Page 21 of An Amiable Foe
In his current distress over what had happened, he was nearly ready to give Miss Edgewood permanent residence at Brindale. He liked the idea of being able to keep her safe. The thought of being made useful in such a way restored some of his energy.
Many of the serviceable rooms had been taken, not only by his friends, but also by their servants, who expected a certain degree of comfort. As he ruminated over how he could arrange things, Charlie entered, followed by Sarah, both carrying the tea things. Miss Edgewood remained silent, weary, as she prepared the tea and stood to hand a cup to everyone, including Raife and Lorry.
“Can the house be shut at night?” Raife asked as he accepted the cup from her hands.
Miss Edgewood returned to her seat and nodded. “I’ve been latching the shutters and bolting the doors each night, but some of the shutters are old and don’t fasten well. When the intruder broke the window, it caused the shutters to burst open from the inside. I looked into the drawing room as we left this morning, and I saw glass on the floor. But we were in a hurry, fearful that someone might still be there, so I did not look too closely.”
They fell silent as they finished their tea. Perry set his cup down, still without a ready solution for Miss Fife but determined to see to Miss Edgewood.
“Charlie, I will ask assistance from you and Sarah in finding a solution for Miss Fife to be accommodated on this floor so she will not pain her foot by climbing the stairs. You know this castle and its resources more intimately than I do.”
Charlie stood at the back of the room, but Sarah had slipped out, likely to sit on the bench in the hall for some rest. He could not blame her. The footman bowed. “I’ll do so, sir.”
“Miss Fife, we will find you comfortable accommodations soon enough. In the meantime, Miss Edgewood, will you allow me to assist you to your room?” Perry went to her and held out his hand then helped her to rise.
“Oh, I can do that,” Lorry said, leaping to his feet. “It would be no trouble at all to bring Miss Edgewood to your room. That way you may get a head start on inspecting what happened.”
Perry did not like the eager look in Lorry’s eye. He slipped his arm under Miss Edgewood’s elbow to support her, surprised by the natural way it felt. She was quite petite, but the difference in height did not make their touch awkward. And a whiff as she drew near brought the faint scent of roses.
“I assure you, it is no trouble,” he told Lorry firmly. Turning to Miss Edgewood, he added, “I hope the room will restore a sense of comfort. After all, it had been your parents’ room, and very little was changed since I’ve taken possession of it.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. The novel feelings of protectiveness he harbored toward her were strong, and they caused his heart to beat almost painfully. He wondered if she also felt the current that seemed to pass through them as he supported her arm. If she did, she did not pull away.
“I’ll walk up with you, then.”
Lorry fell into step beside them as Perry accompanied Miss Edgewood to the main hall, then followed them up the stairs. Perry remained silent, allowing Lorry to carry the conversation, which was filled with expressions of concern over Miss Edgewood’s ordeal. But when they reached Perry’s room, he turned to Lorry.
“You had best go back to sleep. Otherwise you’ll be good for nothing later.” He smiled politely and turned his back on Lorry, who seemed to accept he had been outmaneuvered.
“That is the truth.”
As Lorry went back to his bedroom, Perry opened the door to his and allowed Miss Edgewood to enter it. He would not go in himself—that would be inappropriate. He stood in the doorway watching her, and something in his heart softened at the sight of her turning in a slow circle to examine the room as though she were a stranger. She had dressed and put on her bonnet before she’d left the cottage, but the fatigue and fright of the evening were evident in her pale face and the fine lines that were etched around her eyes.
He caught himself staring. Their gaze held for a moment as she stared back at him, mutely.
“You will be safe here,” he said. He took a step inside the room when he said it. He couldn’t help himself.
“I know it.” She offered a wan smile and looked down. Then she gave an intake of breath and reached into her reticule. “You will need the key to the cottage.”
She pulled it out and handed it to him. He took two more steps and accepted it from her, their hands brushing. The jolt at their touch caught him by surprise and created a longing to stay and explore these new feelings. But there was nothing else to say, and he turned to go.
Once downstairs, Perry went to check on how Miss Fife was faring and whether they had found her a room. The drawing room was empty, save for Raife.
“Miss Fife has been taken care of by the indomitable Sarah. She is a gem of a maid.” Raife said, yawning.
“She is. I’m glad Miss Edgewood has her. I’m seeing how much she needs her.” Perry looked through the windows at the sky that had lightened enough to where only faint lines of pink were visible. “I must go to the cottage to see what happened.”
“Since I troubled to put on my boots, I may as well go with you.”
Raife stood and tugged his waistcoat into place, and Perry raised his eyebrows. Of all the people who would offer to come, it would be Raife? Lorry would certainly have offered except that Miss Edgewood was here. If Perry had been asked to bet between the three of his friends which one would be most concerned, he would have lost the gamble, being quite certain Raife would have chosen to stay firmly abed. He must not know him as well as he thought he did.
“Let’s go then.” Perry paused only to consider whether he needed fear for Miss Edgewood staying in a room so close to Lorry. He hoped that Lorry would be too tired after last night’sdébaucheto think of doing anything untoward, not to mention the fact that he knew she was under Perry’s protection.
And here was Raife offering to come. Perry wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. They set out on foot, not bothering to harness the horses, for it was not an overly long walk and they didn’t want to make the horses stand about while they investigated.
“What do you make of all this?” Perry asked as they traipsed along the path. “Obviously I don’t know the area, but it surprises me that a petty thief would be found on Brindale’s estate. And I’m troubled that the cottage was targeted.”
“I could not say,” Raife replied. The roof of the cottage came into view through a clearing in the trees, and they followed the path toward it. “But my guess would be that it was either a poacher whose shot went wide, or it was petty theft and someone hoped to steal something of value, thinking the house still uninhabited.”
