by Darcy Burke
Greaves blinked. “No one? How can that be?”
West shrugged. “I am not always engaged. Would you begrudge a man a respite?”
Greaves chuckled. “Bloody hell, I would not.” He slapped his hand on West’s shoulder. “Cheers.”
West suffered through the remainder of their stay, anxious to get back to Miss Breckenridge. Mary? No, he wouldn’t think of her as that, not until he had confirmation.
Finally, they joined the ladies and made their way from the pub toward the vehicles that would take them back to Greensward. Luck smiled on West as Lady Dunn was occupied talking to Mrs. Marsh, which left Miss Breckenridge alone as she followed behind them.
Seizing the opportunity, he made his way to her side. “How have you enjoyed today’s outing?”
She peered over at him, but kept it brief. “Quite well, thank you.”
“What workhouse in London do you visit? I’d like to make a donation.”
Her head quickly turned toward him, her eyes wide. “You would?”
“Yes.”
She blinked and looked forward. “St. George’s. Thank you.”
“Your dedication and passion are admirable.”
She flashed him another quick look after he’d said passion. He’d been tormented since their walk yesterday. Had she felt the same?
He lowered his voice. “I enjoyed our walk yesterday. In fact, I can’t seem to stop thinking about it.”
She kept her gaze trained ahead. “It was…enlightening.”
“I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.”
“I’d say it was good.”
He saw a faint blush stain her cheeks and felt inordinately pleased. “Then we’ll have to go again sometime.”
She tossed him a quick look. “That could be nice.”
Could?
He’d take it. And he’d look forward to the next week with great anticipation.
Chapter Ten
Ivy sat in one of the chairs by the fireplace as Barkley finished dressing Lady Dunn’s hair for dinner. She’d enjoyed today’s excursion to the workhouse immensely and could scarcely wait to visit tomorrow morning. They’d briefly met the children during their tour, and Ivy looked forward to getting to know them better.
“I was most impressed with The Duke today,” Lady Dunn said. “His charitable heart speaks well of him.”
Ivy wondered if he truly had a charitable heart or if he was merely trying to impress her. She hated to doubt him, but that was her nature. In her experience, people—particularly their motives—couldn’t be trusted.
“He’s still a philanderer.” She kept reminding herself of this fact. It was the only thing keeping her from pursuing a liaison, which she was certain he wanted, with him.
Except now she knew the reason for his behavior, and while she still couldn’t support it, she supposed she understood its purpose. She wondered how he kept his emotions apart from what he did. But then, in her experience, it seemed emotions played no part of it for his sex.
“It’s odd,” Lady Dunn said. “I’ve spoken to him a few times during the party—more than I ever have before—and I have a difficulty reconciling the pleasant, charming man with the Duke of Desire. The other men of my acquaintance who share a similar reputation are, to a man, somewhat base. They carry a sordid air about them. The Duke does not.”
Ivy agreed with that assessment. It was what gave her pause. If he followed through with bringing the schoolmistress from London, she would have to accept that he was a decent gentleman. More than decent, surely. Kind. Considerate. Alluring…
A rap on the door startled Ivy from her thoughts. Thank goodness, for they were heading into a direction she didn’t want. Yesterday’s walk had been harrowing enough. Add West’s behavior from today, and Ivy would be begging for his attention.
She’d vowed never to beg another man for anything again. Ever.
Barkley finished with Lady Dunn’s hair and went to answer the door. She returned quickly and said it was Mrs. Forth-Hodges.
Lady Dunn rose from the dressing table. “Invite her in.” The viscountess moved to the other chair near the fireplace.
Mrs. Forth-Hodges came toward them, quite agitated. Her face was flushed, and she gripped her hands together so tightly that her flesh was white. She looked as if she’d aged a few years since that afternoon.
Ivy vacated her chair, anticipating that Mrs. Forth-Hodges would need it.
Lady Dunn gave Ivy an appreciative glance. “Good evening, Mrs. Forth Hodges. Please, come and sit.”
Emmaline’s mother walked to the chair and dropped rather listlessly to the edge, barely perching herself on the cushion. She turned her head to look at Ivy. “I was hoping to speak with you, Miss Breckenridge. You and Emmaline seemed to have formed a friendship.”
Ivy crossed to stand next to Lady Dunn’s chair so that Mrs. Forth-Hodges didn’t have to crane her neck. “Yes.”
Mrs. Forth-Hodges wrung her hands together. “She seems to be missing.” A tear leaked from her eye, and she brushed it away. “I haven’t seen her since the excursion this afternoon. Have you?”
Ivy thought back. They’d walked to the workhouse together, but then Ivy had become so immersed with Mr. Lunden that she hadn’t noticed where Ivy had gone. Nor did she recall Emmaline being at lunch. “I haven’t. Did she return to Greensward after the workhouse visit?”
Mrs. Forth-Hodges shook her head. “No. I came back to rest, but she asked if she could continue. I assumed there were plenty of chaperones. I told Lady Wendover that she was staying in the village, but the countess somehow lost track of her.” She looked to Lady Dunn. “Did you see her?”
The viscountess pressed her lips together for a moment. “I’m trying to recall, but I must say that I don’t remember seeing her at the pub.” She shook her head and looked up at Ivy. “Do you, dear?”
Ivy felt horrible. Her friend had somehow gone missing, and she hadn’t even noticed. “I don’t.”
Another tear escaped Mrs. Forth-Hodges’s eye. “I see. Well, I thought it was worth asking you. I wondered if… That is, I’d hoped she’d maybe told you something or left you a note about her intentions.”
Of course. They suspected she’d eloped with Townsend. Why hadn’t Ivy thought of that immediately? Because to her, running off with a man was the height of foolishness.
Ivy wished she could ease Mrs. Forth-Hodges’s concern, but she couldn’t. Even worse, she was almost certain the woman’s suspicions were accurate. “She didn’t tell me anything, only that she was disappointed that you denied Townsend’s suit. I tried to encourage her to be patient.”
Mrs. Forth-Hodges summoned a smile. “Thank you. What a good friend you are.”
Not as good as Ivy would hope. She should’ve noticed that Emmaline had gone. How had she managed to sneak away, if that was, in fact, what she’d done.
Mrs. Forth-Hodges stood. “I won’t trouble you further.”
“It’s no trouble,” Lady Dunn said. “We shall pray for Miss Forth-Hodges’s safe return.”
Ivy began to grow alarmed. What if Townsend wasn’t the man Emmaline thought? What if he was more in the vein of Peter? Not that Peter had asked Ivy to run away with him. But then he hadn’t had to. Ivy had fallen right into his trap without leaving Pickering.
She expelled the memories from her mind and forced the tension from her shoulders. “If it’s any comfort, I do think Townsend cares for her.” Ivy said that to make Mrs. Forth-Hodges feel better, not because she necessarily believed it.
More tears fell down Mrs. Forth-Hodges’s face, and she swiped at her cheeks. “Yes, Emmaline told us that repeatedly. And he did seem earnest when he came to ask for permission to court her. Perhaps we were too hasty. She’s just…she’s our baby.”
Lady Dunn stood and looked at Mrs. Forth-Hodges with sympathy. “I understand.”
Emmaline’s mother nodded once and then bid them good evening. Barkley showed her out.
Lady Dunn sat back down with a verbal exhalatio
n. “My goodness, what a tangle. Do you think they eloped?”
Ivy stared at the wall for a moment. “I think it’s possible.” She turned to look at Lady Dunn. “No, I think it’s likely.”
The viscountess frowned. “That’s a shame. But if they’re in love and her parents quashed their plans for marriage, what choice did they have?”
Ivy sat back down in the chair Mrs. Forth-Hodges had vacated. “Do you find this romantic?”
“A bit.” She looked at Ivy, cocking her head to the side. “You don’t?”
“No. At best, there will be a scandal. At worst, she’ll be completely ruined.” Ivy worked to keep the disdain from her tone. She wished Emmaline had confided in her. Then she could’ve at least tried to talk her out of such insensibility.
“Yes, and that would be a pity. But I doubt Townsend would do that to her. If he was as earnest as Mrs. Forth-Hodges said, it seems likely he would take Miss Forth-Hodges to Gretna Green.”
“One can hope.” Ivy heard the contempt in her voice and nearly winced. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
Lady Dunn’s eyes narrowed briefly. “It doesn’t sound like it. Do you have reason to doubt Townsend’s intentions?”
Ivy lifted a shoulder and looked away from the viscountess. “Not particularly. I am only skeptical.”
“I wonder…” Lady Dunn said softly. “I’ve oft wondered how you became a companion. You’re certainly pretty enough to have snared a husband, and your wit would’ve served you well on the marriage mart.”
“I was never on the marriage mart.” That much was true. But then she never would’ve had a Season even if she hadn’t ruined her future. Her family wasn’t well-placed, nor were they wealthy. They’d expected Ivy to marry a local farmer or maybe a vicar. That Ivy had nurtured dreams of falling in love and marrying a true gentleman had given her mother fits.
“Ah well, I daresay you would have been a success. But what do I know? You’re an enigmatic young woman, Ivy.” Lady Dunn scrutinized her for a moment before standing. “Come, let us go down to dinner and see if the rest of the house party is aware of this scandalous development.”
As Ivy rose, anguish flashed through her. She hated thinking of Emmaline being fodder for the gossip mill. “You don’t plan to say anything, do you?” Ivy asked.
“Goodness, no. I adore gossip, dear, but not when it involves an innocent like Miss Forth-Hodges. I only mean that I wonder if there are rumors.” She gave Ivy an empathetic look. “There are bound to be, I’m afraid.”
Ivy knew that, even as she didn’t want there to be. But Emmaline had created this mess. And, as Ivy had done a decade earlier, she’d suffer the consequences.
The post-dinner discussion amongst the gentlemen centered on tomorrow’s hunt. West hadn’t decided if he would go. He would much rather try to find a reason to spend the time with Miss Breckenridge. He doubted that would be possible, however. The women were supposedly taking a ride to the folly Wendover had built last year.
When the men were finished, West made his way to the drawing room in the hope of finding a reason to speak with Miss Breckenridge, if only for a few moments. What had happened to him that he sought her attention like a lad begging for sweets in the kitchen?
As soon as he entered the drawing room, he felt the tension in the air. The women were in small groupings, their heads bent. Miss Breckenridge sat in the corner, as she usually did, her attention focused on a book in her lap.
She looked up and found his gaze. He expected her to divert her attention from his, again, as she usually did, and was surprised when she didn’t. Instead, she inclined her head ever so slightly to the right.
He glanced in that direction, confused as to what she could possibly mean. Maybe he’d imagined the tilt of her head.
Wendover announced that the gaming tables were set up, and that Lady Wendover would be leading songs. Miss Breckenridge stood and went to her employer. She helped the viscountess up and guided her to the hall so she could enjoy another evening of game play, which seemed to be her preferred pastime.
West strolled into the hall, and as soon as he saw Miss Breckenridge veer toward the library, he understood. She’d been trying to tell him to meet her there.
And if he were merely hoping that was what she wanted… Well, he’d find out soon enough.
“They’re trying to keep it quiet, but it’s a scandal.”
West picked up the conversation between Mrs. Chalmers and Mrs. Pippin as they walked by him into the hall.
Mrs. Pippin nodded profusely. “Indeed. It’s no wonder the Forth-Hodgeses didn’t come down tonight. I wonder if they’ll leave the party altogether.”
“I wouldn’t blame them. And really, what else can they do?” Mrs. Chalmers’s tone was blithely superior.
West inched behind them as they moved toward one of the tables. He didn’t usually care to eavesdrop, but he knew that Miss Forth-Hodges was a friend of Miss Breckenridge’s. He wanted to know what the “scandal” was.
Mrs. Pippin exhaled. “There’s nothing they can do. Miss Forth-Hodges has cast a blight on all of them.”
Though he wanted to go directly to the library to speak with Miss Breckenridge, West bided his time. Then he went to the gentlemen’s parlor and had a glass of whiskey with Axbridge before finally making his way to the alcove where he typically met Miss Breckenridge.
She looked up at him as he approached. “That took you long enough.”
He claimed his usual chair. “Yes, well, I was trying to be discreet. It seems there’s already a scandal afoot, however.”
Miss Breckenridge pressed her lips together and closed the book in her lap. “Unfortunately, yes. I was so hoping the Forth-Hodgeses would be able to keep Emmaline’s disappearance secret, but Mrs. Forth-Hodges made the mistake of asking Lady Wendover if she’d seen Emmaline.”
“I don’t suppose you can fault her for being concerned for her daughter.”
Miss Breckenridge exhaled. “No, you cannot. Of course it couldn’t be kept secret.”
“Do you know what happened?”
“Not for certain, but we believe she eloped with Townsend.”
That was a scandal. West should’ve talked a bit more sense into Townsend’s head the other day. Not that Townsend had given any inkling of elopement. But then, at that time, he hadn’t yet had his suit denied. Thinking back to their conversation, West could see Townsend planning such a rash action as elopement. “I don’t know Townsend well, but he seems impulsive.”
Miss Breckenridge lifted her gaze to the ceiling for a brief moment. “And I think Emmaline believed she was in love.”
“You don’t think she was?”
“I think eloping with a man she barely knows is incredibly foolish.” She focused on him intently. “Don’t you?”
He rested his arms on the chair. “In fact, I do.”
The intensity of her gaze didn’t lessen. “It’s strange, isn’t it? That you don’t find that romantic given your…proclivities.”
“I don’t intertwine the two.”
“You mean you don’t ever fall in love with the women you…help?”
He stared into the arresting green depths of her eyes. “Never.”
She blinked. “You’ve never been in love?”
“Never.” He found her interrogation fascinating. And perhaps telling. “Have you?”
Her gaze faltered at last. She looked down at her lap and turned the book over in her hands. “No.”
He didn’t believe her. He also didn’t think she would discuss it with him if he pressed her.
“Well, even though I haven’t been in love, I recognize that some have. Some are. Townsend may be impetuous, but he did seem to care for Miss Forth-Hodges.”
“Seem. You can’t really know.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “What if he lured her away so he could have his way with her?”
The pieces fell together in West’s mind. “You’ve been in love and had your heart b
roken.”
Her eyes widened, and she pursed her lips. “I have not.”
He scooted to the edge of the cushion and leaned forward. “You don’t have to hide the truth with me. Yesterday, you revealed quite a bit—I was paying close attention—and there was no harm done to you, was there?”
She stared at him a moment. “What do you want from me?”
“Surrender.”
Her lips parted, and he could see that her breathing had grown shallow. He could also see the beat of her pulse in her neck.
“Not to me. To yourself. If you want something you should take it.”
She looked away, and he watched her try to disguise the deep breath she was taking. After a moment, she glanced at him again, her brow arching. “Like Townsend did?”
He was absolutely certain this had happened to her. He nearly came off the chair in his effort to move closer to her. “Who did that to you?”
She nibbled the inside of her lower lip. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. And if I ever find out who he is, he’d better run.”
She swallowed. “What if Townsend’s intentions aren’t honorable?”
A plan had been forming in the back of West’s mind since he sat down. Now he knew what he had to do. “I’m going after them in the morning.”
Her eyes widened, and her nostrils flared. “You are?”
He stood, realizing they’d been alone here long enough. They could explain the “chance” meeting away, but if anyone took notice, it might begin to raise an eyebrow or two. “Yes, which means our time together is nearly at an end. I will likely not make it back before the house party concludes.”
She rose from the chair. “Shouldn’t Mr. Forth-Hodges go after her?”
“Perhaps, but I can travel faster than he can and am pleased to help if I may.”
“That’s very kind of you. Thank you.”
He appreciated the sentiment, but he wasn’t doing it for her. Well, maybe a little. It was the right thing to do—for Miss Forth-Hodges’s sake. “I need to go speak with Mr. Forth-Hodges to tell him of my plans and to ask what negotiations he would like me to make.”
