Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“It’s charming!” William gushed as he walked into the home as if it were his own. He started touching things right away. Something that Weston knew he likely should discourage, but he could not bring himself to do so.

He was merely happy to stretch his legs properly after such a long ride. He had yet to find a proper carriage that was built for a man of his height and size. He had almost been tempted to ride his personal horse the whole way. But it would have taken far longer to get anything accomplished.

Though, William did have a point. From the long-shaded drive and massive oak trees blocking the majority of the property from view, Weston could easily see the appeal. It was abundantly obvious as to why his cousin was so fond of this property.

The house was a good size, and he was fairly certain he saw an adequate stable right on the main property. With the woods so close, there would be plenty of space to have a hunting cabin installed if there was not one already.

“I beg your pardon, sir, what did you say your business here was?”

“Look, Your Grace, come and see this painting! I have never seen anything quite like it!” William said, inviting himself further down the hall.

Weston ignored him, and turned to face the butler with a polite smile. “I see that my letter did not reach you in time for preparations to be made, I do apologize for that. I am Weston Howard, Duke of Somerfield.”

He inclined his head politely, showing respect to the butler for the important position that he held. Weston had taken great care in choosing the staff for his own estate as he needed to be able to completely trust every single member If he were to spend an extended amount of time here, then he was going to have to make sure that he did not rub them the wrong way. He needed them far too much for that.

Though, the moment that he gave his title, the butler looked at him as if he had grown a second head. The atmosphere suddenly felt strange and heavy for reasons that he did not know.

“I am sorry, your, uh, but the duke has already arrived. He and the dowager countess are having tea…”

The poor man clearly did not know what to do. William turned toward Weston, a plucked flower bud in his hand that he was toying with the petals of. He gave Weston a very confused look as if he had not heard the butler correctly.

“That is not possible,” Weston assured him. “I am standing right here, and I am not having tea.”

“The duke arrived a few hours ago…”

Clearly the man was at a loss of how to handle the situation. In truth, Weston was quite curious as to how this could be happening himself. Was there an imposter here? That was the only possible solution. Weston clapped a friendly hand on the butler’s shoulder and squeezed softly.

“Do not worry, I shall reach the bottom of this.”

“But I do not think that I should allow you in if there is question to your identity.”

“Which I respect, sir, but I am the duke and my letters of identification are in that satchel along with the summons from the earl’s solicitor. Feel free to verify so that you can put your mind at ease. I have no intentions of deceiving anyone.” Weston explained. Though, William was already two steps ahead of him as he walked down the hall in search of the parlor where tea would be served.

Weston was hot on his heels, only when they found the parlor there was nobody there. No tea service, no hint that a person had been in here in quite some time. Curious, and a little concerned, Weston and William explored the first floor in search of intruders. Grand sitting room, dining hall and library housed not a single other person.

About that time, the butler came to catch up with them. “I apologize for my suspicions, Your Grace, how can I assist you?”

“Take the afternoon off.” Weston said absently with a wave of his hand. “I should like all of the staff to take the rest of the afternoon off. Please, so that I can get to the bottom of this without interference. If you could leave a list of all those employed here in the foyer on your way out, I would most appreciate it.”

“Of course, Your Grace, right away.”

“What do you think is happening?” William asked softly, turning to look into another bedroom. It appeared as if the countess’s chambers had been readied along with a guest room. The layout of the home was nice, he thought absently.

“I am not certain, but I have a strange feeling about all of this.”

“Never a dull moment, eh old friend?” William was nearly skipping with joy as they headed further into the property.

“I think a dull moment or two would actually be nice to have instead of this as my first memory here.” Weston muttered.

A sound directly above them stopped the pair of men in their tracks.

“What was that?” William asked, stepping closer to Weston’s side.

Weston gave him a flat look. “How am I supposed to know? I lack the ability to see through the ceiling, William.”

William chuckled nervously. “Ah, right. Of course.”

Weston jogged toward the stairs, taking them two at a time as they came to another landing. It led to a hallway with three seemingly locked doors in front of them. With a bit of guesstimation, Weston picked the door that would have been right above them and tried the handle. It was locked. There was another heavy thud from inside of the room as well as a quick shuffle of footsteps.

Weston motioned for William to keep his distance—and then with a swift kick he burst the door open.

The door bounced off of the wall inside of the room, the frame splintering from the force of it as a startled yelp sounded from inside. Quickly, fearing something nefarious was happening, Weston and William both rushed into the room.

Only, he could never have guessed that this was what could have been hidden here.

A woman stood before him, holding a length of cloth in her hands. She appeared to be directly in the middle of blindfolding the stout man in front of her. Though, he was already tressed to the chair he was sat in rather effectively. Even from here he could see that the knots holding him were sound and sturdy. Despite the strangeness of the situation, he was rather impressed. That did not happen often.

The man started to desperately appeal to them for help from behind the gag in his mouth. William shuffled behind Weston somewhat, as if he were afraid of the woman in the room. Perhaps he had good reason to be. Yet, Weston was only amused. This was better than he could have ever imagined. Perhaps his time here in the countryside was not going to be nearly as dull as he feared that it was going to be.

“Well, this is quite interesting.” He said as he attempted to keep his delight and curiosity from his expression. “Just what do we have here?”