The gentlemen decided to travel by way of Birmingham to deliver Beaujean to his family’s estate. From there, Oliver and Theo would continue on to Oxford. The day before their departure, they called at the parsonage to take their leave.
“I shall see you at the altar in three weeks, my love,” Oliver told Miss Greenbough, kissing her hands.
Miss Greenbough gave him a loving look. “I shall miss you every moment you are gone.”
Mrs. Bird turned to Theo. “Have you heard the news? Miss Bingley is leaving Fairclough. She will go to live with her brother from now on.”
“When?”
“Today, I believe. She came yesterday with the Hursts to take her leave of us. They might even now be setting off.”
Their visit concluded in a hurry. As they were leaving the parsonage, Oliver urged Theo. “You must go to her. This might be your last chance.”
“What if I am too late? What if I have already lost my chance?”
“Well, you won’t know until you try, will you?” Beau said. “Off with you, man!”
Theo mounted his horse and took off. He pushed his horse at a gallop all the way to Fairclough, then dismounted in front of the house and raced up the steps.
Once more, Mrs. Hurst was glad to see him come. “Caroline has gone for a walk,” she told him. “I warned her we would be leaving soon, but she insisted there was something she needed to do.”
Theo had a good guess where she might have gone.
S
Caroline sighed as her maid put the last of her things into the trunk and shut it. Her time at Fairclough was at an end. She glanced at the clock on the bureau. There would be time still, before their departure, for one last walk around the grounds, she decided. There might even be time enough to walk all the way to Raven’s Cliff. I have to see him one last time, she decided, even if only to say goodbye.
The tide was high. For some reason, she had checked the almanac that morning, just to see. Instead of going by way of the beach, she took the path via the garden, then walked along the moors. The view of the ocean from the clifftops was truly spectacular.
Caroline walked slowly, enjoying the warm sunshine and the ocean breeze across her face. As she went along, she heard someone call her name and turned to look. It was Lord Connally, striding across the moors, from the direction of Fairclough, no less.
She stopped walking.
“Miss Bingley”, he said as he approached her. “I had to see you. I heard you were leaving.”
“I am. I will go down with my brother for the remainder of the Season.”
Caroline looked awkwardly in the direction of Raven’s Cliff, then back at Lord Connally. “I wanted to see your orchard one last time before I left,” she lied, too embarrassed to admit the truth. Her heart throbbed in her chest.
“Was there any chance you may have wished to see me, also?” There was no disguising the hope in his voice.
Caroline could not answer him.
“Miss Bingley. Caroline,” he said tenderly. “For what I did, there is no excuse. I behaved abominably. I did knowingly deceive you. I could have told you the truth a thousand times, and yet, I did not. I know there is little chance of your ever forgiving me, but I had to know whether we might at least part as friends.”
Did she forgive him? Caroline examined the anguish she felt over his betrayal. It hurt deeply that he had not trusted that she could love him for himself and not for his worldly goods and title. But if truth were told, she was not certain that she would not have followed her sister’s advice and snatched him up by whatever means. Had ‘Lord Connally’ not been presented to her as a vainglorious dandy whom she could not abide, she would have had no qualms about “marrying first, then falling in love after,” as some people did. But fall in love, she would have. Of that, she was certain. Theodore Connally might not have given her his real name, but he had shown his real character, his intrinsic qualities.
And in her heart, Caroline knew she loved him still.
Caroline gazed out over the ocean, blinking back her tears. She feared she would lose her composure completely if she were to look at him.
“I do not think I can abide to part merely as friends. Not when I feel so much more than that,” she said, almost in a whisper. She turned to face him again, her eyes shining.
He took her hand in his. “Do you think we might start again, as if from the beginning?”
She nodded. “Greetings, sir, my name is Caroline Bingley, it is my pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Bingley. I am Lord Connally, but my friends call me ‘Theo.’”
