ran strong between them. Tessa suspected the family tendency towards firmness ran strong as well. Aunt Lily showed all the signs of matching the Earl in forceful personality.
What the Earl’s aunt said made sense and it was hard to argue with the practical need for more staff, even if she had plenty to say about curbing outings to the market. Perhaps she could allow her pride to give way in this one matter. It served no purpose to turn away something she needed simply to spite the Earl. ‘Perhaps you’re right, your Grace. I will need the extra help in weeks to come.’ Tessa turned to the Earl. ‘I would prefer that you consult with me in the future before making decisions about my household.’
‘I shall do my utmost to remember that.’ The Earl nodded.
The rest of the visit passed more smoothly. The Earl’s aunt was formidable, but likeable, with her straightforward opinions, and Tessa found her easy to get along with over tea. They talked about the upcoming Season and Lily’s plans to get Tessa to a dressmaker post-haste the next afternoon. After tea, Tessa gave them a tour of the house, at Lily’s request, including an introduction of her sisters. Lily wrung a gasp of sheer delight from Eva by announcing a visit to the dressmaker was in order for them as well as Tessa.
The Earl was silent, trailing the two women through the house without a word or comment. Tessa had half-expected him to be articulating lists of changes as they went. But he didn’t have to say anything in order to make himself heard. Tessa’s nerves were fully primed by the time she showed them the last room in the house, the small music room. It had seen little use and by the time they’d arrived there, she had begun to see the house through the Earl’s eyes.
He didn’t have to run a finger across the top of the pianoforte for her to be keenly aware of the thick layer of dust the instrument sported. He hadn’t had to comment on the state of the faded striped curtains in the dining room for her to realise they might be outmoded. In her urge to settle into a quiet life, she had not noticed such things. To her, the house had been respectable, and for a middle-class family of some means, it probably was. Still, she found herself making subtle apologies as they returned to the sitting room.
‘We’ve only been in town a month. We are still settling in,’ she said. ‘A good dusting will set quite a lot of it to rights.’
Lily smiled in sympathy. ‘Whatever dusting and beeswax can’t mend, Dursley’s purse can. I can suggest several decorators to you.’
‘My purse, you say?’ The Earl cocked a challenging eyebrow at his aunt, who merely grinned.
‘You’re the guardian responsible for this house and its occupants, are you not, Dursley?’ Lily had the audacity to wink at Tessa. The Earl’s features clouded and Tessa fought back a laugh. She saw Lily’s ploy in all its glory.
The scolding Lily had sent him was a subtle slap on the wrists. If he was going to play lord of the manor by placing servants here without Tessa’s approval and lay claim for the responsibility of the house, he would have to do so on all levels. Lily wasn’t going to let him pick and choose which responsibilities he shouldered. He would shoulder them all or none of them.
‘Aunt, make your plans with Miss Branscombe about tomorrow’s outing. I need a word with Arthur before I go,’ Dursley deftly excused himself.
‘Thank you,’ Tessa said after the Earl had left.
Lily waved such thanks away with her hand. ‘It was nothing. My nephew can be stiff-necked at times, but he means well. Often, he has reasons for what he does that aren’t always clear to us at the time. I have learned to trust him and you will too. Between us, we’ll see you married and settled into a good situation by autumn. Dursley knows who would suit and who would not. He won’t let you be snatched up by the wrong sorts.’
‘I don’t intend to marry,’ Tessa said quickly. The sooner her new chaperon had that idea fixed in her mind, the better.
Lily patted her hand, dismissing the statement. ‘That’s what you say now. Wait and see. You can always change your mind.’
Dursley returned to escort his aunt to the carriage waiting at the kerb. As she was leaving, the Dowager Duchess said, ‘Until tomorrow, Miss Branscombe. Thank you for a delightful afternoon.’
The Earl added his thanks. ‘Good day, Miss Branscombe.’
‘Good day, Lord Dursley,’ Tessa said, trying out his name for the first time. It seemed silly to keep thinking him as ‘the Earl’. He was going to be a fixture in their lives. She might as well give the fixture a name.
Chapter Five
Peyton sat with Brimley at White’s, more relaxed than he had been the evening before. He felt much better now that Arthur was stationed at the Branscombe house. Anyone contemplating a break-in would think twice with a strapping man like Arthur on the premises. He told Brimley as much as they drank evening brandies in a quiet corner. The club was nearly empty; most people had headed out for the evening entertainments.
‘I’ll have a chance to look around tomorrow,’ Peyton said. ‘Aunt Lily is taking Miss Branscombe to the modiste’s and the girls go to the park with Mrs Hollister in the afternoons.’
‘Do you really think the list is here?’ Brimley asked.
Peyton nodded. ‘I think the sudden presence of certain Russians in the city confirms it. What other reason could there be for a diplomat of Count Androvich’s background to be in London? Who better than a family friend to ferret out family secrets? After all, we’re doing precisely the same thing, only we had to fabricate the family friend in me. The Czar had a legitimate one to send.’
‘Maybe he could not bear to be parted from Miss Branscombe,’ Brimley hypothesised. ‘They are old friends.’
The idea that Count Androvich might carry a tendre for Miss Branscombe sat awkwardly with Peyton. ‘It’s hardly practical to wait until the object of one’s affections journeys a thousand miles before declaring one’s intentions.’
Brimley shrugged, enjoying the debate. ‘Love isn’t practical.’
Peyton laughed. ‘Love isn’t, but Miss Branscombe is, I assure you. I can’t believe Miss Branscombe would waste her time on a trans-European romance. She would have settled the matter before she left St Petersburg.’ The surety of his own declaration gave him pause. He’d thought as much about Tessa Branscombe as he had the location of the list lately, a sure testimony that she’d started to get under his skin. Such a feat was a novelty all of its own. He seldom allowed himself to be attracted to anyone so quickly. In this case, he wasn’t convinced he’d ‘allowed’ anything to happen at all, it simply had.
He’d only known Tessa Branscombe for a couple of days, but he felt certain his analysis of her situation was correct. This transition point in her life would have been the perfect time to accept an offer from Androvich. She could have settled down with a wealthy count and avoided the turmoil of her recent upheaval.
But she had implied she hadn’t felt safe in St Petersburg. His mind had chased that one elusive remark around his head after their first meeting, resulting in sending Arthur and Meg to the house as soon as possible in the morning. It had also resulted in drawing another conclusion—if Miss Branscombe didn’t feel safe, she probably had a justifiable reason for it. Did she know about the list? More importantly, did the Russians think she knew about
