About mid-afternoon, Philippa came sweeping into the library. "I must say, Mr. Ward was correct," she declared. "The Campbell family is simply delightful. I'm astonished I didn't meet them earlier this year when I was in London."

Suppressing a sigh, I lifted my gaze from the letter in my hands. My solicitor was concerned about my spending in the last two months and felt it necessary to remind me that my funds were not infinite. It was information I was already well aware of, but apparently he felt the need to bring it to my attention.

"And Mr. Ward is engaged to be married!" my sister declared, collapsing into a chair. "Can you imagine? Mr. Ward! I thought he was a confirmed bachelor! But I heard him tell Mr. Campbell."

"Yes, I was aware," I answered with a smile. "I believe the young lady accepted his proposal while we were in Bath last month, though I believe they are still deciding when to marry. They were introduced earlier this year, if I remember correctly."

Of course my sister glared at me. "You knew about this? Why didn't you tell me?"

Chuckling, I shook my head. "Well, Mr. Ward hadn't chosen to share that information with everyone yet, and it wasn't my place to tell anyone. But now you know, so I don't understand why you are upset."

With a scowl, Philippa crossed her arms. "Not your place? Everyone talks about these kinds of things," she said. "Good news is meant to be shared with loved ones and close friends. I'm sure I must have looked like a fool when he informed the Campbells!"

"You seem to have an uncommon concern about how others view you," I commented, leaning back in my chair. But as the back creaked under my weight, I quickly straightened up. "Except when it comes to Mr. Talbot. Why is that?"

A bright blush spread across her cheeks. "I thought I told you not to mention that man to me."

"No, I don't believe that request was ever made, and if it was, I certainly wouldn't have agreed to it." Resting my elbows on the desk, I leaned forward. "But that's beside the point. You didn't answer my question."

"It's a ridiculous question and I will not dignify it with an answer."

With a shrug, I reached for my pen. "If you say so. It doesn't strike me as a ridiculous question. Why does it matter what the neighbors you just met thought of you and not what the man you proclaimed you loved thought? It seems like a misplacement of priorities."

Again, I wasn't sure that sentence made sense, but Philippa's scowl seemed to confirm that it was. "I'm an adult. I can decide whose opinion I value and whose are unworthy of attention."

"I never said you couldn't make that kind of decision. I'm just curious about the distinction you make between them. One is a family you have just met. The other is the man you promised to spend the rest of your life with. It seems one would hold more weight."

"Oh, what do you know?" Philippa stuck her tongue out at me, reminding me that she was only eighteen. "Mrs. Campbell has invited us to dinner tomorrow night. I accepted."

"Wonderful. I'm sure you will have a lovely time." This would give me the perfect opportunity to conduct my own search without her hanging over my shoulder. Perhaps it would keep her out of danger.

"What do you mean?" Philippa demanded. "You're coming as well."

Firmly, I shook my head, holding back a sigh. I should have known this was coming. "You can't make promises on my behalf without talking to me first. I already have plans for tomorrow night, but I'm sure you will enjoy yourself with the Campbells without me."

Despite being seated, she managed to stomp her foot in frustration. "Lucas! You're being difficult!"

"So are you," I pointed out. "You are not my parent, Philippa. You are my sister. My younger sister, at that. You can't make decisions for me. Just as I cannot make them for you. If I could have managed it, you would have been in a carriage and going back home yesterday."

For a moment, she stared at me. "Whatever plans you made cannot be more important than a dinner with your neighbors," she insisted. "They're eager to meet you and find it odd that they haven't yet. You've been here for a month already! I am trying to help you."

"I didn't ask for your help!"

My sister flinched. "There's no need to raise your voice," she chided. "You'll upset the servants."

"So you care what the servants think, but not what I think. Great. I'm glad that's been made clear."

Her expression became hurt. "That's not fair, Lucas! You know that's not true!"

"That has to be the most reasonable thing you've said today. Life isn't fair. If it had been, I wouldn't have had my family trying to push me into an arranged marriage. I wouldn't have had my family believing the worst of me. Maybe I wouldn't even have won this place."

"But—"

I held up my hand. I don't want to hear any excuses, Philippa. I understand why all those things happened and I've accepted it. It's in the past."

Actually, that wasn't quite true. It still irked me every time I remembered what had happened. But I wasn't about to tell her that. She still didn't understand my irritation after all this time, and didn't believe she had done anything wrong.

"I already told Mrs. Campbell that you would come," Philippa protested. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Simple. You will have to write her a note and apologize for being mistaken," I told her. "You should have known better than to accept an invitation on someone else's behalf without asking them first. It's almost as rude as inviting yourself somewhere."

"But what will they think of me?"

"They will probably assume you are a young woman who simply made a mistake," I said easily. "And if they are as kind as you say they are, they will understand and accept your apology. Do you need some paper?"

"It would be easier if you change your plans."

"Easier for you or for me? You don't even know what plans I have, so you cannot say they have less importance than your dinner." I selected a sheet of paper and slid it across the desk. "Davison has a sister who would make an excellent chaperone for you. so there will be no concerns for propriety."

My sister pouted and crossed her arms. "You're such a terrible brother. George would never treat me like this."

What would our older brother have done in this situation? I couldn't begin to guess. "What do you think George would do?" I asked curiously. "I really don't think he would change his plans to suit you. It would be disrespectful to his wife."

"You don't have a wife."

"No, I have a house in desperate need of repairs and a search for treasure to make. I don't have time for a dinner party at the moment."

Philippa's eyes brightened. "You finally agree with me?"

It was on the tip of my tongue to say no, but basically, it was true. Even if my reasoning was different, I had come around to making a search. She might expect to find something, but I was just doing so for show.

"And when you have dinner with the Campbells, you can tell them all about it," I informed her.

"You should tell them yourself."

Was she still trying to get her own way? I shook my head. "No. If you need Davison's sister as a chaperone, you need to let me know before tomorrow morning. We cannot expect everyone else around us to just change their lives to suit us. That would be incredibly rude."

My sister seemed oblivious to the criticism implied in my words. "I knew you would see sense!" she exclaimed, jumping out of the chair. "We must make a list of all possible places a person could hide treasure."

"After you tell the Campbell's that you will attend their dinner alone," I told her.

Philippa's lips curved into a smile. "Let's not be rash. I'm sure you will see how beneficial it will be once you think about it," she said. She grabbed the paper. "I will start making the list."

I started to protest but stopped myself. She would not see reason. Maybe letting her face the consequences of her actions was the only way for her to understand.

Is this what it was like to have children? Always trying to think of different tactics to make them see sense? If so, it was exhausting and I was not ready for the task!

~*~

Knowing my sister would make an exhaustive list of hiding places inside the house, I focused my attention on the outside. Were there any nooks and crannies in the garden? It would be impossible to dig up every inch of ground, but perhaps there was a distinctive spot that might be used to remind someone of where they had buried something.

There were the stables, but I didn't think it likely that anything had been missed when repairs were done on the building. However, there were farms that did not have tenants. It was possible the cottages and barns might have been used as a hiding place.

With the Littles' boys searching that farm, I decided that I would have Mr. Walton check on the other farms. It was possible that the intruder had already searched those areas, and if so, I needed to know what damage had been done.

Damage from an intruder, not from years of neglect. There was a difference.

Honestly, it felt good to be doing something. So far, it had seemed like everything was happening to me and I had been swept along. But now, I could take charge and make things happen.

Before leaving the library, I took a moment to write one last note. If Philippa refused to correct her error, I would have to take matters into my own hands. However, I wouldn't tell her what I had done. Not just yet.

During supper, I only half listened to Philippa's chattering. She was full of theories about where the hidden treasure could be. It wasn't until I heard "...there can be no objection to that, can there?" that I realized it might benefit me to actually listen to her words.

"What was that?" I asked, looking at her.

Her expression turned to a frown as she looked at me. "Haven't you been listening? I was thinking that there could be something hidden behind the bookshelves in the library. After all, it wasn't always a library, was it?"

"We are not tearing out the shelving," I said, guessing where her thoughts had taken her. "That's completely out of the question. Why would you suggest such a thing?"

My sister pouted. "You're no fun. I think it is the perfect place to hide something."

Molly's hands trembled as she lifted the tureen and left the room to serve the next course. Poor thing. I would have thought she would be more at ease with just myself and Philippa at the table. Unless my sister made her anxious?

"That might be, but it would also be difficult to get back out," I pointed out, putting the matter from my mind. "Hiding something is only half of the problem. I would assume that whoever does the hiding hopes to get it back at some point."

Philippa huffed and crossed her arms. "How do you know the shelves don't move easily?"

"If they were moved easily, someone would have noticed by now." Of that, I was certain, though I couldn't say why. Over the years, there had been numerous owners of Pearsend, but it was impossible to know who had actually set foot on the property. And the caretaker had been so lazy, I doubted he'd have done anything that required effort on his part.

"Well, it's still a possibility," Philippa argued.

"Be that as it may, we are not doing anything that would only cause more work for me to repair," I said firmly. "So no tearing anything out. No destruction of any kind. Is that clear?"

"I'm beginning to think you don't actually want to find the treasure."

I couldn't hold back a laugh. "If there truly is treasure, it will be quite inconvenient for me," I told her. "I don't believe it exists at all, yet now I must take time out of my busy schedule to look for it."

It really was annoying. I wanted to make sure the house was secure before the temperature began to drop in the fall months. It would be throwing good money after bad to have a drafty house.

"Treasure could save you!" Philippa argued. "You would be able to hire however many laborers you needed to make the repairs. Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"That's only if it was an actual treasure," I said evenly. Hadn't we discussed this before. "When I was a boy, I thought my toy soldiers were the greatest treasure I'd ever had. George couldn't argue me out of my opinion."

"Toys are not treasure."

Molly rushed into the room, carrying a platter of roasted mutton. She placed it on the table and quickly retreated to stand against the wall.

"Perhaps not now, but when I was young, it was," I said, picking up the carving knife. "I believe anything could be seen as a treasure, whether it be something sentimental or something of monetary value. If this 'treasure' is nothing more than a letter, then it is of no value to me. And even if it were something small like a piece of jewelry, it is unlikely to be worth enough to pay for anything."

"You're no fun."

"You've made that clear multiple times since you arrived." I began to carve the meat. "If I'm such a burden to be with, I wonder why you don't return home. That would put distance between you and Mr. Talbot, would it not?"

"I was here first," Phlippa said stubbornly. "He should be the one to leave."

"Your argument would hold more weight if you had actually stayed at home," I pointed out with a laugh. "You both are both strangers here, and you arrived only a short time ahead of him."

Philippa scowled. "Why do you keep bringing up Mr. Talbot?" she demanded, practically spitting out the name. "He is nothing to us."

"You may have concluded he is unworthy of your attention, but I find him amiable fellow." That was stretching the truth just a bit. After learning of his introverted nature, I did feel more sympathy for him. "It would also be rude to just ignore him when we are acquainted. What would Mama say?"

"Mama? Why must you always bring up Mama? You mention her almost as much as you do Mr. Talbot!"

"Because she is a true lady and I measure every woman I meet against her," I said promptly. I offered her a slice of mutton. "But if it offends you, I will not mention any of our friends or family members to you again."

My sister gritted her teeth. "You know that's not what I'm trying to say."

"Isn't it? Then perhaps you should clarify what you do mean when you complain about every mention of our family and friends."

Instead of responding, she poked at the meat on her plate. "I didn't expect you to act like this," she muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. "I could have stayed at home and been berated."

"I do apologize if you feel I have been berating you," I said immediately. "But what did you expect? Did you think I would simply let you do and say whatever you pleased? That I wouldn't want to know what happened?"

She glared at me. "Yes! Why is that so wrong?"

"I am not an idiot. I know that any time a person or an animal is allowed free rein to do whatever comes into their heads, disaster follows not soon after. It would be irresponsible of me to just allow you to do whatever you want with no consequences."

Whatever Philippa would have said to that was lost. From the next room over, there came the sound of shattering glass.

"What in the world?" I exclaimed as I jumped to my feet. "Philippa, stay here."

I quickly made my way from the dining room to the library, my heart racing. Sure enough, one of the curtains fluttered in front of the now broken window. Someone had attempted to get in.

Again.

"Why would they do that?" Philippa asked from behind me.

Of course she hadn't remained behind. Fortunately for her, I was in no mood to scold her.

"I don't know," I said honestly. Why had the intruder been so determined to get back into a room he or she had already checked?