didn’t have to look up to know she’d charged straight into Earl Monroe’s stomach.
“I say,” she muttered, “I’m terribly sorry. I’m afraid I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you all right?”
She was afraid to look at him. For one thing she was standing much too close to him. Close enough to smell a quite unusual fragrance. Very pleasant. Had to be American. British men didn’t smell nearly that good. Not the ones she’d been anywhere close to, that was.
Something else she noticed, which didn’t help to calm her nerves one bit, was that she was held in a quite firm grip. He’d grabbed her arms to steady her when she’d barreled into him. He hadn’t let go. She could feel his fingers right through the sleeves of her silk blouse. For several seconds she remained motionless, while her heart pounded.
“We could use you on our football team,” he said at last, mercifully removing his hands from her tingling arms. “You pack a real wallop, ma’am.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “Something startled me.” She smoothed her fingers down her skirt, even though there were no wrinkles to be seen.
“Wouldn’t happen to be the belching in those water pipes, now would it?”
She risked a guilty glance at him. Although she was prepared for her reaction, her stomach still managed to complete a somersault. What on earth was it about the man that reduced her insides to limp spaghetti every time she looked at him? “I’m sorry. They do make a ghastly noise, I’m afraid.”
“So where’s the fire?”
Confused, she said uncertainly, “I beg your pardon?”
“Where were you going in such a hurry?”
“Oh!” She hesitated, reluctant to tell him she was actually looking for him. She didn’t want to give him the idea that she was in that great a hurry to find him. “Actually,” she said slowly, “I was coming to offer your officers an invitation.”
His quizzical look was almost comical. “You’re going to invite them all to dinner?”
“No, to dance,” she said hurriedly.
“You want to dance with my officers?”
His eyebrows raised. “You want to take on the entire outfit?”
“Well, not me personally.” She had the feeling he was making fun of her. Raising her chin, she said firmly, “We’re inviting the soldiers from Beerstowe as well. And the land army. Of course, most of the villagers will probably be there.”
“Sort of ‘meet the forces’ day in Sitting Marsh.”
“If you like. We are concerned about the brawling that goes on between the British army and the Americans. I’m afraid the villagers haven’t helped with their somewhat biased attitudes. We thought it might be a good idea to get everyone together in a social atmosphere so they can get to know each other a little better.”
“Hmmm.” He rubbed his chin. “Well, I guess we could give it a try, though I have to tell you, Lady Elizabeth, unless you hide the beer and liquor you could end up with a heck of a battle on your hands. Those boys need to let off steam, and that’s one sure way of doing it.”
“Oh, dear.” Elizabeth’s hand rose to her throat. “Well, I suppose we’ll have to take that chance. Which is why I was hoping you’d be able to attend. Sort of keep an eye on things, as it were.”
Major Monroe’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Is that the only reason you’re inviting me, Lady Elizabeth?”
“Well… no, I mean… of course, I’d be delighted… er… I’d appreciate it very much if you could come.”
He nodded, his sharp gaze never leaving her face. “I’ll come on condition that you promise me a dance.”
If she’d been flustered before, it was nothing compared to her confusion now. Her hand gripped her throat until she was in dire danger of choking, while she struggled to regain her composure. When she deemed it safe to speak again, she said carefully, “I’d be delighted, Major.”
He inclined his head in a slight bow. “My pleasure. I’d be real happy, ma’am, if you’d allow me to escort you there in my Jeep.”
“Oh! Well, that would be very nice. Thank you.” She made a mental note to be sure and tie a scarf around her hair. “Shall we meet around eight in the library?”
“Eight it is.”
She couldn’t seem to stop smiling at him. Feeling quite foolish, she cleared her throat loudly. “Yes, well, that’s settled then. I’ll leave it up to you to invite the other officers. The more we have, the more likely we can keep everything under control.”
“The good Lord willing.”
He’d put so much fervor into that muttered phrase she had cause for alarm again. All she could hope was that they were not all making a terrible mistake. She was about to bid him good night when she remembered her other reason for seeking him out. “I do have one more small favor to ask,” she said, smiling up at him. “I have a rather large pile of decorations that I need to take down to the town hall. I was wondering if you might spare a few minutes and give me a lift down there in your Jeep. There are too many to pile into the sidecar on my motorcycle.”
The major glanced at his watch. “As a matter of fact, I was just leaving for the base. I can drop you off on the way.”
“Splendid! I’ll meet you by the front steps, then. It won’t take more than a minute or two to pick up the box.”
“I have a better idea. I’ll come with you and get the box so you won’t have to carry it.”
“That’s terribly gallant of you, Major. Thank you.”
“My pleasure, ma’am.”
She hurried to keep up with his long stride as they headed down the great hall to the main stairs. As they passed the suits of armor, she peered at them rather hard but couldn’t see anything unusual about them.
“I’ll round up a few bottles of Scotch for the dance if you like,” Monroe offered as they descended the staircase together.
Vastly relieved she hadn’t had to ask him after all, she exclaimed, “Oh, would you? That would be marvelous. We’ll pay you for them, of course, out of the proceeds.”
He nodded. “How will you get back from the town hall?”
“Pardon?” She sent him a startled glance. That thought hadn’t even occurred to her. Where was her mind wandering to lately?
“Well, you can’t walk all that way back. Especially at night with a murderer on the loose.” He looked sideways at her. “I guess they haven’t found the German yet?”
“No, they haven’t. Apparently he’d been hiding out at the Macclesby’s farm, but by the time the soldiers got there, he was long gone. I was talking to the army captain on the phone just now, and he thinks the German has probably left the area. I think they are calling off the search and leaving it to the police to handle.”
“Well, England is a pretty small country. There can’t be too many Germans wandering around. He’ll be picked up sooner or later.”
“I suppose so. It does leave things sort of up in the air, though, doesn’t it?” Elizabeth paused at the library door. “I suppose we shall never know now who killed poor Amelia Brunswick.”
The voice came from nowhere, startling them both. “What are you doing! Halt there, I say!”
The quavery command had come from behind them, and both of them swung around.
Looking a little like a giant ant in his black morning coat, Martin advanced upon them at the speed of a tortoise, brandishing what appeared to be the blunderbuss from her father’s collection of antique guns.
“What the devil-!” Earl Monroe immediately stepped in front of Elizabeth, shielding her from Martin’s sight.
Terribly gratified by this show of heroism, Elizabeth basked for a moment in the unfamiliar glow of feeling thoroughly cherished and protected. It had been a long time since anyone had acted so chivalrously toward her.
Major Monroe’s back was quite broad and hid Martin from view. His voice, however, could be heard quite plainly. “Unhand that lady this instant, sir, or I shall be forced to put a cannonball into your intestines.”
