Page 5 of The Lord's Compass
Eric sighed and threw his head back dramatically. “You are not wrong, my friend.”
Whitehall tapped one finger against his arm as he scanned his gaze across the company gathered within the drawing room, which included the Rowley family, which was rather small – only Eric, Noah, and their mother – as well as Lady Percy’s parents, her brother and his betrothed, her aunt and uncle and cousins, and the close-knit friends that had become like family.
“Let me see,” Whitehall said, stroking his chin as he continued to cast his eyes around the room. “Who could it be? Better not be Hope, as she is my wife. Covington’s wife is about to have his child which would be a bit much, even for you. It is Lady Percy’s wedding day and she is marrying your brother. Could it be Lady Madeline? No, she is much too forceful a woman for you. Then there are Lady Percy’s cousins?—"
“No need to be reticent,” Eric said, rolling his eyes. “You know who it is. You all do.”
“Lady Faith.”
“Yes.”
Whitehall fixed him with a gaze. “I am not one to question another’s affections, and while my dear sister-in-law has grown on me since I first met her, Faith is rather prickly – most especially toward you. I cannot quite understand why you are so hell-bent on pursuing her.”
“I wish I knew, Whitehall,” Eric said, shaking his head sadly. “I wish I knew.”
He also wished she had allowed him to explain himself, but as soon as she had plucked the quiver from his hands, she had marched into the stables, refusing to turn around when he called out her name. He had tried to follow her, but he knew creating a scene in front of all the servants within the stables would only make everything worse.
“Can’t say I like this side of you.”
“No?” Eric tilted his head toward his friend. “Thought you, of anyone, would appreciate it.”
Whitehall snorted. “Well, it seems I prefer when you balance me out. There can only be so much melancholy in one room.”
“Ferrington, melancholy?” They both turned toward Ashford, who had just joined them. Eric felt a bit of a kinship with Gideon Sutcliffe, for he was now the only other gentleman within their company of friends who remained unmarried. He also held the responsibility for his family and the title. His father, while alive, had lost the mental capacity to look after it all. Unfortunately, Ashford hadn’t stepped in until after his father had lost nearly the entirety of their fortune.
Which was exactly why Eric had promised to undertake this journey.
“Never melancholy for any length of time,” Eric said, forcing a smile onto his face. It was so frequently present that it appeared rather easily. “A glass of brandy and I shall be myself again.”
“You’ll be out of luck there,” Covington said, hearing the last of Eric’s words as he joined them. “I am fairly certain the ladies have drunk it all.”
“I’m sorry, I thought I just heard you say that theladiesdrank it all,” Eric said, turning toward him, and Covington laughed as he took a sip of his drink.
“I did.”
“Ladies don’t drink brandy,” Eric said, furrowing his brow, and it was Ashford who answered him.
“These ones do.”
Before Eric had a chance to ask any further questions, Ashford started in on the one topic that had captured his focus for nearly the past year.
His treasure hunt.
“Are you ready for your journey, Ferrington?”
“I am,” Eric answered. “Everything at home is looked after and I have brought with me all that I shall require. I am to set sail within the week.”
“Perfecto,”Ashford said with a small smile.“Gracias.”
“De nada,”Eric said, in reference to the fact that out of all of them, he spoke Spanish the most fluently, making him the most suitable of them all to attempt to solve this clue. “I am intrigued as to just what could be awaiting me.”
“I am as well,” Ashford said, shaking his head as he leaned back. “First we had the riddle that Cassandra and Covington deduced here at Castleton which led us to the code that Whitehall and Lady Hope had to solve with the books. That of course led us to the necklace which your brother and Lady Percy tracked down in Bath. I just wish the scrap of paper they found within it gave us more information than simply the name of a city in Spain.”
“It’s not much, but I have confidence it will all work out,” Eric said, clapping a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Eric?”
“It is the bridegroom himself!” Eric said, turning at the voice before reaching his arm out across his brother’s shoulders and pulling him in closer toward him. “How is married life?”
