“Well, yes,” Lady Emily said. “But ships do happen to wreck quite a lot. It seems as if this season I’ve heard about several of them all over the coast.”
“I cannot imagine what would happen if we came upon one,” Catherine shuddered. “The things we would find.”
“I don’t think it’s likely,” Lady Emily responded “Often, once a ship wrecks, everything goes back out to sea.”
“That’s even worse!” Catherine cried. “Those poor souls.”
“I suppose they accept the danger when they accept the job,” Lady Emily said. “It does not sound as if it’s a very enjoyable life, though.”
“Being on a ship?” Catherine asked. “Some of my neighbours have made the journey to America and back and described it as one of the worst experiences of their life, even in First Class.”
“I do understand that,” Lady Emily replied. “Being stuck in one place for weeks on end would be dreadful.”
“That’s why you want to travel,” Catherine said. “Because such a concept bothers you.”
“That is partly it,” Lady Emily mused. “And I suppose partly because this place no longer interests me. There is a whole world out there that I only hear about second or third hand. It does feel like a waste of one’s life to sit here and only listen to the stories, rather than experience them.”
“So you would go to America?” Catherine asked.
“I think I would,” Lady Emily replied. “Just to see what is there.”
“Oh no,” Catherine cried, reacting as if her friend had already made up her mind. “You can’t go.”
“Why not?” she asked, and Catherine looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
“Emmie, you know as well as I do that America is a dangerous place,” she said. “There is war and…”
“The war is over,” Lady Emily said quietly. “Besides, I have been thinking about seeing Lord Hambleton’s grave.”
The thought of her friend going over there alone to grieve made tears come to Catherine’s eyes, despite the fact that she had said it so calmly. She reached over and put a hand on Lady Emily’s leg.
“You poor dear,” she said. “And if you went, do you think your heart would be more open?”
“Probably not,” Lady Emily said. “I just thought I should see it.”
Catherine realized that her friend was not experiencing as much emotion as she thought, and she pulled her hand back with a sigh.
“Do you know what is for lunch?” she asked, changing to subject to a more neutral topic.
“Well, I suppose whatever we find on the hunt,” Lady Emily said. “There is some hope of partridge, which I particularly enjoy. If not, I hear the cook has made up several individual picnic baskets. But Catherine, you do not need to come if you do not enjoy it.”
“Oh no,” Catherine said. “I will enjoy the carriage ride very much. And I will enjoy lunch. As well, you will be there.”
“And Edward,” Lady Emily put in, just to see Catherine’s reaction. Catherine simply looked confused.
“Well, yes, everyone else will be there as well,” she said, and then looked to the men folk. “When do you think they might be ready to go?”
“Hopefully soon,” Lady Emily said. “My stomach is already starting to growl.”
“We should not have walked for so long in the garden,” Catherine lamented. “It has tired you out.”
“I’m not tired, I’m hungry,” Lady Emily said and then stood up, and cleared her throat. “Gentlemen? Baroness? Shall we proceed?”
“Oh my, we’ve lost track of the time,” Sir Preston said, as he glanced outside. “I imagine the horses and dogs are ready.”
“I heard the dogs,” Lady Emily said. Edward moved forward to walk with Catherine and Lady Emily briefly wondered whether he was going to get up the courage to ride in the carriage with her. However, what she didn’t notice was that it left her temporarily without a partner, and Lord Reginald came to walk beside her.
“Apologies,” he said. “We were discussing the nature of the London banks and the conversation got out of hand.”
“If you found the conversation more engaging than the hunt, then it is I who should apologize,” Lady Emily replied. “One should never do what one is not interested in.”
“On the contrary,” Lord Reginald said. “I have been looking forward to this hunt since your father told me about it. There is not much opportunity to hunt in London.”
“No, I can’t imagine there is,” Lady Emily replied, as they walked outside. The weather had changed a bit from when she had been outside last. The wind had started to die down and the sun was peeking out through the clouds even more.
All of the horses were saddled and waiting, and she spotted her usual hunting horse in the middle of the path. She went over and then jumped when she suddenly felt hands on her waist
“Oh my,” she said, and turned around in shock. Lord Reginald was behind her, and he looked quite embarrassed
“My apologies, my lady,” he said. “I was just going to help you up.”
“I can get myself onto the horse,” she said, and he took a step back. It took a couple of tries, but Lady Emily swung herself onto the saddle. She hated riding side-saddle, but she knew that it wasn’t proper to ride the way the men did, especially in front of them. Sometimes, when she took the horse out alone, she rode with a male saddle. Today, however, she would follow etiquette, even if it made chasing a fox slightly more difficult.
Lord Reginald jumped up onto a horse himself and looked quite triumphant when he sat on it. Lady Emily was about to make a comment when all of a sudden, the horse kneeled, perhaps to eat a carrot one of the grooms had dropped. It was quick, but Lord Reginald slid right off, and onto the ground.
Lady Emily couldn’t help herself. As he sat there, dusting himself off, she burst out laughing. She never would have laughed if he was injured, but because he wasn’t, she allowed her emotions to bubble through.
He did look slightly embarrassed by what had happened, but as he looked up at her, his face changed, and he smiled.
“I am glad to make you smile, my lady,” he said. “By any means possible.”
“I am so sorry,” Lady Emily put her hand to her mouth, in order to stop laughing “I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have...”
“No, it’s all right,” Lord Reginald got up. “Because if I had not fallen, I would not have seen your beautiful smile. Now that I have seen it, I don’t think I can ever forget it.”
Lady Emily’s laughter died away, as everyone went silent. Catherine, who was behind the fallen lord, put her hand to her chest and met Lady Emily’s eyes. Catherine clearly thought it was the kindest thing in the world to say to someone, and she waited for Lady Emily’s response
Lady Emily, however, was not so smitten.
“Well, at least you can smile after a fall like that,” she said, at last. “You are not hurt, are you?”
“Only my pride,” Lord Reginald said, and turned to get back on his horse.
The others were not so quick to mount, as there seemed to be some discussion as to who was going into the carriage, and whether Catherine wanted to set up lunch alone, or have several servants accompany her.
“You don’t want to go with her?” Lady Emily asked, as she spurred her horse forward a couple of steps to speak with Edward.
“I do want to go with her,” Edward said. “But I do not think she wants me to go with her.”
“I do not think you’d accomplish much on a bumpy carriage ride and then a confusing lunch set up,” Lady Emily replied. “You’d be better off appearing the triumphant hero after the hunt.”
“And what if I can’t catch anything?” he asked. “Then what will I appear?”
“More of a triumph than riding the carriage,” she said. “Besides, I think Catherine would prefer some time alone.”
“So, she does not have any interest in me?” Edward asked Lady Emily, almost under his breath.
“It’s no
t you,” Lady Emily replied. “Catherine, in case you haven’t noticed, is rather shy and timid. After so much socializing, she would likely prefer a few moments to collect her thoughts again.”
“I do understand that,” Edward said. “I am often the same way, after getting home from a large event.”
“Exactly,” Lady Emily said. “She may be far more receptive to your...conversation if you let her ride alone.”
“Then I will ride out with the hunt,” Edward decided and looked up to Lady Emily. “Thank you.”
Lady Emily smiled at him.
“Of course,” she said, just as Lord Reginald trotted over.
“What are you discussing?” he asked. He was trying to smile, but she could see that he was a bit worried about the conversation she was having with Edward.
“Nothing in particular,” she said, with a shrug. “Are you ready?”
“I am ready,” Lord Reginald replied. “But I think there are a few more things to do be done. Your father headed back into the house.”
Lady Emily sighed.
“He’s always forgetting something,” she said. “It’s just the way he is.”
“I take it that you have a better memory than your father?” he asked. “You seem to be very put together.”
“I have a fair memory,” she replied. “Although I admit, I am often distracted by multiple thoughts at the same time. I like to have many things sorted out at once.”
“That is a good trait to have,” he replied. “I wish I was so organized”
“Are you not?” she asked, alarmed. How could he live such a life and not be organized?
“My secretary is,” he said. “That is how he earns most of his salary, reminding me of appointments and such.”
“Oh,” she replied. Her father’s household also had staff to do that, but she didn’t rely on them. She preferred to keep most of her information private, and only informed others when necessary. It made her feel as if she was losing control if she had to rely on someone else. She didn’t say any of that, of course, but it led her further down the path of believing that Lord Reginald was simply not the right man for her.
“Apologies,” Sir Preston said, at last, when he came out of the house. “I had forgotten a few things.”
“You would not be Father if you did not,” Lady Emily said, with a light smile. “Are we ready now?”
“I believe so,” Sir Preston looked around and noticed everyone was up on their horses already. “Oh my, have I kept everyone waiting?”
“You are our host,” Lord Reginald replied. “Therefore, it is us who shall obey your schedule, and happily. Catherine, my dear, are you sure that you want to ride in the carriage?”
Lady Emily rolled her eyes at Edward while her father went to have a conversation with Catherine that had already happened a few times. Eventually, Sir Preston concluded that all was well, and got up on his horse. Lady Emily sighed in relief when he signalled that it was time to go.
She spurred her horse forward, and Lord Reginald, to her slight annoyance, fell into step beside her.
It wasn’t that she thought he was a horrible man, or that she disliked him. He was pleasant enough, both in looks and in conversation. She did think that it appeared he was overdoing it when it came to complimenting her, but he wasn’t rude or disgusting. He just wasn’t the man she wished to marry.
“Have you always hunted?” he asked her, as they rode. “Or is it something that you have taken up in recent years?”
“I have always been partial to hunting,” she said. “And I very much enjoy riding. It makes me feel free.”
“What an interesting choice of words,” he said. “Do you not feel free in your daily life?”
Emily did not particularly want to get into such a conversation with Lord Reginald, and so she chose her words carefully, hoping that he would change the topic.
“I do,” she said, even though that wasn’t entirely true. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel free in her daily life at the moment. She was mostly free to do as she pleased, especially now that she wasn’t married. Her father, aside from this adventure and the random potential suitors who were invited for supper, did not dictate her schedule. When she was married, Lord Hambleton had done his best to allow her to go about her day as well. It was her future that she was worried about, for she knew she wasn’t likely to find a man to allow her to be so free a second time.
“Well, wonderful,” he said. “I do not often feel that way.”
That intrigued her and she turned to him.
“No?” she asked.
“No,” he confirmed. “I often feel as if I am scheduled up to the hilt with parties, and greetings, and meetings. And I do enjoy it, because I feel it is the only way to stay productive. However, I never wake up and have the whole day stretched ahead of me.”
“Oh,” she said. “It is not as if I wish to do nothing. I wish to do a great deal many things.”
“Such as?” he asked. She decided to reveal some of her true feelings, just to see how he reacted.
“Such as travel,” she said. “I would like to see the world.”
He chuckled at that.
“As lovely as that is, I don’t feel it is safe for a lady such as yourself.”
“Why not?” she asked. “Am I in more danger than anyone else?”
“Well, surely you wouldn’t go alone,” he said, and she paused at that, and then shrugged
“I might,” she replied. “If I had to do.”
He looked absolutely stunned at that, although he tried to be polite. His reaction confirmed to her that this was not the man that she should marry.
“Lord Reginald, you looked positively shook,” the baron said, as he came to ride beside them. “What has happened?”
“Nothing of consequence,” Lord Reginald said, as he recovered his emotions. “Lady Emily and I were just having a discussion about the future.”
“Yes, about the future,” Lady Emily replied. And how you won’t be in mine.
She was more concerned with how she was going to disappoint her father this evening by telling him that she was not interested in this man. She could see Sir Preston watching them approvingly from his place on the far side of the trail. He was talking with Edward, but he kept glancing over to them. From where he sat, Emily could assume he thought the conversation was going fairly well.
“I heard the most ghastly news early this morning,” the baron said, changing the subject. Lady Emily did not normally feel grateful that the baron had entered the conversation, but in this case, she breathed a sigh of relief. “One of my servants was gone overnight to visit his sick mother in a nearby town, and he said there was a shipwreck by the beach.”
“A shipwreck?”” she said, remembering her conversation with Catherine. “How ghastly.”
“Exactly,” the baron replied. “And from what I hear, there were no survivors”
“Perhaps we should discuss something else,” Lord Reginald said, as he glanced to Lady Emily. “I shouldn’t like to shock you.”
“Shock me?” she said. “I imagine I am no more shocked than you. That is terrible, but I am not likely to swoon. It is the second or third one this year, isn’t it?”
A Lady's Taste For Temptation (Historical Regency Romance) Page 6
