Page 12 of Snapdragons
Kes was back to the matter at hand almost immediately. “This Miss Seymour of Ireland is the same Miss Seymour of Ireland your family chose for you?”
Niles nodded.
“And you stayed here instead of returning to Cornwall in order to avoid the match?”
He nodded again.
“And she tracked you here like a hound at a foxhunt?” Lucas barely held back the laugh Niles could see in his eyes.
“Sniffed him out with deft precision,” Digby said.
“Didn’t know you were such a prized commodity.” Kes offered the dry observation with as much indication of amusement as the others.
“And I’d wager you didn’t know Miss Seymour was breathtaking,” Lucas said.
Niles ran a hand through his hair. “And she’s clever. She saw immediately through the scheme Digby and I concocted.”
“She did?” Digby winced a little.
“Dare I ask what it was?” Kes rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
“We’ll share the details later,” Digby said. “For now, though, if the Seymours ask, you are welcome to tell them you made the journey because you’d heard Niles was sick.”
“Oh criminy.” Lucas chuckled.
“We didn’t have Aldric here,” Digby protested. “We had to improvise.”
“I’d like to point out that westilldon’t have Aldric here.” Niles released a tight breath. Aldric was the General among the Gents, and for good reason.
Aldric had only just been given the running of an estate and was finding his footing there. He was unlikely to make the journey to Yorkshire. For the time being, at least, this motley group was Niles’s best hope.
Oh criminy, indeed.
Chapter Five
Penelope discovered the next morningthat the others at Pledwick Manor didn’t rise early. Thus, she arrived at the stables with no one else around other than the grooms and the horses, which suited her. She’d tossed and turned throughout the night, her mind spinning with all she knew and all she needed to sort out. She did her best thinking when enjoying equine company.
“Are you wishing to ride this morning, miss?” The groomsman who asked the question didn’t entirely keep his doubt hidden. She understood and wasn’t offended. Her boots were suited to a visit to the stables, and she was dressed warmly for the winter air, but she hadn’t donned a riding habit and wasn’t wearing her riding gloves.
“My home in Ireland is a horse estate, and I could not contain my curiosity any longer,” she said. “I’ve come to see Mr. Layton’s stables and to determine if my suspicions are correct: that he has very elegant preferences when it comes to his horses.”
Pride shone in the groomsman’s eyes. “Everyone who knows horses is impressed with Mr. Layton’s stable.”
Just as she’d hoped. “I will keep out of the way of the staff,” she said, “but I would very much like to wander about, meeting the horses.”
He nodded. “Of course, miss. Some of them belong to the visiting gentlemen.”
Here was an opportunity for an insight. “Which is Mr. Greenberry’s?”
“Morwenna,” he said. “But Mr. Greenberry’s out for his usual morning ride, so the mare’s not here just now.”
An early riser who rode every day. They had that very much in common. Did he realize that? Would it make a difference if he did?
Penelope stepped up to the nearest stall, where a chestnut gelding with a slightly arched neck and a shorter back quietly nibbled on hay. The animal was very pretty but also had a build that promised a smooth ride. The horse walked to the stall gate. Penelope allowed it a moment to smell her and decide she was welcome. Then she rubbed the gelding’s forehead, softly running her hand toward his muzzle. She shifted her hand to pat his neck. He continued chewing the hay in his mouth, both undistracted and unconcerned.
Though she’d only just met “Autumn Ember,” as the plaque beside the stall gate identified him, there was such familiarity in the interaction that her mind could ponder on her difficulties with a degree of calm.
She knew that Niles—she’d met too many Messrs. Greenberry in Cornwall to keep them all straight without resorting to Christian names at least in her own thoughts—hadintentionally avoided being present when she’d arrived from Ireland. She further knew that he was lying about the reason he’d stayed away.
