Clara swallowed thickly and shook her head. Then, without another word, she made her way out of the room and directly to Alice's waiting carriage. Her cousin smiled warmly as she climbed inside, only for that smile to fade as she took in Clara's expression.
"Whatever is the matter?" Alice asked, reaching out to grip Clara's hands. "Your hands are cold and you look very pale indeed! Is something wrong?"
Swallowing at the ache in her throat, Clara tried to speak without shedding the tears that burned in her eyes. "My brother has gone to speak with Lord Atherstone," she said, hoarsely. "According to my mother, he goes to see if there could be a suitable connection formed between us."
At this, Alice's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide with astonishment.
"He must have seen me with Lord Rutland," Clara continued, tears falling to her cheeks despite her best attempts to keep them back. "This is the consequences he warned me about."
"But that does not mean they will come to anything."
Clara dragged in air to her tight lungs, searching her cousin's face.
"I am shocked, yes and certainly more than astonished but that does not mean that anything he seeks to do will, in fact, come to fruition," Alice said, the surprise disappearing from her expression and replaced instead with anger that flashed in her eyes. "Lord Rutland has sent me to you. He has discovered Miss Jennings."
The tightness in Clara's lungs grew even greater as she stared at her cousin, who nodded fervently.
"I do not know how but he has decided to act with swiftness and, thus, I did also. He is going to speak with her this very afternoon and, whilst he wrote to me to beg me to share this with you, there was also the hope that somehow, you might find a way to join him." She smiled and Clara sat back in her seat, her hand releasing from Alice's. "You are near to the truth, Clara. I feel it!"
Nodding slowly, Clara pulled out her handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. "I hope so," she said, her tears still threatening to overwhelm her. "For if we do not get to the truth soon, then I am afraid of what my brother might do."
"No, you need not fear him," Alice stated, unequivocally. "Your mother would not allow it. Lord Rutland would not allow it. I would not allow it! Remember, your brother needs your consent before any marriage can take place. You need to stand up in church and state those vows to make yourself the wife of any gentleman and I am sure you will not say a single word!"
"No, I will not." The strength in her cousin's voice was growing the courage and the hope in Clara's chest, now that the shock of what her mother had told her was finally beginning tofade. "You are right, Alice. I cannot let my brother succeed in this." Her heart threw itself upwards as she smiled at her cousin. "And I have Thomas's letter to share with Lord Rutland."
Alice's eyebrows lifted. "Thomas wrote to you again?"
"In the shock of what Mama told me, I quite forgot." Clara took a breath. "He is coming to London, Alice. Within two days. He says he will tell me everything --- and he has warned me to be careful of David." She looked out of the window and saw London roll by, the familiar streets taking on a different cast now that she knew Thomas was coming to tear down the careful walls David had built. "Whatever David has been hiding, it will not stay hidden much longer."
"And they must be brought to light," Alice finished, quietly. "Miss Jennings will be able to share a good deal, I am sure."
Clara nodded but did not pull her gaze from the window. She was soon to be in Lord Rutland's company again and it was that, rather than anything else, that filled her heart with delight --- even with the threat of her brother's desire to attach her to Lord Atherstone.
He will never succeed, she told herself. Our love is too strong for that.
17
Lady Clara emerged from the carriage and Josiah was moving before he could think, crossing the distance between them in three strides. They were outside of London now --- he did not need to care who might see. She opened her arms to him and he was there in a moment, pulling her close.
"Oh, Rutland."
Pulling back, Josiah frowned at the tears which glistened in her eyes. "Clara? Is there something the matter?"
She closed her eyes and offered him a shaky smile. "My brother has gone to speak with Lord Atherstone, it seems."
"Lord Atherstone?" Josiah did not recognize the name. "For what purpose?"
"Apparently so that in time, we might wed," she told him, making a furious anger burst in his core, sending fire right through his veins. "I have never once thought of him as a suitable match but my brother, it appears, has chosen to decide this for me." Her eyes searched his face. "I think that he must have seen me standing with you or speaking with you, for thiswas one of the things he threatened, should I be discovered in your company."
Decisiveness flooded him. "Then I shall steal you away to marry you in Scotland at this very moment, if I must."
This made Lady Clara smile, her hand finding his as she pressed his fingers lightly. "It is not required as yet but it may be needed soon. But for the moment, let us go to speak with Miss Jennings and see what it is she can tell us."
With a nod, Josiah reluctantly stepped back from her. They had come here for answers and he would not waste the chance. He made his way down the street to the house Lady Deborah had described, nervousness tightening in his chest as he knocked lightly, glancing over his shoulder to where Lady Clara and Lady Alice both stood, standing close together and with their eyes fixed to the door.
It opened.
Josiah's heart thundered wildly as he looked into the face of Miss Jennings, seeing her eyes flare wide as she took him in. "Miss Jennings," he said, making sure to keep his voice low and quiet. "Good afternoon."
