LITMIR.BIZ

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and escort them to Risings the following day.”

      “That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Chesney.” Leo looked doubtful. “Though I don’t know how else we’d manage it, are you certain you don’t mind?”

      “I’m sure, my dear boy.” She leaned forward and patted his hand. “Lily’s brother, Alonzo, is accompanying Daisy on this trip. He’ll be a great help to me.”

      “What about Leo’s sisters?” Lily asked. “And Mr. Treadwell.” She turned to Leo. “He’s to be your best man, is he not?”

      Leo had not yet caught Lily’s excitement. His brow furrowed when he turned to me. “As long as you’re confident Mr. Hazelton won’t consider it an intrusion, I can see this is a much better solution than eloping.” The taut line of his jaw relaxed as he squeezed Lily’s hand. “And I would very much like to have my family at our wedding.”

      “They were all included in Mr. Hazelton’s invitation, so you can be assured they’ll be welcome.” I glanced around at my partners in intrigue. “Are we all agreed to this plan?”

      “Agreed,” Leo said with authority. “And thank you, Lady Harleigh.”

      I received nods from Lily and Hetty, and that was that. I left it to Leo to take care of the travel arrangements and round up his siblings. We had our own arrangements to make, and we’d best see to our packing.

      * * *

      Leo shared my love of organization, and between the two of us, we managed to shuttle a mass of luggage, five maids, a valet, one nanny, and one eight-year-old to Victoria Station in time to board the train to the town of Harroway early the following morning. The adult guests, we assumed, could manage their own transport to the station.

      Yet, as the time drew near to depart, six of us found ourselves on the platform, tapping our toes as we waited for Leo’s elder sister, Eliza, and her husband, Arthur.

      Leo craned his neck, hoping to spot his sister in the stream of fellow travelers. “Are you certain Eliza said they’d meet us?” This was the third time Leo had asked the question of Anne, his younger sister, and each time she answered with an increasing level of heat.

      “They are adults, Leo. If they don’t arrive in time, I’m confident they can find their way to Risings without us.”

      All the Kendrick siblings, at least the ones I’d met, resembled one another. The sisters both had a softer version of Leo’s chiseled features. All three had a downward tip to their noses, brown wavy hair, and the same eye color—coffee with a dollop of cream, yet I’d never say their eyes were alike. Leo’s were round and wide and the proverbial window to his soul. One had only to look into his eyes to know his mind and heart. Clara, the youngest had half-moon-shaped eyes that sparkled and tipped upward at the corners as if they were smiling even before she did.

      At the moment, Anne’s could only be described as impatient, and I didn’t think it was all due to her sister’s tardiness.

      “Miss Kendrick’s right, old man. I think we should board.” The suggestion came from Ernest Treadwell, another member of our party. We had a slight acquaintance as we moved in the same social circles. In his mid-twenties, he was tall, lean, fair, and wore an air of entitlement, hardly unusual among the young men of his class. The second son of a viscount, he would neither inherit the title nor ever want for money, as the family was enormously wealthy and his allowance generous. Nothing was expected of him but charm and good manners. He could meet those expectations when he chose to do so. He struck me as an odd friend for Leo, but they’d been close since their school days, so there must be something to Treadwell I didn’t quite see.

      Leo finally agreed we should wait no longer, but as Treadwell assisted the misses Kendrick into the train car, someone hailed Leo from farther down the platform. The Durants had finally arrived.

      “Just in time,” Leo said. He took my arm and assisted me up the step to the train, then turned to provide the same service for his sister.

      Once inside, Arthur Durant slipped across the compartment with a nod to acknowledge the group, while Eliza stood in the doorway blocking Leo’s entrance. Shifting her to the side, he moved around her and introduced the two of us.

      Eliza had her mother’s good looks—a flawless complexion, rounded cheeks, pointed chin, and golden-brown hair—combined with the same wide, brown eyes as Leo. Hers narrowed upon spotting Treadwell.

      “Good morning, Mrs. Durant.” Treadwell touched the brim of his hat and gave her a crooked smile. “So pleased you could join us.”

      With a sniff, Eliza took a seat next to me. “Forgive us for being so tardy,” she said. “I had such a difficult time convincing Durant to accompany me. He was most determined to stay at home and see to business.”

      “Right. Seems as though someone ought to.” Durant had removed his hat and overcoat and balanced a document case on his knees. The lines between his dark brows led me to believe the scowl he wore was of a permanent nature. It made him look older than I suspected him to be, but with a beard covering his jawline and chin, and spectacles blurring his eyes, I found it difficult to venture a guess at his age, though his disposition was easy to read. I might pity Eliza if she did not look equally irritable.

      As Leo hadn’t known how many of his siblings would be traveling with us, he’d taken a first-class compartment in a Pullman car. This was fortunate since we were eight now that the Durants had arrived. There was plenty of room inside for all of us, but I was still pleased I’d decided to have Rose travel with Nanny, Bridget, and the other maids. Rose’s manners were good, but I didn’t know if they’d stretch to accommodate the two-hour trip.

      I needn’t have concerned myself. The train was barely underway when the bickering began between Leo’s younger sisters.

      I’d met Clara and Anne at my first dinner with Leo’s parents. Anne had impressed me as an intelligent young woman, not yet married at the age of twenty-three. I felt certain she’d love nothing more than to join her father in the world of business. As that was not an option, she occupied herself with lectures, committees, and reading. Leo’s youngest sister, Clara, not yet eighteen, wanted nothing more than parties, balls, and fetes. Hardly uncommon pursuits at her age. Though they had their differences, they had seemed well-mannered and got on as well as any two sisters might. I now suspected that amity was due to the presence of their parents.

      Within fifteen minutes of our departure, I was to find out what they were like without the watchful eye of their mother. The compartment we occupied was spacious and fitted out with comfortably upholstered chairs situated against both the forward and rear walls, carpet, curtains, and a table along the side, all of which made it feel like a smallish sitting room. Leo and Durant took two seats along one side of the compartment and made a makeshift desk between them, leaving not quite two seats beside them. Regardless, Anne and Clara chose to squeeze into the space. The result was explosive.

      “You are sitting on my dress!”

      Anne looked up from her book and rearranged the skirts between them. Peace reigned for less than thirty seconds.

      “Stop reading over my shoulder,” Anne said, never lifting her eyes from the book.

      “I am not reading over your shoulder. Who but you would want to read such boring, dusty old tomes? Why didn’t you bring a novel to read?”

      “If I did, you would read over my shoulder.”

      “Aha! So you admit I am not now reading over your shoulder.”

      “If you weren’t, you would not know what I was reading. And why didn’t you bring a novel of your own if you wish to read so badly?”

      The bickering continued for a quarter of an hour at least. I cast a glance at Lily sitting next to Mr. Treadwell a seat away from me. Though they were directly across from the girls, they seemed not to notice and maintained a conversation that had Lily smiling. I began to wonder if I was the only one bothered by the argument.

      “The

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