He pushed away the fear he’d arrive too late to help the girl after his curricle was held up by an empty wagon trundling along, taking up all the road. With impatience, he drove the horses down a narrow lane. The roundabout way would cut off any slow traffic and might give him a bit of an edge.
Chapter Ten
The next day,several visitors called to offer their felicitations, after Thea’s father placed announcements inThe Timesand theGazette,news of their engagement had spread throughout theton.
Mrs. Hoskin and her daughter were the last to leave. Earlier, the lady expressed a rather disgruntled opinion that Lord Grainger’s declaration not to marry for years had prevented ladies presenting their daughters to him. The woman hesitated, perhaps realizing her faux pas. “Naturally, several gentlemen of superior circumstance have expressed interest in Lucinda.”
Lucinda’s hazel eyes widened, and her plump cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Thea felt a rush of sympathy for her. The rose-pink, striped poplin walking gown she wore, with its many bows and flounces, was too fussy and did not suit her.
Thea smiled. “I am sorry we haven’t met at any of the dances. Perhaps we can sit together at the next ball.”
Lucinda nodded shyly, while her mother enthusiastically encouraged the friendship.
As they discussed a much-awaited social event on the calendar, Thea’s father, who still lived at his club, walked into the room.
His presence prompted Mrs. Hoskin and Lucinda to take their leave.
So, this was what her life would be like now as Grainger’s wife, Thea thought gloomily. A busy round of social events. Society would expect it of her. She had never wished to become a social butterfly. While she looked forward to making friends with those of a similar ilk, gossip bored her. Her lust for adventure and for hunting up newsworthy stories would end before it even began. Grainger withheld information from her even now. As her husband, he would still filter out anything he considered unsuitable.
Her husband. The thought of what that might entail made her heart pound with a breathless excitement she tried to suppress. She failed to tamp down a deep sigh. If only their first meeting had been different, and he’d chosen her because he loved her.
“You seem tired, Thea.” Her father balanced his cup and saucer on the napkin over his knee. “How pleased you must be with the way things have turned out. You must surely approve of such an impressive fellow as Lord Grainger.”
“I certainly prefer him to Lord Farnborough, whom I detest.” She watched her father’s face.
He frowned. “Detest? Why so strong a word?”
“Has he been a friend of yours for long, Papa?”
Papa looked speculatively at her. “Some years. Why?”
“It’s just that he’s unlike any of your gentleman friends I have met.”
He drank his tea, then placed the flowery cup and saucer on the table before him. “Is he not? In what manner?”
She fished for an appropriate reply while longing to confess all to him, which, of course, she could not.
Grandmama stared at her with eyebrows raised. “Thea, what do you mean? Lord Farnborough is a well-born gentleman with pleasing manners. What could he have done to upset you?”
Her father’s eyes held a quizzical light, and the fight went out of her. This would only get her into trouble. She gave up. “It was merely an instinctive feeling. But it doesn’t matter, does it, for I shan’t marry him.” She stood. “I have instructions for my maid, clothes to pack for the journey. Will you excuse me, Papa?”
Her father rose and came over to her, where she stood at the door. A hand on her shoulder, he bent down to kiss her cheek. His whiskers scratched, which made her remember him when she was a small girl and sat on his lap. He seldom kissed her nowadays. “I am proud of my smart, pretty girl,” he said. “And foretell a wonderful future ahead for you and Ashton Grainger.”
His praise warmed her but “foretell” sounded oddly final. As if he wouldn’t be there to witness it. How foolish. How could that be? Papa looked to be the picture of health. A man in his prime who could look after himself. How foolish were these thoughts? Death was on her mind, she supposed with poor Spencer. But this business with Farnborough still troubled her. “Thank you, Papa.” She quietly left the room.
In her bedchamber, Thea sat on the window seat and stared at the view of the street below. Her father emerged from the house; he jauntily settled his top hat on his head and climbed into his carriage. She remained until it disappeared from sight.
Her father could not be involved in some nefarious scheme with a ruthless man like Farnborough. The man was behind Lord Spencer’s death. She pushed such thoughts aside, determined to tell Papa the truth when she saw him next at the Jamieson’s soiree.
But at breakfast the next morning, a footman brought in a note. “Your father has left for Chedworth,” Grandmama said with a puzzled frown. “Odd that he didn’t mention he was to leave today. But it will delight your mother to have him home. How busy she’s been arranging your sister’s wedding, which is held a month hence. She and Catherine are to come to London in a sennight for the final fittings for Catherine’s wedding gown and to purchase her trousseau. Naturally, they will stay with me. Apparently, your father sees no reason to open the townhouse.”
Drat.Catherine would watch everything Thea did and said and report it back to her father. But at least if Papa were in any danger, he would be safe in Chedworth. A stranger in the village would stand out like a peacock among sparrows.
Thea spread jam on a roll but was so anxious to hear what happened yesterday, she put it down, unable to eat a bite. Had Grainger found the laird’s murderer? She shivered. What if he’d been hurt? A distressed murmur escaped her lips. There was too much uncertainty, too much to worry about. If only she could go to Grainger’s rooms and inquire after him.
“What did you say, my dear?”
“Nothing Grandmama, just a random thought.”
