Chapter Five
William removed a pair of reading spectacles from his inside jacket pocket. Once he perched them upon the end of his nose, he broke the seal of his envelope. His mind still reeled from the discovery, and now it seemed he and his cousins would need to put aside their differences and work together. Could he summon the grace enough to do such a thing? Once he’d pulled the paper from the envelope, he paused, staring at the assemblage over the tips of the half-moon spectacles.
“Wait. If this is truly a treasure hunt, we’ll need to break up into teams. Best figure that out before I read this letter and a potential clue. I wouldn’t want to give anyone an unfair advantage while we’re sorting ourselves.”
A few protests circled about the room.
It was Andrew who quelled the din. He raised a hand. “William is correct. The last thing we need is for someone to puzzle out the clue and then go haring off before the rest of us are ready.” He sought out his wife’s gaze. “What say you? Women against the men? Stormes against Stormes?”
The countess chuckled. “You and your brothers, plus the wives versus William’s family. He can have the Marsden brothers as well as Fanny. That should make up the numbers and give everyone a fair chance.”
“Do you think that’s wise with you in your… condition?” he asked in a low voice.
To her credit, the countess rolled her eyes. The candlelight winked off the metal frames of her spectacles. “I am with child, not in danger of imminent death, Andrew.”
He held up a hand. “I’m merely worried.”
“There’s no need. I shall be fine, and frankly, it’ll do us all good to be up and moving.” She shrugged. “Besides, you’re too competitive and ornery to have William on the same team. As it is, I’ll need to trail after you to keep the peace.”
Lady Jane snickered. “May the best man win, brothers dear. I’m more skilled in solving riddles than the two of you put together.”
“I’m quite certain we will win,” the younger Marsden shot back with an equally cheeky grin. “You’re too wrapped up in your husband to notice anything around you.”
Doctor Marsden nodded. “I must agree with my brother on that point. It’s quite scandalous.”
A blush stained Lady Jane’s cheeks. She glanced at Finn, who waggled his eyebrows, and her color deepened. “I can’t help how I feel about him. It’s still rather new.”
Obviously, those siblings had enjoyed years of interactions together. A quick thread of jealousy wriggled down William’s spine. He’d missed that over the years, for once Caroline had been sent away, Isobel put all her energy into courting scandal and playing the hoyden. Mother couldn’t take her in hand, so Father sent her to a finishing school. Then he was away at university, and afterward, began work for Bow Street. By the time Isobel had returned to London, he’d already established his career. Which had only perpetuated the break between the Storme family. Once his father died, the glue holding them together dissolved, so to speak, rendering them fragmented.
I need to help mend the rift.
“We’re all of an accord?” After a chorus of agreement, he nodded. “Good.” The playful banter between teams caught William by surprise. How long had it been since there’d been laughter and teasing in his family? “Shall we move on then?”
“You’re the one who made us stall,” Andrew was quick to remind him, but the gruffness in his voice was tempered by a half-grin.
“So I was.” He unfolded the letter. The sight of his father’s spidery handwriting sent waves of grief crashing into his chest. It was as if the past two years had disappeared, and he was again notified of his father’s sudden passing. Though he’d been in the middle of a case for Bow Street, that didn’t prevent the fact he hadn’t seen his father for a month before his death. Their schedules hadn’t aligned. Through a throat crowded with unshed tears, William swallowed. “‘To my dear, troublesome children,’” he began in a choked voice. “I suppose Isobel and I were rather a handful for him.”
His sister issued an unladylike snort. “When you were home, you mean?”
“Touché.” With a faint grin, he went on. “‘How do I begin such a letter knowing the bad blood between my brother and myself still thrives? I suppose it matters not, but just know we both tried to repair the damage we’d done to the Storme family over the years. He and I attempted this a few times, but we’re two stubborn arses and neither of us wanted to lose face, so the words we needed to say and hear never materialized. It was as much a disservice to him as it was to you children.’”
How incredibly heart-wrenching, for a handful of years after the letter was written, William’s uncle had died. His own father succumbed to the same disease, and there was every possibility that he—as well as his cousins—would follow in those footsteps. That was the fate of their fathers and grandfather before that. Ad nauseum. That made him think about his own mortality. I’m already eight and thirty. What do I have to show for it besides my career?
“Is there an issue?” Andrew asked, his intense gaze upon William’s face.
“Not one that can be easily solved in the next five minutes.” Perhaps a private chat with the doctor might give some insight on if it was possible to avoid the same fate as his father’s. William forced a swallow into his suddenly dry throat. “‘In any event, it seems my wife and my sister-in-law have become quite the pair over the last few years despite my discontent with my brother, so when she let the secret drop of a treasure hunt he planned to invent, I couldn’t let that challenge go unheeded. So, I once more paid a visit to my brother. We managed to set aside our differences long enough to create this game in the hopes that our children might succeed where we had failed bitterly.’” To his mortification, tears welled in his eyes.
Good God, I can’t show weakness in front of these people.
Thankfully, Isobel snapped the paper from his hand. A smaller, secondary note fluttered to the floor, and while he stooped to retrieve it, she hissed in the world’s worst stage whisper, “Pull yourself together.” She quickly scanned the letter and took up where he’d left off. “‘It’s my fondest wish that you might derive some pleasure out of this little game, and all the better if you can reconcile with your cousins. Life is short. Stormes thrive and feed off each other when they’re together. Please find the first clue to your quest inside. Good luck. Enjoy the entertainment. Yours faithfully, Father.’” She passed the letter on to their mother.
The younger Marsden brother sprang up from his place on a sofa. “Let’s have the clue, then. Afterward, what say you to spiced punch with rum?”
“One moment.” William might have been both annoyed and angry upon arrival at Hadleigh Hall, but there was a certain kernel of hope buried deep inside his soul that wanted a return of his family—his whole family. He glanced from the note in his hand to Andrew. “Tell me the truth. Do you think you and I can bury the ill-will running through the Storme family when our fathers couldn’t?”
His cousin’s Adam’s apple bobbed with a hard swallow. He rubbed a hand along his jaw. “If I didn’t think it could be done, I would never have issued invitations to your side for the Christmastide holidays.”
“There are things between you and I that have the potential to cause yet another rift.” He didn’t know it was vital that they come to an understanding; he only knew he wanted the chance to feel the support of a real family around him.