“Eh? What was that?”
Elizabeth turned toward the door, still looking over her shoulder at Lady Danbury. “Nothing at all, Lady Danbury. I’ll just—”
Anything else she might have said was lost as her shoulder bumped into something large, warm, and decidedly human.
Elizabeth groaned. Mr. Siddons. It had to be. She had never been a particularly lucky woman.
“Steady, there,” she heard him say, a split second before his hands gently grasped her upper arms.
“Mr. Siddons!” Lady Danbury trilled. “How lovely to see you so early in the morning.”
“Indeed,” Elizabeth muttered.
“Won’t you join us for tea?” Lady D continued. “Elizabeth was just off to fetch a tray.”
Elizabeth was still refusing—on principle, although she wasn’t entirely certain which principle—to look at his face, but she felt his wolfish smile nonetheless.
“I’d be delighted,” he said.
“Excellent,” Lady Danbury replied. “Elizabeth, off with you, then. We’ll need tea for three.”
“I can’t go anywhere,” Elizabeth ground out, “while Mr. Siddons is holding on to my arms.”
“Was I doing that?” he said guilelessly, releasing his grip. “Didn’t even realize it.”
If she’d had any sort of fortune, Elizabeth decided grimly, she’d have bet it then and there that he was lying.
“I did have a few questions for our dear Miss Hotchkiss,” Mr. Siddons said.
Elizabeth’s lips parted in surprise.
“They can wait until she returns, I’m sure,” he murmured.
Elizabeth’s head darted back and forth between Mr. Siddons and Lady Danbury as she tried to comprehend the oddly quiet tension in the room. “If you’re sure,” she said. “I’d be happy to—”
“He thinks you’re blackmailing me,” Lady Danbury said bluntly.
“He thinks I’m doing what?” Elizabeth nearly screeched.
“Agatha!” Mr. Siddons burst out, sounding very much as if he wanted to curse the old lady to perdition. “Haven’t you ever heard of the word ‘subtlety’?”
“Hmmph. Has never worked for me.”
“I’ll say,” he muttered.
“Did you just call her Agatha?” Elizabeth asked. She looked over at Lady Danbury in surprise. She’d been tending to the countess for five years and had never presumed to use her given name.
“I knew Mr. Siddons’s mother,” Lady Danbury said, as if that explained everything.
Elizabeth planted her hands on her hips and glowered up at the handsome estate manager. “How dare you think I would blackmail this sweet old lady!”
“Sweet?” Mr. Siddons echoed.
“Old?” Lady Danbury hollered.
“I would never stoop so low,” Elizabeth said with a sniff. “Never. And shame on you for thinking so.”
“That’s what I told him,” Lady D said with a shrug. “You do need the money, of course, but you’re not the sort to—”