A Sibling's Interference

Chapter Twenty-Two

Was it any wonder that I did not sleep well that night? Even knowing that Sir Harrow's staff was keeping watch through the night did nothing to help me relax. I found myself waking with a start every hour, tossing and turning in my bed until dawn began to break through the window.

With a head that pounded from lack of sleep, I decided to take a walk in the garden. It took a matter of minutes to dress without Davison, and then I headed down the stairs. I could already hear the sounds of the household waking up: the rustle of brushes against the floor, and the distant clank of pots hitting each other.

As I strolled through the garden, the early morning mist clung to the flowers. The dew glistened on the petals, making the colors of the blooms appear even more vibrant in the soft light of dawn. Birds chirped overhead, welcoming the new day with their cheerful songs.

The crunch of gravel underfoot soothed me as I made my way through the garden. Fenton had worked hard since he arrived to control the chaos of the neglected flower beds. I knew nothing of what plants were best in the area, nor what would serve to make the space better. It was a good thing Fenton knew what he was doing.

I cast my eye about, searching for just the right place to hide a clue for the picnic. Thankfully, the roses still had some blooms on them. I compared them all and knelt to examine the healthiest of them. Excellent. There was plenty of room for me to leave the clue underneath them.

It had occurred to me in the night that I needed to connect each place so that they would then find the final hiding place. There would be a word written on a slip of paper in each location. It would be on the seeker to then put the words in the right order in order to find the final hiding place.

Seek the hidden treasure with your host.

Depending on how the seekers found the words, it might be easy or difficult to make the correct sentence.

While I felt as though Sir Harrow was the host because of how much effort he was putting into the event, the rest of my guests would believe I held that role.

As I stood up, brushing the dirt off my knees, I heard footsteps approaching from behind. Spinning around, it took me a moment to recognize the man coming towards me. "Timmons," I said, relieved to see him. "How are things this morning?"

"No trouble, sir," he responded with a nod.

That was something. I thanked him and headed for the stable. Billy was awake and going about his morning routine, although with sleepy eyes. He snapped to attention as soon as he saw me.

"Good morning, Billy," I greeted. And just to be thorough, I asked, "Any trouble last night?"

He shook his head. "No, sir. I didn't hear anything at all."

"Good. Saddle Phaeton for me."

My hope was that I would be able to relax if I went for a morning ride. And, once I was in the saddle, it seemed likely that it would happen. However, as often happened of late, things did not go as planned.

I hadn't gone far when I saw another rider in the south pasture. Who was he? Why was he on my land this early? Too many things had happened in the last two weeks for me to think it was merely a neighbor out for an early morning ride.

He was too far away for me to see any distinguishing features or to have any hope of identifying who it was. I turned Phaeton to get closer.

As soon as I did, the other rider wheeled his horse around and set off at a gallop. Immediately, I kicked Phaeton into motion and set off after the person. The only reason I could think that someone would run away like that was if they were up to no good. My heart pounded as I urged Phaeton to go faster, determination fueling my pursuit. The cool morning air whipped against my face as we tore through the pasture.