The carriage from the Harwin estate soon arrived and we climbed in. Well, everyone else climbed in. I was hauled inside by Sir Henry and the duke like a sack of flour. Sir Henry seemed to find it necessary to place a hand on my bottom below my corset and squeeze. Knowing he could feign innocence, there was nothing I could do about the insult.

If it had been Blackford, I wouldn’t have minded, but he would have treated me with respect. As it was, he’d climbed into the carriage first to lift me from above. After we were settled and began our journey, I made a point of looking out the windows on both sides. “I’ve not been here before. It’s a lovely area, isn’t it?”

“And a wealthy area with royal connections,” the duke replied.

Somewhere in this town was my parents’ killer. I hoped I’d glimpse him entering a home or a shop where I could return later and question the occupants, but he was nowhere to be seen. Disappointed, I watched the town quickly disappear and the rolling countryside spread out before us.

Lord Harwin’s country home was a massive block of stone, added on to during different periods. We were greeted at the top of an imposing set of entrance stairs by his lordship and ladyship, a couple amazingly alike in their appearance. Both had dark hair liberally sprinkled with gray, untroubled blue eyes, and thin lips curved up in a smile of greeting.

I had made use of both a stone railing and the duke’s arm to wince my way up the steps to curtsy before my hosts. Both of my hosts’ jaws dropped in shock. “You’ve been hurt,” they said in unison.

“A curricle nearly knocked her down in front of the train station,” Blackford growled.

“Tewes’s younger son. The boy is a terror with that old curricle of his grandfather’s. He’s already run over one of Knightdale’s hunting dogs. He’ll come to a bad end if his father doesn’t take him in hand,” Lord Harwin said.

“You need to get off that foot,” Lady Harwin said. “Let’s go into the red drawing room.”

The red drawing room was nearby, relatively speaking. After walking down a hall wide enough to be a street, we entered a room three times the size of my shop. The entire house party seemed to have already gathered there, including the baron and Lady Bennett. They all stood as we entered, although more for the duke, who was taking most of my weight on my injured side, than for the rest of us.

I managed a curtsy for the room in general and then hobbled to the nearest sofa to collapse.

“Is it broken, you think?” Sir Henry asked. “That would be rotten luck.”

I rubbed my injured ankle. “I think it’s just bruised or sprained.”

“Let’s get you up to your room and I’ll have ice sent up. Is your lady’s maid a capable woman?”

I pictured Emma slicing a much larger man in one deft motion with her knife. “Very capable.”

“Good. We’ll hand you over to her until your limb has a chance to heal. If you should need a physician, have her let us know.”

Lady Harwin gave me a faint smile and I nodded. “Thank you, my lady.”

I rose unsteadily and had hopped two steps when Blackford muttered, “Oh, good grief,” and swept me up in his arms. He strode out of the room to a chorus of gasps, including mine. My heart boomed in my chest. This was the most romantic thing I’d ever experienced.

Phyllida hurried after us, climbing the long staircase. “I’ll show you where her room is, Duke.”

“While you’re at it, you might tell me how Georgina will carry out this investigation while holed up in her room,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Are you angry?” I asked, my lovely fantasy of being carried off by Blackford dissolving into aristocratic dust on the antique Persian carpets.

“Yes.”

“This isn’t my fault. Who knew that young lord would speed through heavy traffic?”

“We’re not here to find your parents’ killer. We’re here to stop naval blueprints from going overseas.” I thought his teeth would crack from snapping out words with such violence.

“Now I’m here for both.” One investigation was as important as the other for me. Really, finding my parents’ killer was the more important. But it’s hard to appear decisive and in control when you’re being carried like a baby.

Phyllida opened a dark wooden door like any other on the corridor and the duke strode in, dumping me on the bed. Emma, hanging up a gown, spun around with widened eyes.

“Do something with your foolish mistress while I try to salvage our investigation.” Blackford nodded to Emma, bowed to Phyllida, and then stomped from the room without a glance at me.

Emma blinked. “What happened?”

I brought her up to date, pausing only when a maid brought in a sack of ice wrapped in a towel. The cold numbed the pain enough that I soon tried to put weight on my foot. That turned out to be a bad idea.

Phyllida ordered me back to bed with a regal glare. This investigation was bringing out all the training she’d received as a child. How long had it been since she’d needed the protection living with Emma and me provided? I knew she could never go back to cheerfully cooking our meals and dealing with cleaners and laundresses. What would she do after we found out who’d killed her cousin? Wherever she went, I would miss her terribly.

“Emma and I will have to do the investigating in your place. Stay in bed and keep the ice on your leg. And please, heal quickly. We’ll need you to assist us tomorrow.” Phyllida swept from the room.

“I’ll bring your dinner up on a tray. In the meantime, keep your foot elevated.” Emma hung up the last of the dresses and readied me for bed.

I willingly let her take off my dress and unlace my corset. “What will you do?”

“I’ll keep an eye on the baron’s man, although that’s going to be hard. They keep the female staff well segregated from the men in the attics.”

“Is it hot and stuffy upstairs?” I felt guilty leaving her with all the investigating work and the chores of a lady’s maid while I lay uselessly in this huge, cool, overly decorated room.

“It’s not bad at all.” Emma helped me put on my nightgown, plaited my hair, handed me a book from my luggage, and then left.

I sat on the bed, pounding my fist into the pillow. I had much to accomplish and no way to leave the room. My throbbing ankle was holding me prisoner.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I was laid up, isolated from the investigation and everyone in the house. Since I couldn’t investigate, I could read with a clear conscience. I’d brought The Ruined Castle by Mrs. Hepplewhite. I loved a good gothic story as much as my customers did.

After a while, I heard noises on that floor of the mansion, telling me the others were dressing for dinner. Now would be the time to post someone on the main floor to see who was sneaking around. If I were trying to get ship drawings out of the country, this would be a good time to meet with my confederates. Everyone else, master and servant, would be busy with their own tasks.

And here I sat, on the bed in my nightgown, unable to walk around freely.

A tentative tap on my door made my heart leap with joy. Someone to question. “Come in.”

My hostess walked in, already dressed in ropes of diamonds and pearls over an expansive bosom. “Has everything been done to make you comfortable?”

“Yes, Lady Harwin. And the room is lovely. Thank you for being so kind.” Actually, “opulent” was a better word for the decor. I wondered if the reds that dominated the wallpaper, rugs, and bed coverings said anything about what she thought of my character.