Page 16 of Tempting the Earl
They clattered to a halt before the magnificent main building on Spence land. Philip gazed in appreciation at the unique architecture of the old manor house and its well-kept property. The main door of the dwelling was quickly opened by an alert footman and the dignified butler stepped out to greet them.
When Philip explained the purpose of his visit, the butler ushered him and James in to a comfortable front room and sent a footman for refreshments while he explained that he regretfully knew very little about the young marchioness.
"I am truly sorry, my lord. The young lady was very popular amongst the servants since she was so sweet, but the family really kept to themselves. The only one I can think of that my lady might have confided in is her old nurse. Have you spoken with her?" questioned the worried butler.
"We have not yet had the pleasure, but we fully intend to, sir," Philip answered kindly. "Is there anyone else you could think of, preferably on this estate, with whom we might be able to speak?"
The older man thought the matter over for a moment before answering doubtfully. "The housekeeper would be your best bet, my lord. She and the old marchioness were quite close, so she might know more about whom the young lady would turn to if she were in trouble. I will bring her here to speak with you, if you will excuse me." The butler bowed himself from the room as a footman came in with some small sandwiches and drinks to offer the gentlemen.
The two men were left cooling their heels for a few moments waiting for the housekeeper to come speak with them. They could hear her coming long before they could see her and the two men exchanged an amused glance as they heard the clink of the housekeeper's ring full of keys.
"Terribly sorry to keep you waiting, milord. Hodges tells me you have some questions about the young mistress?" she asked briskly as she jingled to a stop in front of Philip. "We are all just heart sore that something has happened to the dear young thing! But sadly, we haven't seen hide nor hair of her since before the marquis and his dear wife passed on, so I wouldn't be able to say where the wee thing might be, my lord." She paused deep in melancholy thought before her face hardened and she continued in a much different tone of voice. "Have you spoken to Lord Woolfe? He's a shifty fellow, that one. Came here a couple weeks ago sniffing after the young marchioness' belongings. He claimed to be an agent of the young lady's guardian, but he seemed like he was up to no good if you ask me."
At the mention of Max Woolfe, Philip grew more attentive. He had been disappointed to learn that once again no one in the household had anything constructive to add to their search, but this was a new bit of information.
"Why would Ridley send an agent to Spence?" he wondered aloud.
"Greed," was the housekeeper's succinct opinion. "We sent him on his way. Told him unless we learned otherwise our mistress was the Marchioness of Edenvale and he was to mind his own never mind. None too happy he was I can tell you that much, milord. Left here in a bit of a snit, not that any of us minded much. Sinister young man, didn't want to let him around any of the maidservants, that's for certain."
"How long ago did you say it was that he was here?" questioned Philip gently.
"Oh nigh on a fortnight I would say, milord. I think he went back to tattle to Ridley that we wouldn't make him comfortable here." The housekeeper didn't seem overly concerned about the viscount's good opinion
"Thank you so much for your help, ma'am. We should be on our way. We need to find the young lady as soon as possible, as I am sure you can imagine."
The kindly old housekeeper nodded sagely. "You'll find her, my lord. You seem to be a good sort of man even if you're a bit too shiny."
Philip was unsure how to react to that pronouncement so he merely accepted his hat from the butler and made to leave before the housekeeper interrupted him again. "My lord, we took the liberty of having the cook prepare you a basket. You'll need some sustenance while you search for our wee lady. You bring her back to us safe and sound, milord. We'll be waiting." As Philip and James swung themselves up into their carriage the old butler and housekeeper stood waving them off until they drove down the lane.
"That wasn't terribly informative, but it was a much warmer reception than we received at Ridley, wasn't it James? How do you suppose Woolfe figures into all of this?"
James shook his head. "I’ve been wondering the same thing. We will have to speak to him at our earliest opportunity," was his conclusion on the matter.
They fell into an easy silence as they continued on in their travels. They had a fair distance to cover as they headed out towards Edenvale, near Grantham. The two men were hoping to make it as far as possible that day in order to reach it and speak to the servants the next day. Their intention was to also stop in at the seat of the barony of Westland on their way back towards Rosemount. They were going to be covering many miles in the next few days, and the task seemed somewhat daunting to the two travellers. They kept their disquieting musings to themselves as the miles rolled slowly by.
A few hours later Philip had reached one conclusion. "I am certainly going to have a conversation with His Majesty about the condition of these roads once all this is said and done, James. If it didn't take so long to get from place to place our search might be not be so arduous. This road is getting unbearable! I'm not sure if my nerves can handle much more of this, never mind the state of my wheels," grumbled the earl.
James laughed at the earl's grumbling. "Perhaps you should take your seat in the House of Lords and stir up some politics toward road maintenance."
"Well, let's not get carried away, James. There's a large gap between complaining and campaigning." The two men laughed good-naturedly and continued their journey in fine humour.
Unfortunately, the next day was even more fruitless than the one before. The servants at Edenvale were well meaning but uninformative. The marquis and his family had not spent much time on that estate in the last few years, merely making brief visits to ensure all was well there, as he had made Spence his principal residence in recent times. The servants had no idea where the young marchioness would have gone if she needed help, only pointing out what Philip already knew– the close bond between the young woman and her old nurse.
Again, though, they heard of a visit from the seemingly villainous Lord Maximillian Woolfe. The servants of Edenvale had also put a run to him, not allowing him to poke about the estate, being highly suspicious of his intentions. Philip was growing in determination to question him at the earliest opportunity as he wondered impotently what involvement he might have in the young lady's disappearance and why Ridley had him riding about the countryside checking on her properties instead of doing it himself in his role as her guardian.
By that time, James and Philip were becoming somewhat dispirited by their endless traveling and fruitless search. The entire thing felt like an exercise in futility and they began to wonder if they should just give up and go home. But they were due at Rosemount in a couple of days and their last place to look, the holding of the barony of Westland, was not too far out of the way so they determined to stop there on their way to the countess' house party.
Since this route had poorer roads and fewer places to change the horses, they were making much slower progress, so it was with heartfelt relief that they finally reached their destination late the next evening. They settled in to the local inn to refresh themselves with the intention of getting an early start the next morning to speak with the servants and drive on to Rosemount.
Their surprise knew no bounds when they drove up to the gates of Westland and were admitted by a nervous-looking butler who informed them that his lordship would be with them in a moment. Philip and his secretary waited impatiently to see which lordship would be coming to greet them.
"Welcome to Westland, Lord Yorkleigh," rasped the voice of a man unfamiliar to either Philip or James. He was a darkly sallow man with untrustworthy eyes and greasy hair and skin. He looked like he had never exerted himself in any way ever in his life and was struggling to control his burgeoning waistline with a poorly concealed girdle. He emitted a slightly unpleasant odour and Philip looked at him askance.
It dawned on Philip quite suddenly who this unknown personage must be. "Lord Woolfe. What a surprise to find you here. Are you endeavouring to help us in our search for the missing Marchioness of Edenvale, Lady Emmaline?"
Something darkly unpleasant shifted in Lord Woolfe's eyes at the mention of Lady Emmaline, but he managed to suppress it before answering Philip's question.
"As her guardian, Lord Ridley has asked me to check on the young lady's properties to ensure that all will be well with them when she returns to her estates," the man replied, evidently trying to sound reasonable, an effort which was belied by the evil glint in his dark eyes.
