The half an hour’s ride only made his state worsen. Spying a carriage in front of the house with a team of horses standing ready, Julius urged his horse on.
Good, perhaps I’ve gotten here just in time!He thought with a wicked sense of delight. If his luck held, Lydia and that rogue had not yet left from Paxton Hall. He thought of the great many things he would say to Lydia when he reached her, and pondered whether he should challenge that brat Matthew to a duel for his scheming.
“Get out of that carriage at once!” Julius roared as he pulled up alongside it and dropped down from the saddle. There was no response, prompting him to look inside and see the empty space within.
The door to the main house opened and Julius was once again on his guard, prepared to hurl all manner of insults at the man responsible for nearly stealing Lydia away. Instead, a trio of footmen filed out carrying trunks and valises, far too many to only belong to Lydia.
“Ah, Lord Bronson,” the Countess said when she finally followed the footmen out, tugging on her gloves as she did. “I suppose you’ve arrived to gloat over your success at foisting your useless niece off on my son.”
“Gloat? No, I’m furious. What are you talking about?” Julius demanded, still perplexed by the absence of his niece from sight.
The Countess stopped, her other glove still hanging from her hand. “Why would you be furious, as you’ve managed to align that girl with one of the oldest and most prosperous families on this side of the city? My son is the victim of her ambitions… and yours, I should think.”
“My ambitions?” Julius countered angrily. “Your son is the last man I would choose for my niece to marry! She was already betrothed when he blurted out the most ridiculous assertion, if you recall.”
“Yes, I’d heard such a vile thing. Only Matthew had just returned that day from the Far East. Lady Lydia may have been betrothed, but you set a trap for Matthew and cast aside that Viscount as soon as you smelled a better match.”
“That is astoundingly untrue. If it were, why would I have come here to stop your son from kidnapping my niece?” Julius argued, forgetting all pretense of manners and growing angrier as he spoke.
“I don’t know why you do anything, nor do I care,” the Countess said blandly. She took the footman’s outstretched hand and climbed into the carriage, but Julius stopped him from closing the door.
“Where is my niece?” Julius shouted at the astonished Countess.
“I know not. I suppose if they’re intent on this ludicrous plan to marry, they have hidden themselves away somewhere. That, or they have absconded across the border for a hasty, disgusting wedding.”
“What? Across the border?” Julius demanded.
“Yes, to Scotland,” the Countess explained, beginning to realize that Julius was not insincere in his lack of understanding. Her voice softened only slightly as she added, “Inquire elsewhere about Gretna Green. I only know what was in the letter left for me this morning. My son is marrying and upon his return with his wife, I am to have vacated this house entirely. Therefore, I am moving into a townhouse in London and washing my hands of this entire debacle.”
“Hold a moment, please,” Julius protested, lifting up his hand to delay her departure. “Am I to understand you are as displeased as I am about this marriage?”
“Of course I’m displeased,” the older woman shrieked. “I should have thought I made myself perfectly clear. My son is a titled, wealthy man, one who could have his choice of any eligible young lady. Why he lowered himself to choose your niece—all sense of honor over that despicable display at Verdurn’s aside—I shall never understand nor accept.”
The Countess sat back against the carriage seat and looked forward, as though she had spoken her last word on the matter. Julius paused but a moment, an idea already taking hold.
“If you can tell me where they went, there may well be time to stop this,” he said quietly, leaning closer.
“How do you mean?” the Countess asked brusquely, leaning away.
“Only that it is a four days’ journey to the border. If I can apprehend them before they reach Scotland, I promise you that I will bring my niece away and prevent the wedding. Your son may return home to your house and marry anyone he chooses,” Julius said, gesturing vaguely behind him. “Only arrange for my travel expenses and I shall see to it that I reach Gretna Green before they do.”
The Countess was silent, her lips pressed together and a rather pinched expression on her face. “I’m not certain I trust you. What do you have to gain from preventing this marriage when your niece may very well be ruined? Not only in reputation, mind you, but the fact that they departed more than a day ago and have, in fact, spent the night together already. There is no redeeming that truth. Your niece will be branded a whore in the eyes of the ton and my son will be thought a disgusting rake. It matters not what they do anymore.”
“Yes, but if he returns unwed, your place is still in this house,” Julius reminded her. He knew it instantly when his words hit their mark as the Countess raised an eyebrow and didn’t answer.
“Fine then. I shall help fund your travels, but only upon your return. If you are not successful, you won’t see a farthing from me.” The Countess climbed down from the carriage and ordered the servants to carry her things back inside. She left Julius wordlessly as she brushed past him, but then thought better of it at the door. “And if you are not successful, I shall find a way to heap the suffering on your head for this great injustice.”
Chapter 15
An uneasy silence had settled on the carriage as Lydia and Matthew continued on, made worse only by an unrelenting afternoon heat. With the window glass open and Lydia’s fan moving the air as best it could, the pair tried their best to keep from wilting inside the close quarters.
Suddenly, Matthew sat upright and leaned his head out the side to better see the road ahead of them. He called out to the driver, “What appears to be the matter?”
“There’s a tree fallen here, My Lord,” the driver answered. “We cannot roll over it nor go ‘round it for the grass is too steep and narrow.”
Matthew was thoughtful for a moment then called out, “Wait, do not climb down!” He turned to Lydia and said, “I like it not. Something about this does not seem right.”
Matthew exited the carriage, leaving Lydia to watch after him in alarm. He spoke a few words to the driver, then walked closer to the tree to inspect it. He immediately went to the end with no branches, a deep worried frown on his face as he thought how he might remove it from the road.
