Chasing Lord Mystery

by Aileen Fish

  “I’m certain she will be fine, my lord. Put your fears at ease.”

  After laying her on her bed, Northcotte left so her maid could undress her and tend to any injuries.

  Put his fears at ease, Jane had said. What did he have to be afraid of? Guilty, yes, of haranguing the young lady until she could no longer be in his presence. All because of Arrington. His friend couldn’t keep his own wife happy, and now Northcotte would make everyone around him miserable.

  He should leave for Hampshire right away. Go home and let these people enjoy their preparations for the holiday. Leave, and not cause Jane any further upsets during her confinement. Pacing the length of the hallway, he argued with himself over which was the best course of action.

  Joanna would be disappointed. This was Annie’s first Christmas, and Joanna wanted someone of her own family to share it with them. At two, little William was old enough to enjoy the gifts he received.

  Blast that man, Arrington! His stupid actions had reached so far afield in damaging too many lives.

  Footsteps rang out on the staircase and Stephen, Joanna, and David rushed towards Northcotte in the hallway. Stephen reached him first. “Is she all right? When your horses arrived at the folly without you, we rode back. Joe told us what happened. How is Lady Miriam?”

  “She hasn’t wakened. The doctor has been sent for.”

  Joanna continued into Lady Miriam’s bedchamber, and Northcotte resumed his pacing. Stephen and David took up post on either side of the bedchamber door.

  David crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. “If I’d have known she didn’t ride, I would have requested a cart for her to ride in to the folly.”

  “It wasn’t her fault. The mare spooked and Lady Miriam lost her balance.” He hesitated before saying more. In the three years since Joanna and David had married, David had become like a brother to him, and Stephen an extension of that, since the cousins were so close.

  The burning acid of guilt in his gut made him unable to remain silent. Since he couldn’t apologize to Miriam yet, his brother-in-law would have to do. “We argued, again. I blamed her for the blatant matchmaking the ladies are practicing. She took insult, rightly so, and wished to be free of my company. Her sudden commands are what spooked her horse.”

  David looked at Stephen before responding, a frown creasing his brow. “I understood the ladies had ended any hopes they had of you and Lady Miriam forming an attachment.”

  Stephen nodded. “That is what Jane told me. There might have been some early ideas of you two finding each other suitable, but can you blame two happily married ladies for wanting the same for their friend? Joanna might also have felt it was a way to connect you even more to our family, or connect Lady Miriam. Who knows what schemes go through the minds of our wives?”

  “The point is,” David said, “They stopped doing so when Lady Miriam requested it. Any appearance of matchmaking has been happenstance.”

  Northcotte turned and paced to the end of the hall and back. So he was doubly to blame. Not only was Lady Miriam innocent of the accusations he made, none of the ladies had been scheming to get them together. He truly was the conceited bastard Lady Miriam said he was, even though she avoided using that term directly.

  What if she never awakened? The idea filled him with bitter bile. His foolish pride would be responsible for her death. Lady Arrington, by extension, would also be guilty, or at least, Arrington’s insatiable appetite for relations outside his marriage. How many people would be hurt by one man’s promiscuity?

  When Northcotte reached the bedchamber door again he stopped, pressing at the cords in the back of his neck with his thumb and forefinger. This headache of his was probably a fleabite in comparison to what Lady Miriam felt before she fainted.

  David straightened off the wall and took a few steps closer to Northcotte. “Is it Lady Miriam who concerns you, or the idea of marriage itself? She seems like a pleasant companion, but then my judgment might be off as I am married.”

  “She’s a very pleasant girl. Rather entertaining. Astute in human nature. Delightful sense of humor.” Northcotte stared hard at the closed door.

  “Ah, I see. A very poor prospect for a wife.”

  Northcotte glared at him, his lips stretched tightly. “You know she’s an excellent prospect for any other man. I’m the one who cannot consider marriage.”

  Stephen came closer. “I’m obviously not in the market for a husband, but I fail to see what you believe makes you so undesirable. If I had a sister, I’d happily allow her to accept your proposal.”

  “You would put her through the misery of knowing her husband has liaisons with other women?” Northcotte rubbed the back of his neck again.

  “Many men take on mistresses,” David replied.

  “Do you?” Northcotte looked first to him, then Stephen.

  “Of course not,” David spat out.

  “Ridiculous to even ask,” Stephen barked.

  David folded his arms and planted his feet in a firm stance. “You haven’t been with one in several months. Why do you imagine you’d want one once you marry? Can’t you even consider the idea that Lady Miriam will be more than happy to see to your needs?”

  “There is more to it than that,” Northcotte argued. “There is the companionship. Sometimes after a trying day in the House of Lords, I would go to Mrs. Besom’s rooms to hear her talk of little things, or make those silly noises of sympathy she always did. I’m ashamed of how soothing I found that.”

  Stephen chuckled. “Ah, yes. A wife would never wish to coddle her husband of an evening.”

  His laughter made Northcotte’s muscles tighten even more. He felt like a bowstring about to snap. His parents barely spoke to one another for as long as he could remember. The Lumleys might all have happy marriages, but his own experience was completely contrary. “I cannot guarantee I will be a faithful husband, so I cannot take the chance of facing her wrath if I stray.”

  Stephen adjusted the string holding his eye patch in place as if suddenly aware of it. “I refused to propose to Jane before I went into battle because I couldn’t guarantee I’d return. When I returned less than whole, I still hesitated to ask her. I had nightmares of the explosions around me, and would wake screaming. I’d seen my reflection. How could I ask her to look upon this face every day for the rest of her life?”

  Northcotte opened his mouth to argue but Stephen raised a hand.

  “None of that had any effect on her love for me. She was still angry at me for not asking for her hand before I left—”

  “Not to mention how angry she was when you proposed while quite deep in your cups,” David inserted.

  Stephen frowned at his cousin. “Nevertheless, in not considering her feelings in the matter, I almost lost the chance at the best life I could live.”

  Looking at Stephen, then at David, Northcotte could see they were very much in love with their wives, and very happy with their lives. But Stephen’s supposition took one thing for granted. “You presume Lady Miriam has an affection for me that has not been in evidence that I can see. She has asked that you not push an attachment between us, which is plain enough for me. She is not interested, so all of our postulating is for naught.”

  He sounded a bit more petulant that he wished. Why did it bother him that she wasn’t attracted to him? He should be overjoyed with relief that her heart was not injured by his own disinterest. He should be overjoyed that he could spend the rest of his holiday enjoying the company of those around him.

  Yet he was strangely bereft of these happy emotions, and one sentence resounded in his thoughts.

  I was a fool to wait for you.

  How urgently he wanted to ask her what she meant. His ego was already suggesting she wanted him, or she did until his mad outburst. But how could she know of him, except perhaps through Jane? If they’d met in the past, he surely would have remembered her. He didn’t think he’d been so deep in his financial woes as to be blind to a beauty such as
she was.

  She was old enough to have been in attendance at assemblies before his father died, so they might have met then. He’d been oblivious to the debutantes in Town, having interest only in the widows willing to slake his lust. Still, she could not have become so much more beautiful in four or five years that he wouldn’t have noticed her before now.

  Northcotte looked down the hall for any sign the doctor had arrived. There couldn’t be much the man could do for Lady Miriam that the ladies weren’t already doing. He’d seen fighters at Gentleman Jackson’s take a blow and go down, but none so long as this.

  Stephen and David had returned to their posts near the door. They appeared as concerned about the lady as if she were a sister to them. The Lumleys were good men. Good and faithful. Even on the few occasions when Northcotte had seen Lord Bridgethorpe, David’s father, he’d noticed how much in love Lord and Lady Bridgethorpe were. They must have been married more than thirty-five years by now, and hadn’t cooled into the polite acquaintances stage he’d witnessed in too many marriages. Those other relationships were the ones where the men usually had mistresses. Was that the cause of the distance between husband and wife, or the result?

  His parents had their own problems, including the madness and obsession that drove his father over the edge at the end. His father had loved one woman all his life, and she was not his wife. Coincidentally enough, she was Lady Bridgethorpe. The knowledge of that had made his mother an empty shell of a woman, only to finally live again when she met and married her present husband after becoming widowed.

  Which part of his father did Northcotte carry inside himself? The part capable of loving one woman until the end of his days, or the one whose wife was miserable because of him? It wouldn’t be fair to Lady Miriam to find out too late.

  It wasn’t fair to any woman, he amended. He did not love Lady Miriam. Being intrigued beyond measure did not equate love. It might even border on obsession, in which case he should leave Hambleton Cottage immediately. Before he let on to the others he might be falling in love with Miriam.

  Before he admitted it to himself.

  Chapter Seven

  Lady Miriam awoke in her bed to find Jane and Joanna sitting on either side of her and a strange man hovering near the foot of the bed. The very movement of blinking her eyes caused pain to swell in her head. Nausea tugged at her stomach. She moaned.

  “Miriam? Are you awake?” Jane patted her hand and leaned closer.

  Miriam refused to open her eyes. “What happened? Why does my head hurt so?”

  “You fell off your horse,” Jane said. “Northcotte brought you back here after you fainted.”

  Northcotte. “I remember now. He was such a boor.”

  One of her friends laughed, but without opening her eyes she couldn’t be sure which one. It was not important. The only thing that concerned her at the moment was her stomach. “I think I’m going to be ill.”

  The bed rose on Joanna’s side and a moment later Joanna spoke. “Here, lean this way.”

  Gentle hands guided her to lean over the chamber pot, and applied a cold cloth to her forehead when her dry heaves ended. She sank back into the pillows.

  Jane rose and her voice moved away. “Dr. Abraham is here. He will need to examine you again.

  Miriam lay still as the man poked and prodded, lifted her eyelid and let it fall. She answered basic questions about pains and did her best to remain awake.

  At last the doctor was ready to leave. “I will leave you some headache powders, but I believe she will recover well. She must rest, and not do any activity that requires balance for at least a week.”

  “Do not worry, I have no interest in riding again any time soon.”

  Joanna’s soft voice came from the foot of the bed. “I will see the doctor out and order some broth from the kitchen.”

  Miriam felt her bed sink again and assumed Jane remained with her. She opened her eyes to be certain. “You are supposed to be resting, dear. Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your own bed?”

  “I’m not an invalid. I will move to the chair if my back bothers me more than usual.” Jane pressed a hand low on her back and stretched.

  “Very well. I don’t wish to cause a fuss. Although I imagine it’s too late to be concerned about that. Did I sleep long?”

  “A few hours. Northcotte is beside himself with worry. Stephen says he blames himself.”

  Her earlier conversation with the man came back to Miriam and she tried to push herself to sit up again against the pillows. “Rightfully so. The man is quite full of himself.”

  “Northcotte? I’ve never known him to be so. What did he do?”

  “Merely a repeat of his proclamations since I arrived here.” Miriam handed the rag to Jane to be dipped in the cool water, and pressed the refreshed cloth to her forehead. “If I am in the same room as he is, he is certain we are out to entrap him into marriage. So the fact that he chose to remain behind with me when the others rode at a faster pace meant I was chasing him like a hound after the fox.”

  Jane giggled under her breath. “Heavens. I am very sorry for all you have been through at his hand. When you are well enough, I can have the carriage ordered to take you home, if you prefer it.”

  “And miss the chance to meet your newest family member? That will not happen. If Lord Northcotte wishes to be apart from my company, he shall have to leave.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. He should be gentleman enough to be polite around you. And we’ll all work to be certain you are not left alone with him.”

  “Thank you, Jane.”

  A knock came from the door, which opened to reveal Stephen peering around it. “May I come in?”

  “Of course.” Jane rose, and when he motioned, she went to him. Their heads bent together and they whispered back and forth, Jane glancing at Miriam on occasion, then Jane returned to Miriam. “The lord in question wishes to be certain you have recovered. Might we let him come in?”

  Miriam raised one eyebrow, but nodded. She pulled the bedclothes higher, and couldn’t stop herself from patting at her hair, which must surely be in a tangle by now. It didn’t matter. She no longer cared what Lord Mystery thought of her. The only mystery remaining about him was why he was concerned about the woman he wanted nothing to do with. She shut out the evil thoughts she had towards him and forced her face into what she hope was a serene, polite façade.

  Stephen left, and a moment later Northcotte strode briskly in to stand stiff and austere at the foot of the bed. Miriam felt she should curtsey, and the idea made her giggle. She cleared her throat to disrupt the urge. “My lord.”

  “Lady Miriam, I’m pleased to see you are recovering.” He looked anything but. His mouth and brows puckered as if he were drinking vinegar.

  “Thank you for your concern.” Now if he’d only take his leave so she could relax again.

  He glanced at Jane, who’d moved to a chair near the fire. Northcotte grimaced, his lips pressing hard together, the skin around them going pale. “I wish to apologize for my behavior.”

  His voice was so soft it was difficult to hear. Miriam sat up and leaned towards him, pressing the coverlet to her chest. “I beg your pardon?”

  He again glanced at Jane, but when Miriam looked that way, her friend was studying her nails.

  Northcotte came around the far side of the bed. “I fear your injury is all my fault. I beg your forgiveness for my behavior.”

  Now that he stood nearby, she could see the true concern in his eyes. His brows were nearly one, they pinched together so tightly. He stood quite rigid, his hands behind his back. A flash came through her mind that he was gripping them tightly to keep from strangling her. She smiled.

  Northcotte’s tension eased, and now Miriam was the guilty one. She’d been making sport of him, not encouraging him. However, she had no desire to wish him ill. “Think no more of it. My own behavior contributed enough to our disagreement. It is behind us now.”

  He s
miled, and Miriam melted. How handsome he was when he wasn’t angry, or uncomfortable. This was the man she fell in love with.

  Too bad it had been short-lived. Or perhaps it would have been better for all concerned if she’d never had feelings for him. Yes, her behavior was as much at fault as his had been, if not more so for creating the imagined friendship between them.

  “It pleases me to know you will not bear me ill will.” His voice grew stronger. “I wish you a quick recovery. If there is anything I may do to make you more comfortable, please let me know.”

  “I shall, thank you.” She continued to smile while she studied him. Something had changed. Much of the anger she’d felt in him from the moment she arrived at Hambleton Cottage had calmed. She could think of nothing that might have assuaged it.

  “I will allow you to rest now. May I look in on you later?”

  Her head tilted to one side as she tried to make out the change in him. “You may.”

  He performed a formal bow and left.

  Jane came to sit on the side of the bed again. “No matter what you tell me, you have made an impression on that man.”

  Miriam shook her head. “I do not understand it. I feel as though I am still in a dream. He is not the insufferable boor who upset me on our ride. I no longer know what to make of him.”

  ~*~

  After two days of remaining in bed, Miriam was eager to return to her normal routine, but Jane was insistent she rest. Thus when Jane took to her bed with birthing pains, Miriam was unable to go to her for fear of distressing her further.

  Joanna stayed at Jane’s side except for brief trips to Miriam’s chamber to update her on the progress. The local midwife had been called, and Joanna said the woman had chased Stephen belowstairs to wait with the other men.

  Miriam had nodded off when a soft knock came at her door and woke her. “Come in.”

  Her room was lit by a single candle, so it was a moment or two before she recognize who entered.

  Lord Northcotte.

  She sat up quickly, pulling the bedclothes to her chin. “My lord, is something amiss? Is it Jane?”