companion is French, too. So, where do we start in sorting this out? I assume you have something in mind or you would not be here in Devon.”
“We start by looking at any new members of your staff. Have you hired new people in the last three or four months?”
“Yes. Several. The London housekeeper is fairly new—had to pension off her predecessor. Also, two of the footmen there as well as an upstairs maid. Perhaps others—the butler usually handles such hiring, you know. My coachman came to me in April. There is a groom in the stables who is new. And the children’s governess came to us only a few weeks ago.” Adrian was not sure why he hesitated slightly in mentioning the governess. “I can have a list drawn up.”
“That would be helpful. As I said, we can start with new staff, but it could just as easily be someone that one of you has known for a long time. Who knows why a person would turn traitor? Greed? Fear? Blackmail?”
“It should be easy enough to rule out some of them. After all, it is highly unlikely this spy could be illiterate. Not many servants read and write.”
“True. And while we are more apt to think of ‘it’ as a man, it could just as easily be a female. What about this new governess?”
“She came to us with excellent references. She is better educated than many a governess and she is exceptionally good with the children. Even my mother says she is a real find.”
“She was with you yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Not bad looking, either.”
For some reason this comment annoyed Adrian, but he remained silent.
Perhaps Nate’s interest in Miss Palmer was not entirely professional. After all, some might consider them a suitable match. She seemed to come from impoverished gentry and, as the third son of a viscount, Nathan Olmstead could not be thought prime goods on the marriage mart—even if he was one of those people who move with ease in any social circle. Reasonable as this conjecture seemed, it did not sit well with his lordship, though he would have been at a loss to explain precisely why.
Olmstead had bought his commission soon after he and Trenville came down from Oxford and had quickly proved himself invaluable in gathering intelligence. The two men had seen little of each other in recent years, though their friendship went back to those school days. Their paths had crossed now and then if only via papers, for Adrian’s office often acted upon intelligence gathered by Olmstead and others in the field.
The captain accepted Trenville’s invitation to dinner, but turned down the suggestion that he stay at the Abbey. The pretense of their having only slight acquaintance might yet prove useful.
Having taken tea with the children, Elinor did not meet Captain Olmstead until she joined the family for dinner that evening. He was very pleasant to her and made every effort to be sure she, too, was included in the conversation. However, it was the beautiful Gabrielle who commanded most of his attention. This came as no surprise to Elinor. After all, she and Madame Giroux were the only other women present and neither of them could claim the degree of regard a member of a marquis’s family could. In all honesty, Elinor admitted to herself, Gabrielle truly was charming as well as beautiful and tonight she seemed to be exerting herself to be all the more charming to a newcomer. It almost seemed an instinctive reaction for her, Elinor mused, unaware that the idea had brought a slight smile to her mouth.
“Are you going to share the fun, Miss Palmer?” the marquis asked.
She started. “I beg your pardon? Oh. I ... I was just thinking of something the children said earlier. It was nothing. Really.” She could not control the faint blush that crept upward.
He gave her an amused glance as much as to say “have it your way” and did not pursue the matter.
Gabrielle appropriated the captain’s arm to take her in to dinner, leaving Adrian to escort the governess with
“We start by looking at any new members of your staff. Have you hired new people in the last three or four months?”
“Yes. Several. The London housekeeper is fairly new—had to pension off her predecessor. Also, two of the footmen there as well as an upstairs maid. Perhaps others—the butler usually handles such hiring, you know. My coachman came to me in April. There is a groom in the stables who is new. And the children’s governess came to us only a few weeks ago.” Adrian was not sure why he hesitated slightly in mentioning the governess. “I can have a list drawn up.”
“That would be helpful. As I said, we can start with new staff, but it could just as easily be someone that one of you has known for a long time. Who knows why a person would turn traitor? Greed? Fear? Blackmail?”
“It should be easy enough to rule out some of them. After all, it is highly unlikely this spy could be illiterate. Not many servants read and write.”
“True. And while we are more apt to think of ‘it’ as a man, it could just as easily be a female. What about this new governess?”
“She came to us with excellent references. She is better educated than many a governess and she is exceptionally good with the children. Even my mother says she is a real find.”
“She was with you yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Not bad looking, either.”
For some reason this comment annoyed Adrian, but he remained silent.
Perhaps Nate’s interest in Miss Palmer was not entirely professional. After all, some might consider them a suitable match. She seemed to come from impoverished gentry and, as the third son of a viscount, Nathan Olmstead could not be thought prime goods on the marriage mart—even if he was one of those people who move with ease in any social circle. Reasonable as this conjecture seemed, it did not sit well with his lordship, though he would have been at a loss to explain precisely why.
Olmstead had bought his commission soon after he and Trenville came down from Oxford and had quickly proved himself invaluable in gathering intelligence. The two men had seen little of each other in recent years, though their friendship went back to those school days. Their paths had crossed now and then if only via papers, for Adrian’s office often acted upon intelligence gathered by Olmstead and others in the field.
The captain accepted Trenville’s invitation to dinner, but turned down the suggestion that he stay at the Abbey. The pretense of their having only slight acquaintance might yet prove useful.
Having taken tea with the children, Elinor did not meet Captain Olmstead until she joined the family for dinner that evening. He was very pleasant to her and made every effort to be sure she, too, was included in the conversation. However, it was the beautiful Gabrielle who commanded most of his attention. This came as no surprise to Elinor. After all, she and Madame Giroux were the only other women present and neither of them could claim the degree of regard a member of a marquis’s family could. In all honesty, Elinor admitted to herself, Gabrielle truly was charming as well as beautiful and tonight she seemed to be exerting herself to be all the more charming to a newcomer. It almost seemed an instinctive reaction for her, Elinor mused, unaware that the idea had brought a slight smile to her mouth.
“Are you going to share the fun, Miss Palmer?” the marquis asked.
She started. “I beg your pardon? Oh. I ... I was just thinking of something the children said earlier. It was nothing. Really.” She could not control the faint blush that crept upward.
He gave her an amused glance as much as to say “have it your way” and did not pursue the matter.
Gabrielle appropriated the captain’s arm to take her in to dinner, leaving Adrian to escort the governess with
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