stared.
“The one with the nose and the scowl and the long handle of a name,” Agnes explained. “He has come calling. At
this
time of night.”
“Tell him I have gone out. Tell him I have retired for the night,” Eve said indignantly. How dared he! Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn was the last man she wanted to see—ever. His insensitivity to her and his words to Cecil on the terrace this afternoon had wiped out any sense of gratitude she had felt toward him.
“He said he wasn't going to believe no excuses,” Agnes informed her. “He also wouldn't wait in the hall when I told him to. He went striding off into the parlor without a by-your-leave. I'll try chucking him out if you want, my lamb. I probably won't be able to budge him even though I can square up to most men, but I wouldn't mind a good scrap with him anyway for being so high-handed. There was no need to be, was there? I hadn't even
given
him any excuses yet.”
“Well!” Eve got to her feet and handed the book to Thelma. Muffin scrambled to his feet with a woof. “We will see about
that
. But if anyone is to enjoy the pleasure of a good scrap with him, Agnes, it is going to be me. He had the
nerve
this afternoon to tell my cousin Cecil that all his ridiculous plans for improving Ringwood will make him a better-respected gentleman. He completely ignored me.”
“Oh, how incredibly ill-mannered!” Thelma exclaimed.
“Right!” Agnes turned away, all belligerent ardor. “I'll give him what for, I will, that chest and them shoulders notwithstanding. I'll put another bend in that nose, I will.”
“No, you will not.” Eve sighed when her housekeeper stopped and looked back at her, a mulish expression on her face. “Finish reading to the children, will you, Thelma? I will see him, Agnes. Perhaps he wishes to go down on his knees and beg my pardon.” She bent to kiss the children and bid them a good night. She instructed Muffin to stay, and he sat again, regarding her mournfully from his one eye.
“Shall I come right in there with you?” Agnes asked as they descended the stairs together. “Or would you rather I fetch Mrs. Pritchard?” Aunt Mari usually spent a quiet hour or two in her room after dinner before joining Eve for a cup of tea before bed.
“Neither. I'll see Colonel Bedwyn alone,” Eve said. “But you may stay in the hall if you wish. I'll call if I need help.”
She drew a deep breath as she opened the door to the visitors' parlor.
C HAPTER V
H E WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF THE FIREPLACE, as he had been the first time she saw him, but he was not in uniform this time. He still looked almost as large and menacing, though. He had taken the liberty of lighting the candles in the branch on the mantel, it being almost dark outside.
“Colonel Bedwyn,” Eve said briskly, closing the door behind her. She made no attempt to smile or be gracious. “What may I do for you?”
“You withheld the truth from me,” he said, “in effect if not in strict fact. Your father
did
leave Ringwood to you, but only under conditions with which you have not complied. You are about to lose everything. In four days' time in fact.”
For a moment she was so furious that all she could do was curl her hands into fists at her sides. Was this what aristocratic privilege did to a man? It made him believe it gave him the right to come where he had not been invited, to pry into her private business, to speak thus boldly and abruptly to her?
“
This
is what you have come for?” she asked. “To accuse me of lying? You are impertinent, Colonel Bedwyn. You may leave my house immediately. Good night.” Her heart thumped uncomfortably as she stood away from the door. She was not one to lose her temper easily. She rarely spoke in anger.
“You might as well enjoy issuing such an order now,” he said, not moving. “It will not be in your power to do so for much longer, will it?”
“Perhaps,” she said, “when you come visiting next year or the year after
“The one with the nose and the scowl and the long handle of a name,” Agnes explained. “He has come calling. At
this
time of night.”
“Tell him I have gone out. Tell him I have retired for the night,” Eve said indignantly. How dared he! Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn was the last man she wanted to see—ever. His insensitivity to her and his words to Cecil on the terrace this afternoon had wiped out any sense of gratitude she had felt toward him.
“He said he wasn't going to believe no excuses,” Agnes informed her. “He also wouldn't wait in the hall when I told him to. He went striding off into the parlor without a by-your-leave. I'll try chucking him out if you want, my lamb. I probably won't be able to budge him even though I can square up to most men, but I wouldn't mind a good scrap with him anyway for being so high-handed. There was no need to be, was there? I hadn't even
given
him any excuses yet.”
“Well!” Eve got to her feet and handed the book to Thelma. Muffin scrambled to his feet with a woof. “We will see about
that
. But if anyone is to enjoy the pleasure of a good scrap with him, Agnes, it is going to be me. He had the
nerve
this afternoon to tell my cousin Cecil that all his ridiculous plans for improving Ringwood will make him a better-respected gentleman. He completely ignored me.”
“Oh, how incredibly ill-mannered!” Thelma exclaimed.
“Right!” Agnes turned away, all belligerent ardor. “I'll give him what for, I will, that chest and them shoulders notwithstanding. I'll put another bend in that nose, I will.”
“No, you will not.” Eve sighed when her housekeeper stopped and looked back at her, a mulish expression on her face. “Finish reading to the children, will you, Thelma? I will see him, Agnes. Perhaps he wishes to go down on his knees and beg my pardon.” She bent to kiss the children and bid them a good night. She instructed Muffin to stay, and he sat again, regarding her mournfully from his one eye.
“Shall I come right in there with you?” Agnes asked as they descended the stairs together. “Or would you rather I fetch Mrs. Pritchard?” Aunt Mari usually spent a quiet hour or two in her room after dinner before joining Eve for a cup of tea before bed.
“Neither. I'll see Colonel Bedwyn alone,” Eve said. “But you may stay in the hall if you wish. I'll call if I need help.”
She drew a deep breath as she opened the door to the visitors' parlor.
C HAPTER V
H E WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF THE FIREPLACE, as he had been the first time she saw him, but he was not in uniform this time. He still looked almost as large and menacing, though. He had taken the liberty of lighting the candles in the branch on the mantel, it being almost dark outside.
“Colonel Bedwyn,” Eve said briskly, closing the door behind her. She made no attempt to smile or be gracious. “What may I do for you?”
“You withheld the truth from me,” he said, “in effect if not in strict fact. Your father
did
leave Ringwood to you, but only under conditions with which you have not complied. You are about to lose everything. In four days' time in fact.”
For a moment she was so furious that all she could do was curl her hands into fists at her sides. Was this what aristocratic privilege did to a man? It made him believe it gave him the right to come where he had not been invited, to pry into her private business, to speak thus boldly and abruptly to her?
“
This
is what you have come for?” she asked. “To accuse me of lying? You are impertinent, Colonel Bedwyn. You may leave my house immediately. Good night.” Her heart thumped uncomfortably as she stood away from the door. She was not one to lose her temper easily. She rarely spoke in anger.
“You might as well enjoy issuing such an order now,” he said, not moving. “It will not be in your power to do so for much longer, will it?”
“Perhaps,” she said, “when you come visiting next year or the year after
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