have very good news indeed.” He gestured toward Samantha. “This is Miss Samantha Drummond. She is someone I believe His Lordship will be very happy to meet.”
Stevens’s look of unease didn’t abate much, but perhaps at the moment any movement away from a nervous breakdown was a good thing. Derrick ushered Samantha inside before him, then walked into the hall and tried not to sigh. It wasn’t a sign of envy because he had his own spot to land when he finally managed it and it suited him perfectly. He also wasn’t unacquainted with places of grandeur and splendor. But the house they were in was truly exceptional. He might have actually indulged in a bit of envy if he hadn’t known what it cost Cameron in worry to keep his own castle out of the hands of the tax man. He didn’t envy Lord Epworth that worry multiplied by the number of rooms and the prime location.
“Let me see to your things,” Stevens said, motioning for staff to come collect Samantha’s wee suitcase and both their backpacks. “If you’ll follow me?”
Derrick surrendered their gear without worry, then nodded and walked with Samantha behind Lord Epworth’s secretary.
“This is amazing,” Samantha said, staring up at the ceiling.
“It is,” he agreed.
“And that was a pretty good client voice you just used.”
He smiled in spite of himself. “I only trot it out on special occasions.”
She looked at him. “I hope he’ll be happy.”
“I think he’ll be thrilled.”
They were led into the earl’s private study, or rather, Lord Epworth himself opened the door at the knock and welcomed them inside. He didn’t look quite as uneasy as his secretary, but close.
He insisted on introductions before business, which almost made Derrick smile. Good manners, in his experience, generally won out over interest in possessions among those whose company he didn’t mind keeping.
They were invited to join the earl in front of a fireplace that was somehow unsettling for its emptiness. Derrick shook off the impression with difficulty. After all, things were going his way. He’d recovered the missing lace. The embroidery had been delivered without difficulty and neither he nor Oliver had seen any thugs on the trip north. He was planning to return to London, get Samantha on a plane, then do a little snooping of his own into the activities of the Cookes. What could possibly be wrong?
Well, he was getting ready to send Samantha Drummond out of his life, but that surely shouldn’t have bothered him any.
He listened to her make small talk with Lord Epworth about his roses. She was obviously used to flattering crusty old keepers of special collections because she charmed him without an effort. Derrick supposed that had little to do with her change in wardrobe, though sending her polyester with Emily for deposit at the local charity shop had surely been liberating. Perhaps it was that brush with Elizabethan England that had changed her.
Or perhaps it was just that instead of looking at her as a thief, he was looking at her as a woman.
“Historic textiles?” Lord Epworth asked, his ears perking up. “What a fascinating subject.” He paused, then frowned. “There is a woman from the States who specializes, I believe, in Victorian antiquities—”
“Louise McKinnon?”
He smiled. “Yes, that is whom I’m thinking of. I have one of her books on Victorian silver that I found fascinating.” He looked at her closely. “A relative?”
“My mother.”
“Of course, I should have realized the connection. Are you an aficionado of all things Victorian as well?”
Samantha shook her head. “I prefer things of an earlier vintage, actually, and I’m not overly fond of silver.”
“I have a very large collection of textiles you might be interested in, then,” Lord Epworth said. “Perhaps you’ll indulge an old man his pride in his treasures and come have a look when we’re finished with our business here.”
“I would love to,” Samantha said. “I understand you have a very large collection of remarkable things.”
Derrick could see Lord Epworth’s distress, but he knew the man fairly well and knew what to look for. The old man smiled, though that perhaps cost him quite a bit.
“Well, it’s less than it was, but I have great hopes that Mr. Cameron has some news for me that will eventually remedy that.”
Derrick had spent a good part of the train ride north trying to convince Samantha to be the one to hand over the lace, but she had consistently refused. He hadn’t been willing to argue with her, so he had