That had Charlotte’s blush deepening, and she buried her face in a large mug of tea.
“Do you know a place calledStrathaven?” Seth asked of the smith.
“Nae, can’t say I’ve heard o’ it—but I don’t go north o’ the Galloway Hills much. It'll take ye a day’s ride to get past them, and another to reach the Kilmarnock road. That much I do ken.”
There are two days more, at least, but the letters and proofs have been sent. Charlotte and I can relax and try to enjoy the rest of this journey. There will be hostelries along the way, and we needn’t kill any horses trying to get to our destination.
The kitchen door flung open to admit a few scattered drops of rain and a breeze carrying the chill of high places. Donald Campbell stepped through, his father’s double but half the other man’s size.
“That’s Colin McKinnon back wi’ the post coach, Da. He couldnae get through to Carlisle—weather’s made a mess of it. Landslide took the road, and it won’t be passable till it’s mended.”
Mr. Campbell waved the news aside.
“Aye, a few folk’ll be waitin’ an extra week or two for their letters. Better Colin turns back than riskin’ his neck for some English post.”
Mrs. Campbell cleared her throat loudly and then gave her husband a pointed look before glancing deliberately at Charlotte and Seth. Mr. Campbell colored slightly.
“No offence to you or yours, mind,” he added gruffly to Seth.
“None taken,” Seth chuckled.
“But that means that our letters won’t have been sent,” Charlotte murmured.
Seth had been so content in his newly discovered married life that he did not originally register exactly what news Donald Campbell had brought. Then it hit him.
The letters won’t be sent. The proofs won’t be seen by either Monkton or the Prince Regent. And we must continue north. There is no time.
His heart sank. He had told himself that he was resigned to losing his Dukedom. All he wanted was Charlotte, and he would be content to be a farm laborer or a blacksmith’s apprentice, provided he had her. But there had always been the hope that there would still be time. The hope that he could have everything he wished for. Freedom at last from his father’s control. Tomaintain his Dukedom and to be married to Charlotte, his Duchess.
“Is there no other way for it to be delivered?” Charlotte was asking anxiously.
“No’ from here, lass,” Mr. Campbell rumbled. “Not if the road’s shut. Ye could take yer letters to Glasgow—might be they’ll go by ship to Bristol or London in a few days’ time—”
“We are not going to Glasgow,” Seth cut in.
She was no expert on Scottish geography, but she at the very least knew that Glasgow lay at the far end of the Clyde valley, and that they would have to pass by theirintendedroad to reach it.
“We can take the time...” Charlotte tried before she stopped herself.
Could they take the time? As much as Charlotte tried to quell the possibility, Amelia was ill. She had been ill for over two months even, if she lined up the events correctly, from Aunt Phyllis' throwaway comments on Amelia’s health, the letter Amelia had stored for Charlotte in the puzzlebox, the post they read at Beswick, and even the smith’s comment on Amelia’s pale and sickly complexion.
If Charlotte reached her too late, she knew that she would not be able to forgive herself. But she didn’t want Seth to lose everything for her sake. Surely that would breed resentment.The thought of his love turning to hatred for the woman who had cost him so much filled her with near equal dread.
“No. We cannot,” Seth put in more firmly, leaving little room for argument. “We must reach your sister. If she is unwell… I would sooner lose my title than delay you from reuniting with her sooner.”
“Och, dearie me,” Mrs. Campbell said, crossing herself. “So that’s why they were in such a fluster, aye? We’ll say a prayer for yer sister, love. And if it’s that serious, ye’d best be on your way. Not a moment to waste.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Campbell, but this is a matter of urgency with a lot at stake,” Charlotte protested, “Seth, we must—”
“We must get to Strathaven as quickly as we may,” he interrupted. “Especially if there is more bad weather to come. Your happiness is far more important to me than title or estates. And reuniting with your sister for the first time in years would bring you far greater happiness.”
“But...”
“Enough,” he finished determinedly, “it is decided. We’ll leave after breakfast and turn aside once we reach the Kilmarnock road.”
Charlotte looked at him for a long moment, eyes ablaze. Seth stared back unflinchingly and unbendingly. Eventually, she nodded.
“Then we will take the papers with us and have them sent on to Glasgow at the earliest opportunity. And if… all is well, we may even take those papers back to London and deliver them by hand. You will not lose your Dukedom on my account.”
