Still, she must not lose sight of her main objective. Later that morning, the local hunt would meet at Chilford Lodge, and Lord Embleton would be there. The entire neighbourhood would gather to see the riders off and it was imperative that she be noticed by him. Accordingly, she chose a pale golden velvet pelisse and a matching hat, a pairing that she would not normally wear at this time of year.
“Let us hope it does not rain,” Lady Esther said, looking her up and down as the ladies gathered in the entrance hall to await the carriages. “Still, an excellent choice, my dear.”
The carriage ride was only a short one, for Chilford Lodge was next door to Briar House. There were the hounds, bouncing around excitedly, and the riders enjoying a warming drink before departure. Olivia’s eye scanned the riders. Where was he? He was not here! Ah, there he was, amidst a little group of riders, their horses pawing the ground and tossing their heads, picking up the general excitement.
Olivia took a glass of something from a hovering footman, then set off on a seemingly casual stroll towards Lord Embleton. Several of the riders nodded courteously to her, but there were none she knew so no one delayed her. She had almost reached her quarry when a large black horse moved in front of her, blocking her way.
“My fair ghost emerges into sunlight and survives,” came the cheerful call, and before she could do more than huff in annoyance, he had leapt to the ground to execute a flourishing bow to her. “How delightful to see you again so soon, my dimpled apparition.”
“Really, sir! Such nonsense you talk! And if you see sunshine today, then you are truly prey to apparitions, for all I see are grey clouds.”
“No, no! I will not have it so, for there is sunshine and summer beauty here in our midst. I see it before my very eyes, and it bedazzles me, oh golden orb of light.”
He held his hands across his face momentarily, as if to shield himself, but his eyes brimmed with mischief.
“You are the veriest rattle, sir,” she said, but his antics were making her laugh and she could not be as severe as she wished. “Just because I wear yellow—”
“Precisely! And it is just what we need to bring sunshine to a dull day. Look at all the practical dark colours with which we are surrounded, yet here are you brightening the gloom.”
Another rider loomed up, as handsome a man as Olivia had ever seen.
“Kiltarlity, you really must not keep the prettiest young lady all to yourself, you know. It is most unfair. Will you not introduce me?”
Osborn did not look very pleased about it. “Oh… well… Lady Olivia, may I present to you Lord Grayling, whose estate adjoins this one. Grayling, this is the Lady Olivia Atherton, daughter of the Earl of Rennington.”
Grayling dismounted, swept off his hat to reveal a mane of golden hair and executed an elegant bow. “Lady Olivia. I should have realised, for you are so like your sister. Enchanted to make your acquaintance. How is it we have not met in town long before this?”
“I have not yet had a season in town, sir, but I shall be there next spring, all being well.”
“Excellent! London will be all the brighter for your presence.”
Osborn, having grown increasingly impatient with these courtesies, now interrupted. “The hunt is moving off, Grayling. We do not want to be left behind.”
“Of course.” With a few more words to Olivia, including the hope from Lord Grayling that he would see her again very soon, and not have to wait until the spring, the two men remounted and began to follow the other riders. Behind them came the little group that had surrounded Lord Embleton and last of all the marquess himself. He saw Olivia standing at the side of the drive, doffed his hat and made a small inclination of the head towards her, his face impassive. Then he was gone, swept up into the great crowd of riders and hounds pouring away down the drive towards the fields.
And that was her sole exchange with the marquess. She sighed sorrowfully.
“Well, that was a little disappointing,” Lady Esther said at her shoulder, having presumably been watching the whole time. “However, Lord Kiltarlity is becoming very attentive, and I had forgotten Lord Grayling. He would be a very acceptablepartiif we could ensnare him.”
“I do not want toensnareanyone,” Olivia said sadly. “All I should like to do is to meet a certain gentleman in a way which allows me to talk to him, so that we may get to know each other better. However, I do not think that is going to be possible when he resides in a different house altogether. If he never leaves it except to join the hunt, I shall never receive more than an occasional bow in passing from him.”
“Do not despair, for Jerry and Charlie are aware of the situation.”
“Jerry and Charlie?”
“My cousins, Mr Jeremiah and Miss Charlotte Bucknell. They plan to hold a dinner soon to which Lord Embleton will be invited.”
“Ah!” Olivia said, smiling. Such words to cheer her! A proper two course dinner, with two hours of conversation, assuming she could manage to seat herself next to the marquess, was just what she needed. It felt a little contrived, with all this manipulation behind the scenes, but there was no ensnarement going on. All she asked was an opportunity to talk to the marquess, nothing more than that, and then… well, she would just have to wait and hope.
***
Robert was disgruntled. The first part of his plan had worked perfectly, and he had successfully intervened to keep Embleton away from Olivia, but then Grayling had poked his nose in. Grayling! A man who had no serious thought of marriage, yet was perfectly capable of turning the head of a young and inexperienced girl who might fall for his meaningless drollery, and that would never do! He must be kept away from her at all costs.
Wait…
Why was he so concerned to keep Grayling away from Olivia? Or Embleton, for that matter. When he had set out on this mission, the intent had been to guard Embleton from Olivia, yet now, in some mysterious way, that had been turned around, and he seemed to want to guardherfromthem.It was true that he was oddly protective of her. The similarity to Izzy aroused all his almost-forgotten affection… no, it was stronger than that… hispassionfor Izzy, but there was something vulnerable about Olivia that made him want to shield her from rogues like Grayling. Izzy had never been so unguarded in her dealings with the world. There was a lady who knew exactly how to get what she wanted, for had she not played them all, like fish on a line? There was none of that in Olivia.
He smiled as he thought of her sweet face gazing up at him trustingly, with that adorable dimple beside enticing red lips. That dimple, and the lips it emphasised, were beginning to haunt him, rather.
