Page 18 of The Moonstone Major
“I was worried about you, Chloe. Afraid it had gotten worse and you were in pain.”
“No, I am feeling much better because of your sound medical advice. How about you? Any aches and pains? Your tumble was just as bad as mine, so do not pretend it wasn’t.”
He studied her with his soul-piercing eyes and then broke into an appealingly boyish smile. “A few aches, but nothing more. You know I am not going to tell you if anything really hurts.”
She laughed. “Why are men such prideful idiots? What if you’ve suffered a sprain or fracture?”
“Do I look as though I have?” He crossed his heart. “I promise. I haven’t.”
She eased back. “Good. Care for a lemonade? Or something stronger?”
“Lemonade is fine.” He shot her a quelling look when she attempted to rise, for the pitcher was on the table just out of her reach. He easily attended to the task himself and then settled back in the chair beside her. “Chloe, do you mind if I ask you a few personal questions?”
“Personal? Not at all. My life is a dull and completely open book. Not a single juicy secret lurking anywhere. What do you wish to know?”
“Have you had any unpleasant run-ins with anyone recently? Someone angry enough to wish you harm?”
“Me?” She shook her head, the question genuinely surprising her. “No. Is this about the dart they found on Lord Claymore’s horse?”
“You heard about that?”
She grinned. “Yes, Constable Angel stopped by last night and told us. Of course, we already knew because one of our grooms happened to be in town on an errand when the news came out and immediately rushed back to report it to Melrose, who then rushed to report it to Cormac, who then told all of us. This all happened shortly after you left us yesterday. We expected you would learn of it the moment you arrived back in town.”
“I did. The ostler told me and Dr. Hewitt as soon as we pulled up in his rig.”
“The Moonstone Landing gossip brigades are most efficient, don’t you think? I suppose this means you refrained from beating the stuffing out of Lord Claymore.”
Fionn chuckled. “Yes, he is safe from me for the moment. In truth, he was surprisingly polite when I questioned him. He’s going to pay a call on you today.”
She shrugged. “He hasn’t bothered to come by yet. Perhaps he won’t.”
“He will. He struck me as a man of his word. As I said, he was unexpectedly polite to me and conveyed sincere concern about you. His friends were insufferable, however. So I am not about to extol his virtues just yet.”
“Fionn, why did you ask if I had any enemies? Have you ruled out Lord Claymore being the target of the prank?”
“Not at all. In fact, I expect he was the intended victim. But neither Constable Angel nor I have found a likely culprit. We’ve ruled out the usual village troublemakers. I know it wasn’t any of the men under my command. We’ve checked all the local lodging houses, and went through the Kestrel Inn’s register for likely suspects.” He raked a hand through his hair in obvious consternation. “This should have been an easy investigation.”
She pursed her lips in thought. “Is it possible you cannot find the person because he never made his presence known in town? Could that dart have been fired from somewhere on the outskirts and then the villain hurried off?”
He nodded. “It seems more and more likely this is exactly what happened. Still, it is a bit of a stretch. Lord Claymore was adamant about not having any enemies. Not that I would take him at his word. Any man in his position would garner the envy of others.”
He leaned forward and regarded her in all seriousness. “Any young woman in your position might also find herself envied. Chloe, you will be one of next season’stondiamonds. There is no question in my mind. Is it possible others want you out of the way in the hope their daughter will be noticed instead of you?”
“No, it is absurd to think so. Who else from this little patch of England will be having their London come-out? And what makes me so special? There will be at least a dozen debutantes who are stiffer competition. Truly, this incident cannot be about me. But what of you? Is it possible someone wants you out of the way? Perhaps they saw you about to cross the street and intended the runaway phaeton to squash you.”
He laughed. “What would be gained by it? I own nothing and have no family.”
“Well, you do have family. You just don’t know who they are. But what if they know who you are and are afraid you might learn something about your heritage now that you are settling here?”
He groaned. “I am not related to your ghost captain, if this is what you are thinking. Emma and Imogen were just letting their imaginations run wild.”
She took a sip of her lemonade while she studied him. “What if they are not wrong? You felt drawn to our cottage. And it was once owned by Captain Arundel.”
“Let me put a stop to this right now,” he said before gulping down the last of his drink and setting it on the table with obvious annoyance. “Your hero ghost does not strike me as the sort who would ever abandon a child of his.”
“What if he did not know of your existence? He was often abroad, sailing around the world and sometimes gone for years. Perhaps he had despicable relatives who harmed your mother and disposed of you. Greedy men like our weasel cousin Willis, the new Earl of Stoke, abound. Well, I suppose our weasel cousin isn’t really new anymore, since my father has been gone for many years. But you know how he tried to steal our inheritance. Why is it so far-fetched that someone in your family might have done the same to you?”
He reached over to caress her cheek. “I know you want to believe this romantic story…the long-lost son, finally found again. But it is not so. Someone in Moonstone Landing would have known about it. You know word spreads like a wildfire in this village. Even if I were his son—which I assure you, I am not—he never married my mother. I am still baseborn. This is what I am, and you cannot elevate my standing no matter how strongly you wish it, Chloe.”
