Page 31 of Lady Waldrey’s Gardening Almanac for Cultivating Scandal

The baroness grinned. “I’d shoot them.”

Candance didn’t quite know if she was joking.

“Pardon me for asking, but how far away do you live?” Vera asked. “Candace says that the manor’s grounds are quite extensive.”

“No pardons needed for questions with me, ever.” The baroness laughed, patted her jacket pockets, and came up with a silver flask, tipping a healthy pour into her tea. “I very much doubt you could shock me if you actively tried. My estate—or rather, my absent son’s estate—shares a border with Devon Manor for hundreds of acres. However, upon his last visit, your brother offered me personal hunting rights to sweeten the deal for some lumber he needed to fix up this hulking house.” She looked toward the ceiling as if she could see all the way to the roof. “The new slate looks wonderful; he used a tradesman of my recommendation—you’ll be perfectly dry all winter. I don’t suppose either of you hunt?”

“Er, no,” Candace said. “I enjoy riding, though. Vera?”

“I’m a passable rider, but haven’t much practice. Mother thinks it’s unladylike.”

I thought she didn’t like horses. Candace frowned.

“Nonsense. We’ll go riding as soon as you’re rested. Perhaps next week? I’d love to show you the property—both your brother’s and mine. By the by, when does your brother return from his honeymoon?”

“I’m not sure.”

The baroness nodded. “Most likely not for awhile. When he was here, I met him many times. Every day it was as if someone was tightening him like a screw. He just kept becoming more and more tense. I knew it had to be about a woman—he had that frenetic, anxious energy about him of a man who hadn’t settled something that desperately needed settling. They’ll be gone for months, mark my word; they’ll probably extend their trip.”

The baroness sipped her spiked tea as Candace fought to control her expression and Vera rolled her lips inside her mouth. Such things were rarely spoken of so directly. More often, ladies would sidle up to the topic with a fluttering of eyelashes and knowing smiles—and even those conversations were kept out of earshot of unmarried ladies. Mostly.

“Do you like your new sister-by-law?” the baroness asked, plowing forward with questions that usually weren’t asked.

“Very much.” Candace was relieved she could answer honestly in such a way. “She’s his match in every way—kind, compassionate, with an excellent head on her shoulders.”

“High praise, indeed. I’m always suspicious when compliments of a young lady extend only to her appearance rather than her character.” She gave a sly smile that sent the corners of her dark-brown eyes crinkling. “You mentioned the Quentin Daily; have you also heard of Mr. Pickwick’s Guide? I don’t suppose you’ve brought any issues with you—it’s the one thing I can’t procure easily this far from London.”

In fact, Candace had packed her copies of Mr. Pickwick’s Guide to Marriageable Young Ladies, which ironically now wrote reviews on unmarried men, as well.

“I have the latest copies. You’re welcome to borrow any you like. However, they aren’t coming out at quite the same regularity as they used to.”

The baroness nodded decisively. “As I thought. She must be happily settled now.”

“She?” Candace couldn’t help her mouth gaping open—which for her, was nearly a visible gap. She snapped it closed.

“My dear, you cannot believe that a man could write so elegantly about delicate matters of social intrigue. Why, where would he get his information, for one?”

“Wherever it’s available,” Candace said.

“I don’t believe it. Ladies talk to ladies, do they not? Men go off to business, and they have their clubs where a masculine sort of gossip prevails. But ladies are the ones who pass along every sharp-edged blade of information.” She arched a refined eyebrow at Candace. “Surely you know that. Admit it—did you leave London to escape the gentlemen or the ladies?”

She pursed her lips. It had been the ladies she’d fled from. Though the potential rejection from the men had weighed upon her, it had been the giggles and whispering behind fans she’d most wanted to avoid.

“You’re right.” She frowned. “How interesting.”

“I’m delighted you both are here. This part of the country is beautiful, but company is few and far between, and not all that varied. You must come and visit me so that I might have more female companionship. My household has always been too full of boys.”

“How many sons do you have, Baroness?” Vera asked, then sipped her tea nervously.

“Please, you must both call me Jacqueline.” She grinned. “I have three boys. My husband and I were a love match. He loved me exactly how I was, even going so far as to encourage my eccentricities. My sons are my only family now, but they are more than enough.”

“Are they at home with you?”

“Only the youngest.” She gave smile that was smaller than the others.

Candace cast about for a way to change the subject, but Vera beat her to it.

“I believe we’re very close to North Bovey here. What is the village like?” Vera leaned forward and snagged a biscuit from the tray.