. Not all people are good, you know. Some only pretend to be good in order to achieve a particular goal.”

  Shannon put her hands over her ears. But it was too late. She’d already heard what he said.

  She dropped her hands. “You are only three years older than I am, Ian. How did you become suspicious at such a young age?”

  “Have you forgotten that I spent part of my growing up years at a school for boys in England?”

  She hadn’t forgotten about the time Ian spent in England. Those were the loneliest days of her girlhood.

  “Was it very bad here—in England?”

  “Not entirely. But there was one boy. We called him Eddie.” Ian shook his head. “Until today, Eddie had not crossed my mind in years.”

  “And was Eddie unkind to you?”

  “Yes, lass, he was. But not just to me. Eddie was cruel to several of the boys—especially those who were younger or not as rich as he.”

  “But surely you do not think that Edward—surely you cannot think the earl is—”

  He shrugged. “I am not sure, but I have every intention of finding out. But for now, I need to check on my bags.” He glanced toward the door. “I will meet you in the garden behind the mansion shortly. And then we will go inside the mansion and eat.”

  Unless somebody had moved it, Ian’s luggage was still stacked on top of the carriage he arrived in. But before he would worry about that, he needed to find the guardhouse where he would store his bags and spend the night.

  Certainly he couldn’t count on the earl for help. He’d had suspicions about the British lord since the day he arrived in Luss, but never more than when he and Shannon talked with him earlier. It was the arrogant way the earl had cocked his head, as if looking down at them, and that had caused Ian to remember Eddie’s blue eyes. He’d seen a flash of anger behind the earl’s eyes, and he had a feeling that Eddie recognized him, too.

  While helping the portly footman with Shannon’s box, he’d learned the location of the guardhouse. Ian was determined to go there as soon as possible.

  At the corner of the mansion, he was about to take the path to the left when his body slammed into something.

  Ian froze. Then his jaw hung loose. He’d collided with a middle-aged gentleman. The man, dressed in black, fell back, landing in a bed of pink flowers that edged the north wall of the mansion.

  “Pardon me, sir.” Ian offered his right hand. “Let me help you up.”

  The man pressed his thumb and forefinger to his forehead. Ian thought he looked dazed—perhaps bewildered. He finally reached out and allowed Ian to help him to his feet.

  The man must have dropped his cane as he fell. It lay on the walkway near the flowerbed. Ian brushed dust and dirt from the man’s dark jacket and handed him his cane.

  “Are you all right, sir?”

  “I—I will be.” The older man had a heavy French accent. “As—as soon as I have time to catch my breath.” He peered up at Ian’s face. “I am Monsieur Etienne Gabeau. And you are the young man in the carriage behind Rach— behind the earl’s carriage. I saw you and the lady when you arrived—from Scotland, I believe.”

  “Yes.” Ian took the man’s free arm. “My name is Ian Colquhoun.”

  “Ca—”

  “My surname has what some might call an unusual spelling, but it is pronounced Ca-hoon. Let me escort you to wherever it is you were planning to go.”

  “I had planned to inspect the earl’s flower beds behind the mansion and then meet him and one of his guests there. But I’ve had some unfortunate outcomes today and would rather not try for a third. I think I shall get in my carriage and have my driver drive on home.” A black carriage was parked on the road to the
north of the mansion. “My estate is not far from here.”

  “Should we tell the earl what happened, sir? I could go and tell him. The earl might want to contact a physician before you leave.”

  “That will not be necessary. I have no need of a physician. And I visited briefly with the earl earlier. I had planned to leave soon anyway.”

  “Then please allow me to walk along with you to your carriage. It’s a nice day, and I should like a stroll before eating my noon meal.”

  “I should enjoy the company,” the Frenchman said.

  Ian thought he looked a little shaky. Ian would walk the older man to his carriage, and he looked forward to inspecting it and the team of black horses he saw in the distance. The man dragged one of his feet as they trudged along. Ian couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

  “Sorry we met under such unfortunate circumstances,” Ian said, “but I’m glad to make your acquaintance. I would offer my hand in friendship, but it might be best if we put that off until we reach your carriage.”

  The older man nodded, and then he looked up at Ian. “And where were you going in such a hurry, Mr. Colquhoun?”

  “To the guardhouse. I need to find a place to sleep tonight. I am to be the vicar’s new assistant and will be residing at the vicarage. But I was told that he is currently on holiday. I hope to find lodging in the guardhouse until he returns.”

  The man with the French accent smiled. “So you are the one. I thought that might be the case. The vicar told me to keep an eye out for you. He didn’t know exactly when you would arrive, and he hated to leave without knowing. But a close family member is gravely ill. He needed to be at her side immediately. So I told him I would look after you until he returned.” He glanced at Ian’s hand on his arm. “But it looks now as if you are taking care of me.”

  Ian laughed. “It is the least I could do after knocking you down as I did.”

  “You must stay with me until the vicar returns.” The Frenchman nodded yet again as if to confirm it. “Yes, I insist. The vicar would be put out with me if I allowed you to stay anywhere else, and I have many extra bedrooms. Not only that, but I live near the vicar’s cottage.