Page 82 of The Bridal Quest

"No, dear," her sister responded, adding kindly to Teresa, "I imagine dear Cecil was just being very careful of you and Timmy. And he did want to protect them from strangers, you know. Said people were apt to damage the formations. But the caves are quite worth seeing. Unusual."

"That sounds like just the thing," Piers said, and all the younger members of the party were quick to agree.

"I am sure that Cook will be able to fill up some picnic baskets for us," Francesca added, with a significant glance at Irene.

Irene knew that look meant that she should arrange for the food baskets with the housekeeper and cook, as she had been the one in charge of dealing with the kitchen and household matters for the week of the party. So as soon as breakfast was over, she made her way to the kitchen to broach the matter.

The housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries, seemed to have taken a strong liking to Irene, who was not sure about the reason for the woman's attitude, though she suspected it lay in the inadequacies of Lady Teresa and Lady Pansy as mistresses of the house. The housekeeper had turned to Irene with increasing frequency in recent days, and even the formidable Horroughs had consulted with her on the rare occasions when he had been uncertain about an issue concerning the guests.

However, it appeared to Irene that today the smile with which Mrs. Jeffries greeted her was especially bright, and that there was an extra touch of deference in the housekeeper's assurances that she would have the baskets made up and brought down to the caves for the group's luncheon by one o'clock. Irene also noticed several surreptitious glances in her direction from the servants, as well as a good bit of whispering and smiling.

Could it be that the servants already knew about her engagement to Gideon? It seemed impossible, as it had happened only the night before. Of course, the servants always knew everything first. No doubt if Gideon had told his grandmother or great-aunt about it, there had been a maid nearby who had overheard the news.

Irene pretended not to notice their behavior, and as soon as her business with the housekeeper was done, she left the kitchen and returned to her room to change.

Glancing at herself in the mirror as she pulled off her morning dress, it occurred to her that perhaps the servants—and even Lady Odelia—had guessed that something was up simply by looking at her. She had not realized it when she went down to breakfast that morning, but there was a glow of happiness on her features that nothing could conceal. Her cheeks were warm with color, her eyes shone, and her mouth was turned up as if she was just about to break out in a smile.

She studied herself, turning her head this way and that trying to pull her expression into something more dignified—or at least less transparent. But it took only a minute for her give up, laughing. What did it matter, she thought, if everyone could guess that she was head over heels in love? All she cared about right now was the future that awaited her with Gideon. She could scarcely wait, in fact, to get started on the rest of her life.

But there was the rest of the party to get through—and she rather looked forward to exploring the caves with Gideon—so she quickly changed into her riding habit and pinned the insouciant little cap to her head, angling it just right, so that the glossy black feather curled down to caress the side of her face. High black leather boots and black leather gloves completed her ensemble, and she took a last turn in front of the mirror, pleased with the image she presented. Unlike the high-waisted fashion that was currently the mode in frocks, the fitted jacket of the riding habit showed off her figure quite nicely, and the warm brown color went well with her coloring. Of course, she thought as she left the room with a light step, today she would have felt beautiful in rags.

* * * * *

Irene rode between Francesca and Calandra on the way down to the caves, leaving Gideon and the other men to entertain the rest of the girls. It would not, after all, be well-mannered to be too obvious about Gideon's preference for her company.

They rode through the meadow and came around to the river, which they followed, led by the Park's head groom. They rode in the general direction of the distant hills, away from both the village and the road back to London. Almost imperceptibly, the lane beside the river began to narrow and the land beyond it to rise, until before long they were riding through a small gorge with limestone bluffs rising up beside them on either side. Finally the head groom stopped and spoke to Gideon, pointing ahead toward a line of bushes at base of the bluff.

Irene shaded her eyes with her hand and saw a shadow behind the shrubs, darker and more substantial than the lacework of the leaves and branches. She dismounted, as did the others, and they made their way up the slight incline to the entrance of the cave.

The entrance was an ink-black gap in the white rock, and though it was somewhat sheltered by a large boulder on one side, there was ample room for two people to pass through the gap side by side.

The men had come equipped with lanterns, which they lit now, and the group started into the cave. Francesca and Irene brought up the rear, with Rochford dropping back politely to hold a light for them.

However, they had barely made their way through the gap when Miss Hurley, quite surprisingly, became unnerved by the dark and the smallness of their quarters, not to mention the thought of the mountain of rock pressing down above her head, and she balked, refusing to go any farther. Francesca, suppressing a sigh, said that she would stay outside with the girl, and Mr. Surton, after a last, longing glance at the dark cave beyond, gallantly offered to remain to keep the ladies company. The rest of them went on, a somewhat depleted party.

The cave was a tunnel at first, about the same size as the opening, but as they walked forward, it opened up into a larger room, and here the group stopped, gathering into a loose circle. Irene gazed around her in some awe.

The cave extended in all directions past the reach of the lanterns, and everywhere rocks appeared to grow up from the floor or hang down from the ceiling, slick with moisture, so that they gleamed a little in the lights.

The duke's scholarly friend, Mr. Strethwick, had come along on the expedition, intrigued by the prospect of the caves, and now the shy man, who had kept silent the entire trip, began to babble about the stalagmites and stalactites that lay before them, explaining their formation, going on about salts and minerals and limestone. Irene only half listened, too entranced by the eerie beauty of the scene to care overmuch about its origins.

As Mr. Strethwick talked, the groom went back to their horses and brought in several tall torches, which he planted in the ground and set afire so that the main room of the cave was better lit, and they were able to take their lanterns off with them to explore further.

The duke advised them to remain in a group and not go wandering off on their own, and such was the man's air of authority that no one disobeyed him. Irene was well content to stroll along with everyone else, especially after Gideon fell back to walk beside her.

There was much to see, with smaller tunnels and caves opening off from others. There were odd rippling formations of stone and earth that looked like drapes, and others that seemed like waterfalls frozen in motion. The members of the group pointed out various rocks, saying how one looked like a kneeling man and another like a toadstool, and so on.

Hunger, however, finally drove them back outside, where they found the picnic laid out and waiting for them by the river. Irene started to go over to where Francesca sat, but Gideon wrapped his hand around her wrist.

"No, stay," he murmured in a low voice.

She looked at him and smiled, nodding, then sat down on the rock beside him. He had chosen well, she realized, for the broad rock on which they sat was situated so that, though other people sat on either side of them, their rock jutted out in front of the others, leaving them almost alone together without giving the appearance of privacy or impropriety.

They chatted as they ate, talking more about the caves than about themselves, but the important things were said in their smiles, and in the way their eyes met or his mouth softened when he looked at her. Afterward, Irene remembered little about their conversation, but she would always remember the contentment and peace she felt, the warmth and joy. She would never forget the sun upon her face as she looked up at Gideon, the bright green of his eyes when the sunlight touched them or the rustle of the leaves in the trees as a breeze passed through them.

Later, she knew, she might worry about whether she had made a mistake in saying yes. She might wonder if it would be enough to be Gideon's wife, to know that he valued her as a friend and desired her in his bed, even if he never loved her. Fear might come upon her in the night, and she might cry to herself, knowing that she loved him with all her heart and afraid that he had spoken the truth when he said he could not love.

But at this moment, such worries did not cling to her. She basked in the warmth of his gaze; she remembered his lips upon her mouth and traveling down her skin. Right now, whatever it was he felt for her, it was enough.