Page 42 of Whiskers and Wiles

A small, repeated thump from the other side of Waldorf’s wall made Kat wish she’d chosen better words.

Waldorf nodded curtly, his face turning pink. “We cannot expose ourselves—er, that is, we must make every participant at this party believe that we are above suspicion in our pursuit of advancing the Mercian Plan.”

“Quite right,” Kat said. The thumping against Waldorf’s wall was joined by a pair of quick sighs that increased in pitch and volume. “If you will excuse me,” Kat said, on the verge of either laughing or screaming, “I must go in search of a footman to see if they can provide me with a box of sand for Napoleon to do his business in, since I do not think he will want to leave this room for quite some time.”

“Do as you must,” Waldorf said.

He turned and stepped back to his bed to resume unpacking.

Kat fled from the doorway, and from her room entirely. Once she was in the hall, she shook her head repeatedly as she retraced the path Lady Walsingham had taken them up from the front door. She had a feeling the mission she and Waldorf had been given would be the most trying of her life.

That was not the only thing that caused Kat more dread than she could fathom, however. As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs and began to search through the house for a member of the staff who could help her, she passed a parlor where several gentlemen were playing billiards and having some sort of ribald conversation.

That fact alone would not have concerned her at all if one of the men laughing and bending over the billiards table had not been Lord Anthony Headland.

Thirteen

The entire thing was ridiculous.Everything from the decorations in the house to the incessant sounds of debauchery that continued to burst through the wall as Waldorf unpacked his belongings was mad. He’d begun the process of unpacking himself, wishing he’d been allowed to take Bambridge with him to do the job, but he was afraid everything about Oxwick Park would give his valet the vapors to a degree that he would never recover from.

Beyond that, Waldorf had the suspicion he would not want anyone, particularly his servants, to know that he’d attended such a strange and wild party for the rest of his days. He was no prude, God only knew that, but before an entire hour had passed, Waldorf was certain he might never recover from the ordeal he was about to partake in.

His neighbors on the other side of the wall finished their adventures at nearly the same time as Waldorf completed unpacking and storing his clothing in the wardrobe, which contained a few items already that he was not certain he wanted to think about. Kat had not returned to her room in all that time, and since Waldorf had no desire to sit by himself, contemplatingwhat sort of punishment Queen Matilda had given the two of them, he chose instead to leave his room and begin his mission.

Above all else, it was vital that he find and speak to Lord Walsingham. The mission depended not only on convincing Lady Walsingham that she should support the Mercian Plan so that she might convince her husband, but in swaying the opinions of Walsingham himself. To do that, Waldorf needed to ascertain exactly where the man stood on the issue. Walsingham had been elected as First Minister in part because everyone believed the man agreed with their positions, which came about because he gave away very little about his own views.

The manor house of Oxwick Park was surprisingly vast, and from the moment Waldorf reached the front hallway again and set out in search of anyone else among the guests to whom he might make an introduction, he understood why Kat had not returned to her room. The irritating woman had most likely become lost in the warrens of hallways, parlors, and other rooms that made up the ground floor.

A bit more unnerving was the fact that despite knowing at least a dozen couples were already Lady Walsingham’s guests for her mad party, Waldorf encountered very few people in his search.

“Where have the rest of the party gone?” he was finally able to ask a passing maid. The harried-looking young woman was dressed in shades of pink, not unlike the footmen had been, and the colors did not suit her.

“They’re in the garden, my lord,” the woman reported with a barely concealed sigh.

Waldorf blinked. “At this time of year? It isn’t summer.”

The maid gave him a forlorn look and said, “Her ladyship believes in the benefits of fresh air and nature.”

Waldorf had nothing to say to that, but he gave the maid a significant look before walking on. He had the feeling he wouldbe subjected to much more about Lady Walsingham’s feelings on the benefits of nature before all else was said and done.

It was, perhaps, a blessing when Waldorf encountered Lord Walsingham as he was crossing through the chilly conservatory to the open door that led out to the garden.

“Ah, Lord Waldorf,” Walsingham greeted him with a welcoming smile, even though his posture was stiff and formal. “I was told you and your lady love had arrived.”

Waldorf was too stunned by the First Minister’s appearance for a moment to make an adequate return greeting. The august man was not dressed entirely out of the ordinary. He wore breeches, a jacket, waistcoat, and neck cloth, like every other fashionable man of the New Heptarchy. The difference was that Walsingham’s clothing appeared to be made entirely of natural, undyed fibers, which rendered his entire ensemble a light buff color. All except his neckcloth, which was a lurid shade of pink.

“I am so grateful that a place at your wife’s retreat could be found for Lady Katherine and I at such short notice,” Waldorf finally found his voice enough to reply.

Walsingham laughed ironically. “Yes, Maryella insists on hosting these events,” he said, sending Waldorf a knowing, sideways look as they continued across the conservatory and out into the garden. “She has theories about how men and women should commune with each other. She keeps threatening to write a book expounding on those theories.”

“Dear God,” Waldorf said before he could stop himself.

Fortunately, Walsingham seemed to agree with him. “I love the woman dearly, and I indulge her fancies to a degree that I probably should not, but you can rest assured that I work tirelessly to ensure that whatever happens at Oxwick Park remains a carefully kept secret.”

Waldorf wanted to shout, “Thank God!” but he had already pressed his luck with his reactions and did not want to appear rude.

Instead, he gestured for Walsingham to precede him out the door into the garden, then attempted to engage in his mission by casually asking, “Do you favor the rights of women to do as they please as a rule, or do you?—”

He got no farther than that in his question. Moments within stepping out into the garden, Kat appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and grabbed hold of his arm.

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