Lucy looked at Emilia, then climbed to her feet. “Yes.” Charlotte held out a hand, and Lucy took it. The two girls went out the front door.
“Get rid of that,” Nick said to James, who nodded and took the shattered crop away. “Her father struck her with it?”
Emilia nodded. “He struck everyone with it, sooner or later.”
Nick put out a hand and helped her to her feet. “I’ll send Rudy to take rooms in the nearest village. You and she don’t need to stay here.”
“But you will?”
“For one night. To prove it’s mine.” His face was grim.
Emilia rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Lucy had been doing well until the crop appeared. Perhaps she ought to scour the house, to find any other malicious reminders...
A door creaked, and footsteps sounded. Nick stepped forward, but Emilia recognized the intruder. “Mrs. Stone!”
The older woman pursed her lips, her back rigid and her face stony with disapproval. She had a basket over one arm. “Miss Greene. Come back, have you?”
“Yes.” Emilia hesitated, looking at Nick. “Mr. Dashwood, this is Mrs. Stone, who was housekeeper here for many years.”
Nick gave a polite nod. “How do you do, Mrs. Stone?”
The woman’s eyes narrowed to slits as she looked him up and down. He still wore his dark and dangerous clothing, but he’d shaved that morning, and had discarded the sweeping greatcoat that made him look like the Angel of Death. He said nothing, merely returned her scrutiny. “Making very free of the place, aren’t you, Miss Greene?”
“Yes,” said Emilia evenly. “Miss Sidney is outside.”
As if hearing her name, Lucy slipped around the door. She stopped short, but the housekeeper had seen her. “You look very well, Miss Sidney.” Her expression thawed a fraction. “I’m glad to see it.”
Lucy regarded her gravely. The Stones hadn’t been unkind to her, but neither had they endeared themselves. Most of the servants hadn’t, cowed by Sydenham’s rages and threats. Only Emilia had defied the viscount to protect Lucy. “Thank you. I hope you and Mr. Stone are well.”
The older woman’s stern face softened more. “We are, miss, thank you kindly.”
“We’ve come to see the house,” said Lucy. Emilia blinked, surprised by her composure. “Mr. Dashwood is my cousin, the new viscount.”
Mrs. Stone’s eyes flared. “The new Lord Sydenham!” She shot a suspicious glance at Emilia. “Not a Sidney.”
“No, ma’am,” said Nick in the same pleasant but steely voice. “My aunt took me in as a child and changed my name. Miss Greene was quite the sleuth, making the connection.”
“Hmph.” She pursed her lips. “I hope your aunt left you a tidy fortune in exchange for the name, young man. The Sydenham estate is bankrupt.”
He smiled—a predatory smile that Emilia had seen before. “She did.”
Mrs. Stone rocked on her heels. “Hmph. Well. Fortunate for you.”
“Yes.” Nick looked up. “Why in God’s name is it pitch dark in here?”
“Mr. Stone boarded over the cupola,” she told him. “After the master died and Miss Greene run off. It needed repair but there were no funds, so he blocked it up.”
“Ah,” said Nick after a moment. “We’ll have to address that.”
Mrs. Stone glanced around at all of them. “You’ll be taking up residence, then?”
Nick turned to face her with a cool stare. “Of course. Beaufort Hall is the Sydenham seat, is it not?”
“Yes, sir,” she said after a moment’s pause. “It is.”
Nick just smiled slightly, his point made.
The woman sniffed. Then, to Emilia’s astonishment, she bent her knee and curtsied. “Welcome to Beaufort Hall, my lord.”
