Ether & Elephants by Cindy Spencer Pape Page A

would still have advantages. One way or another, it would all be sorted out.
    Now all they had to do was find him.
     
    * * *
     
    Nell yawned as they turned onto the lane for Black Heath. It had been a long, slow, chilly ride, but the promise of hot tea and a warm bed was now in sight. And explanations. She’d also have to telephone Mum. If Caroline found out about Nell’s engagement to Roger any other way than directly from Nell, there would be hell to pay. It would be worth the inconvenience of a few calls, though. Letting Roger tag along provided a great buffer between Tom and Nell. Besides, a long engagement would give her the chance to see how compatible they were.
    Black Heath loomed on a cliff-top, dark and foreboding. No gaslights burned on the lower floors, so Tom led the others around the house directly to the stable. A sleepy groom met their knock, then roused the stable master, who escorted them to the kitchen door. Mrs. Ritchie, the housekeeper, saw them in and sent for maids to ready rooms.
    “Any trouble with smugglers lately, Mrs. R?” Tom asked as he sipped his tea.
    Nell grinned. The question had become routine over the past few years, since both he and Nell had been here when Victor and Melody fought the threat to their lives and those of the villagers. The starchy housekeeper didn’t have much of a sense of humor about an incident that had nearly gotten her killed, but she’d begun to loosen up.
    “Not since the last time, Sir Tom.” She started assembling a platter of sliced meat and cheeses. “I do believe they’ve all determined that Black Heath is an unhealthy location for those kinds of activities. The only trouble of late comes from a houseful of youngsters, and that, I believe, we can handle without help from the crown.”
    “A houseful?” Nell remembered the date with a sickening lurch. “The guests are already here?”
    Tom cocked his head. “What guests?”
    “Much of the MacKay family,” Mrs. Ritchie said. “To celebrate the young lord’s birthday. We didn’t expect you until the weekend, Miss Nell. Your sister will be delighted.”
    “Of course.” With her worry over Charlie, Nell had completely forgotten the upcoming party for Victor’s two-year-old heir. “Wink’s here too? With the baby and Liam?” It only made sense. Wink and Melody were the best of friends, both engineers for the Order and both young mothers.
    “Sir Liam won’t arrive for a day or two, but Master Theodore is most certainly present.” Mrs. Ritchie’s stern expression bent into something resembling a smile. Wink’s eight-month-old son Teddy was definitely a presence to be noted.
    “Any other Hadrians?” Tom asked, running his hand through his hair, a sure sign that he was frazzled.
    “Not yet.” The housekeeper continued working while she spoke. “Expecting her ladyship and the little ones tomorrow.”
    Nell groaned. Was it just this morning she’d been looking forward to seeing her family? She’d envisioned a nice, relaxing weekend, not a whirlwind of engagement chatter. “God, Tom, let’s keep riding.”
    “Too late.” Victor Arrington, Earl of Blackwell, stood in the doorway, a silk smoking jacket on over his trousers and shirt. The former naval captain was an imposing man, almost as tall as Tom, with sandy hair and curly mutton-chops. “Melody will skin me if I let you get away now, so you might as well get some sleep.” He turned his silver-gray gaze to Roger. “And who have we here?”
    Nell made the introductions. “Roger is my, um, fiancé.”
    Victor didn’t respond to that as he shook Roger’s hand and welcomed him to Black Heath. “Come on into the library. A few of us are awake. Mrs. Ritchie will send along the food and some tea. Although after riding through the night, you may want something stronger.”
    Nell, Roger and Tom all muttered their agreement. This was an occasion for fortifying spirits if ever there was one. They followed Victor through the manor,