by June Calvin
Olivia gasped. “You what?”
“Or lease it, if your uncle would not approve of the sale.”
Olivia felt as if she had been dealt a blow to the stomach. “Sell Ormhill land? Did he agree to this? Did my uncle?”
“He hadn’t decided. Neither of them had. Olivia, I thought to relieve you of the huge responsibility the management of his estate entails. Now, of course, he thinks I wanted it for my project. I should have realized that construction might have been placed upon my offer. Stupid on my part.” He struck his forehead with his hand, then turned to her. “But I swear to you, Livvy, by all I hold sacred, I never did it for that reason. As I told you, I can move the Acropolis to another site, one that we have owned since we first came to Norvale. You can see it from the other side of those shrubs.” He held out his hand to her.
“No.” She drew back. “Jason wouldn’t permit it just now.”
“That hothead is going to get himself killed someday. . . .”
“He is my brother. He has a right and a duty to protect me.”
Something odd came into Corbright’s eyes. “And you, to protect him?”
She felt cold, suddenly. Cold and afraid. “I had best go.”
“Olivia, wait. I will cancel the project. I will! I’ll sell the manor and all my land here. Anything to convince you and Jason that all I want is you.”
Olivia looked into his eyes. He seemed so sincere. He was so dangerous. Suddenly all the turmoil in her mind overwhelmed her. Her head began to buzz, and for the first time in her life she felt she would faint. As she swayed, Corbright caught her, then took advantage of the moment to put his arms around her. She clung to him a moment until her head cleared, then pulled away. “I am going to go home now. I feel a bit tired.”
“But you haven’t said . . . you do believe me, don’t you? Oh, God, how I wish I had not promised myself to the Comfreys. I am to leave with them tomorrow after my guests have gone, to look at an alabaster quarry he owns in Staffordshire. But I can’t. I must stay here and convince you somehow—”
“No, go on with your trip. It will give Jason time to cool down.”
“Yes, perhaps that would be best. After all, I’ll see you in Scotland in a few weeks, when grouse shooting begins, won’t I?”
“I . . . we haven’t made our plans yet, but I expect so.”
“That is all right, then. We’ll meet there, and spend time together. Lots of time. We’ll talk, become reacquainted, make plans.” His eyes seemed feverish in their intensity. Olivia could only nod, wishing to be away from him.
“Good. Then au revoir, my love.” He took up her right hand and kissed it fervently, then strode back toward the manor. Olivia noticed that he gave Edmund and Jason a wide berth. She slowly approached the two herself, her mind reeling with all that had happened.
“How could you let that man embrace you again?” Jason demanded as she approached.
Olivia did not bother to disabuse him of this notion. “You were going to sell him your land? Without telling me?”
When he heard this, Edmund started as if he’d just heard cannon go off.
Jason looked sideways at him before reluctantly responding to his sister. “I hadn’t decided yet. I wanted to free you of the burden. . . .”
“So I would be more likely to marry.”
“Well, yes, but . . .”
Olivia sighed. “Oh, Jason.” She looked up into his eyes, and saw pain and confusion that echoed her own. “We’ll discuss it tomorrow. I am tired. I am going to collect Uncle Milton and Aunt Lavinia and go home. Will you . . . will you come, too? Soon?”
“I’ve no desire to stay here!” He offered her his arm. “Edmund?”
“Yes, I’ll leave, and gladly.”
On the way home, Lavinia dominated the conversation, talking with more animation than Olivia could remember her showing before. She had spent the evening in the company of Corbright’s uncle, and quoted him endlessly on matters of fashion and garment construction.
“Mr. Barteau plans to establish a museum of fashion,” she said. “He is looking for a property where he can suitably house his own collection and add to it. Think of it—he has costumes from the reign of William and Mary! He wants the gown our mother wore to George the Third’s coronation. I don’t see why he shouldn’t have it, do you, Milton?”
As they conversed, Olivia barely listened, commenting as required, while in another part of her mind she turned over and over the events of the evening.
Just as they pulled into the Beaumont carriageway, her uncle called to her: “Olivia? Odd, isn’t it, about the Swalens selling out and moving so suddenly?”
“I gather Lord Corbright took my part rather forcefully,” Olivia said. “I cannot like his making the reason so public, but I am pleased that they are gone.” She leaned her head back against the squabs and closed her eyes.
“Olivia, are you feeling poorly?” her aunt asked, finally noticing her niece’s uncharacteristic lack of animation.
“Just a touch of headache. I shall be fine tomorrow.” She opened her eyes and looked directly at her uncle. “Then we shall discuss Corbright’s land acquisitions in greater detail.”
Milton drew back, brows arched. “Ah, so that is it.”
“Yes.” The door to the carriage opened, and the footman put down the steps.
“Olivia, I—”
“Tomorrow, Uncle. Please? We’ll go home with you after church.” She hastily departed the carriage first, instead of letting her aunt go ahead of her, and dashed up the stairs to her room.
“What was that all about, Milton?”
Lavinia’s brother shook his head. “Tomorrow, Lavvy.”
On the way home Jason raged about the way Corbright had manhandled Olivia, about the hints of foul play in his dealings with other landowners, and his scheme, which Jason did not hesitate to call mad, for building Greek temples in Norvale.
“Now I know why he broke it off after he learned of Father’s will. He wants Wren Hall. He wants her land. I shall forbid her to ever see him again,” he declared.
“A most unwise suggestion,” Edmund observed.
“You take his part?” Jason’s lip curled.
“Indeed not. I am more convinced than ever that he is a throughly rotten individual. But Olivia is a rather willful young woman, and not under your control. You and she seem to brangle a great deal. Any attempt to force her decision might just drive her into Corbright’s arms.”
“Surely now that she knows he has tried to buy my land, she will recognize his interest in her for what it is. He wants this valley, Edmund. Not Olivia. He always has. There’s something demented about it. Other landowners have also received offers for their land. There have been barns burned, wells poisoned—it’s incredible. Several small landowners have sold out and left.”
Edmund felt a cold chill run down his spine when he learned the extent of Corbright’s scheming. “Did you tell Olivia this?”
“I haven’t had a chance yet. As for selling my land, Corbright suggested it be presented to her as a fait accompli. He suggested the same thing you did, that she might consider marriage once she was not so taken up with my estate. At that time I only wished her to marry—him, or you, or anyone. But now I no longer trust Corbright. Will you speak to her, Edmund? As you say, she will oppose me, but she might listen to you.”
“No, I most certainly will not seek to dissuade Olivia from marrying Corbright. She thinks me after her fortune, so what credence would she give to me when I try to discredit a rival? Besides, you must consider the possibility that she loves him still.”
“She tried to fight him off tonight. You saw!”
“And I saw her, a few minutes later, go willingly into his embrace.”
“That truly surprised me,” Jason mused. “I thought once she knew he’d tried to buy my land, she’d slap his face and walk away, never to listen to his lies again.”
“A woman in love does not find it easy to believe evil intent of her
beloved.”
“I can’t believe Olivia would be such a nodcock!”
“Nor I. Perhaps she just needs time to think things through. Tell her about these other incidents, by all means. But do not try to force the issue, Jason. That is the wrong way to go round with her. Do you remember my mentioning going to London for training in fencing and boxing from the experts? Perhaps if you took her there this fall, she might meet someone else. But remember, if she does love Corbright, don’t set yourself up to be his enemy, for then you become hers. And she will need all the friends she can get once she is his wife.”
“God forbid.”
The two men spoke no more, each staring bleakly out the windows of Uncle Milton’s carriage as it carried them back to Beaumont.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning Olivia avoided her brother’s and aunt’s questions at breakfast by taking toast and chocolate in her room. She came downstairs just in time to go to church. Edmund was waiting with them at the foot of the stairs. She wondered if he should be invited to their family meeting. He had taken her and Jason’s part last night, and yet she hesitated to call upon him to further embroil himself with a man as jealous and dangerous as Corbright. The matter was out of her hands, however.
“Shall we postpone our meeting?” Jason asked when she came into view. “Before our confrontation last night, Edmund had accepted an invitation to dine with the Bensons today.”
Corbright’s words from the night before about Mary Benson came back to her: Her fortune outweighs yours, so do not think to capture him with it. She lifted her chin proudly. “It is a family meeting, Jason. I do appreciate your help last night, Lord Edmund, but we can’t ask you to involve yourself in our affairs.”
“Nor would I wish to intrude upon them,” Edmund responded in as chilly an accent as she had employed.
The trip to church was a silent one, and when they arrived Edmund allowed himself to be taken in charge by a triumphant Mary Benson, to be led to their family pew. Olivia heard scarcely a word of the sermon, instead planning what she would say to her family. Corbright had been right. She did have a duty to protect her brother. She must marry before Corbright knew she meant to refuse him; otherwise Jason might forbid him to see her, which could lead to a duel. When they convened in Uncle Milton’s parlor after church, she had a speech all ready, but Jason forestalled her by immediately launching into a litany of Corbright’s heavy-handed attempts to buy out several landowners in the last three years. There were more than Olivia had known of, and she shuddered at the fury on her brother’s face as he talked.
She had to defuse his anger. “There’s nothing wrong in trying to buy land. You planned to sell him yours, too.”
“I said he offered to buy it. Never said I’d sell it.”
“Or lease it,” his uncle put in. “He suggested a five- or ten-year lease.”
“He said it would free you to look for a husband.”
“Very disinterested of him,” Olivia snapped.
“I thought so at the time, but now I have serious doubts,” Uncle Milton said.
“Oh, he’s interested, all right. In Livvy’s land. Finest view in the valley, indeed! Well, he shan’t have it, or mine either.” Jason slammed his fist into his palm. “Scheming creature. He wants to marry her, buy my land, doubtless has his eye on Lavinia’s through that uncle of his.”
“Oh, no.” Lavinia gasped. “Surely not Peter. He wouldn’t be a party to something so devious.”
“Peter! You are on a first-name basis with Mr. Barteau?” Olivia looked pityingly at her aunt. How cruel of that man to court her to further his nephew’s schemes.
“Surely you do not wish to marry him now, Olivia,” Uncle Milton said. “He will not like it, to be sure, but—”
“Like it or not, he shan’t even so much as see her again,” Jason declared, Edmund’s good advice forgotten. “When next he shows his face here, I shall personally throw him off the property.”
Olivia put her hand to her mouth. The thought of another physical confrontation between Jason and Corbright made her blood run cold. She knew who would prevail, if ever Corbright thought he had no hope of marrying her. She knew Corbright’s temper too well, and now feared his very nature. It would be death for her brother.
“You most certainly shall not,” she declared. “I am shocked that you would think to sell your land, Jason, but I do not appreciate your assumption that it is for my land that Franklin renews his courtship. Do you think no one will have me except for my dowry?”
“Certainly not!”
“Then why did you feel you had to force Lord Edmund to marry me? You dragged a fortune hunter home, thought to sell your land—anything to see me wed.” Bitterness laced her voice. “Well, I may indeed marry Lord Corbright. . . .”
“No, Livvy . . .” Too late Jason remembered Edmund’s suggestion that his opposition might push his sister into Corbright’s arms. “Please think about it first. We’ve told you many incidents that raise questions as to his veracity, his intentions, his very honor. Just don’t decide until you’ve given them more thought.”
Livvy continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “. . . or I may marry someone else. But one way or another, I will be married by this time next year, to someone of my own choosing. You shall have your freedom, brother. But do not go picking any more fights with Corbright. I’ll have your word on it.”
Jason thrust his jaw forward. “I am not afraid of him, Livvy.”
“No one doubts your courage. Your sense, perhaps, but not your courage. But you are no match for him, Jason.”
At Jason’s kindling wrath at this slur on his abilities she hastened on, “But that is not the point. I . . . I may still love him. And after all, nothing has been proved against him. As he said last night, if his intentions had been insincere, would he have announced that scheme before he had your land safely in his pocket? Please don’t kill the man I may love, or let him kill you. I couldn’t bear it!” Olivia’s pleading tone and teary eyes moved Jason to take her in his arms.
“No, dearest, of course I won’t. But—”
“There, then! That’s settled.” Olivia pulled away and launched into her set speech at last. “I have been thinking perhaps I would like to go to London as soon as the harvest is complete. Now, this will doubtless displease you, but Lady Bower has invited me to a ball she is giving in October. She says every important political person in the kingdom will attend. Meeting other men may help me to better understand my feelings toward Corbright. I know it will mean giving up your shooting, but . . .”
Jason could scarcely believe his good fortune, though he pretended to be dismayed. “Go to London? Hunh! Give up my shooting? You ask a lot, sister!”
“But it is in a good cause getting rid of me! Who knows, I may marry a politician. I shall become a great London hostess and never . . . never bother with agriculture again. Your estate agent can run my property along with yours.” The crack in her voice gave away her true feelings about this notion, but Olivia hastened on. “You can at last be rid of your encumbrance and live your life as you see fit.”
“Livvy, I do not see you as an encumbrance. I’ve been a selfish twit!”
She put her hand to his cheek. “But please, please don’t sell your land. Once I am off the scene you may engage a male estate agent who will doubtless do a better job than I.”
“Perhaps Lord Edmund,” Jason mused.
“Ha!” Olivia’s eyes flashed. “I think Lord Edmund will be long gone by then. Have you forgotten where he is dining today? He has his eye on a richer prize by far. Aunt Lavinia, you’ll enjoy visiting all the shops, I daresay.”
Lavinia’s woeful face did not reflect any joy. “Well, I never thought I’d be the target of a fortune hunter. I must say, it is not a pleasant thought.”
“No, it is not!” Olivia stood, suddenly aware that tears were near. “Come, let us go into the garden and begin planning what to pack.”
“Ah, I’ve hurt her feelin
gs, haven’t I?” Jason asked his uncle as the women left the room.
“There was no easy way to say it. The worst of it is, we could be wrong. Corbright may love her deeply.”
“Then he’ll still want her when he learns he’s not to have my land or hers, won’t he?” Jason growled. “For I will tell him if he marries her, I will exercise my right to take it.”
“Don’t say anything to him yet,” Uncle Milton advised. “I wish to make some inquiries into these other incidents young Hinson-Jones told you about.”
“I don’t trust him. I’ll see him dead before he marries my sister.”
“Jason, you always go to extremes. Let this play out as it will. You know how contrary she can be. And she is right about one thing: in a duel you will be no match for him. “
Jason had the grace to agree. “I’ll make good use of my time in London. Edmund says my science is improving, but I should try to get further instructions from Gentleman Jackson. And he says my fencing is only adequate. I’d never beat Corbright at swordplay. I’ll go to Angelo’s and study fencing from the master. And to Manton’s every day for target practice. While Livvy is looking for a husband, I’ll be preparing to do what I must to protect her, if need be.”
His uncle wiped his hand over his face. “I cannot like such violent plans.”
“It is the way of the world, Uncle.” Jason sat by him and threw his arm around the older man’s shoulders. “You know what I wish?”
“What?”
“That Livvy and Edmund would fall in love. I heard how her voice broke as she spoke of giving up her land. She loves the country, and so does he. And I would swear that they had become quite attached to one another lately.”
“Friendly, at least.”
“Well, on his part it is more. He follows her with his eyes whenever he thinks she is not looking. And as for his sniffing at that feather-witted Mary Benson, I don’t believe it. I think he’d have Livvy in a heartbeat, if she’d encourage him.”
His uncle looked quite struck by this. “And her remarks about Mary seemed like jealousy to me. She ‘doth protest too much,’ do you suppose?”
