Tea and Scandal Read Online Free PDF Page B

carpet. When he looked up, he saw Miss Lonsdale was observing him in a questioning way.
    “ I thought I saw a mouse, ” he said blandly.
    If this was an excuse to get the ladies out of the room, it failed. “ Indeed? And I thought I smelled a rat, ” she replied demurely.
    A reluctant smile tugged at his lips. “ At least you didn ’ t say you saw one, ” he said.
    She turned toward Swann and her aunt, for she was uncertain how to reply to this mischievous speech.
    “ Feel like a dashed beggar, ” Swann said, looking at the cravat pins, and trying to decide which was the least valuable. There were a few diamond ones and one ruby. He chose a small black pearl. “ Very kind of you, Lady Pargeter. I will treasure this as a keepsake of old — of Pargeter. ”
    “ Would you also like a keepsake, Lord Fenwick? ” Lady Pargeter asked.
    “ I find memories are the best keepsake, ” he said, and they returned below stairs.
    Fenwick fell into step with Jane. “ Will you be making your home permanently with your aunt, ” he asked, “ or is this merely a sojourn between teaching positions? ”
    “ I have no plans to return to teaching. ”
    “ That sounds very definite. Did you not enjoy it? ”
    “ Would you? ” she asked, and hastened on a step ahead of him before he could reply, for she disliked this line of questioning.
    Lady Pargeter was uncertain how to treat Fenwick. If Lady Sykes had brought him in to cause mischief, she ought to give him short shrift. On the other hand, if he was just a casual visitor at Swann Hall, he might be of some use to her. Already he had brought Swann for a visit, and that must have taken some doing. If he could bring Lord Malton around, she would soon be established as respectable. She had no intention of apologizing for her marriage, but wondered if she might explain it in some manner that would make it more acceptable to him.
    “ Would you care for a cup of tea? ” she asked.
    Both gentlemen accepted with alacrity, and the tea was brought. Scawen began telling Jane about his swans. Before long, he had lured her to the window that gave a view of the lake. While he occupied Jane with a mild flirtation, Fay spoke to Fenwick, in her usual frank manner.
    “ Well, you have had a look at me now, milord, ” she said. “ Am I as bad as Lady Sykes painted me? ”
    A spontaneous smile lit his eyes. "That would be difficult indeed, ma ’ am. ”
    A bark of laughter greeted his words. “ I know my marriage must have been a disappointment to her, but the fact is, Pargeter had no intention of leaving anything to Nigel. Nor is he such a fool as to have left the estate out of his own family forever. It is only mine during my lifetime. ”
    “ And after? ” Fenwick asked, with equal frankness.
    “It was Pargeter’s wish that the terms of his will remain secret for a year, but if it sets your mind at rest, I shall tell you this much. It reverts back to a relative of Pargeter ’ s. ”
    “ Indeed! ”
    “ I should not like you to get your hopes up, however. He didn ’ t leave it to you. ”
    “ I didn ’ t expect it, ” Fenwick said. His eyes turned to Swann. “ As we are being quite open, do you mind my asking why you married him? ”
    “What you really want to know is why he married me. He was old and lonesome, and Lord Malton gave him the notion we were causing a scandal by living here together after Lizzie—Lady Pargeter—died. He was used to having me about. I had been Lizzie’s companion for a decade. I went about everywhere with them, almost as one of the family. He didn’t want me to leave, so he made an honest woman of me. If he had lived, it would have been a nine days’ wonder. It was his death so quickly after we married that caused the mischief.”
    “ What was the cause of his death? ”
    Lady Pargeter gave him a knowing look. “ I did not feed him poison, if that is what she has hinted. It was his heart. He went off in the middle of the night. A quick, quiet