Tuppence (The Tipton Hollow 3)

“Is that odd?” Isaac prompted when Mark also began to study the house curiously.

Mark threw him a rueful look. “She is a farmer. She is always at the farm. There is always work to do, apparently.”

“Where did she go?”

Mark shrugged. “Harriett called upon her twice, once in the morning and once in the early afternoon, but Tuppence didn’t answer the door. Harriett said that the animals were in the paddocks and Baxter was there, so Tuppence couldn’t have been moving the livestock around the pastures.”

“Maybe she went to see friends,” Isaac suggested only to hesitate when Mark began to shake his head.

“I asked Beatrice. She told me that she has invited Tuppence to dine with her on four separate occasions in the last month alone, and Tuppence has refused them all. She has given various excuses, but none of them ring true. Bo

th Harriett and Beatrice are under the impression that Tuppence is worried about something but won’t tell them what it is. Tuppence hasn’t been the same since her brother died.”

“I doubt she would talk to me.” Isaac was aware that his tone betrayed his misery. “I only recently got her to stand still long enough to have a proper conversation.” He threw a rueful look at his friend. “I get the distinct impression that she does everything she can to avoid me.”

“I wouldn’t take it to heart, Isaac. You are, after all, an eligible bachelor, but she is nothing more than a peasant farmer.” Mark had no qualms about stating the truth. He studied his good friend and watched the changing expressions on Isaac’s face. He was sure that Isaac had no idea how much he was revealing of his feelings for Tuppence. “You still like her, don’t you?” It wasn’t really a question.

“It’s not a crush,” Isaac hissed. “I wish it were just a passing infatuation. I had hoped that these feelings would stop if I stayed away from her, but they have just gotten worse.”

“What feelings?”

“This, this, thing I have for her. I can’t stop thinking about her. I cannot get her out of my bloody mind. It is driving me out of my mind,” Isaac grumbled. He hated to say the word because it would only confirm the way that he felt.

“Is it a wise move to pursue a relationship with her? I mean we are not in the 1700’s anymore, and times have moved on, but people do still have strict expectations that social distances are maintained. She is effectively a pauper, Isaac. People will frown at a union between you two,” Mark warned.

“I wouldn’t say that she is a pauper. Hilltop Farm is worth a small fortune, and Tuppence owns the lot.”

“But she cannot afford to pay someone to help her run it,” Mark warned. “In contrast, you have an abundance of staff running your properties.”

“You don’t think that we could be happy together.” Isaac was deflated by Mark’s frankness even though he knew that what Mark said was the truth. “Nothing is impossible, is it? I didn’t think I would ever be able to get Tuppence to talk to me, but we had quite a nice conversation the other day that made me start to wonder. Who is to say that love is not possible between us? We wouldn’t be the first couple to break the social barriers down and find a life together and I doubt that we would be the last.”

“No, if you love each other enough then it might be possible for you to be together. But people will talk, you know that. I mean, you are a Lord, and while this is not the 1720s anymore, not all that much has changed. Your family still expects you to marry well. I doubt you would find a happy marriage easy to build or maintain with someone like Tuppence purely because of other people’s opinions.” Mark pursed his lips and threw his friend a pointed look.

“I have already warned mother that I am not going to marry someone she picks out for me and that if she doesn’t accept my choice of bride then she will have to accept that I won’t marry at all.”

“That’s a very romantic notion,” Mark mused.

“You don’t think it is wise?”

“I married for love,” Mark murmured. “In fact, meeting Harriett was the best thing to ever happen to me. I knew from the first moment I saw her at that bloody Psychic Circle that, eccentric or not, she was the one for me. I couldn’t stop thinking about her either, and panicked morning, noon, and night, that she was going to end up being killed by that sodding murderer.”

“How did you stand it?”

“I didn’t.” Mark grinned. “I went grey before my time and ran her up the aisle the first chance I got. As soon as that killer was behind bars, I knew that life was too precious to let her go.”

“I am confused,” Isaac sighed. “My heart says one thing and my head says something completely different.”

“Look, you have a choice. You can either live your life according to other people’s expectations and probably end up being miserable, or you can live the life you want. You only get one life. It isn’t for your mother, or anyone else, to tell you how to live it. If you want a life with Tuppence, and she wants one with you, then nothing should keep you apart. Queen Victoria is on the throne now. King Henry VIII isn’t going to lop your head off if you change your mind.”

Isaac snorted a laugh and shook his head. “What do I do if she doesn’t want me?”

“Then you can move on and do everything possible to forget her knowing that a marriage to her wouldn’t work because she doesn’t care about you.” Mark waited for a moment because all Isaac was doing was staring avidly at the flickering lights on the hilltop. “You won’t know how she feels until you go and speak with her. Why don’t you go on the pretext of finding out if everything is all right? I was planning on going up there in the morning anyway, mostly to check up on her. Even I don’t like the fact that she is living up there by herself.”

“Have you heard anything? Are there strangers in the area?” Isaac studied his friend and became alarmed at the reticence that appeared on Mark’s face. Isaac knew immediately that what Mark was about to say related to his detective work.

“Yes, there are strangers in the area. There are a group of travellers on the other side of Great Tipton who are causing unrest amongst the locals. Things never go well with travellers in the area, you know that. If they find out that Tuppence is on the farm alone, they might target the property. I don’t think they are likely to cause her any physical harm, but she could end up with her barn alight or have her property stolen.”

“Do you think she is safe up there?” Isaac asked.