by Alice Kirks
Bridget smiled warmly at Lord Geoffrey, and noticed that as soon as he laid eyes on her, his face changed. He went from looking like an upstanding man-about-town to a love-struck teenage boy. Bridget was thrilled by the prospect that she might have been the cause of such a glance.
Geoffrey bowed to both sisters, who curtseyed in return, and the party of four chatted amiably as the servant took away the first carriage while they waited for Lord Miles. Bridget noticed how her sister kept looking impatiently down the drive, and she wished Lord Miles would come sooner so that her sister did not have to wait so anxiously for him.
Moments later, thankfully, the phaeton owned by the Notts pulled up in front of the Stanhope Manor rather quickly. The driver stopped suddenly in front of the group, and Lord Miles popped jubilantly out of the cab and onto the gravel in front of the family.
“Good afternoon, Lord Alymer, Lady Bridget, Lady Deborah,” Miles greeted them gleefully. “I have just come from town; I hope that my brother informed you of my quick shopping excursion that needed to take place before I could arrive here this afternoon.”
Bridget looked quizzically to Lord Geoffrey, as if to ask: that isn’t what you told us, what is really going on here? But Geoffrey did not meet her eye; in fact, he did not seem to be meeting anyone’s right now. And so, as she could not discover anything more from Geoffrey, she decided to pursue the matter no further. Instead she turned her focus towards her sister, who was positively beaming from ear to ear.
“Good afternoon, Lord Miles,” Deborah greeted him, coming forward to curtsey in front of him.
Then, the strangest thing happened. Miles gave a quick glance to Deborah, bowed to her, and then turned to face Bridget. “Lady Bridget, how especially lovely it is to see you. You are looking as lovely as this fine day is,” Miles said to Bridget as he took her hand and kissed it as he bowed to her.
Bridget felt her whole body stiffen with discomfort. She did not want to even look upon Lord Miles in fear that her sister would think something untoward had occurred between them that she had not been made aware of. And so, in an attempt to divert the attention to something else, Bridget said, “It is a lovely day, isn’t it? Shall we make the most of it by heading to the stables straight away?”
It seemed that Lord Geoffrey picked up on her discomfort, for he happily replied, “A capital idea, Lady Bridget. We’ll let you lead the way.”
Bridget turned to Geoffrey and smiled, and she noticed that he had the same look of confusion on his face that she did when Miles began turning his attention to her. But when they set off towards the stables Lord Alymer took to speaking with Lord Geoffrey, and Miles looked like he was trying to make his way towards Bridget. Thinking quickly, Bridget walked to her sister’s side and looped her arm into Deborah’s.
“Am I missing something?” Deborah asked her. “Did I do something to insult Lord Miles that would have made him avoid my greeting so?” Deborah turned to her sister looking heartbroken, and Bridget shook her head emphatically.
“There is not one single thing I can think of that you did wrong, darling sister,” Bridget said. “Until that moment you and Miles were two peas in a pod. I wanted to assure you that nothing has transpired between Miles and I that would make him act that way to me.”
Deborah let out a scoff. “Bridget, there are many things in this world that I am uncertain of, but one of them is not your loyalty to me. I should dig my own grave in this very spot if I thought for an instant that you would pursue a man who I had explicitly told you I had interest in,” Deborah reassured her.
Bridget smiled lovingly at her sister. “I am very glad of that,” she responded, giving Deborah’s arm a squeeze with her hand. “But I would be wary of your trust in me. Did you forget about Albert Haynes?”
Deborah looked at Bridget quizzically for an instant, and then burst out laughing. When the girls were little, Albert Haynes was the son of a dear friend of their father’s. He was the same age as the sisters, and they used to bicker over who Albert liked more. Though Deborah and Bridget were only eleven and ten, respectively, they took the rivalry very seriously. Since then, however, the sisters had never had a dispute over a man.
Bridget and Deborah continued talking back and forth about how ridiculous they were when they were children until they reached the stables. The five riders each chose a horse that had been made ready for their journey by a stable hand, and set off on their afternoon adventure.
As soon as they got going, however, Lord Alymer turned the subject, as always, to the investigation of the intruder. “Have you had any further developments in the case, Lord Geoffrey?” Lord Alymer asked him as he trotted beside Geoffrey.
“Father, we talked about this at great length the last time we were together, can we not broach another subject so that these two gentlemen do not think that is all we think about?” Bridget called from behind. She was seated upon a horse called Nancy, who was a deep brown colour and a very smooth ride. While Bridget was quite an accomplished rider, she was still grateful to be riding such a sturdy horse while her mind was concentrating on Lord Geoffrey.
Geoffrey was riding a black horse named Ophelia, her father rode a horse named Cherry, Deborah rode Feathers, and Miles offered to ride Giles. Miles chose the horse whose name most closely resembled his own, but Bridget had a slight chuckle because Giles was also the most difficult horse to keep steady. He had a tendency to do whatever he wanted when he was taken out for a ride, and Bridget was eager to see how the horse would behave on this journey.
Geoffrey looked back at Bridget and flashed a terribly enchanting smile at her that made her heart flutter. “I can certainly understand why that topic would take precedence in your household at a time like this, Lord Alymer,” Geoffrey said. “But I also must thank Lady Bridget for kindly offering another topic of conversation. However, I am happy to talk about this for as long as you would like. I have made no more great strides, but we continue to pursue the intruder with as much urgency as we have already.”
Bridget thought that was a rather vague answer for Lord Geoffrey to be giving, but it seemed to be an appropriate one. She was no more sure of who the thief was than before, although her intuition was leading her towards someone. After the other night at the Nott Estate where Geoffrey had been about to tell her a secret, Bridget wondered if the thief could have been him.
She remembered the way Geoffrey’s eyes had looked turquoise in the library, and because that was the only part of the thief that Bridget saw for certain, that was all she had to go on. There was also a small part of her that hoped the thief was Geoffrey, because then he would be exactly like one of the daring heroes in her stories. Bridget thought it would be exiting to be with a man such as that, and so she let her imagination run away with her for the time being.
“Alright, alright, I shall listen to my daughter’s orders and pursue another topic of conversation, then. There is no point in pushing something that cannot be budged,” Lord Alymer jested. He turned around and gave Bridget a mischievous look, and Bridget laughed at him.
As the party trotted along further, the day became even more beautiful. The sun came out from behind the few clouds in the sky, and the temperature rose so much that Bridget considered doffing her spencer that she had worn over her riding attire. She looked across the beautiful, lush fields that they walked through, and felt very lucky to have such picturesque land that surrounded her home.
Bridget’s serenity was unfortunately interrupted by Lord Miles riding up beside her. When Bridget looked to him he seemed to be having a great deal of trouble staying upon Giles, but was trying to make it seem as though he was having no problems.
“Were you frightened when you stumbled upon the intruder, Lady Bridget? I wish I had been there so that I might have given the scoundrel what he deserved!” Miles said enthusiastically.
Bridget looked over to Deborah uncomfortably. Deborah shrugged, as if unable to discover why Miles was suddenly showing her such interest. “I would not
say I was frightened, Lord Miles,” Bridget began, “but I had hoped that it would not be a person, let alone a thief, that I would discover when I heard those sounds in the middle of the night. I do not believe, however, that anyone would have been able to ‘give the scoundrel what he deserved’, as he was out of the room so quickly I barely had time to look at him.” Bridget gave Miles a hard look, trying to dissuade him from speaking with her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.
Miles smiled happily at Bridget and tried to move in closer to her. However, as soon as he tried to do that, Giles decided it was time to have some fun with him and began jostling him around as though he weighed nothing. Miles swayed so that he nearly knocked into Bridget and tossed her from her horse. When she made a noise of concern, everyone else in the party stopped to see what was going on.
Immediately, Lord Geoffrey leapt from his horse and grabbed onto Giles’ halter as he stroked the horse’s snout to calm him. The horse seemed to instantly relax, both because Geoffrey was holding him and because he was not so close to Nancy, Bridget’s horse, anymore. Geoffrey looked at Miles and said, “You should not have tried to bring the horses so close together. I believe that is what made Giles so anxious.”
“Nonsense!” Miles protested, giving Bridget a grin and a wink. “I had control of the horse the whole time. I am not sure why you stopped me.” Bridget looked down at Geoffrey and saw that he was glaring at his brother, and if looks could kill, Miles would have been long dead by now. But Geoffrey took a deep breath to calm himself, and just as he was about to respond to Miles, Lord Alymer called back to the brothers.
“Why not come ride beside me, Miles? Giles may be a tricky horse, but he seems to listen to me well enough,” Lord Alymer suggested.
Miles looked pained and responded, “No, no, I am quite alright, thank you Lord Alymer. If I require any assistance, perhaps I shall call upon Lady Bridget. She must have a good handle on horses if she so swiftly dealt with that intruder the other night!” Miles once again looked to Bridget for confirmation.
Bridget, however, offered him none. “I cannot understand how you would connect those two instances, Lord Miles,” Bridget said, confused. “Besides, didn’t you just finish saying that you believed I was scared when I came upon the thief the other night and that you would have dealt with him far better?” Miles looked sheepishly at Bridget, who could not contain her frustration with him any longer. How had this petulant child who was here riding with them today replaced the kind gentleman who her sister had been falling head over heels for the other night? Bridget was most disappointed to see that such a change had come over Lord Miles. After he said nothing for a few moments, Bridget said, “I think riding beside my father is an excellent idea.”
Miles finally seemed to understand that he was not wanted beside Bridget, and trotted up beside Lord Alymer. This left Geoffrey the opportunity to ride beside her, and he seemed to take it quickly. However, unlike his brother Geoffrey had not forgotten about Deborah, and so he called back to her, “Lady Deborah, would you prefer to ride beside your sister? I can fall in line behind the two of you.”
Deborah smiled kindly at Geoffrey. “Thank you, Lord Geoffrey. Perhaps we could both ride beside Bridget so that she might feel more like the princess that she is!” The trio laughed at Deborah’s remark, and for a few minutes there was a blessed calm. Lord Miles and Lord Alymer rode side-by-side as Lord Alymer helped to control Giles, and Deborah, Bridget and Geoffrey rode alongside each other, idly talking back and forth about the gorgeous day stretched out in front of them.
Chapter 15
The calm, however, did not last long. Miles tried once again to fall back and be beside Bridget, but instead ended up beside Deborah. Deborah was delighted at this and tried to engage him in conversation, but Miles seemed very disinterested in her. Geoffrey seemed to want to break away from Deborah and Miles so that he and Bridget could speak, but every time he or Bridget tried to inch away from them, Miles would try to wedge his way in beside Bridget. It was a rather comedic sight.
And so, Miles finally accepted his position in between Geoffrey and Deborah, but still tried to shout across to Bridget. After Bridget pretended not to hear him three times, she was becoming increasingly annoyed that the afternoon she had hoped would be an enjoyable time was quickly becoming one that she wished would come to an end. She desperately wanted a moment alone between her and Geoffrey so that he could reveal to her his secret, but it did not seem that she would get that.
All of a sudden, Bridget had an idea that would dissuade Miles from pursuing her and might tell her whether or not her inclination that Geoffrey was the thief was correct. Bridget looked at all the members in her party and abruptly said, “You know, all this discussion about the thief has made me realise something. The intruder reminded me of a rake in one of my beloved novels, and he had such enchanting eyes. If he were a nobleman, I wouldn’t mind meeting and courting such a man.”
As soon as the words were out of Bridget’s mouth, the whole group stopped walking. Deborah looked at her sister as though she had lost her mind, Lord Geoffrey and Lord Miles looked stunned, and Lord Alymer looked positively enraged.
“How dare you say something like that, Bridget!” her father shouted at her. “Stop speaking such nonsense. You would want to court a man who broke into our house and stole from our family because such a thing ‘excites’ you? When are you going to pull your head out of those books you’ve been reading and get serious?”
Bridget was not surprised by her father’s reaction, but it hurt nonetheless. She knew that saying such a provocative thing would upset her family members, but she also knew that she could speak to Deborah privately later and explain what she had been trying to do. Unfortunately, she could not think of a way she could explain her plan to her father, so for the time being Lord Alymer would just have to be surprised with his daughter’s actions.
Lady Deborah said nothing, but Bridget closely watched Lord Geoffrey. He seemed to process the shocking information, and then a look came across his face; one that Bridget could not be sure of what it meant. But before Bridget had the chance to study him much further, Lord Miles spoke and took everyone by surprise.
“I am afraid, in that case, that I feel compelled to admit something to all of you,” Miles said to the group with a great deal of importance. Miles dismounted from Giles with some difficulty and stood beside his noble steed with his chest puffed out proudly and his hands behind his back. “I do not say this with a great deal of pride, but it is something I feel I must confess nonetheless... it was I who was the thief who broke into your manor the other night, Lord Alymer.”
Bridget’s eyes widened and the whole group fell silent once again. Miles looked around from person to person, as if expecting someone to congratulate him, or Bridget to fall into his arms. But instead of any of that, all that happened was that Lord Alymer scoffed.
“Miles, I find it very hard to believe that someone as noble as yourself could be behind this deed. Why are you admitting to it, when we all know it couldn’t possibly be you?” Lord Alymer asked.
Miles’ proud look quickly disappeared from his face once he realised that his desired outcome had not come to light. He kept looking to Lady Bridget, as if expecting this revelation to bring about a change in demeanour from her. Bridget, however, continued to stare slack-jawed at Miles.
She could not even believe the possibility that Miles could be the intruder. For one thing, he was a good deal shorter than the man she had seen. For another, Miles’ eyes were not the same hue in either light or darkness as the intruder’s. Though the glance was only momentary, Bridget was sure of what she had seen in the dining room that night, and that person she had seen certainly was not Miles.
What confused her further was that Miles’ sudden admission confirmed what she had been worried about all morning: that Miles was now beginning to be attracted to Bridget more than he was to Deborah. It seemed Miles had no reason to admit he was the thief, other than t
hat Bridget had just admitted she would like such a man to court her.
Bridget could not figure out why Miles would have such a sudden and complete change of heart when it came to his desires, but she could be sure of one thing: when it came to the Nott brothers, it was not Miles’ attention she so desired.
