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A part of her wanted to laugh, but she refrained. His efforts? “Lord Hawthorne, you have me confused. What efforts are you referring to?”

“Our luncheon, of course. I prepared our meal.” A hesitant smile touched his face.

Now she did want to laugh, but she knew it would be rude, especially since he hadn’t the slightest notion of what a shamble he’d made of the meal. “My lord, I do appreciate the fact that you took the time to fix the basket. However, I must advise you to let your cook prepare food from now on.”

His eyes broadened, and immediately, she could see he was on the defensive. “Why would you say that?”

Sighing heavily, she shook her head. “Because the meat is spoiled, the bread is moldy, and the strawberries are not ripe enough to eat. However, the cheese tastes just fine.”

Dejection was the emotion clouding his eyes now as his gaze dropped to the floor.

Something tugged at her heart. Perhaps she’d been too harsh. Considering here was a man who she never thought would stoop so low as to do servant’s work, and yet he still prepared their meal. Obviously, he was trying to change…if only in a small way.

Placing her hand on his arm, she waited until he looked at her.

“Forgive me, my lord. I’m very impressed that you did this for me.

” She forced herself to smile since her heart still wasn’t in it.

“I honestly thought your cook was trying to poison us. If I had known beforehand that you had done this, I wouldn’t have said anything. ”

A chuckle escaped his mouth and he didn’t appear as crushed as he’d been a moment ago. “Frederick tried to teach me a few things, but it’s clear that I haven’t the slightest idea what I’m doing in a kitchen.”

At first she wondered if he was acting. After all, she knew he had wanted to make her think he was changing. Then again, the sincere look in his eyes looked genuine. Nobody could act that well.

“I don’t hold that against you,” she said. “After all, you have never had to work inside a kitchen before. You probably don’t know how to care for meat or bread, or when to pick strawberries.”

“I don’t.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m impressed that you wanted to do this for me.

” She smiled, although it was still hard.

She set the bonnet on her head and tied the ribbons underneath.

“But I still must go. I fear if I stay any longer, the chance of us getting caught in a scandal grows by the second. That’s not what a clergyman wants anyway.

And since the rain has stopped,” she glanced out the window, “I’m certain more people will be venturing outside. ”

He nodded. “You are correct.” He took her cloak off the nail and held it out. “Will you allow me to assist you?”

“How very kind of you, my lord.”

Standing in back of her, he helped her as she slipped her arms into the sleeves. With his hands still holding the shoulders of the garment, he moved closer to her. His breath breezed across her neck, making her shiver.

“Tabitha,” he said in a low voice, “must I remind you not to refer to me as my lord . I’m the clergyman.”

She turned her head and glanced at him over her shoulder. “But we’re not in public. I promised not to call you that name when we are around other people, and I shall stick to our agreement.”

It was rather difficult to move away from him, only because the warmth from his body brought a little comfort to her agitated state. Strange to think how much more relaxed she was.

She stepped to the door, placed her hand on the knob, and turned, but before she could open it, he moved behind her and stopped the door with his hand. She gazed up into his gray eyes.

“Thank you, Tabitha.”

“For what?”

“For not leaving angry at me.” He grinned.

His soft voice and kind eyes began to soften her heart. She couldn’t have that! “Um, well…yes. You are welcome. And I thank you again for sharing your cousin’s secret with me.”

“Perhaps one of these days in the near future, you will share one of your secrets with me?” His brows lifted.

Clearing her throat, she shook her head slowly. “That, my lord, will never happen.”

“Never say never.” He winked.

*

Later that day, Nic was back to looking like the clergyman.

Although he’d ruined the afternoon meal for Tabitha and even made her upset, the day hadn’t been a total wreck.

He’d made her laugh, which he couldn’t wait to do again.

There for a little while, they carried on an amicable conversation.

All in all, he had enjoyed the time spent with her and anticipated the next time he’d see her.

Of course, he would be dressed as Frederick, which now Nic realized he really didn’t like because of the baggy clothes and powder in his hair to make him appear older.

It was rather nice to look like his young self again.

And this beard—he scratched his chin—needed to go! It would drive him insane if they couldn’t catch the thief soon.

The temperatures had warmed up slightly since the rain had stopped. The first thing he’d do was to wander down by the beach and look for the hole in the sand…which of course probably wasn’t there now. Frederick’s worries had been on Nic’s mind since his cousin had mentioned his concern.

He casually strolled down the middle of town toward the ocean.

Just as he had predicted earlier, more people had ventured outside once the rain had stopped.

Several ladies were shopping, and some men were gathered outside one of the local pubs.

Nic only nodded a greeting to those who acknowledged him first. He didn’t want to start a conversation he couldn’t end quickly.

From one of the shops, a familiar face caught his eye.

Miss Mildred Talbot—and without her widowed sister, Mrs. Smythe this time.

When Miss Talbot noticed him, her eyes beamed and color brightened her cheeks.

He chuckled to himself. Indeed, this woman had eyes only for Frederick.

It was a shame Nic’s cousin couldn’t return the interest. Even if Miss Talbot wasn’t as attractive as Frederick’s late wife had been, Nic was certain the older woman had a kind and loving soul.

It was obvious the woman was smitten with the clergyman.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Woodland.” Miss Talbot’s smile widened. “What a pleasure to see you in town.”

He stopped in front of her and bowed slightly. “It’s certainly a pleasure to see you.” He took a quick glance around them. “Is your sister not here with you?”

“Not this time. She was feeling under the weather and so stayed inside.”

“Under the weather, you say? Has she gotten terribly ill?”

“Nothing to worry about, Mr. Woodland. She just has the sniffles, and since it rained earlier, she didn’t want to take a chance in getting worse.”

“Oh, I see.” He nodded. “Well, give her my best, and I pray you won’t get sick, either.”

“Why thank you, Mr. Woodland. I really appreciate that.” Hesitantly, she laid her hand on his arm. “My sister and I need to have you over for dinner again. I have missed our visits.”

“As have I.” He smiled. “But let’s wait until we know Mrs. Smythe is completely well.”

“Oh yes, of course.” Miss Talbot snapped her hand away and entwined her fingers against her middle in some sort of nervous gesture. “Good day, Mr. Woodland.”

“And a good day to you.”

He walked away, but could feel her staring after him. Daring not to turn around to see if she still watched—for fear she’d get the wrong impression—he continued moving up the road. If he kept going straight, he’d be on the beach very soon.

Thinking about Miss Talbot, he couldn’t stop the chuckle bubbling up from his throat as a mischievous idea took root in his mind.

Since he played his cousin, perhaps he should give her the impression that Frederick was interested in her.

Then when his cousin stepped back into his role as clergyman, Miss Talbot would not be shy around him, and maybe the two of them could finally fall in love.

A loud laugh escaped him. Hard to believe that he’d gone from helping his friends solve mysteries, to becoming a matchmaker.

The closer he came to the ocean, the stronger the wind blew.

The tide didn’t seem to come as close to shore as it had when Mr. Jacobs and his daughter were here, thankfully.

But Nic knew that finding any kind of clues as to why someone would dig a hole was probably buried deep in the sand and beyond reach.

He was certain this was a mystery they would never discover by themselves.

Indeed, if Mr. Jacobs and his daughter had seen anything, that would be the only assistance Nic and Frederick would get.

Even he had tried to recall that morning and if he’d seen anyone near the shore besides the blacksmith and his daughter. The only other two people out here were Tabitha and Sally. They, of course, looked as surprised to see Mr. Jacobs as Nic had been.

He reached the spot where he’d been standing when he first saw the blacksmith. Carefully, as not to slide, Nic made his way down the small hillside as he moved closer to where the hole had been that practically swallowed the little girl.

Another chill swept over him, but it had nothing to do with the breeze coming off the ocean. In fact, he felt as if someone was watching him. Slowly, he glanced around the beach but couldn’t see anyone.

Shrugging off the feeling, he tried to convince himself there was no reason for him to think this way. If anyone saw him right now, they would just believe he was out enjoying a nice walk, which was what a clergyman would do.

Now…where was that spot where the hole had been?

Even if someone was watching him, he didn’t want to look conspicuous that he was actually searching for something.

So taking slower steps, he acted as if he was gazing across the water as he walked, and at the same time, scanned the area closely for anything that might have been left by the diggers.

So far, nothing looked out of place. Then again, he really didn’t think he’d find anything.

Clouds had covered the sun, even though they would move shortly, so it wasn’t that easy to spot things lying around.

Perhaps this was a wasted trip. After all, the wind and rain from earlier today, would have erased all signs of—

His foot caught on something and made him stumble. From the feel of it against his boot, he thought he had bumped against the root of a tree or very large bush since it was so heavy.

He stopped and turned to see what had made him trip. From out of the sand grew a strange kind of pale root. Yet, it didn’t really look like a root.

Crouching closer, he narrowed his eyes, trying to see it more clearly. Just then, the clouds moved away from the sun and shone on the object. Realization struck him. Gasping, he jumped back and cursed.

There was a human hand coming from under the sand, and by the pale color of the skin and fingernails, Nic was sure the limb was attached to a dead body.