Page 31 of A Lord Apart (The Way to a Lord's Heart 2)

Penelope nodded. A beaming Kitty went to fetch the rolling pin and a paring knife, only to be diverted by a knock at the front door.

“I’ll go,” said Penelope.

“I should do it, miss.”

“Never mind.” Forestalling argument, Penelope went out and opened the door. Lord Whitfield stood on her threshold, looking powerfully athletic in a blue coat and buff riding breeches. Penelope was suddenly conscious of some streaks of cinnamon on her apron. She could feel that the heat of the kitchen had caused her hair to droop about her ears.

“Good day, Miss Pendleton,” said Daniel. He’d expected to be greeted by the maid and to ask if her mistress was free. Perhaps these social conventions made no sense in such a small dwelling. Should he have sent a note asking to call? He hadn’t really considered, he’d been so eager to see her.

Clearly he’d chosen an inopportune moment, because Miss Pendleton had flour on her nose. Daniel felt a nearly irresistible impulse to pull out his handkerchief and wipe it off. But he stayed his hand. She wouldn’t like that. Better to ignore the smudge. Instead he took a folded sheet of paper from his inner pocket. “One of the shelves in that wardrobe collapsed. We have another flood of paper, I’m afraid. But this conveyance was caught in a crack at the back. My great-great-grandfather bought Rose Cottage about a hundred years ago.”

“Really?” Her blue eyes lit in the way that always shook him as she took the page, opened it, and began to read. “What crabbed handwriting.”

“Shall we go in?”

“Oh, of course.” She moved back, and Daniel followed her into the parlor. She sat down, all attention on the document. He took the armchair. There was a spot of flour on the back of her hand as well. She looked utterly charming in an apron. The house smelled sweetly of spice.

“It doesn’t say why he bought the cottage from this Addison.”

“No. I expect the opportunity simply arose. My great-great-grandfather extended the estate in several directions. He was a notorious nipfarthing. Spent every penny he could scrape together on land.”

She nodded and read on to the end. “I don’t see how a transaction in 1713 can have anything to do with me.”

“No,” he replied, carefully not looking at the smudge on her nose.

“Still, it’s a step along the way in solving our mystery.”

“Yes.”

“And it does tell us that the cottage wasn’t part of your ancestral heritage, which would make it easier to give away, I imagine.” She looked pleased with that idea.

“A good point.”

“Whatisthe matter?” she asked.

“The—?”

“You keep looking at me sideways.”

“You have flour on your nose,” Daniel admitted.

“Mynose?” She swiped at it, merely spreading the smudge. “Why didn’t you say so?”

“I didn’t want to embarrass you.”

“It’s more embarrassing to know it was there all this time. Is it gone now?”

“Not quite.” Daniel got out his handkerchief and offered it to her.

Miss Pendleton rubbed off the smudge. “Thank you.” Handing back the square of cloth, she seemed to notice her apron. “Oh.” She stood, untied the strings, and set it aside. “I was having a lesson with Mrs. Hart this morning.”

“Mrs. Hart?”

“The kind neighbor who comes in to cook for us.”

“Ah.”

A burst of Kitty’s giggles came from the kitchen. “That’s daft-looking, that is,” she said.

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