I nodded. “Or, at least, I suspected it.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “But why, m’lady? To warn ye away from the inquiry?”
Hearing the worry in her voice triggered my own. I reached out to run my fingers over the smooth surface of my amethyst pendant where I had set it on top of the old, dented dresser when I began to undress. “Well, if I’m to take his word for it, he actually wants me to solve it.”
I looked up into Bree’s concerned eyes. “His sister’s missing, and he believes she’s run off with the men responsible for doing the actual body snatching.”
Her eyes instantly softened in sympathy. “Poor dear. I s’pose she’d no idea what she was gettin’ herself into.”
“I imagine not.”
“And he’d no notion where they went?”
I shook my head. “Away from Edinburgh. That’s all he knew.”
Bree nodded and set about tidying the room, deep in thought. I couldn’t help but wonder if she empathized with the girl for more reasons than just a soft heart, but I elected not to ask.
? ? ?
The roads the next day were less than ideal for travel. The snow we had feared when we watched the approach of the heavy gray wall of clouds on the horizon at dusk the day before had arrived. Overnight it had blanketed the ground several inches deep, and although the accumulation was not heavy, it was a nuisance. As the day wore on, and the traffic as well as the temperatures increased, the muddy slush of the roadways made travel slow and messy. Twice Gage and Anderley were forced to climb out and assist the footman in pushing the carriage out of a boggy mess.
We had left the inn before dawn, in hopes of reaching Marefield House before noon, but it was late afternoon, closer to teatime, before the carriage lumbered up the drive. The manse was a two-story speckled stone building with what looked to be mostly symmetrical additions made to each end. The dark gray slope of the roof was covered in snow, but smoke puffed from several of the chimneys. I wrapped my arms tighter around myself inside my cloak, anxious to get inside. The hot brick I’d been given at our last stop had long since grown cold, and my toes were freezing inside their kid leather boots.
Fortunately, the butler had either been expecting us or was kind, for he ushered us inside the relative warmth of the entry hall quickly. He gathered Gage’s and my winter things while Bree and Anderley were escorted downstairs to the servants’ quarters by a footman. I watched them go, wondering if they would be able to gather more information from the servants than we would of their employers. The butler flicked a glance down at Gage’s mud-splattered boots and the knees of his breeches, but as there was nothing that could be done about it, he clearly thought better of mentioning it, and instead escorted us to the drawing room.
The first thing that struck me was the extreme coziness of the space. A fire burned in the hearth at the opposite end of the room, casting flickering light across the warm burnt orange walls. The lovely silk wallpaper bore a swirled pattern that gave the surface a textured appearance that made one wish to run their hand across it. The plush chairs and settees and ottomans, in various autumnal shades of red and orange and golden yellow were stuffed with pillows and all arranged so that one could easily hold a conversation without raising one’s voice.
I absolutely adored the space, but it was obvious that at least one of the room’s current occupants did not adore me.
Lady Fleming, I presumed, stood next to her husband before one of the settees, her glittering dark eyes narrowed in obvious dislike. I had received the look many times before from society ladies—it was a mixture of scorn and distrust—and it always made my stomach drop in remembered fear and anger. But however strong her aversion to me was, she swiftly banked it as her husband first greeted Gage and then me. I couldn’t help darting a glance toward her as I spoke briefly to Lord Fleming, wondering if I’d imagined her animosity.
Lord Fleming invited us to take a seat in the chairs across from him and his wife. “Lord Rutherford informed me you would likely be making a call.” His complexion was somewhat pallid and there were dark circles under his eyes, making me suspect he had not slept easily the past few nights. “He said you’ve been investigating similar . . . grave disturbances.”