After a long moment, she met his eyes. “I cannot guess. He never tells me anything, and I cannot learn his motives formyself.” She swallowed. “I wish I could. Then perhaps I would know how to stop him.”
He nodded, mind racing to find a solution for her. Not for the first time, he wondered if he should offer marriage, but he could hardlythinkthe thought, let alone speak it. So instead, he remained stupidly mute, and they stood in silence for a handful of seconds before she spoke again, her tone less shaky. Less watery. “Lord Charles said he was at your club?”
Lucas nodded, the reminder painful.
“That does not make this your fault, you realize?”
He could come up with nothing to say. That was exactly how he’d been feeling, but how had she known it? And how could he explain to her that it wasentirelyhis fault?
Drake returned, and with one last small smile and nod, she left.
But it could not be for the last time. He would come up with a solution. He had to.
Chapter 25
Lydia sent darting glances outthe window as the carriage was loaded with trunks. The servants had made quick work of their removal from the home. After not seeing Lord Tarrington for a week—not since he’d become so upset with her in his study—and being forced to sit and wait in uncertainty as the presence of physicians in the home increased, she’d been told late the night before that they would be returning to the country for the baron’s health.
She’d gone to see Lady Cheltenham the next morning, and now, not even a full twenty-four hours later, they were leaving.
Leaving. Exactly what she’d wanted for the last two months. But this scenario was all wrong.
Her hands pressed together in her lap, as if they might push back the inevitable future. Returning to the estate was supposed to have fixed things—paved the way for her to gain her inheritance, but she was terrified of what their return would now look like.
She bent forward, her stomach clenching unpleasantly. Her anxiety had become such that she was worried it would make her physically ill. She pressed her eyes closed, breathing through her nose. She had made it this far in her life, she could manage to get out of whatever unpleasantness lay ahead. The hope that had flamed so poignantly at learning of her inheritance did not have to disappear. Surely, she could find some way out of her guardian’s clutches.
If only she could make herself believe that.
She listened to the sound of the front door opening and then closing, the same sound she’d heard again and again over the last two hours, so she ignored it. Until several minutes later, the door to the drawing room opened and a maid informed her that Lord Tarrington desired her in the study.
Lydia’s brows raised, but she set her shoulders and traversed the home. The place was abustle with energy as it never had been before. The irony did not escape her that when the place was finally filled with life—she was leaving.
She approached the study, her dread mounting. But when she entered the room, her guardian was not alone. Lady Cheltenham sat in the chair opposite him.
“Lady Cheltenham,” Lydia said by way of greeting, dropping into a surprised curtsy.
“Miss Faraday,” Lady Cheltenham returned, dipping her head.
Lord Tarrington coughed, the sound harsh and deep. Lydia winced to hear it, taking in her guardian, who seemed far paler and thinner than even the last time she’d seen him. “Sit,” he said, the single word sending him coughing again. Once she’d obeyed, he waved at Lady Cheltenham, as if to encourage her to speak.
Despite the unorthodox way in which she’d just been commanded by someone of lesser station, Lady Cheltenham turned a pleasant smile on Lydia. “I have come with a proposition for you and your guardian, and I have just received his permission.”
Lydia glanced at Lord Tarrington, who nodded and stifled another cough.
Lady Cheltenham continued, “I should like to host you in my home for the remainder of the Season, while your guardian recuperates in the country.”
Lydia had been running her fingers across the knuckles of her opposite hand, but they froze at this announcement. She stared at Lady Cheltenham, repeating the words in her mind—certainly she had not just given her a way out. Lydia had always had to create her own ways out. Could this truly be happening?
“What say you, my dear?” Lady Cheltenham prompted.
Lydia bit her lips together at the sudden smile that wished to emerge as relief filled her. “I... Yes,” she managed. “Yes, please, I would enjoy that.”
Lady Cheltenham surveyed the both of them with a pleased expression. “Wonderful. I shall be so happy to have your companionship over the rest of the Season, Miss Faraday.” She turned her gaze onto Lord Tarrington. “I see you are just now preparing to leave. Would it be best if I took Lydia with me directly?”
Tarrington nodded and pierced Lydia with a commanding look. “Go tell your maid to send instruction that you and she will be returning home with Lady Cheltenham.”
Lydia nodded rather mutely, springing to her feet. She accomplished the task in minutes, not giving Jones time to ask her hundred questions, then returned to the entry hall.
Lady Cheltenham was just putting on her bonnet, and she offered a wide smile, broader than she ever had before. “Your guardian wished for a few words with you before we leave,” she said, with a gesture back toward the study.
