all irons be warmed so that your clothing can be pressed."
"Damned thoughtful of you. Know my stocks will need a going over. Always do after being packed away, unless I’ve a mind to be slovenly, which I tell you now I can’t abide. Never could, never would." Mr. Burry released Millicent’s arm and rolled back on his heels.
"Of course you can’t, Burry dear," soothed Lady Serena as they followed Mrs. Phibbs up the stairs.
Lady Elsbeth smiled stiffly, her head bobbing mechanically as she watched them ascend the stairs. When they’d attained the first floor landing she relaxed and sighed deeply before turning to go in search of Jane. She’d best remind her niece to keep her tongue between her teeth. It didn’t do to go borrowing trouble. Particularly any that Serena could contrive.
Lord and Lady Willoughby, accompanied by Sir Garth Helmsdon, arrived some thirty minutes later. Lord Willoughby was a surprisingly ugly brute of a man who spoke with a dialect that reminded Jane of her Uncle Edward and his military cronies. Lady Willoughby was a small, wiry woman who scarcely spoke above a rasping whisper, due, her spouse informed them, to a nearly fatal illness she’d suffered many years before. In contrast to her ugly husband, she was a faded beauty for whom time’s touch had been gentle.
They all appeared tired, dusty, and more than a little disturbed by Serena’s cavalier manner of leaving them to their misfortune. With scarcely a greeting for their hostesses, the Willoughbys retired upstairs. Sir Helmsdon looked predisposed to talk, maneuvering Jane into a corner of the hall for just that purpose. Luckily for Jane her nephews chose that moment to return to the house. They’d seen Sir Helmsdon’s long-tailed gray out in the yard and declared it a beautiful animal. The boys rushed over to the horse’s owner, pummeling him with questions regarding the animal. Jane smiled and murmured her excuses, then slipped out under his arm. Her position was immediately supplanted by Edward, who wanted to know what weight he rode and how long the horse could carry him. Their enthusiastic questions carried them in Sir Helmsdon’s wake as he followed Jeremy to his assigned room.
Elsbeth came to stand beside Jane as they watched the Willoughbys and Sir Helmsdon climb the stairs.
"It would appear Serena’s sterling character has already begun to tarnish," she murmured in Jane’s ear.
"Yes, but she obviously could not hold the Willoughby’s of much account. After all, they do not have an unmarried, wealthy son for Millicent."
"Then why their company?"
"I don’t know; but likely there is a reason—at least one that makes sense to Aunt Serena’s brand of logic. Helmsdon concerns me more. He was quick to pursue private conversation. I had hoped he would dangle after Millicent awhile longer. That would have given me room and time to maneuver and plan my strategy."
"Jane, you talk as if this were one of Wellington’s campaigns!"
Jane sighed and hooked her arm in Elsbeth’s as they turned to walk to their new rooms. "The worst of it is, I have no experience in this type of battle, whereas Aunt Serena and Cousin Millicent are hardened, experienced, field marshals."
"What you need is another hardened, experienced, field marshal to offer advice."
Jane laughed. "I’ll agree to that; but the country is not the place to find such veterans!"
"Ah, do not be so hasty. There is one near to hand. One who might just find it an amusing exercise."
"Who? Surely you don’t mean Lord Royce!"
"Why not?"
"Elsbeth, do not be ridiculous, I pray you, please!"
"I am not ridiculous. Who better than a man to warn against another man’s stratagems? Who better than a man who has successfully avoided the parson’s trap set for him by ambitious mamas? Think, Jane. I know you thought to use him as an unknowing diversion. Wouldn’t it be better to use him as a knowing one? He is bored. He said so himself. This is just the stuff to appeal to his jaded fancy."
Jane’s brow furrowed, and she bit her lip as she thought over her aunt’s words. In a bizarre fashion, they did make sense .
Abruptly she shook her head and removed her arm from Elsbeth’s. "No, it won’t answer. Remember he has a guest visiting him now to assuage his boredom. He would not care to become involved in what he could only deem scheming feminine nonsense."
"You don’t know that. But wait. Keep an open mind. Let’s see if he and his guest come to dinner. Time enough to evaluate