Berried Alive (Manor House Mystery) Read Free

busy. And you?"
    He bent over to pat the dogs, who were shoving each other out of the way to nudge his legs with their noses. "Things have been a little interesting lately. Seems to have quieted now, though."
    And that was most likely all she would ever hear of whatever horrors he'd been through in the past week. "We were rather afraid you'd caught that awful illness going around the base," she said, as he straightened again. "Violet was most concerned."
    His gaze seemed to penetrate her soul. "Only Violet?"
    Aware that he was teasing her, she muddled her words. "No, of course not. I mean, we were all concerned.
I
was concerned. Of course. We . . . I . . . we all were worried about you."
    To her extreme joy and confusion, he linked her arm through his and began leading her across the grass toward the ocean. Her expression must have betrayed her emotion, as he added lightly, "Is this permitted, your ladyship?"
    She was tempted to tell him that right at that moment she wouldn't have cared if they were lying naked on the grass together. Appalled by her thoughts, she said quickly, "There's no one to see us. We seem to be quite alone out here this morning."
    "Just making sure. I wouldn't want your loyal subjects to think I was taking advantage of you."
    She wrinkled her nose at him. "You make me sound impossibly snobbish."
    He laughed. "Sorry. I guess I'll never understand the British devotion to protocol."
    "That's all right. We don't expect you to understand any more than we understand the Americans' lack of it."
    "Ouch." She felt his gaze on her face. "Is something bothering you, Elizabeth?"
    She paused before answering, afraid she would blurt out what was on her mind.
Everything
was bothering her: The fact that she had no right to ask him where he'd been this past week; the fact that she wasn't free to express the passion she felt for him; the fact that she was forced to contain her desire to hug him, kiss him and whatever delicious events might follow after that.
    It wasn't just his marriage that stood in the way, though that was a huge part of it. It was her standing as lady of the manor, the respected guardian of the village of Sitting Marsh, that prevented her from enjoying such simple pleasures as holding his hand, or basking in the warmth of his arms.
    "What is it?" He paused, dropping her arm to turn to her, his face creased in a frown.
    Feeling suddenly bereft without the warm pressure of his hand, she said quickly, "Oh, it's nothing. I was just a little concerned about the illness that has struck the base. Is it as bad as the rumors make it sound?"
    Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stared out at the restless ocean. "Four guys have died so far. That's all I know. The medics are working around the clock trying to figure out what killed them."
    "Well, I hope they find out before it spreads to the village."
    "Elizabeth, if I tell you something, will you promise to keep it to yourself?"
    "Well, of course." A chill touched her spine at his worried expression. "Is it worse than we thought? Is there likely to be an epidemic?"
    "No, I don't think so." He seemed to wrestle with histhoughts for a moment then said quietly, "The four guys who died. They all had something in common."
    Puzzled, she frowned at him. "You mean the same symptoms?"
    "Well, that too . . . " He sighed. "All four men had red hair."
    Her eyes widened, wondering for a brief instant if he was teasing her again. "Red hair?"
    He nodded, his gaze watchful on her face. "What does that suggest to you?"
    Now she understood. "It suggests," she said slowly, "that either the mysterious ailment is particularly selective, or someone has an intense dislike of male redheads."
    "Right." Earl's mouth tightened. "The medics think they were poisoned."
    "Oh, dear." Elizabeth's hand strayed to her throat. "It seems all too much of a coincidence, doesn't it."
    "Well, it's all theory right now." Earl whistled to the dogs, and squatted on his heels as they hurled