The Unscrupulous Uncle by Allison Lane Page A

troops would have recognized. He could not sit by and see Catherine abused. It was time to fulfill his vow to Peter, first by exposing Lord Braxton. That meant investigating every incident since Damon had left home – the sailing accident, her father’s affairs, and Braxton’s financial standing before and after assuming the title. Ringing for Tucker, he ordered his curricle.
     * * * *
    Catherine’s head hit the side of the badly-sprung coach, waking her from a fitful doze. A week of constant travel along appalling roads had left her exhausted, miserable, and confused. Marginal inns hadn’t helped, but her growing anger kept her from sliding into despair.
    Why was she here?
    “Eugenia needs a change of climate,” had been Uncle Henry’s first words when she arrived in the library in response to his summons. “Her constitution demands a more bracing locale. I suggested Braxton Manor, and her doctor agreed. She and the girls will make the trip next month, but I want you to leave immediately to open the house.”
    “Of course,” she had responded automatically. “But there is much to do here. Would it not be better if I waited until a week before they leave?”
    “Not in this case. The manor needs repairs. The steward is busy with the spring planting so you must supervise the work.”
    “How many rooms will you wish to use?”
    “The house is so small that you may as well open everything. Sidney will spend at least part of the summer there, and Eugenia will want to entertain our old neighbors. Hire sufficient staff – though no excess; the budget will not allow waste. And you needn’t concern yourself with the journey. I will send outriders to handle all arrangements.”
    “Very well,” she agreed, hiding her astonishment at his uncharacteristic generosity. It would have been less surprising if he had dispatched her on the stage.
    They had spent the next half hour discussing repairs, leaving her barely fifteen minutes to pack before the coach arrived to carry her to Cumberland. Not until she was away did she have time to think. Then more and more questions arose. Why was she here?
    Her uncle’s orders were patent nonsense. In eight years at Ridgway House, he had never once considered returning to Braxton Manor. It might be the family seat, but her father had described it as small, derelict, and barely livable. He had originally offered it to Henry to prevent the very vulgar Eugenia from blackening the family name in society. Lady Braxton would never agree to revisit so isolated a place. Catherine could still recall her aunt’s joy at leaving the ancestral pile far behind. Uncle Henry disliked strife, capitulating to his wife whenever she made a stand. And Dr. Mumford would never send Lady Braxton to Cumberland for her health. He had often declared that no climate was more beneficial than the coast of Somerset. So what was Henry’s purpose?
    She conjured up many possibilities, each more ludicrous than the last. The only one that made any sense was that her aunt had demanded her removal to facilitate trapping Damon into marriage. Catherine had heard enough hints to deduce that Eugenia had engineered her own wedding. But while Uncle Henry might have agreed – solely to keep the peace – he would never have condoned the expense of sending her so far away. Nor would he have considered the even more expensive notion of opening and staffing Braxton Manor. Regardless of the true state of his finances, the man was a nipfarthing, even begrudging the cost of putting quality food on the table when they entertained. If he needed to get her out of the way, he could have locked her up in Ridgway – or in a nearby cottage, if he feared the servants might support her. So why this very costly journey?
    The carriage finally turned along a heavily rutted drive and crept to a halt before an aging manor house. The outside appeared dark, damp, and dingy, a perfect setting for a gothic tale of ghostly horrors.
    Her reception