Fortunately, the Reverend had been privy to the lastinformingand intervened before the butler could inform either the Duke of Blackmore or the Earl of Ravenstone.
But he dared not leave it much longer. This was a scandal to dwarf that of mere blaspheming. A discreet downfall had just gone entirely out of the window.
‘Have you spoken to Patience?’ Percy asked, his heart sinking.
‘I would have, but I couldn’t deuced well find her,’ the Reverend grated. ‘Freddy’s missing too, so the chit’s undoubtedly taken herself off for another stroll.’
He took another long drink of hislemonade. ‘I have no choice but to confess what’s happened to Nicholas and Adam. If they should discover Patience has once again tied her garter in public while …’ He paused and groaned before muttering, ‘I don’t think we can save her this time, Percy.’
The curate opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. In truth, he had no idea what they were going to do. He was very fond of Patience but privately thought her too ripe and ready by half, though in fairness, he could say the same about all of Reverend Shackleford’s offspring.
‘You need to tell his grace as soon as possible,’ was all Percy said in the end. The Duke was second only to God as far as the curate was concerned.
The Reverend nodded and climbed wearily to his feet. ‘You’re right Percy, better it comes from me before he receives the cut direct from Bath’s finest.’
He turned to walk towards the house, when suddenly a loud bark cut into the silence. The Reverend frowned. ‘Freddy?’ he murmured, turning towards the direction the bark had come from, just in time to watch the foxhound appear on the top of the wall. Spying his master, Freddy, woofed again and leapt the rest of the way into the garden, his lead trailing behind him.
Of Patience there was no sign.
∞∞∞
Firmly of the opinion that she would almost certainly become addled if she stayed in the house for much longer, Patience abruptly decided to take Freddy out.
Accordingly, in her recent spirit of cooperation, she requested permission from Adam as the unfortunate sponsor of her come out. Although he didn’t ask any questions about her pale face and red-rimmed eyes, he did refuse her request. His words were kind but firm, leaving no room for misinterpretation or argument. Clearly, the Earl was becoming wise to the vagaries of his in-laws.
And that was the problem with cooperation, whether in spirit or otherwise - in Patience’s experience it simply led to the answer no.
And no was not a word Patience enjoyed hearing, which is why she usually didn’t bother with the whole requesting permission part of her activities.
By the time she’d taken a turn around her bedchamber for the twentieth time, she came to the realisation that if she had to remain confined for one more minute with the picture of the Marquess’s beautiful face staring down at her, almost harsh with longing, she would simply explode.
And anyway, what was one more transgression in the long list she’d already accrued? It wasn’t as if her reputation could get any lower …
Five minutes later, she was slipping out of the front door, Freddy in tow. Naturally, it would have been much more sensible to have escaped through the garden, but she couldn’t bring herself to return there after the last evening.
Once out of sight of the townhouse, she breathed a sigh of relief, and decided to take the path towards the River Avon. At this time of day, Bath’s wealthy elite would be promenading in Sydney Park, so she was unlikely to bump into someone who was familiar with her indiscretion. Dragging her thoughts away from the last time she’d walked through Sidney Park, she kept her eyes on Freddy and took what pleasure she could from the foxhound’s snuffling enjoyment.
Tomorrow it would be all over. She would be on her way to Blackmore, and Bath would be a distant dream. Not a nightmare. Never a nightmare. In truth, she would treasure her memories of Guildford for the rest of her life but… Her thoughts shied away from even the smallest hint of the possibility of a different life than the one she’d always planned for herself. It would never work. He would end up hating her, and she couldn’t bear that, not when she loved him so. She stopped, her mind a sudden whirl.
So, this was it? This was what love felt like?
A sudden equine snort caught her attention, and looking up in surprise, she realised a carriage had stopped beside her. She’d been so deep in her reverie that she’d failed to hear the clopping hooves. Freddy whined softly, and glancing around, her first thought was that she was completely alone except for the foxhound. Her second, that the carriage door was open.
She looked down at Freddy and stepped backwards. Suddenly, she felt a sudden blinding pain on the back of her head, then … nothing.
∞∞∞
The Marquess of Guildford was woken by a hammering on his front door. Blinking, he sat up and stared in confusion at the light streaming through the thick brocade curtains to his bedchamber. What the devil? The hammering suddenly stopped to be replaced by raised voices, then footsteps coming up the stairs.
Max had had the worst night’s sleep of his entire life. He’d lain awake for hours, in turn hard and aching as his mind replayed the image of Patience coming undone in his arms, followed by angry frustration at her refusal to accept his proposal. He finally fell into an uneasy slumber well after dawn.
An urgent knock on his bedchamber door had him climbing out of bed with a frown. ‘Come,’ he shouted pulling on his robe as the door opened to admit his flustered butler.
‘There are three gentlemen downstairs who are demanding an audience with your lordship,’ he stammered. ‘I’ve taken the liberty of putting them in the conservatory.’
‘Who the devil are they?’ Max demanded, throwing off his robe and pulling on a pair of breeches.
‘I am unsure my lord, but two are clearly gentlemen and the third is a man of the cloth.’
