Page 36 of Ambition (The Chaplain’s Legacy #6)
He smiled and said, “Do not worry about that. I have written to tell her of our intentions, and the place is big enough to house us all comfortably, have no fear.” He hesitated, an odd look on his face.
“Olivia… I expect… I hope that Embleton will be there, too, eventually, whenever he has caught up with his sister. Perhaps… well, it will be an opportunity for you to get to know him better. That is what you want, is it not? And… and you will get to know me better, too.”
“I should like that,” she said in a low voice, for her words caught in her throat rather. What was he suggesting? That he and Lord Embleton were rivals? He had talked of marriage once, but it was so casual that she had assumed he was merely teasing her.
Something flashed in his eyes, before he became serious again. “You see, it is all my fault, this business with Grayling and Lady Euphemia.”
“Oh no! That cannot be!”
“It is, I assure you. I have been playing games, trying to keep you away from Embleton, so I set Grayling to… to distract you, and that made him ripe, I think to fall into Lady Euphemia’s hands.
That day at Grayling Hall, when we were all chasing round after each other…
that was the result of my stupid, stupid interference.
That was the mistake I made with Izzy, you know, trying to best the other suitors for her hand instead of trusting her to make the best choice for herself.
Well, I shall not make the same mistake with you, trying to bounce you into a decision.
You must take the time to know your own mind, and if Embleton is the man to make you happy, then… then…”
Olivia felt as if she had been floating gently along a quiet stream which had now turned into a raging torrent, tossing her this way and that.
Whatever did he mean? He seemed to be saying that he wanted to marry her himself, but he would not stand in her way if Lord Embleton was her choice.
Was all Osborn’s teasing and flirtation actually something more serious?
And what did Lord Grayling have to do with it?
And why on earth did he talk about Lord Embleton as if she had any choice in the matter?
He had never shown her more than gentlemanly courtesy, at best, and the edge of his temper sometimes, too.
It was all too difficult, and she was relieved when Papa came in and broke up the tête-à-tête.
***
L ate on the fifth day, their little train of carriages arrived at Thirsk, and as they turned into the market square, Olivia cried out in excitement.
“Look! Look! Lady Esther’s carriage!”
Lady Esther, who had been leaning against the squabs with her eyes closed, sat bolt upright. “Where? Where?”
“In the yard of the inn we just passed. We must stop! Lord Ramsey, we must stop at once!”
He was already knocking on the roof of the carriage, and almost before it had drawn to a halt, he was fumbling with the window to reach the handle and open the door. Leaping out, he strode back down the street, leaving the three carriages almost blocking the way for following traffic.
In a very few minutes, he returned with Mr Franklyn. Lady Esther gave a little cry, and scrambled in haste out of the carriage to throw herself into her husband’s arms.
“There, there, my love. All is well now,” he murmured into her elegant bonnet, as she shed tears of joy onto his immaculate coat.
Olivia was delighted with this romantic reunion.
Having only ever seen the placid surface of what had seemed to be no more than a pragmatic marriage, she was thrilled to discover the depths of affection lurking beneath.
There was a little argument with the postilions, who had arrangements with a different inn, but Lord Ramsey quickly disposed of this problem by decreeing that the postilions may do as they pleased but he and his party would put up at the same inn as Mr Franklyn and Lord Embleton.
Mr Franklyn laughed, and shepherded the ladies back down the road and into the inn yard, which was as lively as a spring fair.
Horses, postilions and ostlers scurried about, while a number of chambermaids and scullery maids stood at the kitchen door, eyes agog, and several farmers and tradesmen, tankards in hand, watched from the inn door.
“It is even worse inside,” Mr Franklyn said, with a chuckle. “You would imagine Thirsk had never seen a marquess before. Mind you, Embleton is in the most towering rage. This way… we have a very pleasant parlour, very snug.”
“He might feel better if he knows that we have Hoodley with us,” Olivia said.
“His valet? And is Eastwood with you, too? I confess, I shall be very glad to have properly starched cravats again,” he said. “I only packed for an overnight stay, and this has turned out to be very much longer, and now Grayling and Lady Euphemia have disappeared.”
Olivia gasped. “No! But where have they gone?”
“If only we knew,” Mr Franklyn said with a smile. “They must have turned off the main road at some point, but— Here we are.”
He threw open a door and ushered them into a parlour so hot from a blazing fire that Olivia almost felt her cheeks melting.
“Goodness,” Lady Esther said, fanning herself with her hand. “A window, I think, Mr Franklyn, if you please, unless you wish us all to collapse with heat stroke.”
There was bread, cheese and cold meat laid out on the table, together with various wines.
While Mr Franklyn went off to secure accommodation for the new arrivals, and Lady Esther fanned herself beside the open window looking down on the street below, Olivia discovered that she was hungry and set about remedying this deplorable state of affairs.
She was polishing off a large piece of cheese and wondering whether she could manage another slice of ham when her father came in, looking glum.
“Well, this is a quandary, is it not? All this way to find the runaways, and they have vanished from the earth. Ah, food,” he said, brightening a little.
“May I slice you some ham, Papa?” Olivia said.
“If you would, daughter.” He poured himself a glass of wine and sipped appreciatively. “Excellent, excellent. There is nothing like a drop of claret to improve the spirits. Lady Esther, may I offer you a glass of wine? Most refreshing after so many hours on the road.”
“Thank you, no,” she said faintly. “A lie down is what would do me the most good, I believe. I shall find Mr Franklyn and ensure that the rooms offered are of a suitable standard.”
“May I accompany you, Lady Esther?” the earl said politely, but she waved away his help.
For a while, father and daughter ate in companionable silence. Olivia watched him carefully for signs of low spirits, but she thought he was somewhat less despondent. The familiar northern countryside was clearly doing him good.
The other gentlemen came in soon after, Mr Franklyn reporting that his wife was resting under her maid’s ministrations.
“Poor Lady Esther!” Olivia said. “She is dreadfully knocked up with all this travelling.”
“She will recover very speedily, I am sure,” Mr Franklyn said. “She will be well enough to join us for dinner. Embleton, did you have any luck finding which road Grayling might have taken?”
Lord Embleton shook his head, looking as if he wished to wring his sister’s neck. “Vanished!” he muttered. “They have turned off somewhere, but I cannot find out where… or why! Surely having come so far they will proceed all the way to Scotland. Foolish girl!”
“We will find them,” Mr Franklyn said easily. “We know they did not reach Thirsk, so tomorrow we will work our way south again and explore the byways. Unless they fell into a river and sank without trace, we must come across some news of them sooner or later.”
“Perhaps Lady Euphemia wished to visit her sister,” Olivia said diffidently.
Five pairs of eyes turned curiously in her direction.
“Her sister?” Lord Embleton said, his expression darkening.
“Given that we are currently in the North Riding, Lady Olivia, do you refer to the sister who lives in Shropshire, or the one who lives in Gloucestershire? For I have to tell you that in either case your understanding of geography is abysmal.”
Olivia flushed, but said calmly, “I refer to Lady Harraby, Lord Embleton, who was residing at Harraby Hall the last I heard, not three miles from here. Perhaps Lady Euphemia wished to know if Lady Harraby has had her baby yet.”
Lord Embleton looked thunderstruck. “Harraby Hall! How foolish of me to forget that Jane is at Harraby! I was there myself not two months since. Lady Olivia, I ap-p-pologise m-most abjectly for insulting your intelligence. In all the upheaval, I had quite f-forgot that Jane is at H-Harraby H-Hall. I shall go there at once.”
And without another word, he whisked out of the room and his voice was shortly heard in the yard calling for a horse.
“A man of action,” Mr Franklyn said, with a smile. “I had forgotten about Lady Harraby myself. Well done, Olivia. But how ironic if we have been chasing after a potential elopement only to find that it is nothing more than a family visit.”
“It would be a strange manner of undertaking a family visit to leave in the middle of the night with a gentleman to whom one is not related,” Osborn said sardonically. “I await Embleton’s report with interest. One of us may yet be called upon to act as second in a duel.”
Olivia gasped. “He would not… would he?”
Mr Franklyn laughed. “Embleton has more sense.”
But Olivia could not be easy about it. “Surely someone should go after him? To prevent him from killing Lord Grayling?”
Osborn stood up at once. “I shall go, if it will set your mind at rest, Lady Olivia.”
“Thank you! At all costs, they must not fight!”
“Believe me, I shall do everything I can to prevent it.”
He bowed to her, and was gone, leaving her with nothing to do but wring her hands and pace about the room in abject terror.