she was in grave danger of missing it as well as the elusive Max. She shrugged on her unused nightgown quickly, called for the maid and tried not to read anything untoward into his absence. He loved her. She was sure of it. He wouldn’t be having second thoughts. Would he?
Downstairs, there was still no sign of him. Nor his sister. But their three guests were all seated in the breakfast room unattended, so she hastily abandoned her plans to hunt for her lost lover and joined them at the table.
‘I am sorry for my tardiness, gentlemen. I am afraid I overslept.’
‘It seems to be a common problem this morning as your fiancé is yet to make an appearance, too.’ Although not half as condescending as he had been upon his first arrival, it was still apparent Lord Denby had taken Max’s absence as a slight. ‘Mrs Baxter has said he was called to urgent estate business, but would be here as soon as he could.’
Estate business? As far as Effie was aware, Max hadn’t involved himself at all in any estate business yet, which threw up a hundred questions as to what was really afoot. ‘I am sure he will be here presently. Running Rivenhall does take up a great deal of his time.’
Eleanor burst through the door smiling, but Effie couldn’t help noticing it was forced. She looked drawn. Pale. As if something had happened and the prospect made Effie panic further. ‘Hello, Eleanor...’ Their eyes locked across the room. ‘Are you...well?’
‘Perfectly.’ She waved it away in typical Eleanor fashion. ‘Everything is sorted now. Max is on his way.’ She sat beside Lord Denby and snapped open her napkin. ‘Tenants! Do you have them, my lord?’
‘Indeed I do, madam. Many.’ He made it sound like a brag.
‘Then you will appreciate what a chore they can be sometimes. How are the kippers, Percy? To your satisfaction.’
An oddly reticent Percy nodded. ‘Splendid as always, Eleanor.’ But an odd look passed between them which did nothing to ease Effie’s nerves. ‘The carriage leaves in forty minutes.’ A strange thing to say for no apparent reason. ‘On the stroke of nine.’
‘Excellent...excellent. Then everything is on time.’ Smithson passed the older woman some tea and she gulped it down and then glared at Effie as if she expected her to make all the conversation.
‘It is a shame you cannot stay a little longer, gentlemen.’
‘Indeed it is,’ said Lord Whittlesey, ‘but Sir Percival has to be at the printers before they close tonight to oversea the final proofs of Archaeologia, so alas our journey is going to be arduous. He delayed the presses in view of Lord Rivenhall’s discovery.’
‘Did my sketches make it to the engravers in time?’
‘I sent them by express yesterday morning to ensure they accompanied the article. Our members will doubtless appreciate their inclusion.’ Lord Denby gave her what she assumed was his version of a smile. ‘These past few days have been most enlightening.’ Indeed they had. For all manner of reasons. ‘I cannot remember when I have been so impressed with a fresh discovery. Roundhouses! Who knew?’
* * *
The next half an hour crawled past slowly. Eleanor kept glancing towards the door. Percy barely said a word and Max failed to materialise. The gentlemen were in the process of leaving the table when he finally strode into the room and Effie swore she saw both his sister and Percy physically sag with relief.
‘Sorry I am late, everyone!’ He looked tired. Rumpled. As if he had slept in his clothes. ‘Tenants! What a palaver.’
‘You are just in time to wave the antiquarians off, Max.’ Eleanor’s smile was as brittle as spun sugar. ‘I was beginning to think you wouldn’t make it.’
‘Well, I did.’ His eyes flicked to Effie’s then and they were filled with apology. ‘Better late than never.’
As he pulled out his sister’s chair so they could wave off their guests, she noticed his fingers were covered in ink. Then Smithson hurried in and skidded to a stop directly in front of them. ‘The carriage is loaded, my lord.’
‘Is all the luggage on board?’
‘Indeed it is,