“Your Lordship, how pleasant to see you this morning,” she said as Lord Connally and his friend rose from their seats.
“The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Hurst,” Lord Connally bowed deeply. Behind him, Mr. Hodge gave them a smaller bow of acknowledgement.
“I say, what excellent taste in fashion you have, Miss Bingley! Why look, I do believe we match! Is your bonnet not the same color as my hat, and your gown the color of my waistcoat?” He gestured to his ensemble, which did in fact consist of a brilliantly shaded orange waistcoat and a coat and hat of a plum color not dissimilar to the one Caroline wore.
“What a remarkable coincidence!” Caroline exclaimed with a laugh.
“You wear the colors much better than I, however. Does she not, Mr. Hodge?”
“Indeed.” He nodded.
They exited the church. Mr. Hurst immediately made way for the chaise, eager to return home to his breakfast. Louisa and Caroline lingered on the lawn, where other families clustered to socialize. An older man, whom Caroline had earlier seen sitting near the back of the church, approached them and greeted the gentlemen. Lord Connally introduced him as his head gardener, Mr. Lesley Hodge, Oliver Hodge’s father. He inquired after Mrs. Hurst’s health, and Caroline thought he spoke well for a gardener, though his Yorkshire accent betrayed his decidedly low origins. Still, she could tell that his son’s good manners had not only come from his education.
Mr. Bird welcomed them and thanked them for coming, and Mr. Hodge commended him on his sermon.
“The folk over at Morley will be mighty pleased to have ye, I’m certain. Ye will be missed in this parish, when my Oliver takes his orders.”
“Your son is to take over the Ravensclough parish soon then, Mr. Hodge?” Caroline asked.
“I ‘spect so, miss, now that he’s returned from abroad. Ain’t that right, Ollie?” Mr. Hodge winked and clapped the younger man on the shoulder.
Caroline turned to the reverend. “I suppose it is lucky, then, that we were able to hear you preach in this neighborhood, Mr. Bird.”
Mr. Bird gave her an uncomfortable smile. “I thank you for the honor of your compliments, Miss Bingley.”
Mrs. Bird came over to join them, accompanied by her niece. She introduced her as Miss Elise Greenbough, the daughter of Captain Greenbough, who was a teacher at a seminary in Bath.
“Lord Connally and I have already met,” Miss Greenbough said when the baron was presented before her. She gave him a peculiar look which Caroline did not understand.
She studied the young lady before her. Miss Greenbough possessed a slight figure, beautiful golden curls, a heart-shaped face, and a pert nose. She did not at all resemble the hook-nosed woman she was related to.
Caroline’s attention was drawn by the sound of a child crying nearby. The girl ran to her mother. “Mama! Ginger has run up a tree and I cannot get her to come down. She won’t come even when I call her name.”
“I told you not to play with the barn kitties,” her mother scolded. “Leave it alone, and it will come down on its own.”
But the child continued to cry.
The younger Mr. Hodge went over to her and knelt down.
“Don’t cry, little one. Which tree has Ginger gone up?” She pointed to a large oak tree near the church yard. Caroline watched as he went to the tree, shed his jacket, and began to climb it. With easy agility, he reached the branch where the cat was stranded. Making a snickering noise, he beckoned the cat to inch towards him until he could grab her, then he deftly climbed back down carrying the cat and handed it to the grateful little girl. She cradled it in her arms and scolded it for running off before following her mother and siblings, waving goodbye to Mr. Hodge.
“That was a kind thing you did for that little girl,” Caroline said as he returned to them.
“I have always had a soft spot for children and animals,” he replied.
“I can see you were not boasting about your love of the outdoors either. You climbed that tree as naturally as might a monkey!”
Mr. Hodge smiled. “I did climb quite a few trees as a boy.”
Caroline had also enjoyed such a pastime as a little girl, but she knew that to mention it now would draw criticism from her sister. “Such unladylike pursuits must be forgotten,” Louisa had once told her. “To anyone who knows you, it must be as if you emerged from the womb with the habits and deportment of a lady.”
S
Oliver knew the jig was up the moment Miss Greenbough saw him, dressed up like a dandy. She recognized him immediately. And why would she not? Only the day before, they had encountered each other again in town while Oliver was running errands on his father’s behalf. In his excitement over seeing her, he temporarily forgot he was not in disguise as Lord Connally but as himself. He chided himself for not recognizing his mistake sooner. He should have known they would be bound to meet again, if she was staying with Mrs. Bird.
She gave him the most amused smile when he was introduced to her as “Lord Connally”, but to his relief, she did not give him away. While the others were distracted watching Theo rescue the kitten, Miss Greenbough approached Oliver.
“Most intriguing, seeing you at church,Lord Connally,” she whispered, a gleam in her eye. “And I did not expectMr. Hodgeto accompany you, either.”
