“That could be the way of it but, aye, it is difficult to see the man they spoke of living here.”
He looked around as the butler ushered them all into the parlor. Here were a few hints of the possibility that someone actually lived here. A few books on a table, a coat over the back of a chair, and an empty teacup, all of which a visibly flustered butler collected up and took away. Bened wondered if it had been a few of the upper servants taking advantage of their employers’ absence to enjoy a lovely sit-down in a comfortable room who had left the items behind.
Several maids appeared with refreshments for them but it was nearly an hour before Primrose and Simeon joined them. Neither looked happy and Simeon looked furious, an expression that sat oddly on his almost-pretty face. Perhaps Paradise was not as perfect as it looked. He waited as Primrose ordered the tea and food freshened. She then came and sat down next to him, and Boudicca hurled herself up onto the settee to nudge her way in between them.
“She has been here. Stayed here for two days, claimed a power to do as she wanted or we ordered, and even showed papers with our signatures on them to give her that power,” Primrose said.
“Do you think she has now turned her attention to just stealing from you?” Bened asked.
“We will have to go over all the ledgers and speak to our man of business to know that but I will not be surprised to discover she has helped herself to some funds.”
“According to Mrs. Jakes, the housekeeper, Augusta has ended Geoffrey’s lease and ordered him out of the house and off the land,” snapped Simeon as he waved aside Lilybet’s offer to pour him a cup of tea. “It seems Jenson made it here safely and was looking for something to help us prove what we believe Augusta is up to. She called our man of business in but he did not give her anything she wanted until she produced those papers. All she got was some funds to fix roofs.”
“Well, I am pleased to hear Jenson came back. One must hope he got his family out of her reach,” said Primrose.
“Jenson told Mrs. Jakes to warn Sutton not to push Augusta too hard and I said that would be a good idea. Jenson’s family has left and she has no idea of where Jenson is except that he would be hiding and watching for us.”
“I believe he has just found us,” said Bened as he helped himself to a little lemon cake and fondly wished it was one of Frederick’s.
Jenson entered the room warily. He did not look quite so stiff and prim as he had the last time Bened had seen him. Hiding from a woman with a growing love of killing obviously wore the man down. He shook aside that unkind thought. People born into service did not think like one who had lived independent if not rich and spent a lot of time as a soldier. Jenson was not guilty of anything except not knowing how to face down the ones he had been raised to obey and serve. He watched as the man approached Simeon, bowed slightly, and handed him a little leather book.
“Mrs. Jakes had it,” Jenson said. “It was your mother’s and although I do not believe it will help you capture Augusta, it will give you another’s word on what she has done to your family if you need it. She has men at Master Geoffrey’s home. He greeted her at the door with a rifle but one of her men already had his oldest boy so he quickly backed down. Augusta left shortly after they had all gone into the house.”
“Damn,” said Simeon. “She is playing her usual trick. Do as I want or I will kill your family. She discovered that will make the bravest of men bow and will just keep doing it to anyone in the way of what she wants if she is not stopped, and soon.”
“So we approach Geoffrey’s home as cautiously as we did the place where she held Bened,” said Bevan.
“Aye.” He set down the cup of strong tea he had been enjoying. “I can tell you where the enemy is. Once we know where they are, it will be easier to know what to do, how to remove them.”
“What of Augusta?” asked Jenson.
“If she is there she will be removed as well. She has shown us time and time again that she has every intention of killing us. Time to think of her not just as our aunt or a woman, and call her the killer she is.” He rubbed his hand over the soft leather cover of the book. “I actually ache to read this but Geoffrey needs our help now.” He handed it to Mrs. Jakes. “You kept it safe for years. Please keep it safe for just a little while longer.”
Primrose tried to still the trembling that had seized her at the thought of being able to read her mother’s words. She wanted to rush over and snatch the book from Simeon’s hands. Try as she would, she could not keep her attention on the talk of helping Geoffrey. The journal held all of her attention and she waited to see what would be done with it.