“What was in the letter?” Mandee asked, sounding a bit impatient. “It had to be important to keep you from saving Tabitha.”

  Jeremy winced at the bite in the woman’s words. He knew that he deserved it, but he had good reason for not being where he should have been last night. Part of him wished he had been so he could have seen Bazeley and Ellie make their way to the kitchen. Jeremy would have found a way to either warn Tabitha or startle the pair into running off. Unfortunately, he hadn’t done either.

  “I received a letter that confirmed the kind of man Lord Bazeley is. There is no doubt that he is evil, but I need a little more evidence to prove it.”

  “Do you think the letter is enough to convince the duke?”

  Jeremy shook his head. “I don’t believe so. That is why I need more evidence. Lord Bazeley is a crafty man and can get himself out of difficult situations. I do not want to give him the chance to work himself out of anything I have to show the duke.”

  “Understandable,” Mandee agreed. “But what now? Where will you get this evidence?”

  “I’m looking for it as we speak, but I’d like you to give Tabitha a note. I need to apologise for not helping her as I should have. Do you think you’ll be able to do that?”

  Mandee thought about it for a moment. Tabitha would no longer be alone, which would make it harder for the woman to communicate anything with her.

  Mandee finally nodded slowly. “I think I know of a way to get the note to her, but it will be tricky. The duchess will be easier to get around, but not so much Lady Whittier. She has eyes in the back of her head.”

  Jeremy nearly laughed at that, but it wasn’t amusing. “Thank you. I’ll write just a short letter now that you can deliver to her as soon as you can.”

  He took out a pen and paper, quickly writing a short note. Jeremy almost added his name but thought better of it. It would be a disaster if anyone came across this letter and put two and two together. He had a feeling the duke would fire him and dirty his name faster than Jeremy could get out of town. He didn’t bother writing Tabitha’s name, but the contents would be enough to show who it was intended for. Once done, Jeremy folded it twice and handed it to Mandee, who took it and left, promising to return with a message from Tabitha.

  “That’s if she wishes to speak to me,” he said quietly to himself.

  He might have broken her trust in him after what he did or rather didn’t do yesterday. Jeremy was just going to have to wait.

  Fortunately for him, the wait wasn’t too long. Mandee returned within the hour with a note from Tabitha. Jeremy wasted no time opening it and reading its contents, sighing with relief. Tabitha wasn’t angry at him at all.

  She even went as far as to thank him for his kindness and trusted his discretion in this challenging manner. Was there any doubt as to why he had fallen in love with her? Tabitha had every right to feel angry and hurt, but she wasn’t. She was still the sweet woman he had secretly given his heart to. What could he write in return?

  “Will you wait for a response?” he asked Mandee.

  “I anticipated as much. But do hurry as I have other chores to do. I would hate anyone to question why I keep going back and forth between houses.”

  Jeremy thanked her and sat down to pen another letter. What should he say now?

  I suppose I could thank her for trusting me once again. I undoubtedly do not deserve it, but it means so much to me. I want to write so much more, but I might scare her off. How does a man express his feelings without giving away how he truly feels about a woman?

  That was like asking a bird to build a nest but not make it look too much like a nest. Was it even possible? Perhaps it was with the correct word choice. Jeremy took a little longer writing the note and still wasn’t sure about its contents when he handed it to Mandee.

  “Thank you again, Mandee,” he said. “I know that you’re risking a lot to do this.”

  “But it’s worth it. I’ll return in a little while if Tabitha has anything to give me.”

  If Tabitha had anything? Jeremy hadn’t considered Tabitha not returning his letter. He had got so caught up in receiving the first response that he hadn’t thought about not receiving a second note. Perhaps he was just pushing it.

  After Mandee left, Jeremy tried his best not to take notice of the time. Instead, he did everything he could to keep himself occupied, all the while thinking about keeping in sight of the house in case Mandee came to see him. It was pathetic but true. When two hours had passed, Jeremy felt disappointed but quickly chastised himself for it. Tabitha was likely busy, or someone could be watching. There were many reasons why she had not or could not send a letter back to him. Knowing this didn’t make him feel any better.

  “What is wrong with me?” he muttered under his breath.

  Perhaps a ride with Wolfe would help him clear his head of his obsession and get it back on important matters like gaining Tabitha’s freedom. That was what truly mattered. Jeremy had a few leads to investigate Lord Bazeley’s reputation and hoped the one he chose to follow would be the one to bring the man down. It was more imperative than ever before not to make a mistake.

  “Jeremy!” he heard Mandee call out to him.

  Whatever next thought was in his mind vanished as Jeremy spun around and watched Mandee approach him. Did she have something for him? He didn’t see any paper in her hand, but he did notice a book.

  “You were not at the house,” she accused.

  “I apologise. I had a few things to sort out.”

  “Here,” she said. “Look on page five. You’ll find a letter from Tabitha. I had to carry a book around with me because Lady Whittier is growing suspicious.”

  “That was a smart thing to do,” Jeremy replied, eagerly taking the book. “How will I return one to her?”

  “I’ll return in half an hour to fetch the book. Place the note between pages twenty-one and twenty-two.”

  “Why those pages specifically?”

  “Humour me, Jeremy.”

  He smiled. “Very well. I’ll leave the book on my desk once I’m done and go about my duties. I’m coming up to the house to inspect Tabitha’s conservatory, so you’ll be able to give me the next letter then. If there is one,” Jeremy added quickly.

  “There likely will be one,” Mandee said with a chuckle.

  The woman walked away still laughing, evidently amused by his eagerness. It was a little embarrassing, and he should probably put a stop to the back and forth, but Jeremy was enjoying himself too much to do that. He sped-walked to his office, flipping to page five, where a slightly longer letter lay waiting for him. Jeremy wasted no time reading it, his grin growing the more he read.

  “She thinks I’m a valiant knight,” he said with a bit of pride.

  No one had called him that before. Did she see herself as the princess whom the knight risks his life to save? Did she know that the princess and knight eventually fall in love?

  Jeremy already had his paper and pen waiting, having not put them away after the last letter.

  “This time, I’ll tell her how much I admire her,” he decided aloud. “Any good man would be privileged to have her as his wife. No, that might seem forward.”

  But it was true. Jeremy decided to put it in any way and hoped Tabitha would take it in the right way. His letter was as close as he could get to telling Tabitha he loved her without actually writing ‘I love you’. If the last letter gave any indication of his feelings, then this one most certainly laid his heart bare. Jeremy was still careful to word it not to seem like a direct declaration of love, but anyone with a heart could tell what it was.

  Jeremy folded the letter three times and tucked it into the pages before leaving his office. He decided to wait an hour before going to the conservatory but gave up after forty-five minutes and made his way there. He would simply have to come up with an excuse about why he decided to come earlier.

  Jeremy had just entered the house when he met Mandee coming out.

  “I thought I was going to meet you in the conservatory,” she said.

  “I had more time on my hands and decided to use it working on Tabitha’s flowers,” he answered smoothly.

  Mandee gave him a dubious look but passed the book to him. The next few seconds seemingly happened in slow motion. Jeremy could see Lord Bazeley walking their way from the corner of his eye at the same time a letter dropped out of the book. Mandee noticed it as well and bent down to get it, but she wasn’t fast enough. Lord Bazeley snatched it from the floor, smiling as he held it in his hand.

  “What, pray tell, is this?” he asked. “A love letter, maybe? Is there something happening between you?”

  “Would you please give me the note, My Lord?” Mandee begged. “It belongs to me.”

  “Indeed? Let’s see what it says.”

  “Please, My Lord,” said Jeremy. “Give Mandee her letter.”

  “Not before I’ve read it. You would not deny the future master of this house, would you?”

  Jeremy and Mandee could only watch helplessly as the marquess read the letter, his face showing them nothing.

  “How interesting,” the man eventually said, looking up. “Perhaps the duke should see this as well.”

  “No, My Lord,” Mandee pleaded.

  Jeremy didn’t bother saying anything because he knew it wouldn’t help. Lord Bazeley was going to do whatever he wanted to.

  “Come, come, now, Mandee dear,” the marquess crooned. “Why don’t you and Jeremy come with me to the drawing-room?”

  It wasn’t a request but a prettily-made order. They had no choice but to follow the man. The duke looked surprised when he saw them enter with the marquess, but his face quickly became puzzled when Lord Bazeley handed him the letter.

  “It seems we have love birds living among us, Your Grace,” the man said.

  “Love birds?” the duke repeated.

  “Read the letter, Your Grace,” Lord Bazeley insisted.

  The duke quickly went through the contents. “It does seem like a love letter,” he said, looking up. “Whose is it?”

  “It’s mine, Your Grace,” Mandee immediately claimed.

  “Yours?” The Marquess laughed. “I had no clue that you were such an accomplished writer, my dear. Where did you learn to write such lovely words?”

  “This is not you, Mandee,” the duke agreed. “But it does look like Jeremy’s handwriting. How can that be?”

  Jeremy clenched his jaw, struggling to appear calm. His letter? Mandee was probably keeping all the notes on separate pages to avoid anyone finding them, but she had not bargained on one of them slipping out.

  “We have our own love story unfolding before our very eyes, Your Grace,” the marquess commented but kept his eyes on Jeremy and Mandee. “It seems that our little maid is too busy to look after your daughter. Might I suggest having the housekeeper watch her from now on? And while we’re at it, perhaps Jeremy and Mandee should marry soon. We wouldn’t want an illegitimate child running around the estate, would we?”

  Jeremy narrowed his eyes at the man. Was the marques suggesting he was having a love affair with Mandee?

  “I think you’re right, Leo,” the duke agreed. “I do not need that sort of scandal from my own steward and daughter’s maid. I expect you to get married soon after Tabitha’s wedding, Jeremy.”

  Jeremy couldn’t even get a word in edgeways because Lord Bazeley immediately stood up and held his hand out to him.

  “May I be the first to congratulate you, my good man?” said the marquess. “It seems we’ll both be made honest men soon.”

  Poor Mandee uttered a harsh sob and fled the room. Rather than take Lord Bazeley’s hand, Jeremy bowed and excused himself. He found Mandee hiding in the conservatory, her shoulders shaking.

  “I’m so sorry, Mandee,” Jeremy began. “That marquess is a terrible man. This is all just a confusing matter, but we’ll straighten it out somehow.”

  Mandee shook her head, turning her tear-stained face to him. “But he is not completely wrong, Jeremy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh!” cried Mandee, covering her face briefly. “The truth is that I do have feelings for you, but I know you cannot return them. I do not hate you for that, not in the slightest. I want you to save Tabitha from that man more than anything else.”

  Jeremy wasn’t sure where to look. Stunned was not a strong enough word, but it was the only one he could think of. Mandee had feelings for him? How had he not picked it up?

  “Please, do not pay me any mind, Jeremy,” said Mandee. “I felt that I needed to confess my feelings to you, but I do not want it to change our friendship. I do not expect anything from you but Tabitha’s freedom.”

  Jeremy rubbed his neck. “Well, uh, I guess I feel honoured that you, uh, like me.”

  Mandee covered her face again and spoke between her fingers. “Let’s not talk about this. Rather tell me how you’re going to help Tabitha.”

  “Right. I can do that. I, um ...” What could he say? Goodness! This confession had made things awkward. “I need to go to a village near York to find out some information a friend told me about.”

  Mandee lowered her hands, showing her bright pink cheeks. “When will you go?”

  “As soon as I can, but I hate leaving Tabitha without a protector.”

  “I’ll protect her however I can,” Mandee promised. “I know how to make Mrs Cummings do my bidding.”

  Jeremy wanted to say that he felt assured, but he didn’t. He could only hope that nothing horrible befell Tabitha while he was gone.

  Chapter 18

  Tabitha lay on her back and watched the clouds above her. She had loved assigning a creature or object to each cloud as a young girl, often coming up with elaborate stories to explain her choices. Once, she had seen a pig walking on a dirt path with just a few daisies on each side.

  Another time she had watched a dragon blow billows of smoke through its nostrils, but her most imaginative one had been a knight in shining armour galloping towards a castle where a princess awaited him. She had called Jeremy a knight and had wondered if he had understood what she had subtly tried to tell him.

  “Are we going to stare at clouds for the whole day?” asked Mandee.

  The woman rolled onto her belly and stared down at Tabitha. They had been sitting outside for nearly an hour, and Tabitha had begun to turn pink. Mandee’s skin would only darken in colour, but Tabitha always burned. It was unfair, just like everything else in her life.

  “Has Mrs Cummings fallen asleep yet?” she asked.

  Mandee looked over her shoulder and nodded. “I think she fell asleep half an hour ago.”

  Tabitha turned onto her belly as well. “Good. I’m tired of having her watch me. I don’t know why, but I just don’t trust her anymore.”

  “I never trusted her to begin with!” Mandee exclaimed. “She is far too eager to do things for a little money. It makes one wonder what she would do for more money.”

  Tabitha had thought about the same thing. Sometimes, she wondered if the housekeeper had been the one to tell Ellie about the man Tabitha had sold her belongings to. Perhaps Mrs Cummings had also been the one to eavesdrop on a conversation between her and Jeremy and fed the information to Lord Bazeley for a bit of palm greasing. It was all possible, but Tabitha had no proof.

  “Mama said the dressmaker was coming today for my last fitting,” she said with no emotion in her voice.

 

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