Page 18

~May 4~

“M rs. Rutledge, we’re going to overturn!” Mr. Sherman shouted from just next to her on the bench of his phaeton. It was most definitely not built for such high speed, but Amelia wasn’t worried. She was certain the vehicle—and the two of them—would be fine. And she so wanted to win this race!

She slapped the horses again with the reins, encouraging them to go even faster. She wasn’t too sure they could. They were already at a flat-out run, and she was having a hard enough time keeping the two of them in hand.

“Mrs. Rutledge!” Mr. Sherman’s distressed voice reached through her determination.

“It’s all right, Mr. Sherman, we’re going to win this race and then have a lovely afternoon in Bath. I hear the water is disgusting,” she laughed.

“I don’t think we’re going to make it to Bath. We’re going to overturn!” he said, clearly panicking for no good reason. It wasn’t even as if they were on a winding road. The way in front of them lay clear and flat. This was much easier driving than through the mountains of Massachusetts and New York. Now that had been harrowing. But she didn’t dare mention it to her companion now for fear he would faint with fright.

“Wait, wait! You need to turn!” he said, suddenly grabbing onto her arm. He nearly made her lose control of the reins.

“Where?”

“There!” He pointed ahead. “You see the barn and the direction sign right before it?”

Amelia squinted ahead. “Ahhh, yes. I see it. All right, hold on to your hat!”

As they approached, she reined in the horses’ pace a touch but still took the turn pretty much at full speed. Mr. Sherman held onto her arm as one side of the vehicle lifted, the two wheels completely leaving the ground.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my,” she could hear him saying. All right, maybe that had been a little much, she reluctantly agreed even to herself—she never would do so aloud.

“We have this race won. How much did you wager?” She turned her head slightly to look at him.

“Watch the road!” he shouted.

She turned back and found they were catching up fast to a slow-moving traveling carriage. “ Pufph .” She easily overtook it and then turned back to him. “How much do we win?”

“Not enough.” He shook his head.

She could only laugh.

They were walking down the street in Bath, heading toward the Pump Room, when the gentlemen they had been racing drove into town. The fellow driving—Lord Ninnyhammer, or something like that—pulled up. “How did you… where…” he stuttered, not even able to get a complete sentence out.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I see you finally made it. Mr. Sherman’s man will be by your rooms to collect our winnings tomorrow.” Amelia gave the two stunned young men a nod and then continued on, pulling Mr. Sherman with her.

“My heart has yet to slow down,” he admitted to her.

“Don’t worry, Sherman, you’ll feel better in a trice. A horrid glass of water and maybe some cucumber sandwiches and you’ll settle down.”

He just shook his head but went along.

They were seated at a table, enjoying the sandwiches and drinking the water in no time at all. Amelia had been ready to take command of the situation and order everything when Mr. Sherman finally regained his equilibrium and did it quietly and efficiently. She appreciated that in a man. She would have been loud and commanding. He was soft and gentle and got precisely what he wanted.

“Feeling better?” she asked. He was looking around the room, taking in the sight of so many fashionable people all taking the waters as they were.

He turned toward her. The color had returned to his cheeks. He gave her a smile. “Yes, thank you. You were right. The sandwiches have settled my stomach, and the water is absolutely awful.”

She laughed. “I’m so glad.”

“Have you driven in races like this one before?” he asked hesitantly. And then added, “I suppose I should have asked before we embarked on this crazy scheme.”

She smiled and shook her head. “No, this is my first one. It was entertaining, though.”

“Then where did you learn to drive like that?”

She could only shrug. “Oh, I would race my brother when we were young. We each had our own little gig, and we would go haring through the town, terrorizing everyone. After we’d done it a few times, we were banned entirely from driving to town and had to stay on our father’s estate. We took to terrorizing the cattle.”

He laughed. “It sounds like you were destined for the wilds of America from a very young age.”

“I think my parents breathed a sigh of relief when Abraham and I moved there. He was as crazy as I was. America was the perfect place for us.”

“And you’re still not ready to slow down?” he asked.

She gave a little shrug. “Perhaps. A little. But these flashes of fun are always enjoyable. I don’t believe I’ll ever outgrow that. Are you completely scandalized?”

He chuckled. “A little,” he admitted. “But it certainly adds interest to life. You add a great deal of interest to my life, Mrs. Rutledge.”

She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face.

“But please, promise me that the return journey to London will be done at a much, much, much slower pace,” he added.

“I’ll tell you what. You drive.”

He clapped his hands. “Excellent idea!”

~May 5~

Ellen had just finished writing out the last of the invitations for her dinner party when Lord Pennyston arrived to pick her up for their promised drive through the park. He handed her up into a beautiful phaeton with bright yellow wheels.

“What a lovely carriage,” she exclaimed.

“Thank you. It was a present from my father when I graduated from university, but I went into the army right away and never actually got much use out of it. I had my groom give it a good cleaning for today.”

“My goodness! Well, I’m glad you’re finally getting a chance to drive it.” She gave him a bright smile.

As usual, his shirt points were practically poking him in the eye, they were so high, but he managed to turn his head and return her smile.

“It is a perfect spring day,” she commented. He had returned his focus to driving, so Ellen looked ahead as well.

“It is. I imagine the park will be crowded,” he said, not sounding very excited at the prospect. She couldn’t blame him.

“We could go someplace else.”

“No, no. I promised you a drive down Rotten Row, and you shall have it. And hopefully… well, it will be all right,” he added more quietly.

“I’m sure it will,” she said with a confidence she was far from feeling.

He turned the corner, and they drove through the park gates. Very soon they were crawling along, going no more than a walking pace for the crush of vehicles and horses.

“My word! Would you just look at all the people!” Ellen didn’t think she’d ever seen the park so crowded. Whenever she’d gone for a walk, it had been early in the morning. Now she was grateful she never tried to get her exercise at this time. “Even the walkway is packed.”

“There certainly are a good number of people.”

Ellen turned to see how his lordship was doing. He was pale and sweating ever so slightly.

“Lady Moreton! Lady Moreton!” a woman’s voice called out.

Ellen turned and saw four extremely fashionable young women riding toward them. “Oh, would you mind?” Ellen asked Lord Pennyston.

“Not at all. I believe that is the point of coming here at this time,” he said, attempting to give her a smile. She did notice him tucking his face a little further into his shirt collar and angling his right cheek toward the women, however.

“Lord Pennyston, may I present Lady St. Vincent, Lady Conway, Miss Sherman, and Lady Conway’s friend, Miss Lemaire, who has come to London for her first time,” Ellen said as the twins—formerly known as the Kendrick twins—and their good friends stopped by the side of the carriage.

The women all said appropriate greetings, nodding to him, and then turned to Ellen.

“I was just commenting that I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in the park during the promenade,” Lady St. Vincent said with a laugh.

“And I said that was impossible! Everyone comes to the park at the height of the promenade,” Lady Conway said with a giggle.

“No, Lady St. Vincent is absolutely correct,” Ellen said, giving her friend a smile. “This is, in fact, my very first time. It’s Lord Pennyston’s first time too.”

“No!” All the girls looked to him with their eyes wide with shock. “How could that be?” “I can’t believe it.” The twins said concurrently.

“Indeed, ladies, I’m afraid it is. It’s what happens when one joins the army at a young age. You miss the pleasures of meeting beautiful women in the park.” He gave them all a nod and a tip of his hat that effectively hid his face even further.

The girls all giggled, not even noticing his clever move. Ellen noticed though and silently applauded him. He managed to hide his face and compliment the women all at the same time.

“And how are you enjoying London for the first time, Miss Lemaire?” Lord Pennyston asked the girl who seemed to be keeping her eyes on her horse. Ellen wasn’t certain if it was because she didn’t want to look at his scar or if she was simply an uncertain equestrian.

She looked up, flushing. “Oh, I am enjoying myself a great deal, my lord. Thank you for asking.”

“You have a wonderful afternoon,” Miss Sherman said, taking another look behind them. “We all need to move before we get called out for stopping traffic.”

“Enjoy yourselves!” the twins called as they moved off, and Lord Pennyston clicked his tongue for his horse to move forward once again.

“They are such sweet girls,” Ellen said.

“How do you tell Lady Conway and Lady St. Vincent apart? They’re absolutely identical.”

Ellen laughed. “I don’t. Happily, you rarely see one without the other.”

He chuckled and nodded his head.

“Oh, seeing Miss Sherman reminded me—you would not believe what my aunt told me last night,” Ellen said, eager to share the amusing story. There was absolutely nothing that was going to bring her to say a word about the fact that none of her friends had even reacted to Lord Pennyston’s scar.

“Tell me,” he said indulgently.

“Aunt Amelia drove a race to Bath yesterday! And won!”

He turned and looked at her. “Really?”

“Yes. She and Mr. Sherman, Miss Sherman’s father, were somehow challenged to a race to Bath a few days ago by a couple of young bucks. They not only accepted but beat them soundly. Aunt Amelia said Mr. Sherman was white as a sheet by the time they got there.”

Lord Pennyston laughed. “I take it your aunt was driving?”

“Naturally.”

“I’ve only met the lady once, but yes, I could see her driving hell for leather. I don’t know Mr. Sherman.”

“He’s an older gentleman, naturally. Tall, slender like his daughter and looks as if he’s lived a happy life.”

His lordship laughed again and nodded. “That sounds like a very kind summation on your part. He is clearly an intelligent man if he allowed Mrs. Rutledge to drive.”

“Oh, yes. I’m sure they wouldn’t have won otherwise.”

“She is certainly an interesting woman.”

“Adventurous,” Ellen agreed. She couldn’t help the sigh from escaping her lips.

He turned to look at her. “You sound jealous.”

“I am! I wish I could be so bold. So fearless.”

“I’m sure she wasn’t that way when she was younger. Didn’t you say she lived for many years in America? Maybe doing so—”

“Oh, no! From what I understand, she has always been outrageous. My father-in-law used to tell us stories of when they were young. She used to race him across fields, jumping fences and streams. He said he could barely keep up.”

Lord Pennyston just shook his head in wonder. Ellen imagined there was a smile playing on his lips, but she couldn’t see it for his shirt points. “It sounds as if she married the right gentleman, in that case, one who would take her on grand adventures.”

“Indeed. From what I understand, her father was incredibly relieved when she married, although apparently, he wasn’t happy when they settled in America. He did love his daughter, reckless though she was.”

“And you wish you were the same way?” he asked.

Ellen hedged. “Not precisely. I certainly have never, and would never, participate in a race to Bath, but… I wouldn’t mind traveling, living a bit more adventurously. Don’t you wish you could do grand things?”

He was silent for a moment as they inched forward. “I have done grand things,” he said quietly. “And I pay the price for having done so.”

“Do you now wish you’d never joined the army?”

At that he turned his head and looked her in the eye, an absolutely stunned look on his face. “Never!”

“You sound very certain of that.” She tried her hardest not to laugh at his emphatic answer.

“I am. I am proud to have fought against Napoleon and his army, and I… well, I found Malta to be quite fascinating if a little boring after some time.” He turned back to face forward.

“You are so very lucky.” That sounded a great deal more wistful than she intended, but the words came from her heart.

“Yes. Yes, I suppose I am. I have had some wonderful adventures. I’ve met fascinating people and have enjoyed much of my time doing both.”

“Perhaps someday I’ll have such an opportunity, but until then, I suppose I’ll just have to be happy being bolder and outgoing at society parties,” she said, trying to console herself.

He turned and gave her a smile. “Going to a ton party is an adventure all its own. You have to beware of vicious gossips, move in just the right way on the dance floor or be trampled, and, well, the food is only for the strong of stomach.”

Ellen laughed, immediately feeling better. “You are too good, my lord.”

“Me? Not at all. You wanted to know why I’ve been so reluctant to attend a party with you—well, that is why. It’s a dangerous proposition! Honestly, I’d rather face the French army.”

“Well, well,” a man’s voice called out. “Are my eyes deceiving me or is that Lord Pennyston and Lady Moreton enjoying this fine day?”