The Countess Page 0,77

way, but then sighed in defeat and nodded. "Yes. Fine.

Thanks."

Christiana picked up her glass and took a sip to hide her expression. She could tel he wasn't pleased with this turn of events and had probably hoped to continue what they'd started before the carriage had stopped, but events were conspiring against him.

Chapter Thirteen

I don't know how she can sleep."

Christiana smiled faintly at Suzette's dry comment, her gaze shifting to Lisa, who had chattered away nonstop for the first several hours after leaving the inn, but had slowed down and final y nodded off with her head on Suzette's shoulder. "She always used to fal asleep on carriage rides when we were children."

"Hmm." Suzette twisted her head to try to look at Lisa's face, but then glanced to Christiana and asked, "So would you care to explain what you meant back at the inn?"

Christiana glanced to her with confusion. "Explain what?"

Suzette narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything else, Lisa's bag slipped from her lax hands and dropped to the carriage floor with a smal thunk.

Christiana immediately leaned forward to pick it up. The bag carried a smal notebook, quil and a sealed pot of ink. Lisa tended to carry it with her whenever she thought she might find something interesting to write about. She had aspirations to someday be a writer of those horrid adventure novels she was always reading.

"You missed something," Suzette said as Christiana straightened, and she glanced down to see that there was an envelope on the floor. Bending again, she picked that up as wel , but straightened much more slowly this time. There was nothing on the outside of the envelope to indicate who it was to, and it had been closed with a blob of dark wax without any seal impression pressed into it, which for some reason sent a shiver of apprehension through Christiana.

"Oh, I forgot about that," Lisa murmured sleepily.

Christiana glanced to the younger girl to see that she was yawning but awake.

"What is it?"

"A letter for Dicky," Lisa answered sitting up.

"You mean a letter for Richard," Suzette corrected dryly.

Christiana ignored her and asked, "Who is it from?"

"I don't know. I didn't open it," Lisa said indignantly.

"No, I can see that," she said with exasperation. "But why was it in your bag?"

"Oh." Lisa shrugged and took the bag from her. "It was this morning when Daniel and Robert were helping Dicky bring out his chest."

"Richard," Christiana murmured as Lisa paused and frowned, no doubt because the men had loaded it themselves rather than let the servants do it. Christiana was the only one of the three of them who knew that the men had loaded it themselves because George was in it and they hadn't wanted to risk it being dropped and its contents spil ing out.

"Anyway," Lisa continued. "The cutest little boy came running up. He asked which of the men was the Earl and I pointed out Dicky - "

"Richard," Christiana corrected.

" - he started to go toward the men," Lisa continued without stopping. "But I suggested he give the letter to me rather than trouble them when they were busy. I meant to give it to Dic - Richard once they were done with the chest, but then Grace came out of the house, tripped on the step and fel and I shoved the letter in my bag and went to help her up, and . . ." She shrugged. "I forgot al about it til now."

Christiana peered down at the letter. Something about the blank face and black blob of wax gave her a very bad feeling. Besides, it must be for George, not Richard. Richard was only newly returned from over a year in America, and the only person who knew that was Daniel. Daniel would hardly send Richard a note when he had been at the house almost every waking moment since their return.

She turned the letter over in her hands and stared at the blob of wax, and then began to open it.

"What are you doing, Chrissy? That's Dicky's!" Lisa tried to snatch the letter from her.

"Dicky's dead," Christiana snapped, shifting sideways on her seat and ripping the letter open.

"What?" Lisa gasped.

Ignoring her, Christiana held the letter to the window to read it. It was growing late in the day, the sun was setting and there wasn't much light to read from, but she managed and cursed as she did.

"What is it?" Suzette asked and snatched the letter from her.

Christiana didn't