Jane put a comforting hand to her arm. “You will. Has the Duke not yet arranged for your next adventure?”
“Not a word, even after we...” Harriet clamped her teeth shut around the confession. Even to Jane, she could not speak aloud what she and Jeremy had done.
In public. On my back with my skirts around my waist and my stockings on the floor. Was I taken advantage of? Now that he has had me, has he lost interest?
That new thought struck her like a hammer. It tightened her stomach and left her feeling an emptiness within that made her want to cry. She thought of his cruel, handsome, savage face. Of his strength. Of how it felt to be held tightly in his arms. The thought of some other woman experiencing that was torture. The thought of being left to rot in the gilded cage of Oaksgrove was almost worse!
Do I misshim, or the freedom he gave me?
She and Jeremy had waited together in Mrs. Painter's dressing room while Ralph and his lady friend discussed dresses for an hour. Eventually, they had slipped away through Mrs. Painter's private apartment above the shop, descending a staircase at the rear of the building and running through narrow back streets and alleys to put distance between themselves and her brother. They had laughed as they ran, and Harriet had never felt so liberated.
Jeremy had later admitted he had no concept of where he was, having taken turns and streets at random in their flight. It had amplified Harriet's sense of freedom. They had been running into the unknown. Maybe they would collide with the river. Or straight into a band of footpads!
“After you…?” Jane prompted.
Harriet slammed back to the present. “After my recovery, we walked for a while. Took a tour of Oxford Street and then a jumble of places that I cannot even remember. We talked and turned at random. I could not tell you where we ended up.”
“That sounds almost romantic. Phillip is very much more conventional. His brother Edmund is a priest. My dear Phillip also trained for the clergy before he inherited his title and decided against the priesthood, but he still behaves very much as though he is a man of the cloth. It would be nice to have a bit of unconventional excitement as you have found.”
“Briefly. Remember, my excitement is only a temporary thing until Jeremy secures his property. Then he will move on, doubtless.”
Harriet wondered at the sadness such a thought provoked in her, and again, wondered if it was grief for the loss of a man or the loss of her freedom.
Abruptly, she found herself growing bitter. Jeremy had abandoned her! Jane was preparing to settle down with a husband who sounded not too far removed from monkhood, and Beecham was still finding reasons to be outside watching over her. His eyes were as galling as sand under her dress.
“Mr Beecham!” she called out, “Are there no duties requiring your attention? You seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time standing about watching me.”
Jane squeezed her arm, doubtless concerned about the angry tone in her friend's voice. Beecham inclined his head gravely.
“Many duties within and without the house, Lady Harriet. I assure you that I do not watch you, merely occasionally look in your direction.”
“Kindly confine yourself to duties within the house for a while, then. And to the rooms that don’t happen to possess south-facing windows,” Harriet snapped wryly.
It was the south aspect of the house that faced the gardens, and she would not have Beecham withdraw into the house only to stand at a south-facing window, watching her.
“I will do my duty as specified by His Lordship, Lady Harriet,” Beecham intoned.
The emphasis on her title of Lady contrasted with her brother'sLordshipirritated her. It was a clear rebuke to her for daring to give him orders. Harriet's frustration boiled over. She smiled tightly and then snatched her friend’s arm.
“Come, Jane, let me show you the stables. Ralph has acquired some fine new animals since you last saw them.”
Without allowing her friend or the butler a chance to protest, she marched off around the house towards the stable yard. Harriet had a plan. It was reckless, but she could not bear to be cooped up for another minute, wondering if she had been used and abandoned.
As soon as they were out of earshot, she whispered, “Jane, do you know how to get to Penhaligon Manor?”
Her friend frowned. “Why, yes. It is not far. An hour's drive in the carriage, I believe. Harriet, do not tell me you are thinking of going there! That would let the cat out of the bag, wouldn't it?”
“I can prepare the trap myself, and I will not tell Beecham where I am going. If asked, I simply drove you home.”
Jane laughed. “You are becoming quite the rebel. And to think that I had to persuade you to sneak away to the Duke of Chelmsford's ball a fortnight ago!”
“And to think that you are courting a monk! We seem to have switched roles,” Harriet giggled.
Now that she was planning an escape, her mood had considerably lightened. The prospect of escaping Oaksgrove was like a stiff draught of brandy, leaving her heady, even giddy.
Jane stood by as Harriet harnessed two horses to the trap. She had watched the stable hands do it often enough. They watched while forking hay and currying the other horses. She would not ask them to do it lest they incur the wrath of Beecham for aiding her escape. After the work was done, she checked and then rechecked. One of the older lads gave her a nod as he walked past with a bucket of oats, giving his approval of the job she had done.
That is good. If he thinks it a job well done, then I have done it right. There is no danger.
