3. Major Weston
4. The man at the Ship
5. Reverend Benedict Underwood
6. Reuben Dickie
7. Samuel Atwater
Two of the names—Squire Rawlins and Samuel Atwater—had a line through them, as if she had crossed them out.
Sebastian looked up to find Mr. McBroom watching him intently, his full, ruddy face glowing with curiosity. “Thank you,” said Sebastian, refolding the paper.
McBroom’s face fell with disappointment. “You’ll be showing it to the young Squire?”
“I will, yes. Thank you.”
“What is it?” asked Hero after the landlord had reluctantly taken himself off.
Sebastian handed her the paper.
She studied the list a moment, then looked up. “Men. They’re all men.”
“I hadn’t thought about it, but you’re right.” He watched Simon thrust his fist into the porridge and give a toothless grin as it squished through his fingers. “Could this be a list of men whose portraits she drew?”
“No; it’s not long enough. And the names aren’t in the right order. Here.” Setting the list aside, she carefully wiped Simon’s face and hands and passed him to Sebastian.
“You’ve porridge behind your ear,” Sebastian told his son while Hero went to retrieve Emma’s sketchbook from the chest near the window.
“I made a list myself of the people in her portraits.” Hero laid her own list on the table beside the paper found by the chambermaid.
Sebastian steadied his son on his lap and leaned forward to compare them.
1. Martin McBroom X
2. Archie Rawlins
3. Reverend Underwood
4. Reuben Dickie
5. Lucien Bonaparte X
6. Charles Bonaparte X
7. Samuel Atwater
8. Jude Lowe
9. Major Eugene Weston
10. Jenny Dalyrimple
11. Mary Beth the chambermaid X
12. Hannibal Pierce X
Sebastian said, “It looks as if she drew everyone on her list except Lord Seaton. Plus a few others who aren’t on her list.” He frowned. “I think I’ve heard of this Weston. But I can’t place him at the moment.”
Hero flipped open the sketchbook and held up a drawing of a middle-aged, mustachioed man posed before a modest brick house. He stood tall and erect, his posture hinting at a preening type of male vanity combined with a desperate attempt to draw attention away from his expanding waistline. “This is Major Weston. Recognize him?”
“No. But now I know where I heard the name. According to Reuben Dickie, Weston lives in what used to be the Dower House of Maplethorpe Hall.” He caught Simon’s hand as the baby reached for his quill. “Who is Jude Lowe?”
Hero flipped back a page. “Here. According to the chambermaid, he owns a tavern in a nearby hamlet.”
Sebastian studied the lean, handsome man. He looked younger than Weston, probably closer to thirty-four or thirty-six, with dark hair, deeply set eyes, and a cleft chin. There was something about him—some faint similarity of features, or perhaps it came simply from the way he held his head—that reminded Sebastian of Jamie Knox. Emma had drawn him standing beside a tavern’s swinging sign, its painting of a Spanish galleon flecked and worn but still clearly discernible.
“‘The man at the Ship,’” said Sebastian. “And Atwater?”
Hero turned to the portrait of an unassuming-looking middle-aged gentleman. “Here.”
Sebastian grasped both of Simon’s hands, smiling as the boy pulled himself up to a stand, tiny fat legs wobbling as he balanced his feet on Sebastian’s thighs. “So why are there ‘Xs’ behind five of the names on your list?”
“Those are the portraits that are unnamed: Martin McBroom, Lucien and Charles Bonaparte, the chambermaid, and Hannibal Pierce.”
Sebastian looked over at her. “You’re saying the only person Emma sketched and named who isn’t on her list was Jenny Dalyrimple?”
“That’s right. Jenny’s also the only named woman Emma drew.”
“How old is the current Lord Seaton?” asked Sebastian, his gaze still on the lurching, grinning child in his lap. “Any idea? Is he even of age yet?”
“Barely,” said Hero. “The chambermaid says he’s taken his sisters and the older Bonaparte girls to spend some time at an aunt’s house in the Lake District. So he isn’t here.”
“Yet his name was on Emma Chance’s list,” said Sebastian. “I wonder why.” He touched noses with the boy. “What do you think, young Master St. Cyr? Hmmm?” He caught Simon under the arms and lifted the baby high over his head as the boy squealed with delight. “Actually, why were any of those names on her list?”
He glanced over at Hero, but she simply shook her head.
It was one more question to which they had no answer.
Chapter 16
The innkeeper, Martin McBroom, seemed a logical source for information on the three relatively unknown men on Emma Chance’s list—Samuel Atwater, Major Weston, and Jude Lowe.