The surrounding crinkles told of a man who smiled easily, and his lips curved naturally, adding to the pleasant aura he presented. As to his age…she hazarded a guess at around fifty or so. His moustache was neatly trimmed, as was the small goatee on his chin.
“You must be a very good butler,” she said, her thoughts popping out before she realised it.
She blushed and covered her mouth with her hand for a moment. Then, horrified, whispered around it. “I do apologise, Giles, I did not mean to make an unwanted personal remark.”
He shook his head. “Lady Adalyn, you have just paid me a high compliment. Please remember that I am yours to command.”
Something in his eyes, some light, some glow of warmth, touched a nerve inside Adalyn. He was indeed a most attractive man. In many ways.
“In that case,” she ventured a little smile, “I command you to tell me about where we are going and explain some of the things I do not know.”
He finished his tea. “I will. But perhaps it’s best kept for the privacy of the carriage? I’d prefer not to share such business with servants’ ears, and we still have a few hours before journey’s end. That should be time enough for the basics.”
He stood, as did Adalyn. “Very well.” She gathered her things, allowed a maid to help her into her black spencer, and settled her bonnet, tying the ribbons beneath her chin.
“Shall we, my Lady?” Giles extended his arm.
“Yes indeed,” she answered, surprising herself with the willingness she felt to venture onward during this very unusual and confusing day.
Once moving again, Giles seated opposite her, Adalyn asked again. “So the story, please. You promised.”
“Very well.” He settled himself comfortably against the squabs. “Wolfbridge Manor is a small but tidy property, consisting of a house—about a dozen bedrooms—a modest acreage, and several farms, all working, all tenants-for-life. It is almost self-sustaining, and we’re known for our extraordinarily fine berries.”
She smiled. “I do love jam.”
“Then you will be very pleased with the Wolfbridge jams, my Lady. We’ve taken prizes in many fairs, and our cook, Evan, always brings the pride of Wolfbridge to his dishes.”
“You have a male cook?” Adalyn’s eyebrows rose.
“We do,” Giles nodded. “But that’s for a bit later. Right now, you should know that this property has been deeded through generations to a very select group of ladies.”
He leaned back in his seat. “The original owners of Wolfbridge Manor are unknown; estimates say it was built sometime in the fifteenth century. And indeed parts of it are quite ancient. We do have records of Wolfbridges in residence during the Restoration, but the first owners that set the Manor on its current path took up residence around a hundred years ago, during the reign of George the First.”
“Our first Hanoverian monarch,” whispered Adalyn.
“That’s right. You are a student of history?” Giles tilted his head to one side as he asked the question.
She fidgeted a little. “I like to read. It was frowned upon when I was growing up, and although there was a good library at Wilkerson House, I was told I should tend to women’s matters, not wasting my time with my head in a book.” She sighed. “I did manage to pick up a few things though. And reading about history was something I truly enjoyed.”
“Then you will be most pleased with the Wolfbridge library.” He smiled. “And no one will forbid you access to all the books you please.”
She shook her head. “You’d better finish your story first, if you would. I’m finding all this rather hard to believe.”
He nodded. “Very well then. Baron Wolfbridge and his Lady set the place to rights, and then got involved with Jacobites. Which, sadly, resulted in the death of his Lordship. The widowed Baroness Wolfbridge was beset from all sides with suitors, since the land was in good heart and she was now available.”
“Poor woman,” commented Adalyn sympathetically. “It must have been a sore trial for her.”
“Well, not really. She had a will of iron. She refused all offers of marriage, turned all potential husbands away, and ran the estate herself. She had no heirs, and adamantly rejected all the suggestions of the lawyers who produced a number of potential relatives who might have inherited.”
“A strong woman indeed.”
“At last, she realised that she had to do something. And at that very time she heard about a young woman who had just been widowed and was facing some of the troubles she herself had experienced. It happened that this poor girl was a distant relation. She summoned several distinguished lawyers, and told her servants to find this woman and bring her to Wolfbridge.”
Adalyn held her breath. The story had her spellbound, and Giles told it well, with such style that she could almost see herself there a hundred years before.
“The young woman was naturally astounded by Wolfbridge Manor. And even more so when she learned that it was to be hers.”
“Oh my,” exclaimed Adalyn.
“Lady Wolfbridge decided to turn her beloved home into a sanctuary of sorts. She decreed that henceforth, the property was to be used to house women who had suffered the same fate as herself and the young woman who now resided with her. Women who face an uncertain future—like yourself—through no fault of their own. Women upon whom Society has turned its back, leaving them alone, homeless and practically destitute.” He paused, a dramatic breath of silence. “I imagine the august legal minds were somewhat taken aback and there must have been plenty of relatives eager to overturn the entail. None succeeded. And that has always suggested to me that she had a great deal of help from higher places.”
“You believe there might have been some political influence?” Adalyn tilted her head
