Page 38 of Nothing But a Rakehell
“No. I don’t.” Hope turned to her, blinking. “Youtoldhim about it?”
“I told him only that it happened. Once. And never again,” she said firmly.
“Ah, well. I had to try.” Keswick stood and bowed to them both. He took Glory’s hand. “Never say never, Lady Glory.”
He left them, heading back toward where Tensford still held court near the windows.
Mr. Sterne and Miss Munroe were still huddled and were discussing different types of larvae. Hope just sat and looked at her, brows raised.
Glory held silent.
“Very well. I believe I shall make the rounds and play hostess once more.” She leaned in so that her voice would not carry. “But do you know, I believe that Lord Keswick also relaxes inyourpresence, Glory darling?”
Glory stilled, barely noticing Hope’s departure. Her sister’s words rang in her head like a bell, mixing with Keswick’s and starting off a chain reaction in her brain. Quips and confessions, smiles and darted looks, frowns and touches experienced in the last few days were blowing apart and remaking themselves . . . into an idea.
A dramatic, risky idea.
A thrilling idea.
An idea that would be difficult to bring to fruition.
She stood, determined and brimming with excitement. She’d never let that stop her before.
Chapter 8
“It’s a relief to see Tensford happy at last,” Keswick said in an aside to Sterne.
His friend grinned. “I am beyond glad to see his difficulties behind him. And I’m glad for Hope, as well. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more deserving couple.”
The company—consisting of most of the house party guests—was gathered along the riverbank, where a wide, stone-covered strip of shore left the water and led up to a cliff of varying heights. They had gathered around their host—except for Lady Glory. Keswick kept glancing back at her, where she sat on a camp stool in the shade of several large boulders and the woods that had encroached on the area beyond them.
“Step carefully, all of you,” Tensford called. “Leave no stone unturned. The rapid erosion at this spot means that there is always something new to find.” He held up a rock that wasn’t quite a rock. “This is an ammonite. It’s the most commonly found specimen at this spot. Note the coiled, spiral design and watch for that. That’s not to say you couldn’t find other types of fossilized remains. We’ve seen bones, plants and even some fish scales. Keep your eyes sharp and call out if you need help identifying anything!”
The guests scattered, some examining the scree covering the beach and others approaching the cliff face.
“Be careful of falling slabs, there,” Tensford called. He grinned as he approached and slapped Sterne on the back. “It’s not as quiet as it usually is when you join me, Sterne, but who knows, with so many eyes, maybe we’ll find a serious specimen, yet.”
Sterne looked doubtful. “I don’t know, Tensford. As often as we’ve looked, it seems as if we would have found it by now. And you came out here often with your father while he lived, did you not?”
“Many, many times.”
“And did you not once think you’d found a significant specimen? When you were younger?” Sterne frowned, trying to remember.
“A partial specimen,” Tensford said, sighing at the memory. “I swear I did find it. Just over on that cliff face. It was the back end of some kind of large fish. The tail fin was over twelve inches high. I’ve often wondered what the rest of the thing must have looked like.”
“Do you not have it in your workshop?” Keswick asked.
“No. I was young, only ten years, at the time. I went running back to the house to tell my father. I had to wait, as he was closeted with Mr. Stillwater, one of the neighbors.”
“Wait, isn’t that the name of the elderly gentleman, over there? Sterne introduced me.”
“Indeed, that is he. He’s an enthusiast, too. He’s made some decent discoveries on his own land. I invited him because he doesn’t get out much these days, and I knew he would enjoy it.”
“Well, what happened to your fish tail?”
“That’s the joke, isn’t it? I was wild with impatience by the time the men had finished their business. I was practically jumping out of my skin, wanting my father to come and see it. Stillwater looked at me as if he’d slap me sideways if I was his son, but Father was tolerant. He finished their business and made me wait while he briefed the land agent, then we went to the kitchens and collected a basket to bring with us and we came down to inspect it.” He sighed. “It was gone. As if it had never been there. But I swear, I did see it. Father used to tease me and call it my Fish Tale. We never found a sign of it, not crumbled pieces, not the rest of the creature, nothing.”
He sighed again. “I came down even more often after Father died.” He gave Keswick a sheepish look. “When I discovered the true extent of the condition of the estate and the worse shape of the account books, I used to come out here, hoping and praying to find something spectacular. I dreamed of a new type of creature or at least a whole, intact one. If sold to the right buyer, it could have brought a lump of cash that might have meant seed for a field or a winter’s grain or a new roof for some of my tenants. Now, thanks to Hope, I don’t have to look for those reasons, but I still enjoy it.”
