Page 52 of The Swan Syndicate #1

“Lady Stella. You didn’t need to come down.” Mrs. Walker glanced around as if ensuring everything was in order.

“Of course, I did. I wanted to tell you how marvelous everything looks and what a wonderful job you’ve all been doing in pampering our guests.”

She didn’t think it was possible for Mrs. Walker to blush.

“It’s no trouble at all, Lady Stella.”

“Stella! I’m surprised to find you down here.”

She turned in sync with Mrs. Walker. “Good morning, Mary.” She slid a glance to the housekeeper. “I was just telling everyone what a great job they were doing.”

“Oh, yes.” Mary wandered from counter to counter, eyeballing every detail, picking at this and that. “Not bad. Do we only have the strawberry tarts? Are there any more mince?”

Nellie hurried over. “They’re still in the oven, my lady. They should be out soon.”

“Very good.” Mary winked at Stella. “They’re Fitz’s favorite.”

“Is Fitz here? I thought it would be at least another day.”

She nodded. “From what Hensley said, they arrived just as everyone was returning from the morning hunt. They’ve been given rooms in the east wing, which they prefer, but promised to join us for breakfast.”

She took my arm as she steered me toward the stairs. “It’s so good to see you down here checking on the staff. From what I’ve observed…”

Stella turned and waved at the women, who smiled in return.

“Beckworth runs a very good household. So surprising without a woman’s touch. But you mustn’t let that deter you from checking before every meal.”

Breakfast bled into games of whist and chess in the solarium before an afternoon hunt, which Stella gracefully bowed out of, claiming she hadn’t had time to properly meet with the women.

Thank god for some of this century’s archaic traditions.

After lunch, once the riders were off, Dame Elizabeth cornered Stella as she walked out of the solarium and into the hazy sunny day.

The woman didn’t wait for any preamble as she pulled her wrap around her. “Walk with me.”

Stella grabbed a wrap from inside the door and quickly raced to catch up with her.

Elizabeth didn’t say a word as they meandered through the winter garden where a few sprigs of green revealed themselves between the brown detritus of summer blooms. It wasn’t until they reached the lake that she found a bench for them to sit.

Stella wasn’t sure what this was about, but she sucked in a deep breath, preparing for whatever was bothering Elizabeth. No doubt it would explain the woman closely observing her since they’d returned home.

“I hear you ran into some trouble on your mission.”

She sighed. Another brave soul wanting to ensure she hadn’t jumped aboard the shuttle to crazy town.

“Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

Elizabeth snorted. “I wouldn’t have expected anything else. Have you recovered?”

Stella opened her mouth to give her standard rote response but stopped. She wouldn’t do that with Elizabeth. “It took a while, but I think I’m okay now.”

Elizabeth reached over and patted her hand. “Of course, you are. It will be easier the next time.”

It took a moment for her words to sink in, but before Stella could ask what she meant, she heard Mary’s voice calling out.

She turned around to see Mary bulldozing her way down the garden path, Eleanor on her heels. Mary was huffing and puffing by the time she reached them. Both women were grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat, so Stella relaxed.

Mary pulled out a fan and started waving it. “I’m afraid we rushed out so quickly, I think I’d better sit down.” Stella moved over and patted the seat next to her.

“What’s the rush?” she asked.

Mary leaned over to glance at Elizabeth since Stella sat between them. Then she looked up at Eleanor, who had stepped in front of the bench, not seeming to care there wasn’t a spot for her to sit.

“Well…” Mary started, then stopped.

“For heaven’s sake,” Eleanor said. “We miss Beckworth. And you. We wanted to know if this was the only visit you would be making.”

Stella stared at the three women. “I don’t know. Beckworth hasn’t said anything, and I haven’t asked. We’ve been focused on the hunting party and the mission kind of blindsided us. We’ve been taking it one day at a time.”

“Well, I know my Hensley misses him. And not just for the missions. Beckworth lives so close, only a few hours’ travel, that he used to stop by for long talks and games of chess.” Mary pulled out a handkerchief and dotted at her eyes.

Good grief. She’d feel sorry for Mary if she didn’t think she was being duped. She would have gotten away with it if Stella hadn’t seen her quick glance at Eleanor. Stella wouldn’t think of calling her on it. Instead, she patted Mary’s arm.

“You wouldn’t have found a reason to get me alone out here unless the three of you didn’t already have something cooked up.”

“I’ve always been impressed with your wits.” Elizabeth pulled her wrap tighter. “It saves time.” She nodded to Eleanor. “Do you want to ask her, or should I?”

“You could have asked her by now,” Eleanor replied. “That would have saved time.”

Elizabeth chuffed then looked at Stella. “Barrington mentioned you have an incantation that can be modified to send you back to a specific time and place.”

Stella nodded. “Maire discovered it based on the one that was used when I was first kidnapped. She made some adjustments to it with the help of Sebastian.”

“Oh, I hope he’s doing alright living in the future,” Mary interrupted.

Stella patted her arm again. “He’s having a wonderful time. He’s planning a trip to France with AJ and Maire to see the monastery.”

“Oh my,” Mary giggled. “For a monk, he’s certainly adventurous.”

“And that incantation worked when you came back this time.” Elizabeth guided them back to the point of the conversation.

“Yes. To the day anyway. The actual hour is up to the fog.”

“What about going back?” Eleanor asked. “AJ mentioned something about it when she was last here. The timing is different when you go back.”

Stella nodded again. “The time spent in this century is much longer than the time a person is gone in the future. So, we’ve already been here almost two weeks, and Beckworth wants to make an overnight visit to see Bart and Lincoln. By the time we go home, only a couple of days should have passed.

The three women all glanced at each other. They were smiling. Then Mary and Eleanor turned to Elizabeth, who shook her head, a bit irritated that she was being put on the spot again. Then she gave Stella one of her earnest Dame Ellingsworth smiles—the one that always terrified AJ.

“We’d like to talk to you about the London season.”