Page 67 of The Moonstone Major
She added a few flower clips to hold her stylish chignon in place. However, she merely held her sun hat in hand because she did not want to flatten her elegantly styled hair. After all, what was the point of making all the effort if the attractive outcome was only going to be covered up?
She marched downstairs, excited by the prospect of spending the day at Moonstone Cottage. “I’m off,” she said to Melrose as she breezed past him.
“Lady Chloe, shall I send a footman to escort you home?”
“Not necessary. Mr. Hawke will drive me back in the wagon. I might have him take me into town first.” She walked with a spry step down to the beach. The tide was only now starting to come in, and she was easily able to avoid climbing over the rocks, since the sandy walkway was not yet flooded.
She made it to the cottage with ease and walked in through the kitchen, since she had come up the beach stairs and wanted to shake any sand off her before she traipsed through the house. Mrs. Hawke was moving about the kitchen at her usual bustling pace when she strode in. “Good morning, Mrs. Hawke.”
The woman cast her a gracious smile. “Good morning, Lady Chloe. The major said you would stop by today. He’s brought down some boxes and put them on the dining room table for you. He thought you would be more comfortable sorting through them there. He also told me to mention that he has plenty of paper and graphite pencils in the study. You are to help yourself to any supplies you need.”
Chloe smiled. “That is very thoughtful of him.”
Mrs. Hawke grinned. “Well, you know he likes you. He would give you the world if it were in his power.”
Chloe blushed.
“Would you like a cup of tea? It looks to be thirsty work.”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. I’m afraid to spill anything on those papers.”
After greeting Mr. Hawke as well, she went into the dining room and immediately set about to work.
She quickly saw these were important family documents, not only of Captain Arundel’s but also those of a brother and a sister who had died before him.
Chloe used some of Fionn’s paper to sketch out a family tree and used a second sheet to prepare a timeline of events. She did not know yet if they would be of any purpose, but something might reveal itself as she put the Arundel family history in order.
It did not escape her notice that Arundel was an important name in England. Perhaps she could do a little scouting on her own these next few days. There was an Arundel Castle. It was the home of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, and residence of the Earl Marshall of England at one time.
Arundel Castle was presently home to the Howard family, one of England’s most respected and powerful dynasties. However, Chloe had no idea what connection the castle or the family could have to her ghostly sea captain. The castle was in the southeast of England, while Moonstone Landing was all the way southwest.
Yet the fort was known as Fort Arundel, and that could not be mere coincidence.
How was she ever to explore the castle when it would take her three days to get there and another three days back? It was impossible to ride over in an afternoon. But Fionn could stop there on his way to or from London, assuming there was some connection to be discovered.
In the meantime, she would ask Cain if he knew any members of the Howard family. Dukes likely knew each other because there weren’t too many of them, and one would think they would meet often of necessity because of their elevated rank. Cain, if pressed to think about it, might find a similarity in appearance between Fionn and some member of the Howard clan, particularly one of the recent dukes.
She could not imagine anyone in that noble family looking as fine as Fionn, for he was tall and had the muscled strength of a warrior. She could easily see him as a valiant knight on a steed, carrying the Howard banner into battle.
She shook out of the thought, for her mind had already strayed from her ghost sea captain to one of England’s most powerful families. In truth, there was nothing more than her active imagination leading her outside of Moonstone Landing.
Was it not better to stay focused on Fionn and the sea captain? The documents, not idle speculation, would lead her down the path she needed to go.
After six hours of uninterrupted work, quite pleased by her progress, she set aside the graphite pencil and studied the neatly ordered piles of documents. As she worked, she had been separating the documents into those she had read and those not yet read. Of those read, she further separated them according to family relation. Those relating most to the sister and brother were put in separate piles from those relating to the sea captain.
She considered leaving Fionn notes on what she had done. However, it would take too long to write everything down, and she hoped to see him in town shortly anyway, since she dared not remain at the cottage much longer. Tongues would wag if Fionn returned and the town gossips learned she was still here.
She rose from the table and entered the kitchen to seek out Mrs. Hawke. “What can I do for you, Lady Chloe?”
“Would it be an imposition to leave the papers on the dining room table? I have put them in a particular order and they should not be touched.”
“Oh, I’m sure it is fine. Major Brennan rarely eats in there, especially when on his own. I don’t expect he’ll be bringing any of his officers home with him, or he would have sent word.”
“Thank you. I’ll return bright and early tomorrow morning to resume sorting through them.” She bade the woman a good day and asked Mr. Hawke to hitch the wagon to take her into town.
“Shall I wait for you, Lady Chloe?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes, Mr. Hawke. I think you had better. I shouldn’t be too long, and you can drop me off at Westgate Hall on the way back.”
