Page 30

“The servants’ dinner table in the room off the kitchen,” Serendipity said.

“They gather there when they have a spare moment from their duties. We always call it the downstairs table because, in Town, their area is the lowest level of the townhouse.” She turned back to Grace.

“I can’t think of a single one of them who might have a connection to Wolfebourne Lodge’s housekeeper. ”

“Gerald is our newest footman,” Grace said. “I don’t recall the names of the two new maids. All three were brought on from the village.” She turned back to Wolfe. “Did your Mrs. Havarerry have connections in the village?”

“She is from the village. The housekeeper before her was dismissed for recommending a governess with a penchant for belittling the children.” He strode to the doorway and glanced up and down the hall.

“If your footman and maids know Mrs. Havarerry, our situation could be exposed.” Endangering Grace’s reputation and her family name would be unforgivable.

“Perhaps the twins should come home with me today.”

“But you promised them they could stay until after the picnic.” Grace stubbornly jutted her chin higher, tempting him to pull her back into his arms and kiss her again, even though her sister was standing right there.

“You can’t break your promise,” she said.

“Especially not when we don’t even know if any damage has been done.

If none of our servants have been to the village since the twins arrived, then Mrs. Havarerry should be none the wiser. ”

Serendipity yanked on the bellpull. “Walters will know and can be trusted implicitly.”

Uneasiness churned in Wolfe’s gut. He had already summoned his solicitor, but the man had yet to arrive and had no inkling about the assignment he was about to be given.

Complications that could either prevent or delay—no, not prevent, never prevent.

Grace would be his wife if he had to whisk her away to Gretna Green and live in Scotland until the gossips of Polite Society found someone else to destroy.

Of course, Broadmere wouldn’t appreciate that choice, and neither would Grace’s sisters.

It was Wolfe’s sincerest hope that such drastic measures could be avoided, but he would do whatever was required to ensure a glorious happily-ever-after for Grace, himself, and his brother and sister.

Walters appeared in the doorway and waited with an expectant look.

Serendipity waved the man forward and motioned for him to close the doors behind him.

The butler twitched a bushy gray brow, but that was his only betrayal of emotion as he quietly slid the double doors shut, then faced them with his hands calmly folded in front of him.

“Gerald and the new maids,” Serendipity said, “have they visited the village since we hired them?”

Walters blinked several times as if struggling to stay awake. “Visited the village, my lady? On errands for the household?”

“Errands or leisure time.”

“They have not been with us long enough to receive a day off. None of the three are due their day until next month and have been assigned no errands to the best of my knowledge. Mrs. Flackney and Cook sent young Jasper to the butcher, greengrocer, and mercantile for supplies the day after we arrived, but he returned straight away. No other member of the staff has been to the village since.” The elderly butler hitched forward and tipped his head as if fearing what she was about to tell him.

“Is there a problem I should address with the newest servants?”

“Spiders,” Grace said, moving to stand beside Serendipity. “You know how my sisters feel about spiders.”

Wolfe stared at his lady love. What the devil was she up to?

Serendipity cast a wary glance at Grace as if she had sprouted horns.

“I am well aware of the ladies’ dislike for them.” The butler squared his bent shoulders as if ready to wage war against the beasties. “Where are they, my lady? I shall dispatch them myself.”

“I already took the liberty of relocating them to the garden,” Grace said, “but do make mention to the maids about paying closer attention to the overhead corners. The spiders feel safe and out of reach when closest to the ceiling.”

Walters looked up, scanning the room for the possible invasion of more. “I shall address it with them immediately. Do forgive us for failing in our duties, my lady.”

“You never fail us, Walters,” Serendipity said. “We know we are well looked after with you. That will be all.”

With his thin chest slightly puffed with the praise, Walters bowed and left the room.

“Spiders?” Wolfe asked Grace, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

“There was one the other day, but I moved it to the garden. Poor Walters sometimes gets confused. The dear old man refuses to take his pension, and as long as he can somewhat perform his duties, Chance has agreed that we should let him do so—as a matter of preserving his pride and as thanks for his many years of devoted service. I saw no reason to muddle his thoughts further, so I brought up the spiders.”

“She protects everyone and everything, Your Grace,” Serendipity said. “Get used to it.”

“As long as her protection includes my heart.” He allowed himself the luxury of staring at Grace until Serendipity cleared her throat again.

He grudgingly tore himself free of Grace’s bewitchment.

“Yes. Well. We are still no closer to discovering how word about the goings-on within my household reached this one.”

“Let me fetch Nellie,” Grace said. “If we have her summoned to the parlor, it will frighten her to no end, and she’s done nothing wrong.”

“Agreed.” Serendipity shooed her onward. “Heaven knows the poor woman has enough on her plate with taking care of you.”

Grace rolled her eyes and hurried out to retrieve her maid.

As soon as Grace was well out of sight, Serendipity turned and descended on Wolfe, jabbing the air with her finger.

“If you hurt her, I will be the first of my sisters to trounce you. It will not be Chance you have to worry about, Your Grace. I assure you, the Abarough sisters are well able to protect their own.”

“I am doing everything in my power to protect Grace as well as the Broadmere family’s reputation.” Sensing this was far from over, he braced himself for further attack. The air crackled with the woman’s frustration.

“You are not, Your Grace. If you were truly concerned about Gracie’s good name, you would have remedied your situation before compromising her in the garden while your intended sat in the parlor waiting for your return.

” Serendipity shook her finger at him, reminding him of Grace.

It must be a shared trait they had inherited from their mother.

“I can accept that your initial meeting with my sister was quite unconventional. However, that did not give you the right to take advantage of her. Contrary to what you may believe, Gracie is quite sheltered when it comes to men like you.”

“Men like me?” He didn’t know whether to be insulted or proud, but by heavens, he would defend himself. “Have you ever been in love, my lady?”

Serendipity backed up a step, her shock apparent. “What?”

“Love. Have you ever fallen in love?”

She drew herself up, aloof and insulted. “What has that to do with anything?”

“One cannot control with whom one falls in love. Nor can one control love’s timing.” He thumped a fist to his chest. “The heart is a fickle thing with a will all its own. I am not its master, but its servant, and it bids me to love Grace for all the rest of my days.”

Gastric ambled into the room, spotted Wolfe, and wagged his tail with such vigor that his entire hind end wiggled back and forth.

Wolfe bent and reached for the dog. “Come here, old boy. At least I know I always have a friend in you.”

With a happy woof , Gastric lumbered forward and bumped his velvety head into Wolfe’s hand, grunting with pleasure at the good scratching behind his ears.

“I am not unfriendly, Your Grace.” Serendipity huffed, flounced into the hallway, and looked in the direction Grace had gone. “I am simply not pleased with this current predicament that could harm not only my sister’s reputation but her heart.”

“Allow me to worry about my own reputation and heart, Seri,” Grace said from the opposite end of the hall.

Wolfe joined the sisters in the hallway, Gastric at his heels. “Your sister is only concerned about your wellbeing.”

Serendipity nodded. “Your heart concerns me more than your reputation. Whether you wish to admit it or not, when you love, dearest sister, you love hard. How many times have I held you while you sobbed with the heartbreak of losing one of your beloved pets?”

Again, Wolfe wasn’t quite certain whether to be insulted. He hoped Grace loved him more than she loved Gastric. The dog currently leaned against her skirts, staring up at her with the purest adoration, and when she reached down and petted him, her expression was much the same.

“I am a woman grown,” Grace said without looking up from her sweet pet. “My heart is mine to give and to guard.”

“I will guard it, my lady,” Wolfe said softly as if naught but the two of them stood there. “I swear it.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “I know you will. Just as I will guard yours.”

Hurried footsteps clattered ever louder, approaching from deeper in the house.

Nellie came to a bouncing halt as she rounded the corner.

With a hand caught to her throat, she eased forward a few steps.

“My lady? Is something amiss? I heard you calling and came as soon as I untangled the bedsheets that girl had in such disarray. Is there a reason everyone waits in the hallway?”

“Perhaps we should return to the parlor.” Wolfe stepped aside so the ladies could enter first. After all were within, including Gastric, he slid the doors closed.

As he turned, he noticed Grace’s maid had gone pale.

“You are not in trouble,” he told her. “I wished to thank you for warning your mistress about the possible dangers to my brother and sister.”

The ruffles on her white cap trembling, Nellie bobbed a nervous curtsy. “You are quite welcome, Your Grace.”

“I am also compelled to ask how you came to know about those dangers.”

The maid cast a worried look at Grace.

“We need to know, Nellie,” Grace said. “For the safety of the children.”

With her gaze lowered, the maid whispered, “Jasper spoke of it at the table.”

“Jasper?” Wolfe said to Grace and Serendipity. “Is he not the one your butler mentioned earlier? The one sent to the village on errands?”

“Yes,” Grace said, then turned to her maid. “Thank you, Nellie. You may go now, and thank you again for helping us keep the children safe.”

“They are dears,” Nellie said with yet another curtsy, then scurried from the room.

Wolfe stared after her in amazement. “She is the first servant to ever describe the twins as dears and sound as if she truly meant it.”

“Many of our servants have been with us since we were as young and high-spirited as Connor and Sissy,” Grace said. “They know children need patience and guidance rather than treatment as if they are an annoyance.”

“Apparently, I need those in my household to train with yours.” Wolfe went to the bellpull and gave it a yank. “Shall we speak with Jasper next?”

“Absolutely,” Grace and Serendipity said in unison.