Damn it, she must have gone out of the house and taken the dog with her. Was he going to have to get his own bloodhound so he could track his wife in the future? And now it was raining and his Caro was getting wet.
He went out to the stables and had his horse saddled.
He went all over the estate, stopping at times and calling her name. He kept his eyes peeled for a tall figure in a green dress, but there was no one out and about. The rain fell straight down, soaking him. Muddy puddles were forming in the dirt of the lanes. Finally, he rode to the edge of the trees, tied his horse to one, and plunged into the Burchester holt on foot.
“Caro!”
He felt like he had been walking for days but it was likely only a quarter of an hour before he heard Lavinia answering him with a series of barks.
He didn’t know enough about Lavinia’s barking to know if this was a sign of distress so he began running toward the sound, pushing branches out of his way, tripping over roots.
But when he came upon Caro, she was standing under a tree, unhurt, her dog at her side.
Thank God.
Twenty-Eight
“Caro, you’re all wet.” Her husband came up to her, out of breath.
“Yes.”
Phineas stood in front of her and took both her hands. “You have to know I never told Lady Starling anything about us. She was in Hatchards that day and saw you and guessed that I had been up to something, and I’ve never been a very good liar, darling.”
Hatchards. The woman with the lush body and the feathers in her hat going up the stairs. Yes, she could have been Lady Starling.
Caroline shook her head.
“What does that mean?”
“D-d-d-don’t call m-me darling.”
“Why not?”
Because you callherdarling.“Wh-wh-what do you owe her?”
Phineas sighed. “She wants me to matchmake. Her and Edmund. I told her I would do whatyouwanted, but, darl—” He pulled himself up short. “Caro, besides Lady Anne Cavendish, I can’t imagine a worse wife for your brother.”
“I alr-r-ready told her to t-t-tell Edmund.”
“You did? Good. It’s not like your brother is such an innocent, as I’m sure you’re aware. But I’m so sorry you had to meet Lady Starling alone. She’s horribly petty.”
“Indeed.”
“Did she say anything hurtful to you?”
She didn’t want to answer that question. She had heard all of Lady Starling’s insults before from someone closer to her and far more brutal in his language. But Lady Starling had scratched at an open wound, one that had to do with Caroline’s husband.
“Caro, let’s go back to the house and get you dry and we’ll talk.”
She shook her head.
Her husband persisted. “I want you to talk to me.”
She pulled her hands away and walked deeper into the forest, ducking under branches, winding between trees. She felt Lavinia at her side, heard Phineas behind her, breaking twigs underfoot with his boots. She came to a stream. Too wide for her to leap over. No stepping stones. And the banks all slippery mud. No way forward.
Suddenly, a tight grip on her arm, spinning her around.
“Talk to me, Caro. I’ve been waiting for months for you to talk to me.”
