“Thank you, Mr. Hutchinson, and I promise to have them returned as quickly as possible.”
“There is no need to hurry, Lady Violet. They will not be needed until the fifth for deliveries to be made early on the sixth.” He held her eyes for a moment longer than necessary, as if relaying a separate message.
“The fifth,” Lady Violet answered as if she was noting something other than the use of the wagon and horses. “I’m certain I will not need them for so long.”
She then turned to Emory. “Thank you for driving me, Lord Ferrard.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“As I’ve already prevailed enough upon your time, there is no need to remain.”
At her words, he was momentarily taken aback. “You mean to drive through the country and to those households in town, filling a wagon with belongings to be delivered, all on your own?”
Lady Violet stared blankly up at him. “Why yes. I need no assistance.”
“I must disagree,” he insisted. “You should not be seeing to the task, let alone on your own.”
“I’m quite capable, Lord Ferrard.”
Emory was beginning to believe that Lady Violet could do anything she put her mind to, if determined enough. “Anything could happen if you are left unprotected.”
She sighed. “I can assure you that I need no protection. I’ve lived in Laswell my entire life.”
“And strangers never visit?” he countered. Lady Violet was quite naïve, which must come from being sheltered her entire life. “I will be driving you, and assisting with your deliveries, then we’ll return the wagon and retrieve my brother’s curricle, and I will drive you back to Laswell.”
“Really, Lord Ferrard—”
“—Lady Violet, a moment please.”
Chapter 5
Of all the ridiculous…Shedid not need Lord Ferrard’s assistance. In fact, she’d prefer not to have it, as Violet wished for timealone. During their drive, she once again suffered an unusual warmth, quiver in her belly, and moments of tightening in her chest, nearly making her breathless when his sapphire eyes stared into hers. She was unused to such a physical reaction to a gentleman, and as nothing would come from her attraction, Violet would not allow herself to succumb to a rake. Therefore, she wished to have peace for the reminder of the day and contemplate how she might gain control over her unwanted reactions.
“Lady Violet?”
She turned to the lighthouse keeper. “Yes, Mr. Hutchinson?”
“Please come inside. I’ve something for you.”
She’d explained to Lord Ferrard why he wasn’t needed upon her return. “Please excuse me.”
As soon as she was inside of the lighthouse, Mr. Hutchinson asked his oldest son to see about preparing the wagon, then directed her to the kitchen where a batch of biscuits set cooling on the table. She’d been in this home many times in the past, beginning when she was just a young girl when Father would ask her to deliver messages. She suspected that it was because Father wished to give her something to occupy her time, as in most instances a footman would have been tasked with delivery. Father thought her far too inquisitive and too often underfoot with making inquiries about things she did not understand, and it was at these times that he’d ask her to make the trek from Forester Hall to the lighthouse and back in hopes that she’d become settled enough to be content to play on the nursery floor. Violet was never content to sit and play when there was so much to discover. The most glorious day in Violet’s young life was when Miss Littleton arrived at Forester Hall to be her governess and a world of knowledge was opened to Violet. However, prior to that arrival, Violet had walked many times to the lighthouse and had been in the Hutchinson kitchen on several occasions. It was as warm and comforting as her own home.
Violet turned to the window looking out to the Bristol Channel. The three younger Hutchinson children played as Mrs. Hutchinson watched on and the older Mr. Hutchinson rocked in a chair beneath an old oak, sheltered from the sun.
“What did you wish to give me?”
Mr. Hutchinson began putting the biscuits in a small basket.
“That is not necessary, Mr. Hutchinson.”
“These are so you have something to carry out of here, and not the real reason I wished to speak with you alone.”
He was practicing a deception, though Violet couldn’t understand the reason.
“I, and half of Laswell, know that you are fully capable of driving the wagon anywhere you wish, and loading and unloading trunks and such.”
“Which is why it is perfectly reasonable that I retrieve the servants’ belongings.”
