“She doesn’t.” Oliver chuckled. “But she did mention what Beth brought back with her, and from where. You know Beth always brought her a little something—a flower or a pretty rock or a feather.” His gaze moved to Libby. “She’s been doing that ever since we were children.”
Libby couldn’t help but smile. “That’s very sweet.”
“And handy, in this case. It seems that just before she got this notion of a holiday in her head, she was spending quite a lot of time on the uninhabited islands. Perhaps she found something related to Mucknell on one of them.”
Mabena blew out a breath. “Which one though?”
“I think we ought to start at Teän. I recall the day she went there—we were having dinner guests that night, and she was annoyingly late getting home.”
Libby had studied a map of the islands enough to know that Teän was quite near to Tresco, so it wouldn’t have been the sailing that had taken Beth long. “It’s one of the larger uninhabited isles, isn’t it?”
Oliver nodded and glanced at the clock on the mantel. “And a fair distance from St. Mary’s, so if we do want to explore it today, we had better be off.”
Libby all but bounced. “Let’s! I’ll just grab my bag.” In it she’d already stowed everything she’d wished she’d had with her on Monday, when Mabena had taken her to a nearer uninhabited island called Annet. Pipettes, slides, pincers, and a fully stocked field kit joined her ever-present sketchbook, notebook, pencils, and pens.
While she was grabbing her bag, she checked to make certain Darling had ample food in his dish, smiling when he dashed into her room and under her bed the moment they moved for the door. It seemed that outside was the last place he wanted to go, now that he’d found an indoor home.
Mabena passed her a hat and locked up behind them. She and Oliver were debating which sailboat they should take, the Mermaid or the Adelle, and Libby was content to let them fight that one without her input. She didn’t much care which vessel took them there; she was simply happy to have a day of exploring ahead of her.
“Well, what luck! Lady Elizabeth, we were hoping to run into you.”
It took her a moment to place the voice. And frankly, she didn’t quite manage it until she’d turned around and spotted Lord Willsworth and Mr. Bryant striding toward them on the street.
Blast and bother. She summoned a smile to her lips, but this one required effort. “Oh, good morning, my lord. Have you met Mr. Tremayne, the vicar from Tresco, yet? And this is my maid, Miss Moon.”
Perhaps she took a bit too much pleasure in introducing her maid to the viscount. Not that he did more than nod in their direction and say, “Oh, quite right. I was at St. Mary’s the day you filled in for Mr. Gale, sir. How do you do?”
Oliver had scarcely returned the greeting before Willsworth faced her again. “We’ve just booked a boat for the day to take us to Bryher—we mean to explore the cairnfields. We hoped to convince you and Miss Wight to join us.”
“Oh.” For a moment, Libby could only blink at him. Never in her life had a gentleman invited her on an outing for no good reason. Perhaps she hadn’t managed to scare him off fully at the dinner party after all. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved—Mama would certainly be pleased to learn it—or sorry. All she knew was that she had no desire to exchange her current plans for his. “How kind of you to think of me. Perhaps if you had found me sooner, but I’m afraid I’ve already made plans to explore a different island.” She lifted her bag in proof. “I’m cataloguing the flora, you see.”
She didn’t mention which island she’d set her sights on today. One never knew when a gentleman might decide to alter his own plans to be “accommodating.” It was just the sort of thing Bram would do, if for no other reason than to needle her when he knew she wanted solitude.
“And if you mean to make it back to St. Mary’s this evening, my lady, we had better hurry on our way.” Mabena used the same tone of voice she had always employed at Telford Hall—demure, respectful, but knowledgeable. Only upon hearing it again did Libby realize she’d not since they arrived. And that she hadn’t missed it, though it was convenient now.
She dipped her head. “Of course, Miss Moon. I certainly don’t want to be stranded on a rock for the night. Have a lovely day, my lord. Mr. Bryant. Perhaps another time?”
Not giving them time to answer—or invite themselves along—Libby spun and hurried along the cobblestones.
Thankfully, they didn’t follow, though a peek over her shoulder a minute later verified that they were still standing where she’d left them.
Oliver chuckled beside her. “I do believe you put a crimp in their plans, my lady. His lordship looked quite disappointed.”
Which would probably last all of a minute before he remembered what a dunce she’d been at the dinner party. “He’ll recover. Now, what should we be looking for on Teän?”
“Ideally, pirate silver.” Mabena sounded doubtful even as she said it. “Though I’d settle for evidence of Beth’s having found something there.”
Libby pursed her lips. They could perhaps expect evidence of it if someone had been digging or had removed something—but how would they know it was Beth and not someone else? Or even an animal? There was no shortage of wild creatures on the islands, much to her delight.
It was a question they debated as they made the journey to the small island between St. Martin’s and Tresco. They hadn’t really come to any solid conclusions by the time they waded to shore, but it hardly mattered. They would simply keep their eyes open, explore everything they could, and hope to come across something that would provide a clue.
Once Libby’s feet were on dry sand and she’d put her shoes on again, she turned to survey the grassy hills and rock outcroppings with a grateful breath. Though it lasted only a moment. “Looks as though we’re not the only ones here.” She should have expected as much, she supposed. Other holiday-goers hopped all about the islands, courtesy of the locals and their boats.
But Oliver and Mabena both frowned when they followed her pointing finger to the blue sails barely visible over the land, clearly belonging to a boat anchored at another beach.
“The Hills’ boat,” Mabena muttered. “Have they hired it out?”
“Not that I’ve heard.” Oliver’s voice carried a note she’d had yet to hear from him—a bit stern, a bit resigned. “No, I suspect it’s Perry, who ought to be at school, not gallivanting about Teän. And no doubt he has a Grimsby brother or two with him.”
Mabena laughed. “I did my fair share of playing truant on a fine day. Third term was always the worst.”
“Mm.” Oliver sighed. “Come on. Let’s see where they are.”
Libby followed them through the sand and into the grass. The walking was easier than it had been on Annet, which was littered with rocks and holes that were entrances to the underground nests of the seabirds. And she spotted dozens of plant varieties she had yet to catalogue.
Teän had a few ruins she wanted to explore, in addition to her nature hunting. An abandoned cottage, an early chapel, a Bronze Age cairn . . . and they seemed to be walking past one such structure even now. No doubt, because the sound of adolescent voices was coming from within the tumbling walls.