Ophelia found herself blushing. “She did say something about a man who loves me but I couldn’t bring myself ask her if it was referring her brother. If she had told me, it would have been another thing entirely. Asking her would make me seem desperate. I cannot be desperate.”
“Well, what about the letter you got?” asked Emily. Ophelia had told her that part as well.
“If indeed, Rebecca is working on bringing us together then, perhaps, the Viscount is the secret admirer,” said Ophelia.
“Are you quite certain?”
Ophelia nodded. “Yes, who else would it be, Emily?”
“What about Benjamin Gibbs?”
“Benjamin is just a man who helped us home one night. He never showed interest in me and I do not have any interest in him as well. So why would he write to me? I do not think he is the writer of the letter.”
Emily shrugged. “Well, fate has truly been bringing you and the Viscount together. I would not be surprised if he is the secret admirer.”
Ophelia smiled. She was glad that despite their class differences, he had still managed to reach out to her.
“You can’t seem to stop blushing, Ophelia,” Emily teased but the door opened and Martins came in with another letter.
“This is for you, Miss,” he said.
Ophelia excitedly got the letter and tore it open. Emily waited anxiously for her to finish reading.
Sweet Ophelia,
I hope this letter meets you in good condition? I seek your apologies for not being able to summon the courage into coming to meet you face to face. You must know that your beauty causes me to grow weak in the legs and I become tongue-tied. I am most afraid that I might end up making a fool of myself if I open my mouth. This was why I said so little during our last encounter. I do hope you forgive my imperfections.
I do hope to see you very soon, when I would have gathered the courage to see you once again.
Yours affectionately,
your secret admirer
Ophelia inhaled loudly as she finished reading. There was no way this couldn’t be Christopher. He had not said too much to her the night at the ball.
“So you think it is Christopher?” asked Emily after seeing the contents of the letter.
“I am certain that he is the one. I am happy that I shall be seeing him tomorrow. Then we can finally talk.”
“Look,” said Emily, pointing at an address on the letter. “Here is a return address on the letter. This means you can always send back your reply.”
Ophelia read the address and saw that it was from London. More reason to believe the letter was from Christopher.
“Now, I can rest assured that my secret admirer is the same man I have been thinking about. Oh! Emily, I am so excited.”
“Well, let’s go find you a dress to wear. You did say a carriage will come for you.”
Ophelia nodded. Rebecca had promised to send a carriage down to pick her up. Quickly, she followed her friend into the room. While Emily went through the wardrobe to find her the dining gown to wear, her mind drifted back to the conversation she had with Rebecca.
She seemed to be a very nice lady and within the shortest time, she had somehow earned her trust. If truly, the Viscount wanted to marry her, she was certain that she and Rebecca would be quite close. They would be like twins.
“Hello, Ophelia. Emily,” said Charles, walking into the room unannounced.
Both ladies were surprised to see him.
“What are you doing here?” asked Ophelia. The last time they saw him was at the ball and Charles never showed up at their home unannounced.
“I just remembered something about the man we saw at the ball,” Charles claimed.
“What about him?” asked Ophelia.
“I do not think you should depend on him,” said Charles, looking really serious which was quite unusual.
“Who is he talking about?” Emily asked.
“He is talking about Christopher,” replied Ophelia, standing up and walking towards her cousin.
“Well, you can go ahead and tell us what you want to say,” said Emily with a look of concern.
“Well,” started Charles. “Ophelia, I think you need to stay away from him. He is not to be trusted, especially when it comes to women.”
Ophelia burst into laughter. “What is this about, Charles?” You don’t even know this man!”
“I know him well enough to know that he is not to be trusted. He is a scoundrel, and a rake. All he does is gamble a lot and corrupt both single and engaged women!”
Emily and Ophelia frowned.
“I do not understand you, Charles. How do you know these things? Do you know him from somewhere?” asked Emily but a knock interrupted their discussion
“A carriage from Barrington is here!” announced Martins.
“Alright, thank you. I shall be out soon,” Ophelia replied but turned to Charles. “Charles….”
“Just be careful and do not fall for him until you understand who he really is. Maybe these are just rumors,” he said and left the room.
Ophelia was more confused than ever.
Chapter 10
Christopher Crampton, Viscount Barrington
“Morning, mother,” Christopher said, kissing his mother on both cheeks. He had just come into the parlor when he saw his mother and his sister.
“Christopher, what is this I am hearing about us having a dinner and a guest tonight?”
Chris frowned and looked at his sister. “We are?”
“Yes, we are. Miss Ophelia Campbell is coming, with her mother. I invited them both,” Rebecca replied.
Christopher was surprised. “You did?”
“Yes, I did,” replied Rebecca. I think it will give you a better chance to see her again and maybe you can summon up the courage to finally talk to her.
“Oh, sister!” Christopher cried and rushed to embrace his sister. “You have truly made me happy this day!”
“Who is this Ophelia Campbell?” asked the Countess. “And why do you act like a little child who has just been bought his first birthday gift? Is there something I must know about this lady?” she inquired, staring at her son suspiciously.
“You shall get to meet her once she comes, mother,” said Rebecca. “She is the girl I told you we ran into at the fair. She is a reputable young woman and very smart. As fate would have it, she is the Campbell’s daughter. Father’s merchant, Mr. Campbell. You do remember him don’t you? she asked.
The mother nodded. “Vaguely. I will have to meet this young woman but for now, I need to tend to your father. Once the physician comes, please direct him upstairs and whatever you do, try not to be too loud, and be proper hosts.”
“Yes mother,” said both Christopher and his sister as their mother marched towards the stairs.
“Oh! Rebecca! I can not thank you enough for doing this for me?” Christopher asked excitedly as he held his sister’s hands.
“I am not doing this for you, brother. I am merely doing this because I see Ms. Ophelia as my friend, and I need you to be responsible and not give our mother a heart attack if you are truly serious about possibly courting her. I am doing this more for me, than for you.”
Christopher smiled. “Well, I still get to see her, so I daresay it still is for me. I cannot wait for you to tell me all that transpired between the two of you when you last visited her,” he said, grabbing a seat as he had been standing all the while.
“Well,” she said. “We had a really warm encounter and I trust that there shall be more. She is eager to have company more often and, quite possibly would also enjoy your company as well, chaperoned of course. Also, she is not engaged, but you must know that you have a rival.”
Christopher smiled uneasily. “I expected that. Who is this rival?”
Rebecca shrugged. “She does not know,” she replied.
“She does not know?” Christopher asked again. “Why does she not know? Surely this man has a family or a name.”
&
nbsp; “He does have a name. A secret admirer,” Rebecca replied and laughed.
Christopher raised his brows. “A secret admirer?”
Rebecca nodded. “He has been writing to her and she worries for she knows not who it could be.”
“I am surprised that this man prefers to hide in the shadows and confess his love when he could have shown himself to her.”
“I think he is probably a very shy person,” replied Rebecca.
Well, I do hope that the shyness shall be to my advantage,” replied Christopher as he stood up. “I need to check on some of our estates up town. I shall be back soon.”
Rebecca nodded. “I might probably go into town to meet Ophelia. I would love to show her around before we come back here.”
Christopher smiled. “Well, sister, we shall see soon. Once again, thank you for doing this.”
* * *
Miss Ophelia Campbell
All through the time she spent in the carriage to London, from Havenswood, she could not stop thinking about what Charles had said. He had left the room before she could ask him questions regarding his accusations. He said at the ball that he knew of Christopher. Now, he had to come to her home to tell her that he was possibly a rake and a scoundrel?
Christopher’s face came into her memory. He did not look like someone that would corrupt a woman. Rather, he had this look of innocence that would attract even the most virtuous. Could that be his flaw?”
Wrapped in her thoughts, she had not bothered to look out the window until the carriage halted.
“Are we there already, sir?” she asked the coach man.
“No, Miss,” he replied. “I was specifically told to bring you here. Lady Egerton shall join us soon.”
Ophelia opened the door of the carriage and realized they were at a place that looked like the center of the town. People were walking past and so did several carriages and horses.
She had been to London once, but that was some months ago when she had accompanied Charles to visit his aunt.
“I am glad that you are finally here!”
Ophelia turned around and smiled as she saw Lady Egerton on a horse, riding towards them. She looked elegant as she rode in the side-saddle position, with her dress draped over the side of the horse.
The coachman left the carriage to tend to her horse as she climbed down to meet Ophelia.
“My lady,” said Ophelia with a slight curtesy.
Rebecca smiled and hugged her before pulling away. “Come, there are several places I would like for you to see.”
* * *
Lord Benjamin Gibbs, the Baron of Salsbury
He was in a carriage with Christopher who had asked him to accompany him into town that morning to visit some of his father’s estates.
They had been riding for awhile when he realized how excited his friend was.
“Is everything alright?” he asked with a puzzled look. “You seem excited this morning which is quite unusual.”
Christopher smiled. “Well, I do not want to ruin the surprise, Benjamin but I do hope you will be coming to dinner tonight.”
Benjamin was quiet for a while. There was only one thing that had been getting his friend excited for some days now and that was none other than the sweet Ophelia.
“Your sister brought you great news from Havenswood, I suppose?”
Christopher smiled. “Yes, friend. I thought I could hold it in without telling you but I cannot. Ophelia shall be coming to dinner tonight and I would greatly love if you two meet!”
Benjamin’s face tightened as he heard this. He was not ready to meet her again.
“Well,” he said with a smile, “I shall not miss it for the world.”
Several minutes pasted and they fell into silence. Benjamin then realized that he needed to know more about what Rebecca might have told him from her visit.
“So, did she tell you some things that could help you on your mission for Miss Ophelia’s hands?”
“Oh! She did! It is just like you have said, Ben. I am not the only one contending for her hand. I have a rival as well.”
Benjamin raised his brows. “A rival?”
Christopher nodded.
“What could this rival have that you do not have?” asked Benjamin.
“Well, that would be that he is mysterious, my friend.”
Benjamin frowned but then feigned ignorance. “Whatever that means, surely it cannot be that bad for you. You do have an air of mystery that intrigues women as well?”
“Well, at least, he is bold enough to write his intentions of love and send it to her. I have to hide behind my sister to do all the work for me.”
Benjamin remained quiet. Ophelia must have told Rebecca about the letter. That would mean that they had grown closer and he was certain that Rebecca would do everything to make sure her brother claimed Ophelia’s hand. He would need to talk to Luke tonight to figure out what to do about Rebecca.
“So, what do you think I should do?” asked Christopher.
“OH! You mean about the rival?” Benjamin asked his friend who nodded.
“Well, just be yourself that’s all,” he replied.
The carriage halted and they opened the door to climb out.
Christopher was just removing his gloves when Benjamin spotted Rebecca and Ophelia coming from the other end of the road.
He colored immediately, looking for a way to avoid being seen by Ophelia or Rebecca.
“Good heavens!” Christopher gasped. “She is here! What are they doing here? I thought we were supposed to meet back at home?”
Benjamin realized it was too late as Christopher had seen them.
“I will need to excuse myself and…”Benjamin mumbled.
“No, you cannot leave,” said Christopher. “At least not without meeting Ophelia. Here they come.”
Chapter 11
Miss Ophelia Campbell
“I hope you are not tired, Ophelia?” Rebecca asked her as they walked together.
Ophelia only smiled. “Not at all. I find the walking enjoyable. I more able to see a lot of beautiful things around town this way.”
“Well, I am glad. So, have you been to London before?” she asked.
Ophelia nodded. “Yes, some months ago. I came to see Duchess Amelia Aughton before she moved to Spain,” she replied, hoping to not be asked about it any further. Her poor experience with the Duchess was one of the reasons why she had such a distrust for those of the ton, for she had been greatly embarrassed and taunted. She could never forget what had happened.
Rebecca frowned. “Aughton? That name sounds familiar…”
“Might be someone else,” Ophelia replied hastily as she tried to change the subject to a shop they were passing.
Amelia had met her at a ball when the hem of her gown got caught under someone’s feet. It caused a slit to form, greatly upsetting and embarrassing Amelia who had spent an exorbitant amount of money to have the gown made. Thanks to Ophelia’s quick thinking, she took the Duchess into a private room where she was able to savage the torn gown by stitching it in a way that fit with the established design using her needle and thread she had in her reticle.
So grateful was Amelia that she requested that they be friends and invited her to her home the next day for tea with her friends. While at the tea gathering, Ophelia told her more about herself and mentioned that her father was a successful merchant. Amelia showed her displeasure of associating with someone of a lower class then she was. She taunted Ophelia which caused her other guests to join in the harassment. Ophelia left the tea gathering in tears and headed back home to Havenswood.
Oh! There is my brother,” she said excitedly. “And his friend,” she added in a disinterested voice.
Ophelia looked ahead of her and was surprised to see the Viscount looking at them. He looked dashing in his buff trousers and tailcoat. When Ophelia saw the man standing beside him, she was immediately surprised.
What could Mr. Gibbs be doing there and with Lord Cr
ampton?
The two men crossed to meet them.
“Miss Ophelia Campbell,” Christopher said bowing slightly and removing his hat while she curtsied. “It is with great pleasure that I am seeing you once again. How have you been?”
“Very well, my Lord,” replied Ophelia in a pleasant way.
“Please, meet my friend, Lord Benjamin Gibbs, the Baron of Salsbury. Benjamin, this is Miss Ophelia Campbell,” Christopher introduced.
A Lady to Redeem a Rakish Lord: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 8
