Page 46 of The Tempting of Thomas Carrick
Nigel was nodding. “He needed somewhere to keep them, and we had the room. No skin off our nose to house them.”
Thomas thought of how much feed eight horses could go through, let alone the time taken for their care. In a level tone, he ventured, “The stablemen didn’t seem quite so thrilled to have double the number of horses to tend.”
Nigel humphed. “A surly lot they’re turning out to be, even if they are distant cousins.”
Seated closer to Nigel and Nolan than Thomas, Lucilla could feel the suppressed animosity both were directing his way—Nigel in particular. Given what she’d seen previously of Nigel’s not-entirely-logical resentment of Thomas, she wasn’t surprised when Thomas shrugged lightly and let the subject slide.
She’d also noticed Niniver watching the exchange—watching her brothers with a quietly suspicious air. If Thomas harbored doubts about the story of the horses—and she was well aware that he did—so, too, did Niniver.
But when Niniver noticed her regard, the younger girl smiled slightly and asked, “What are you planning on doing today?”
The question fixed the attention of everyone else at the table—all except Norris, who remained determinedly detached.
Lucilla saw no reason not to answer. “Once Alice arrives, which I gather should be soon, I’ll go over the still room with her. We need to check on all the stores, and the decoctions Joy left steeping, and I need to make sure Alice is able to carry on by herself. I also want to walk through the herb garden with her and check that she has all the herbs she might need, so if there’s anything missing, I can supply it from the Vale, rather than have her distracted by having to source obscure herbs while she’s still settling in.”
Nolan, forearms folded on the table, tipped his head. “So once you’ve done that, you’ll be heading back to the Vale?”
The question was posed in a conversational tone, yet she sensed that both Nolan and Nigel—as well as Thomas—had a keen interest in her answer. Calmly, she replied, “That depends on what I find.”
Nigel waved his fork. “How so?”
She studied him for a second, then said, “For instance, much depends on the stocks of specifics Joy has put by. Once I check what she’s been making by way of tonics and medicines in general, and assess whether Alice knows how to replace them, I’ll have a better idea of how long I’ll need to stay. It may take a day or two to ensure that Alice has sufficient stocks put by to continue to supply all those Joy was treating.”
Nigel frowned as if trying to remember. “I really don’t think she—old Joy—was supplying anyone with anything vital.”
Lucilla arched her brows. She knew the answer, yet still she said, “Surely she’s been treating your father, if no one else.”
Lips pursing, Nigel shook his head. “I would need to check with Edgar, but I’m fairly certain Joy wasn’t making any potions for Papa.”
“Whyever not?” Anything she could learn might be of use in convincing Manachan to accept the help she was determined to give him.
Nigel smiled, more than a touch patronizingly. “Nothing to be done, really.” He shrugged. “The old man’s just getting older. Unless you have some potion from the Fountain of Youth, there’s not much anyone can do about that, is there?”
Refutation burned her tongue, but she kept her lips shut, unwilling to respond to that not-so-subtle goad. She could have informed Nigel that, in her experienced opinion, there was a great deal that might be done to restore his father’s health, but rather than argue, she decided she would prefer a demonstration.
Coolly, she inclined her head, then pushed back from the table. She looked at Thomas. “Alice should be here soon. I’ll wait for her in the still room.”
Rising and pulling back her chair, Thomas merely nodded, then after she’d inclined her head to Niniver and her brothers, he followed her from the room.
* * *
Lucilla let the familiar ambiance of the still room close about her. Thomas had followed her down the steps and along the winding corridors to the room in the bowels of the main wing; he lounged in the doorway, one shoulder propped against the stone surround, his hands sunk in his breeches pockets, and watched her, while she ignored him.
She didn’t want to ignore him, but she was finding that he and what to do about him were taking up too much space in her mind—space she needed to devote to Alice, once she arrived, and to determining what needed to be accomplished, and in what order.
She pottered about the room, circling the big table at its center, checking and noting the pots on the shelves running above the bench that lined the walls.
After several long minutes, Thomas stirred. Straightening in the doorway, he murmured, “Will you be staying here?”
Without looking his way, she nodded. “I don’t plan on leaving until Alice gets here, and even then, I’ll only be going to the herb garden with her.”
It was interesting, she supposed, that she could accept his protectiveness—for that was what was behind his hovering presence—without any real irritation. Only from Marcus would she have accepted such a question with any similar degree of equanimity. Even had it been her cousin Sebastian, future head of their house, who had voiced it, she would have responded with a decided snap.
But there was someone lurking with murderous intent, possibly not in the house but at least on the estate. That was reason enough for protectiveness in any true man—and even more in he who was destined to be her consort.
He studied her for a moment more, as if debating, then sound drifted down from the ground floor; the corridor that led from the stable yard to the front hall was, more or less, directly above them. He drew his hands from his pockets. “That sounds as if Alice has arrived. I’ll go and fetch her.”
Lucilla didn’t bother pointing out that Alice had to know the way to the still room—she’d been the healer’s apprentice for at least two years.
