Page 41 of So Wild A Heart

“It was nothing, really. I think perhaps he is a trifle unbalanced. I really didn’t understand what he was talking about. But there is no need to worry. I can assure you that the servants will not let him in again.” She smiled. “Now, I need your advice. They delivered the rest of the dresses today from Madame Ferrier’s, and I’m not sure that the ribbon we bought really goes with the green cambric day dress.”

“The green? Oh, no, they were very complementary shades, my dear. Show me.” Elizabeth seemed relieved, almost glad to be distracted, and the two of them walked away down the hall toward Miranda’s bedroom.

It was a three-day journey from London to Darkwater, for they traveled with a wagon of luggage as well as the post chaise in which they rode, and Elizabeth had a tendency toward travel sickness, which meant that they stopped frequently and moved at a slow pace to avoid jarring her. Joseph spent most of his time riding on a horse alongside the carriage, and since he had purchased another mount, as well, Veronica or Miranda often joined him, which made the journey easier to bear. Even so, the trip was far too long for Miranda’s impatient nerves. It had been almost two weeks since she had seen Devin, and she was eager to be with him again. However, this was a feeling she could not reveal to the others; a careless word about her eagerness from anyone in her family to Devin would set her plans back. So she had to contain her feelings and pretend to a calm and relaxation she did not feel, a pretense that only made her more frustrated.

It was a great relief when the post chaise rattled down the lane approaching Darkwater. Miranda leaned out of the window to catch sight of the grand old house. They rounded a curve, and there the house was before them, on a slight rise, most of the trees cleared out of the way years ago to present the house in all its glory.

Miranda drew in her breath when she saw it. Her father pulled his mount to a halt and simply sat there, looking at it. The setting sun cast a golden glow over its limestone block walls, turning the stone itself to a warm, honeyed hue and glittering upon the small diamond-shaped panes of glass in the mullioned windows. It was a house of graceful symmetry despite its size, built in the shape of an E, a popular conceit during the years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, and ornamented with parapets, oriel windows and elaborate chimneys. It was lovely, Miranda thought, immediately losing her heart to it. At this distance and in this kind light, the problems of the house were not obvious. It simply looked old and magnificent.

“Have you ever seen anything like it, Miranda?” Joseph appeared at the window of the post chaise, his face filled with awe and pleasure. “Isn’t it grand?”

“It is indeed, Papa. It’s beautiful.” It struck her, with a pang of pride and pleasure that she had not expected to feel, that this beautiful old house was now her home, and the fairly detached interest she had felt in restoring the place was suddenly a hunger within her.

Veronica, who was also riding outside the carriage, came back to join them. “It’s a castle! Are we really going to live there? Mama, look!”

Elizabeth, who was sitting beside Miranda, pushed aside the curtain on the other side of the carriage and looked out. Her eyes widened, and a little color came into her cheeks. “Oh, my,” she breathed. “I never realized…”

“Isn’t it grand?” Veronica went on merrily. “Doesn’t it look like someplace a king would live?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes. It does.”

“I can’t wait to see my room,” Veronica continued. “Miranda, may I choose which one is to be my room?”

“Yes, I suppose so—though to be polite, you must stay at least tonight where Lady Ravenscar has put you. After that, I don’t see why you cannot choose which one you prefer.”

“I want windows that look out this way. I want to see whoever comes up the road. That way, when you have parties—before I’m old enough to attend them, I mean—I can watch everybody arrive from my window. Will you give lots and lots of balls? It must have a ballroom, don’t you think?”

“I am sure it does. However, I don’t know how many people there are out here to attend ‘lots and lots’ of balls,” Miranda responded, smiling indulgently at her stepsister.

“I will get to go to some parties here, won’t I? Mama said that when she lived in the country, girls could attend small parties now and then, even before they made their debut.”

“I don’t see why not,” Miranda agreed. “I am sure your mother is much more of an expert on that subject than I am.” Since she herself had been hostessing her father’s parties when she was fifteen, Miranda could hardly be said to have lived her life according to the proper social rules.

Veronica dropped back and came up on the other side of the carriage beside her mother to pursue this interesting subject, and Miranda was left to her own thoughts as she gazed at the house as the carriage rolled up to its door. Those thoughts soon turned from the house to her future husband. He had been on her mind the whole trip from London, and now that she was about to see him again, an almost unbearable excitement welled up inside her. She would have given a great deal to know whether he had thought of her, too—and whether he had been waiting for her the past few days, wondering impatiently when she would arrive. It was too much to hope for, she told herself; she had to take this slowly. But she could not keep her heart from hoping anyway.

Their post chaise pulled up in front of the house, and a footman hurried out to open the door and help them down. As Miranda climbed down the carriage step to the ground, she glanced off to the left. A horse and rider sailed over a low hedge and thundered on toward them. Miranda’s heart began to pound as she recognized Devin’s broad-shouldered form. He slowed down, skirting the front garden, and came to a halt a few yards from them.

“Miranda!” Fluidly, he dismounted, tossing his reins to the footman. “I mean, Miss Upshaw.”

He strode toward them, his eyes on Miranda. Miranda’s pulse was hammering in her ears so hard that she could barely hear. Here, in the sunlight, fresh from physical exertion, his green eyes alight, he was even more handsome than she remembered. It made her feel a trifle weak in the knees.

“Lord Ravenscar,” she returned, pleased that her voice came out evenly. Surely his riding hell-bent-for-leather to meet them was a good sign.

“I saw your carriage approaching, so I tried to catch you.” He came to a halt in front of her and looked down at her for a long moment. This close, in the bright light of day, she could see that his green eyes had a small ring of gold around the pupil, like a sunburst, and she found the small detail captivating. Stripping off his riding gloves, he reached out, and Miranda managed to recover enough presence of mind to extend her hand to him. He took her hand and raised it to his lips, brushing a kiss on the back of it. “Welcome to Darkwater. We’ve been wondering when you would come. Mother was expecting you yesterday. Rachel was worried you wouldn’t even make it in time for the wedding.”

“And you?”

His engaging grin flashed. “I knew that you would arrive exactly when you should, neither too early nor too late, since you were managing it.”

Miranda chuckled. He continued to hold her hand far longer than was polite, but she had no desire for him to let go. “Your faith in me is touching, my lord.”

“It’s knowledge, Miss Upshaw, not mere faith.” With a final squeeze of her hand, he let it go and turned to the rest of the party. “Mrs. Upshaw. Mr. Upshaw. Welcome to Darkwater.” His eyes went past them to Veronica, who was still seated on her horse. “And who is this lovely young lady?”

“I am Veronica,” she answered pertly. “I’m the one you never see because I’m too young.”

“Too beautiful,” he corrected with a grin, and stepped forward to help her dismount. “Your parents are doubtless afraid someone will snap you up far too soon.”

Veronica giggled. Miranda knew that Ravenscar had earned himself a permanent place in Veronica’s good books by paying attention to her, as few adults did. And, Miranda had to admit, it had raised him in her estimation, too. She had been afraid that he would play the haughty aristocrat with her family, as he had before with her, and she was particularly anxious about Veronica’s easily hurt adolescent feelings. But Ravenscar had handled her with just the right tone of flattery and friendliness.