“Is this gate not locked? The last time I passed this way, I had to climb the wall and suffered a scraped knee.”
“It is locked, but I have the key.” He dangled a set of keys hanging from his waistcoat pocket. Taking a beautifully shaped one with an intricate handle, he turned the lock and opened the gate.
“In that case, I shall simply locate my sister to accompany us.”
“No need. This will not take long. You can be back before she even notices you are gone. Or are you afraid to come with me without a chaperone?”
Miss Bingley straightened her shoulders. “No, of course not. Besides, we have been alone before, have we not? There is nothing improper about it.”
“No, indeed.”
S
Timidly, Caroline took Mr. Hodge’s extended hand and followed him towards the pear trees.
“Come, Miss Bingley, let us run!” Mr. Hodge took off, still holding her hand and Caroline was forced to pick up her pace. A feeling of exhilaration soared within her, causing her to laugh. She did not care that her gown brushed against the tall grass, collecting burs and bits of grass as she ran. She did not care that her sister might notice her absence and wonder where she was. She was free.
They were soon in view of the orchard.
“Oh my!” Caroline exclaimed. “It is exquisite!”
Mr. Hodge slowed his pace to allow her to take in the scene. “Then you like it?”
“More than anything! It is like looking up into a snowy canopy.”
Mr. Hodge laid down beneath the trees.
Feeling emboldened, Caroline lay beside him, though she kept a respectable distance between them.
“It was my mother’s favorite place, or so I am told. She died not long after I was born.”
“I am sorry for your loss. It must have been difficult, growing up without a mother.”
“Yes. My father–they say he was never the same after she died. If it were not for– well, if it were not for my friends, my childhood would have been an unhappy one.”
“I can only imagine. My own parents died when I was fifteen. Typhoid fever. I was away at school when it happened. Louisa took charge of me from then on. She sought to marry a man of means, and to introduce me to society so that I might do the same. Our brother Charles is a good-natured man, lovable to a fault, but he had no idea how to bring up two young ladies. He was still at Cambridge himself. Louisa might only be a year older than him, but she is shrewd.”
“Your father left you a decent dowry, I am told.”
“Yes. Twenty-thousand pounds is nothing to scoff at. But it is not enough. My sister is determined to raise our family further. My father’s fortune came from textiles manufacture, you see, and in her eyes that means we are tainted. Unless we, each of us, marry well to a gentleman, or in Charles’ case to a gentleman’s daughter, society cannot forget that we came from trade. Charles and Louisa have succeeded. Now, it is my turn.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I suppose so. I never considered any alternatives. No one can deny the advantages of a suitable match. And it would not hurt if the man I marry were to be wealthy.”
“Does love not factor in your equation?”
Caroline turned her gaze from the trees to look at him. “I do not know that I was ever given the chance to consider love,” she said softly. For three years she had fancied herself in love with Mr. Darcy. She had considered it would only be a matter of time before he returned her feelings. Now, she wondered, had she ever loved him at all, or had she only thought so because he was the one her sister told her she ought to marry?
Looking into Mr. Hodge’s eyes stirred up something inside her, a feeling like she had never before experienced, one she could not yet put a name to. She drew in a breath.
“The hour grows late, Mr. Hodge. My sister shall wonder where I have gone.”
“Of course, Miss Bingley. I shall walk you home.”
Chapter 9
Theo and Oliver canvassed the region and found that most of the farmers and merchants were in support of reviving the Scarborough Fair. Theo soon learned that Oliver was counting on him- the real Lord Connally- to do most of the planning of the fair.
