looked shocked. ‘My lord, I do not think that what I have is in any way up to your refined taste.’
In other words, why on earth would a man of his stature want to buy cheap snuff? ‘Oh, ’tis not for me, but for my children’s nanny.’
Barker instantly cheered. He took down the jar and began weighing. ‘An ounce is enough, my lord?’
‘Perfect,’ Jack said. The noticeboard caught his eyes, or rather a very artfully drawn poster. Drawing teacher willing to provide lessons, it proclaimed.
‘Notice went up yesterday,’ Barker said. ‘Lady Marguerite, looking for students.’ He shook his head in a ‘what is the world coming to’ sort of way.
How very...fortuitous. ‘I see.’ He tipped his head as if considering the matter. ‘My daughters could benefit from some drawing lessons. The older one has some talent, I think.’
‘Lady Marguerite would be the right sort of person for your daughters, my lord. Very nice in her taste, she is. You’ll find her at Westram Cottage, should you wish to enquire.’
He could not have found a better excuse to visit the widowed Lady Marguerite. He nodded. ‘Thank you, Barker. How much do I owe you for the snuff?’ He paid with the coin he had in his pocket and left the shop with a more purposeful step than when he had entered.
* * *
Westram Cottage lay at the far end of the village. A pretty little place, with yellow roses growing in the garden and over a trellis around the front door.
Did he really want to give in to this unusual impulse to hire a drawing teacher?
What he really needed was a governess for his daughters. She would teach them drawing. So, was this about his daughters, or about his interest in the lady? Because he could not seem to get her out of his head.
Nonsense. Nanny was right. He owed her an apology. The fact that she was looking for paid employment was also a puzzle. A widow living alone was usually of independent means. Now, puzzles interested him. He liked solving mysteries. Therefore, it was not the lady herself that had him intrigued, but her circumstances. For example, what had she been doing tramping around the countryside by herself? And looking delightfully dishevelled to boot?
He pushed that thought away. Nanny James was right, he really did owe her a thank-you.
He knocked on the door. Silence. No footsteps coming to the door. No sounds of occupation coming from inside. He stepped back and looked up. No smoke coming from any of the chimneys either. Clearly the lady was not home. Nor were any of her servants.
He pulled his card from his pocket, intending to write a promise to call on her the next day, when he heard a scraping sound from the rear of the house. Likely a groom working in the stables. Someone he could ask about the lady’s whereabouts and expected hour of return. He followed the path around the side of the house to a small stable at the end of a well-cared-for garden.
He entered the stable and gaped at the sight of Lady Marguerite, mucking out in a pair of men’s breeches and boots. He should leave.
Too late! As if sensing his presence, the woman looked up, pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and gaped back at him. ‘Lord Compton,’ she said. She glanced down at herself and winced.
She straightened, holding her shovel before her like a shield. It did nothing to hide her lovely figure. ‘To what do I owe the pleasure?’
Devil take it. The woman must be one of those freethinking sorts. No wonder she had seemed so odd the day before. Was she really the sort of person he wanted teaching his girls?
‘I...er...’ He still held his calling card in his hand. He held it out.
She made no move to take it.
He cast around wildly for something to say and decided, as usual, that the truth was best. ‘I apologise for my interruption. Having received no answer at the front door and hearing sounds of activity, I came to enquire when you might be expected home.’
She frowned. ‘I see.’
‘I came to apologise for my rudeness. I should have thanked you for bringing my daughters safely home. My concern overrode my good manners, I am sorry to say. So...thank you.’
She leaned her shovel against the stable wall and folded her arms. ‘Apology accepted.’
He did not feel as if it was accepted. It seemed to be more a question of it being tolerated as being due, but not particularly welcome.
‘I saw your notice in the post office,’ he said.
‘Oh?’ Again, she swept back that unruly curl. The rest of her hair was severely restrained beneath her plain widow’s cap. ‘Were you interested in drawing lessons for your daughters?’
Hah. Finally, he had caught her interest. Why he might have wanted to see the sharpening of her gaze, and the curiosity in her expression, he could not imagine. And now what was he to say? No? ‘I was interested in discussing the matter, certainly.’
‘I see.’
Good lord, the woman was positively enigmatic with her answers. In his experience, most women were garrulous in the extreme and said little of import. This one seemed to put a world of meaning into every syllable.
‘When might you be available to discuss the matter?’ he said firmly, determined to take charge of this one-sided conversation. ‘Shall I call on you tomorrow?’ When he returned he would tell her he had changed his mind. She was not the sort of influence he wanted for his children.
She waved an arm. ‘Now is as good a time as any.’
Blast.
She upturned a bucket and perched on it. He leaned against one of the posts supporting the rails of the nearest stall. There was only one equine occupant. A small grey mare with a dark circle around one eye. The animal looked well fed and well cared for.
‘Where is your groom?’ he asked, unable to contain his question any longer.
She started. ‘Um... He is not here at the moment. He has gone to visit his sick mother.’
Jack narrowed his eyes on her face. Her gaze did not meet his. He knew a lie when he heard one. He’d become an expert, both at home and with his work for the Parish. ‘It would have saved us both embarrassment if someone had answered the front door,’ he said, sounding more irritated that he intended.
She raised her chin. ‘The servants have the day off.’
Another lie. He hated lies and deceit, and this lady was not very good at either. He was sincerely doubting the wisdom of this visit. He was going to have to extricate himself from the situation as best he could.
‘Are your daughters interested in learning to draw?’ Lady Marguerite asked, clearly anxious to change the topic from the issue of her servants. For some reason, despite he didn’t trust her to speak the truth, her worry troubled him.
With the exercise of a good deal of self-control, he avoided staring at the shapely legs encased in buckskin and neatly crossed
