Page 28 of Avenging the Earl's Lady
Chapter 7
Shaldon paced the drawing room of the Earl of Cheswick’s small townhouse on an older street of Mayfair.Faded but comfortable furnishings filled a room strewn with evidence of family life, including books, games, and an embroidery bag.Cheswick was known to be reclusive and bookish.He and his lady were seldom seen at society events.
After an impolitely long interval, the porter returned and escorted him up to another room, the home’s library.Books crammed every shelf and nook.Cheswick rose from behind a desk piled with newsprints and journals and came around to shake hands.
A dour-faced man of medium height with a physique gone to middle-aged pudginess, Cheswick had been on course for an academic life at Oxford when Jane’s father dropped dead shortly after his son’s murder.Cheswick had wanted his title even less than Shaldon had desired his own.But here they were.
“I assume you have come to inquire about Lady Jane,” Cheswick said.“I’m sorry she’s inconvenienced you.Have you uncovered her whereabouts?”
A slow burn churned within him.Cheswick’s polite concern was more about Shaldon’s discomfort, not the lady’s absence.
“I have not,” he said.“And it occurred to me that you might be able to give me more insight as to where to start looking.”
Cheswick blinked.A sheen of dampness formed on his brow.
Technically, Cheswick’s was the older title.He could tell Shaldon to go to the devil if he wished.But he was not, as Shaldon had suspected, a man inclined to direct confrontation.
Cheswick crossed his leg.“Lady Jane is the independent sort.”
“Is that why you never insisted she marry?”
He pulled a face.“One does not insist much with Jane.”
That was a trait he hadn’t seen in the lady.
“Is that why you didn’t marry her yourself?When her father died, everyone thought a marriage between the two of you would be likely.”
Cheswick’s lips pressed together, his distaste evident.
Shaldon’s stomach clenched but he kept his fists unfurled, waiting.
“She was too young.We didn’t suit.How will this topic help you to find her whereabouts?”
“I should like to determine her state of mind.I’m concerned for her.”
“She has done this sort of thing before.She will turn up, perhaps in Ireland.She has a cottage there and visits it from time to time.”
“She has property?”
Cheswick waved a hand.“It’s a house and garden only.No tenants attached and much in need of repairs, I fear.I transferred it to her name when she reached her majority.In the last few years, she’s spent little time there and neglected its upkeep.It wouldn’t surprise me, though, if she traveled there.”
With no clothing and no word to her friends?
“She disappeared for some time after her father’s death.Is that where she went?”
Cheswick tapped a finger on the chair arm.“Yes.”
Some part of that answer had been a lie.
“She was grieving precipitously.”Cheswick’s eyes narrowed.“Her brother’s death was especially painful.You will recall his unexpected passing, since you were present.”
Since you were present.
A trickle of perspiration rolled down Shaldon’s back, under his shirt and coats.Since the death was your fault.The unspoken words batted around in his head, starting an ache that reached to his neck.
Jane had gone to Ireland after her father’s death.What had she done there?The country was always awash in rebellion and betrayal.Had she been involved?
What had he missed about Jane?
