Page 15 of Swindled By a Spinster
Yours sincerely,
Lady Margaret
P.S. Please passthe following message along to our dear Lord Archbroke:
Don’t try to find me, I won’t be leaving crumbs for you this time.
“Well,she is rather confident in her abilities.” Lord Foxton tucked his hands behind him and faced his back to the fire.
“And so she should be,” Phoebe replied.
Torrance sat upon the settee, occupying the seat he had claimed as his. “I doubt Archbroke will let the matter go.”
“I honestly don’t believe Archbroke will have a choice,” Foxton said. “I wonder where she’s headed.”
Phoebe answered, “My guess is the Continent.”
Foxton left his post next to the fire and sank into the wing-backed chair facing Torrance. “That will make matters interesting. If she ventures across the channel, the chase shall fall upon the shoulders of the Head of the Foreign Office. Iwonder who they will send to track Lady Margaret down and bring her home to face the consequences.”
Again Phoebe offered her opinion before he could. “Rumor has it Middleton is the Foreign Office’s golden boy of late.”
“Middleton?” Torrance blurted.
“Yes. Isn’t Lord Middleton one of your closest friends?” Phoebe asked.
“Some might refer to him as my best friend,” Torrance answered, but at the sight of Phoebe’s displeased frown he added, “Not I of course.”
Foxton chuckled and then cleared his throat. “Boodles set our horses loose last night, and I doubt Lady Margaret was kind enough to leave us a mode of transportation home.”
Frustrated at his superior, Torrance said, “Well we can’t sit about waiting for Archbroke to arrive.”
“That is exactly what we will do. Alice only agreed to give us a two-hour head start,” Foxton retorted.
“If that is true then why did Archbroke and the others not arrive last night?” Torrance asked.
Torrance followed his friend's gaze, which followed Phoebe as she paced in front of the fireplace.
“Phoebe?” Torrance prompted.
“Yes?”
Torrance was all too familiar with the guilty look plastered on Phoebe’s face. “What have you done?”
“Well…I might have given Lady Alice the impression that we were headed for Lord Galston’s country residence.”
Foxton rose to his feet. “Then where the bloody hell are we?”
“No need to cuss, Foxton,” Torrance chided. “If I’m correct we are ensconced in Lady Margaret’s family abode, which borders Lord Galston’s estate.”
Phoebe gave him a broad smile. “You are correct.”
“That still doesn’t explain why Archbroke hasn’t arrived,” Foxton said.
“This is not the main residence, but only one of the many cottages on the Duke of Dansworth’s property,” Phoebe explained.
“The smoke,” Torrance said.
“Lady Margaret is very clever. There are staff posted at some of the other dwellings.”
