Page 39 of Every Duke Has His Thorn
“Perhaps Anne is related to Mr. Sparks. The girl might have sought employment on the estate merely to search for the treasure.”
“Best not to confront the girl just yet,” his aunt responded. “You don’t want to scare her away.”
He paid the toll at the bridge and drove the gig along Preston’s high street.
“I really should visit you more often now that you’ve returned to England,” his aunt said cheerfully. “This visit has been most exhilarating.”
He had to agree with her. “I can’t say we will have a treasure to search for the next time you’re at Barton Hall.”
“I’m getting too old to travel great distances, but I will always make an exception for Lancashire. You should marry and have children. I would love to see children playing in the hall.”
He’d never thought much about children, but now a vision of several boys and girls playing in the house and on the estate brought a smile to his lips. He did have some good memories of his childhood on the estate.
His mother had played with him. Or tried to. Growing up with only sisters, she’d confessed to not being particularly good at games boys might play.
He recalled she was especially adept at making up rhymes for their games.
“I’ve got it!” He drew the gig to an abrupt halt.
His aunt grasped his forearm with her hand. “Whatever is the matter, Preston?”
“I’ve solved the last clue!”
* * * * *
Marina observed the restoration work being done on the ceiling of the green bedroom for several minutes before returning downstairs to the dining room. The room was being cleaned as the repairs on the walls and ceiling were complete.
Seated on an Elizabethan oak side chair, attempting to stay out of the way as the room was cleaned, she made a sketch of the minstrel’s gallery. The gallery was one of her favorite features of the house, and she wanted to remember it.
They would leave the house in a few weeks. She wouldn’t examine why, but she didn’t want to go. Her drawing complete, she returned to the dower house, feeling rather melancholy.
She entered the drawing room to see Anne holding a piece of paper that looked like the treasure poem. The maid started upon seeing her, and the poem drifted from her hand to the table beneath.
“Miss!” Face flushed, the girl looked at the clock on the mantelpiece. “I didn’t realize it was nearly time for your nuncheon. I’ll just get to the kitchen and help Cook.”
Marina had little time to wonder about the maid’s strange behavior as Brooks entered the room with a letter on a silver salver.
The note was addressed to Miss Davies. The paper was of the highest quality. She turned the letter over to see a red wax seal displaying the duke’s coat of arms. She broke the seal with a fingernail, opened the missive, and proceeded to read it.
Miss Davies-
The last clue is solved! Please meet my nephew and myself in the terraced garden at two o’clock.
Respectfully,
Lady Barton
Her father entered the drawing room and said cheerfully, “The restoration is coming along splendidly. I’m here merely to grab some of my notes and will return for a late tea. I’m overseeing work in the bedchambers on the second floor this afternoon. If you finished your sketches of the minstrel’s gallery, you may relax this afternoon. I will make notes of today’s progress while I’m at the hall and you can transcribe them tomorrow.”
Marina folded the note and placed it in the pocket of her walking dress. She would discuss the note with him later.
Her father departed and Anne entered the room with a tray of cold meat, cheese, and grapes. The maid deposited the tray on a low table and excused herself, not meeting Marina’s gaze.
She enjoyed a leisurely meal, eating several grapes.
Why would the duke and his aunt schedule a meeting out of doors in the hottest part of the day? Perhaps their first thought was for privacy.
She rose to her feet and exited the dining room. Going upstairs to her bedchamber, her first thought was to tear up the note she’d received. Her mind turned to Anne’s strange behavior. She would mention it to the duke and his aunt. There were only two more hours until their meeting.
