Enticing the Earl

Mia turned to see Mrs. Perkins standing with an old pistol in her hand. “Please put the pistol down, Mrs. Perkins. The earl is here to straighten this mess out.”

“You need to come back after dark. That’s when he digs,” Mrs. Perkins said, placing the small pistol in her pocket.

Simon turned to her. “Would you mind if we stayed until then, in case he returns early?”

“I don’t care. But I’m not feeding you.” The old woman turned and walked back to the house.

Simon chuckled. “It’s a good thing your mother arrived and told us about this. She might have shot him tonight.”

“She never did like him.”

They spent the day outside waiting for Charlie to return. By dusk, the temperature had fallen so they took refuge in Mrs. Perkins’s house. James had returned to Hartsfield Park and brought back a basket with food for all of them and extra for their host. As they dined on cold chicken and bread, a thud sounded from the garden.

They stood up but Simon stared at her. “I will go out there with James. It might be a wild animal.”

Mia rolled her eyes. She traveled this land in the dark many times and had seldom come across more than a fox or an occasional polecat. Simon closed the door to the cottage. Mia followed behind him.

Simon crept along the side of the house. Mumbling and quiet rambling sounded from behind the house. He couldn’t be sure if it was Charlie or someone else. It sounded too rough to be Charlie.

He peered around the corner only to find Charlie with a shovel in his hand staring at the ground.

“Well?” James whispered.

“Shh.” He wanted to hear what Charlie was saying.

“Who did this? Probably that crazy old bat.” Charlie hurled his shovel in anger toward a tree. “Now how will I know where to dig?”

Now that the shovel was out of his brother’s hand, Simon turned the corner. “What are you digging for, Charlie?”

Charlie gasped. “What the bloody hell are you doing back already? You were supposed to be gone for days.”

“You didn’t answer the question. What are you digging for?” James asked as he rounded the corner.

“You brought James with you?” Charlie asked Simon. “Afraid you couldn’t take care of me on your own? Or afraid you might need someone to talk you out of killing me?” His eyes widened. “You told him, didn’t you?” He stared at James.

Simon clenched his fists. “Why would I want to kill you?”

“No reason. I’m just digging out here to help you, Simon. I felt bad that your finances had been hurt by that steward of yours.” He scratched the back of his head.

Simon saw through his lie. “For a gambler, you still haven’t learned to hide when you’re bluffing. Or in this case when you lie to your brother.”

Charlie raked his hands through his hair until it stood on end, lending him a crazed look. “I’m not lying.” He put a hand to his head as sweat beaded across his forehead. “God, my head hurts,” he mumbled.

“I know Davies was Lambert, Charlie. And I know you were friends with Lambert.”

Charlie slipped to the ground hugging himself. “He wasn’t supposed to hurt her,” he muttered. “He wasn’t supposed to hurt her.”

Anger exploded behind Simon’s eyes. He strode to Charlie and lifted him up to a standing position. “So you did hire Lambert?”

“He was only supposed to befriend her,” Charlie cried. “I’d heard rumors that she was giving money to the tenants and might have found gold here.”

Before he could stop himself, Simon’s fist landed on Charlie’s jaw, propelling him backward. He took a step forward but Mia was there between them.

“Simon, think about what you are doing. This is your brother,” she said in a soft tone.

“Get out of the way, Mia. This isn’t your fight.”

“Of course it is,” she cried. “I am the one who was hurt by Lambert.”