A Week to Be Wicked (Spindle Cove #2)(52)

On Mondays, they had country walks. Tuesday’s sea bathing was on hiatus until summer, of course, but on Wednesdays, they turned their hands to gardening. And on Thursdays . . .

Bang.

Thursday was their day to shoot. Here at Summerfield, the Finch estate. Sir Lewis Finch always made the young ladies welcome, offering his finest weaponry and refreshments for their enjoyment. The old man obviously missed his daughter greatly, and took some comfort in hosting her friends. And for her part, Kate couldn’t get enough of being in a family home. Even if it wasn’t her own. She loved soaking up the sense of shared history, old portraits, fond memories.

Charlotte Highwood tugged at her sleeve. “Miss Taylor, look. Is that the militia?”

Kate turned her gaze, staring over the open meadow. Indeed, the members of the local militia were dressed in full uniform and marching in formation. Straight for them, it would seem.

Strange.

“I didn’t think they had drill today,” Diana said.

“Neither did I.” And even if they did, why would they be marching here, toward Sir Lewis Finch’s estate?

“It’s like a sham battle.” Charlotte perked with excitement. “Ladies versus gentlemen. Can we fall into a formation of our own? Fix bayonets and charge?”

Diana tugged her sister’s hair. “Goose.”

As the column of red-coated men approached, Kate recognized Corporal Thorne leading them. He wasn’t difficult to make out. He stood several inches taller than most of the men. His shoulders were near twice as broad.

And his demeanor was a thousand times more unpleasant.

“Ladies,” Kate called, keeping her voice even. “Weapons down, please. It seems the men have something they wish to discuss.”

With a barked command, Thorne brought the men to a halt. Another harsh order, and they’d fallen into a single line, facing the ladies.

He approached Kate. She grew uneasy, her spine withering in that massive shadow that completely blocked the sun. She hated his effect on her. So the man didn’t like her. What of it? He didn’t like anyone, and why should she care? Why should she allow him to make her feel so small, so powerless?

“Corporal Thorne,” she said, nodding in lieu of a curtsy. “To what do we owe this . . . interruption?”

“I mean to conduct an inquiry. Of your ladies and my men. I want to know if anyone has reason to believe that Miss Minerva Highwood and Lord Payne were . . .”

“In love?” she finished.

“Involved. In any way.”

Kate shrugged. “I should think the fact of their elopement might serve as ample evidence of their involvement, Corporal Thorne.”

He shook his head. “It’s not right. There’s something not right about it.”

“Mrs. Highwood has said—”

“I know that, Miss Taylor. I’m not stupid.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“I know what Mrs. Highwood has said,” he said, “and I’ve decided I don’t care. In Lord Payne’s absence, I’m in charge of the militia. And that means, I’m responsible for the safety of this place and every man, woman, and child in it. Including Miss Minerva. If her health, happiness, or virtue is endangered in any way, it’s my responsibility to see her back home. Safe.”

“And what if she’s not endangered, but merely eloped, happily?”

“That’s what I’m here to find out.”

He took a few backward steps and called out. “I’m going to walk down this line of my men, and then going to walk up the line of ladies. And I’m going to ask each of you the same question. Prior to their disappearance, did you have any reason to believe Lord Payne and Miss Minerva Highwood were . . .”

“In love,” Kate supplied for him, once again. “You seem to have a problem with that word, Corporal. Or is it a problem with the concept?”

He betrayed no response.

“I don’t understand that man,” she muttered to Diana. “Either he has rocks in his head or a stone for a heart.”

Diana smiled. “I doubt it. If either were true, Minerva would have been taken with him, and not Lord Payne. She does so love rocks and stones.”

Corporal Thorne stood before Mr. Fosbury, the Bull and Blossom’s proprietor. “Fosbury.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Before they disappeared, did you have any reason to believe Lord Payne and Miss Minerva held one another in affection?”

Mr. Fosbury chuckled. “The two of them? No, sir. That came as a true surprise.”

Thorne moved down the line, to the blacksmith. “Dawes. Same question.”

The big man tipped a gaze in the ladies’ direction. “No, Corporal. From everything I saw, I would have marked him as fancying Miss Diana. And lieutenant or no, I think he’s a right bastard for leading her on. If you do go after him, I’d ask to join the pursuit.”

“Well, that’s . . . kind of him, I suppose,” Kate murmured to her friend. “If unnecessary.”

Diana didn’t answer.

Corporal Thorne continued down the line, interrogating each of his men in turn. The vicar, a few farmhands. After the eighth or so staunch denial, Thorne slid Kate a brief, smug glance. A look that said, I told you so.

She merely raised her eyebrows in reply.