Charlotte gave the order, and they went up to the drawing room. She was glad for the opportunity to show him how much better it looked than at his last visit. He made no comment, however, as they sat. “Lizzy said Anne is still enjoying her dancing class?”
“She seems to be. Although not as much as Lizzy enjoys teasing her about it.”
“And what is Lizzy doing now that Anne is often out?”
Sir Alexander shook his head. “Plotting devilment, I imagine.” He hesitated, then added, “You’ve become well acquainted with my sisters. You’ve seen how Lizzy is. Do you think I should send her away to school? Against her wishes?”
It was just the opening Charlotte had hoped for. The subject of Lizzy had been much on her mind. “I don’t think separating her from her family is right just now.”
“Just now?”
“I think she’s afraid.”
“Afraid? Of what?” He straightened as if priming to go to her defense.
“Of Anne moving off into the wider world and leaving her alone.”
“Ah.” He frowned.
“If she had more to do…”
“She would at school. As well as other young women to befriend.”
“But she doesn’t want to go.”
“Vehemently. Lizzy believes she already knows all she needs to.” He shook his head. “Frances taught the girls when they were very young. Then we hired governesses, but neither my father nor I ever succeeded in finding one who really fitted the post. They were dutiful, no more. And lately, there have been none who would stay in the face of Lizzy’s… antics.”
“Anne has been her only real companion?”
He frowned as if he hadn’t really thought about this. “There are very few young people among our neighbors in the country.”
“Well, I have an idea.” She’d been cudgeling her brain for ideas, afraid that Lizzy was hatching schemes to improve her fortunes.
“I would be grateful for any suggestion.”
“You might do for Lizzy what you are doing for Anne. I suspect your Aunt Earnton would know how to go about it. Find some girls Lizzy’s age whom your aunt approves—let her do it, in fact—and arrange for Lizzy to meet them and get to know them. Make some new friends. Then she will not feel such a need for Anne’s company.”
Sir Alexander stared at her. “That’s brilliant. Why didn’t I think of it? I shall talk to my aunt at once. Thank you!”
His look warmed Charlotte to the depths. If Tess had not come in just then with the tea tray… But she did, and Charlotte busied herself with pouring and passing a cup. The sound of something heavy being shifted downstairs brought her back to earth—murder, robbery, accusations. “Do you really think this valuation will be helpful, that we can actually find any answers?”
“We are intelligent, logical people, with resources…”
“But as you said before, what do we know of investigating crimes? I certainly know nothing.” The suspicion could hang over her forever, she thought despairingly.
“It cannot be too different from examining tenants’ grievances and judging among them. And we have the advantage of knowing you had nothing to do with it and being highly motivated to find the truth.” He met her eyes.
In his steady gaze, Charlotte saw determination, and trustworthiness, and… more? The thud of her pulse nearly deafened her. What was it about this man, more than any other she’d ever met, that captured all her attention, filled her senses? She’d known what was missing from her dreadful marriage; she’d acknowledged the lack with a distant regret, and then relief. But in Sir Alexander’s presence, she felt her physical isolation as an acute ache. She needed to reach out, to rekindle that blaze of connection.
The silence was growing too long, too charged. She groped for words. “I… ah… Lady Isabella very kindly asked me to attend a rout party with her tomorrow.” Perhaps he would come, as he had before.
“Did she?” His voice had gone dry.
“She was telling me about her mother.” Why had she said that? Sir Alexander looked understandably startled. “I’m not sure how it came up… I… we were talking of her childhood.” How could she escape this topic? He’d gone thoughtful. Was he offended?
“I’m sure I did not come off well in any story of hers about our family.”
Horrified, Charlotte hurried to dispel the idea that she had been gossiping about him. “We didn’t talk of…”
“She would say the same of me. Perhaps with reason. But… it seemed to me, once I was of an age to notice, that Aunt Bella rather fanned the flames between my