Page 95 of An Artful Secret
Cassie sat on the terrace of Versely Park watching Alex with his new tutor, Mr. Murdoch.
It was a crisp fall day, but sunnier than all of summer had been.
Alex and Mr. Murdoch had a target set up and Mr. Murdoch was teaching Alex archery. Not typically a subject for tutor and pupil, but they had developed a schedule for academic lessons in the morning and other gentleman lessons in the afternoon.
Mr. Murdoch was a veteran of the wars. He’d been a young lieutenant in Wellington’s army and came away from the war with a desire to live a quiet life. Though a young boy’s tutor might have seemed beneath the younger son of an Irish earl, the role suited Mr. Murdoch. She and Lakehurst considered themselves lucky to have his services for Alex. Dulcie remained as Alex’s maid until such time as she would be needed again as a nursemaid. Soon, Cassie hoped.
She and Lakehurst had married a month ago at the Michaelmas holiday in a small ceremony at Versely Park. While she and Lakehurst would have preferred a quick and private special license ceremony, the Duchess of Malmsby had protested loudly. With good humor, they’d agreed to be wed at Versely Park. She wished her brother and Ann could have wed at the same time; however, her brother stubbornly awaited news from Boston if their sister, Margaret, or Maggie, as she was known in the family, would return for his nuptials. She didn’t know how Ann had remained so patient! At least her brother had finally conceded to wed before year's end, regardless of Maggie’s attendance.
Suddenly, Mr. Peabody jumped on her lap, startling her. She laughed, then began to pet the Versely Park resident mouser. They’d brought Oscar to Versely Park before the wedding, and he and Mr. Peabody had a guarded relationship, at best. At least there had not been any loud catfights. That Oscar was not out here on the terrace meant her husband was writing. He’d taken over the old Abbot’s office in the monastery portion of the estate as his writing room. Oscar had been so insistent he be allowed to be in there that they had to create a cat door for him to come and go between the manor house and the old connected monastery at his leisure.
Lakehurst, or Lance, as she now called him, gave her his novel’s tour of Versely Park, the secret passages he’d described, and the ruined chapel where the devil’s disciple had wanted to brand the heroine. Seeing the exact locations he’d described had helped alleviate any lingering unease she’d felt with his book. She’d gone back and read it cover to cover, and it no longer gave her any nightmarish thoughts of similarities. Now she saw more differences! Her husband was a talented writer. There was no mistaking his abilities. And society still did not know whoAnonymouswas, though Lance thought he might put his name on the next one.
Perhaps.
Maybe.
He waffled back and forth on that decision.
It could stay a secret as far as she was concerned. If his authorship were known she’d have to share him with the world, and she wasn’t ready to do that.
Marriage to Lance was so different from her marriage to Darkford that she scarcely considered that marriage to have been a marriage. Lance enjoyed her company and would rather spend his evenings with her than with other people. They laughed together and cried together. It was glorious.
And those poor debutants, they certainly did not understand the joys a man like Lance could bring into the bedroom. She blushed just thinking of their lovemaking.
She heard the terrace door open. It was Lance and Oscar. Oscar bounded forward, then stopped when he saw Mr. Peabody.
Lance sat in a chair close enough to her to thread his fingers through hers. Oscar jumped into his lap, looked over at Mr. Peabody, then circled in Lance’s lap to lay down with his back to the other cat.
Cassie and Lance exchanged amused glances.
“How did your writing go?” Cassie asked.
“I got to the end of that troublesome chapter. It will need a rewrite edit; however, it got my hero where I needed him to be, so that’s good.”
She nodded. “Good. Do you think it will be finished before the holidays?”
“I’m fairly confident. Why?”
“I’ve received a letter from Ann. She says Miles has agreed to a wedding before the end of the year, regardless of Maggie’s presence. Since Ursula Hallowell and Harry Liddle have wed and moved to Wells, Ann’s lived with Lady Oakley. That has been pleasant enough, but not quite comfortable.”
Lakehurst laughed. “I can see how that would be the case. As one of Grandmother’s cronies, she’s nearly as bad as her. The renovations to The Knight’s House will be completed this week. We could return to London and have her live with us.”
Cassie nodded. “There is merit to that idea.”The Knight’s Housewas what they named their new London townhouse, their private joke from their time in the tunnel. Lance bought the unentailed Darkford House from the Darkford estate to remove that property from the marquessate liabilities and provide them a home in London. But Cassie insisted it be renovated and redecorated first to make it a lighter, brighter home.
Mr. Liddle and the magistrate found Mr. Stillworth’s body outside the cave entrance. It appeared the large stone with the quotation from Rabelais that encouraged a person to do as they wanted had fallen and hit him on the head.
Back in London, they’d met with solicitors for the marquessate and, with Mr. Tidemark declaring he no longer wanted to be executor and guardian for Alex, it was arranged for Lance to take over those duties.
Rupert Farrow purchased Baydon Imports’ assets and signed a lease on Baydon Castle for fifteen years. The castle was to be the center of his merchant empire, and he was delighted to have a real castle to live in.
Much to Cassie and Lance’s surprise, Harrison Farrow asked to be the new Darkford properties steward. He granted he had no experience, but he had his brother Rupert for advice. He’d become bored following in the prince’s wake. He wanted to do something. He wanted to see if he could turn the marquessate fortunes around. He didn’t need the money. He needed the challenge.
After a brief discussion with Mr. Rupert Farrow, they gave Harrison Farrow the position. His first endeavor had been to reopen the Graymore limestone mine.
The Farrow brothers wanted to see the damage done by Edmund Tidemark mitigated, and the marquessate prosperous again—so long as that helped their pockets as well.
Edmund and Vanessa Tidemark had retired to Bath. Cassie said that Bath had suddenly become a city she never wanted to visit. Lance laughed.
“I don’t think Alex should grow up an only child,” Lance said as they sat in companionable silence, watching Alex with Mr. Murdoch.
Cassie was silent a moment, though a slow smile curved her lips. “I think we should take advantage of our opportunities to see that doesn’t happen,” she said.
They looked at each other, then grinned and shooed cats off their laps.
Lance put his arm around Cassie as he led her into the house.
THE END
