Tea and Scandal (5 page)

“
I
’
ve no idea,
”
Lady Pargeter said, rather snappishly, and strode to the dresser.
“
Here is Pargeter
’
s trinket box. Help yourself, Mr. Swann.
”

Fenwick
’
s sharp eyes darted around the room. He saw no evidence of senility. Everything was as it should be. But then, the chamber had obviously been tidied up after Pargeter
’
s death. While Swann made his selection from the jewelry box, Fenwick lifted the skirt of the canopied bed and peered under it, thinking a toy might have escaped detection by the servants, but there was nothing there save the carpet. When he looked up, he saw Miss Lonsdale was observing him in a questioning way.

“
I thought I saw a mouse,
”
he said blandly.

If this was an excuse to get the ladies out of the room, it failed.
“
Indeed? And I thought I smelled a rat,
”
she replied demurely.

A reluctant smile tugged at his lips.
“
At least you didn
’
t say you saw one,
”
he said.

She turned toward Swann and her aunt, for she was uncertain how to reply to this mischievous speech.

“
Feel like a dashed beggar,
”
Swann said, looking at the cravat pins, and trying to decide which was the least valuable. There were a few diamond ones and one ruby. He chose a small black pearl.
“
Very kind of you, Lady Pargeter. I will treasure this as a keepsake of old
—
of Pargeter.
”

“
Would you also like a keepsake, Lord Fenwick?
”
Lady Pargeter asked.

“
I find memories are the best keepsake,
”
he said, and they returned below stairs.

Fenwick fell into step with Jane.
“
Will you be making your home permanently with your aunt,
”
he asked,
“
or is this merely a sojourn between teaching positions?
”

“
I have no plans to return to teaching.
”

“
That sounds very definite. Did you not enjoy it?
”

“
Would you?
”
she asked, and hastened on a step ahead of him before he could reply, for she disliked this line of questioning.

Lady Pargeter was uncertain how to treat Fenwick. If Lady Sykes had brought him in to cause mischief, she ought to give him short shrift. On the other hand, if he was just a casual visitor at Swann Hall, he might be of some use to her. Already he had brought Swann for a visit, and that must have taken some doing. If he could bring Lord Malton around, she would soon be established as respectable. She had no intention of apologizing for her marriage, but wondered if she might explain it in some manner that would make it more acceptable to him.

“
Would you care for a cup of tea?
”
she asked.

Both gentlemen accepted with alacrity, and the tea was brought. Scawen began telling Jane about his swans. Before long, he had lured her to the window that gave a view of the lake. While he occupied Jane with a mild flirtation, Fay spoke to Fenwick, in her usual frank manner.

“
Well, you have had a look at me now, milord,
”
she said.
“
Am I as bad as Lady Sykes painted me?
”

A spontaneous smile lit his eyes. "That would be difficult indeed, ma
’
am.
”

A bark of laughter greeted his words.
“
I know my marriage must have been a disappointment to her, but the fact is, Pargeter had no intention of leaving anything to Nigel. Nor is he such a fool as to have left the estate out of his own family forever. It is only mine during my lifetime.
”

“
And after?
”
Fenwick asked, with equal frankness.

“It was Pargeter’s wish that the terms of his will remain secret for a year, but if it sets your mind at rest, I shall tell you this much. It reverts back to a relative of Pargeter
’
s.
”

“
Indeed!
”

“
I should not like you to get your hopes up, however. He didn
’
t leave it to you.
”

“
I didn
’
t expect it,
”
Fenwick said. His eyes turned to Swann.
“
As we are being quite open, do you mind my asking why you married him?
”

“What you really want to know is why he married me. He was old and lonesome, and Lord Malton gave him the notion we were causing a scandal by living here together after Lizzie—Lady Pargeter—died. He was used to having me about. I had been Lizzie’s companion for a decade. I went about everywhere with them, almost as one of the family. He didn’t want me to leave, so he made an honest woman of me. If he had lived, it would have been a nine days’ wonder. It was his death so quickly after we married that caused the mischief.”

“
What was the cause of his death?
”

Lady Pargeter gave him a knowing look.
“
I did not feed him poison, if that is what she has hinted. It was his heart. He went off in the middle of the night. A quick, quiet death. The doctor signed the death certificate with no trouble. Would you like to see it?
”

Fenwick listened, and found himself believing the story.
“
Of course not,
”
he said, embarrassed.

Lady Pargeter was pretty, in a fulsome sort of way. She was genteel, if outspoken; Pargeter was accustomed to her. She would have provided familiar company to an elderly gentleman who was set in his ways. Pargeter
’
s life and his fortune were his own, to do with as he wished. He would care nothing if his marriage caused a scandal in the neighborhood. It was only his untimely death that created the mischief. In short, Fenwick felt a perfect fool, and like a proper gentleman, he apologized.

“
I am glad you came,
”
Lady Pargeter said.
“
Naturally I would like to see my position in the neighborhood established on a normal footing. If Lady Sykes would care to call, she would be welcome.
”

“
I shall give her the message. May I call again as well, Lady Pargeter?
”

“
I would be happy to receive you again.
”

He turned his attention to the window, where Scawen was pointing toward the lake, no doubt be-thumping Miss Lonsdale with some swan lore.

“
Minerva was so jealous she pecked at Dorothy till she had driven the poor pen away. As bad as Phoebe,
”
Swann said.

Miss Lonsdale assumed Phoebe was another swan, and commiserated with him.
“
They sound very ill natured, to be sure, and they look so gentle and lovely,
”
she said.

“
Aye, they are trouble from beak to tail. They remind me of you, Miss Lonsdale.
”
Jane looked at him in astonishment. Fenwick
’
s lips quirked in amusement.
“
Really they are dashed pretty with those great long necks, like yours. They float along so gracefully, until they hit dry land, where they put a duck to shame for waddling.
”

“
Thank you,
”
Jane said, choking back a laugh. She had been speaking to Swann long enough to know there was no vice in him. He was trying to be complimentary.

Fenwick rose to take his leave. Glancing toward the grate, Jane saw he was gazing at her with suppressed laughter lighting his eyes. When their eyes met, he smiled in a conspiratorial way, as if sympathizing with her. The last trace of the proud lord had vanished from him. She felt an answering smile move her lips. A small warmth grew in her. Her past life had given few opportunities to meet gentlemen. She had never met anyone remotely like Lord Fenwick.

“
It is time we should be leaving, Scawen,
”
Fenwick said.

“
I shall call for you tomorrow at ten, Miss Lonsdale,
”
Swann said.
“
I look forward to it.
”

“
Delightful, Miss Lonsdale,
”
Fenwick said, shaking her hand and gazing directly into her eyes.

Jane was expecting a bow. Caught off guard, she didn’t return the pressure, or the compliment, but just looked at him as if he were a riddle. She noticed how long his eyelashes were. His eyes were not really such a steely gray at close range. More like opals, with glinting flashes of light lurking in their depths.

“
And Lady Pargeter,
”
he added, turning to her aunt.

The gentlemen left, and the ladies poured themselves another cup of tea to discuss the visit.

“
What do you make of that?
”
Lady Pargeter asked. It was a rhetorical question. She proceeded at once to tell Jane what the visit was all about.
“
A fishing expedition. They came to see what they could discover. They hoped to get a look at the will in Pargeter
’
s desk. What other reason could they have for wanting to go upstairs?
”

“
Fenwick was looking all around in an odiously curious way. He even peered under the bed.
”

“
Did he indeed? He
’
d find nothing but dust.
”

“
He might discover worse if he asks questions about me in Bath.
”

“
That is the least of my concerns.
”

Jane looked alarmed.
“
Is there something you haven
’
t told me about your marriage, Auntie?
”

“
No, no. The marriage is fine.
”

“
Is there some secret about the will?
”

“
A part of it is not to be made public for a year. I told Fenwick about it.
”

She then proceeded to tell Jane the same thing, not revealing the identity of the mysterious inheritor, and moving rather vaguely over the phrase
“
providing certain conditions are met.
”

“
What conditions?
”
Jane asked.

“Wills are written in legal mumbo jumbo with a hundred heretofores and whereases. One hardly knows what it all means. You know what lawyers are.
”

The talk left her hungry, and she called for some bread and butter to tide her over until luncheon. While she devoured two slices of bread, she continued gossiping.

“
Fenwick could be of some use to us, if we could ingratiate him. I believe I shall invite him to dinner.
”

Jane was happy to hear it. She didn
’
t trust Fenwick an inch, but she was exhilarated at the prospect of seeing him again. He had come down off his high horse, just before he left. She wondered how he would behave on their next meeting.

“
You can hardly invite Fenwick and not the others,
”
she said.
“
It would look so very odd.
”

“
I shall invite them all, including Lady Sykes
—
and pray that she doesn
’
t come, but goes back to London, the pest.
”

The only other thing of interest that occurred at Wildercliffe that day was the discovery of a black pearl cravat pin on the table near where Swann had been sitting. This confirmed that he had no interest whatsoever in a memento from Pargeter. In the afternoon Fay had a nap and Jane went for a long walk about the estate. It offered enough interest that she scarcely gave a thought to Miss Prism’s Academy, except to pity her friend Harriet Stowe and the other schoolmistresses who were still there, slaving their lives away.

It seemed lonesomeness was not going to be as much of a problem as she had feared. Already they had had two gentlemen calling. She was going out with Mr. Swann on the morrow, and now there was talk of a dinner party. She turned her mind to the vexing problem of what she could wear to impress the toplofty Lord Fenwick.

* * * *

At Swann Hall, Lady Sykes was waiting on nettles to hear an account of the visit.
“
Well, what did you learn?
”
she demanded of Fenwick.

“
We were looking for mares
’
nests,
”
he scoffed.
“
There is nothing amiss with Lady Pargeter. I stopped to visit Lord Malton on the way home. He verified what Lady Pargeter told me. In fact, he was one of the witnesses at the wedding.
”

Fenwick explained how the wedding had come about. When this did not appease Lady Sykes, he mentioned the peculiar terms of the will.

“
Rubbish!
”
the dame declared.
“
Whoever heard of a will not being read in full for a year? It is easy for her to say the estate will revert to Nigel.
”

“
That is not what she said. It will not revert to Nigel, but to someone in Pargeter
’
s family.
”

“
Who else could it be? Much good it will do poor Nigel. The housekeeper is in her early forties. She might last half a century, racking up the income all the while. She will have a veritable fortune to leave to her niece. If Nigel dies young like his papa, he will never see a sou of his money.
”

“
I would not encourage Nigel to believe the estate will ever be his,
”
Fenwick said, and was completely ignored.