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“Lady Rosamund, I understand you have been asking questions about me.”

Eleven

“Indeed I have, Your Grace.”

At this point, Peregrine was no longer even willing to discuss what it was he thought Rosamund was asking about him. He eyed the innocent-looking old man.

“Good day to you, Your Grace!” Louis called out.

“Good day, Louis,” Peregrine replied, more warmly. Then, he turned to Lady Rosamund, and said, “I believe Mr. Egbert is about to take his midday rest, Lady Rosamund. He believes himself still a strong man, but he has his many aches and pains.”

“Ah, Your Grace,” Louis murmured good-naturedly. “I may have many aches and pains because of my age, but I am certainly strong enough to face many battles -”

“My good man,” Peregrine interrupted, “we do not want you facing many battles, or providing the enemy with words that might help them.”

Rosamund looked at him sharply, then, sensing that he was trying to give the old man a silent warning. And he was. There were things the lady need not know about him or what was going on the estate. She already looked quite bewildered by what she had encountered so far.

Peregrine reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver coin. He passed it into Louis’ weathered palm. He wondered if Rosamund would sense the familiarity between him and the old man.

“Your Grace,” Louis protested, trying to push back the coin into the Duke’s hand, but the latter remained firm. “You do not have to give me coin. Every day that you allow me to stay in my home is a blessing in itself. It is enough.”

“Be that as it may, I thank you for the time you have given Lady Rosamund, Egbert. However, you need to consider your health. Do rest yourself. Find someone who can purchase you your food.”

Louis blinked. He eyed the coin in his hand warily. Then, he looked at the Duke’s face and then Lady Rosamund’s own and probably thought it was better than he left.

“Thank you, Your Grace. It was nice speaking with you, Lady Rosamund. I bid both of you adieu,” the old man said as he rose agonizingly slowly and shuffled his way away.

Lady Rosamund followed the old man with her worried eyes. Peregrine could tell that she was still wondering what Louis was about to tell her.

“You did that on purpose!” she accused, her index finger pointing at the ground as if she was trying not to point it directly at him.

“Oh, but what did I do precisely?” Peregrine asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You know what you did,” Rosamund cried. “You cut him off! Louis was about to tell me something important. I still cannot figure out why you would preserve Henry’s stable, among other things that used to belong to the Harcourts. Why did you decide to come here? Did anyone tell you I would be here?”

“Listen, Lady Rosamund, questioning old men as they are witnesses at the old Bailey hardly qualifies as neighborly visiting,” Peregrine reminded her.

“I will question anyone as I please! Especially on this estate!” Rosamund insisted.

“Yes,” Peregrine murmured, studying the obstinate woman before him. “That is precisely what frightens me.”

“You are hiding something,” she accused. This time, she did not stop herself from shaking her finger at the Duke. Her hazel eyes looked half-mad but also even more compelling. “You have been hiding something f-for years!”

“Everyone is hiding something,” Peregrine said solemnly. “Even you, Lady Rosamund.”

Peregrine wondered if his own generalization could be true at all. Lady Rosamund was not exactly stealthy in the way she was investigating him. The woman was a whirlwind of emotions. Most of them were visible on her face.

“Respectable people generally hide fewer things than dukes,” she retorted, lifting her chin in defiance.

“Oh, but that is a remarkably optimistic opinion of respectable people,” Peregrine said.

He took a few steps closer to Rosamund, closing the gap between them. Now, everything felt so stiflingly tight and narrow. The cool air was warmed not just by their closeness but by the heat coming from their bodies. She smelled of roses and springtime, a quaint scent that felt overpowering yet too light and fleeting.

Neither of them moved or spoke for a moment. Peregrine looked down and saw her meeting his gaze, seemingly just as surprised as he was at this given pause. His gaze dropped to his lips briefly, lingering there before sweeping up again to meet her eyes. He saw a flush spread pink across her cheeks and did not know whether disappointment or relief reigned supreme when she took two steps back.

Peregrine eased back, not wanting to push her. He chuckled a little and shook his head as if the whole thing was merely humorous to him.

“If you intend to conduct a proper investigation into my terrible misdeeds, Lady Rosamund, you should have at least the grace to do it properly,” he advised, keeping his tone light and airy.