Distracted as I was, I didn’t fully notice the crunching of wheels in the distance and the steady patter of hooves. I glanced over my shoulder. My heart stalled. Dr. Pembroke’s gig was coming around the curve of the path, not a quarter mile in the distance. It was clearly him—the same chestnut horse, the same dark hair and black overcoat. I picked up my skirts and set off in a run toward the back corner of Oakley Manor where I had hidden three days prior, cursing the heavy fabric of my mourning dress. When I was out of sight, I caught my breath.
The gig stopped in the drive before Dr. Pembroke stepped down. He landed softly on his feet. I watched him as he strode across the grass toward the front door. He and Charity likely thought if they met early then they would avoid being caught. I grinned to myself. Little did they know that they already had been caught by me. For a better look, I peered around the side of the house.
Halfway to the door, Dr. Pembroke changed course, his steps heading in a diagonal across the grass—heading toward my hiding place.
I pressed my back against the brick, my heart pounding in my ears. What the devil was he doing? Did he usually enter through the back door? The back lawn stretched wide, interrupted only by the woods at the end of the property. The small gardens were on the other side, and there was no possible way I could run to them in time to hide. My throat grew dry, my legs wobbling beneath me. Perhaps if my back was turned he would not recognize me. My poke bonnet covered my hair and much of my face.
With a calming breath, I started walking around the back of the house. Running would look much more suspicious. I concentrated on keeping each step and movement quiet.
Oh, but it was so tempting to run. My feet moved faster, my heels lifting higher.
“Miss Elizabeth?” Dr. Pembroke’s voice called out over the lawn.
My hand crept up to my throat. Drat. I had been seen. One frantic moment of indecision passed before I did what any smart and proper young lady would do when approached by a rake.
I ran.
My feet hit the ground hard as I sprinted across the lawn, holding my bonnet firmly to my head with one hand. How had he known it was me? I did not dare look behind me again. Was he chasing me? The thought sent my heart racing. I turned toward the other side of the house, hoping that I could slip into the woods from behind the cover of the gardens. Gathering my courage, I glanced behind me as I ran around the opposite corner of the house. He was not following me.
The moment I turned my gaze forward, I stopped, my chest tightening with dread. Dr. Pembroke jogged around the house from the side I was running toward. How had he reached it so fast? Blast his long legs and my short ones. Hiding was no longer an option. I gathered my fortitude, willing myself to appear confident.
“Good morning, Miss Elizabeth.” Dr. Pembroke stopped in front of me, a sideways smile on his lips. By the heavy rise and fall of his chest, I could only assume he had seen my course and ran around the front of the house to cut me off. I hoped my red cheeks could be excused for my recent exertion, but I did not think anyone would be daft enough to excuse my presence on the property as an innocent morning walk.
Dr. Pembroke appeared as handsome as ever, yet in a distinctly devilish way. Now that I knew the truth about his character, his dark mussed hair, playful eyebrows, solid jaw, and full, smiling lips carried every weapon used to charm unsuspecting ladies. He had even charmed my great-aunt into giving away her estate to his care. I took a step backward, narrowing my eyes at him.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
Dr. Pembroke chuckled under his breath. “I could ask the same question of you.” He crossed his arms over his chest. Why must he be so tall?
I had to tip my head back to meet his eyes. “I have come to pay my friend Miss Oakley a visit.” The lie burned on my tongue.
“Miss Oakley has told me that she does not have any friends.”
“I am saddened to hear that she is unwilling to connect such an endearment to my name. Nevertheless, she is my friend.”
Dr. Pembroke’s amusement seemed to grow. What was so amusing? Did he find it humorous that I would consider such a disreputable woman as a friend? Or was he simply shocked that I had caught him in his condemning behavior?
“Are you certain you being here has nothing to do with your attempts to spy on me?” Dr. Pembroke said.
My eyes twitched down to the ground. How did he know? I bit my lip. My running must have been a very clear hint. I tugged on my gloves, pretending to find them fascinating. “Are you afraid I will discover something about you that you wish to be kept secret?” I raised one eyebrow. “Perhaps the fact that you are engaging in most dishonorable behavior with Miss Charity Oakley, further ruining her reputation, and proving yourself to be a rake of the most incorrigible sort? Perhaps the fact that you have another mistress that you enjoy visiting directly after your time spent with Charity?” I immediately regretted my words, clamping my mouth shut. What would he do to me now? Would he threaten me to not tell Juliana and take away his chance at Brookhaven?
His features rounded with shock, but seconds later the amusement returned. His lips quivered, and his shoulders shook into laughter.
I planted my hands on my hips. “Pray tell, what is so amusing?”
He pressed his hand to his forehead, shaking his head. “You have quite the imagination.”
“I have not imagined anything. I heard your conversation with Charity three days ago. My sister deserves to know the truth about you.” I stood my ground, raising my chin.
He continued with his chuckling, and I was half-tempted to stomp on his boots. Perhaps it would knock a bit of sense into him.
“Allow me to explain.” Dr. Pembroke bit his lower lip, struggling to attain a serious expression. “Miss Oakley is ill. I am her physician. Were you really so determined to find fault in me that you leapt to such a ridiculous assumption?”
Realization pricked at me, and my embarrassment heated my cheeks all over again. I had certainly made assumptions. There had not been any proof. “Then why are you here at such an early hour? If she is so ill, shouldn’t she be resting at this time of day?” I could not believe that Charity was ill. She had spoken so familiarly with Dr. Pembroke for him to be just her physician. Also the last time I had seen her, she had seemed to be in perfect health.
“She prefers to take visitors in the morning, as she does not sleep well and arises early.”
“After all the things I have heard about Charity’s character, you cannot blame me for assuming the worst of her. I still cannot believe that you are only her physician. The way you two were speaking to one another was all too—familiar.”
Dr. Pembroke’s expression hardened. “Because of all the rumors you have heard about Charity, all those terrible stories that have been circulated by gossiping women, her life has never been the same. She has been ill since her childhood. She struggles to breathe, to move out of bed at times. Because of the cruelty of society, she is forced to live out her days alone and in hiding, forsaken by her own family.” He scowled down at me, and I shrank back, my confidence waning.
He continued in a firm voice. “She insists that I come very early to check on her health so that she will not be seen by her neighbors inviting a man into her home. I am more than her physician, yes. I am her friend and confidant. She sees no visitors and has no compassion from anyone else.”
I was stricken silent. I could sense nothing but truth in Dr. Pembroke’s words. He stared down at me, my guilt rising with every second that passed. My head swam, the heat of my cheeks causing perspiration to bead on my temples. I had never been more embarrassed or ashamed. Charity had often been seen leaving parties and balls, disappearing into the hallways. Could it have been that she had simply felt ill? She did not appear how I would have imagined a sickly woman to look, but looks could certainly be deceiving. I was silent for too long. Dr. Pembroke came one step closer.
“You might consider acquainting yourself with a person before forming your opinions
of them. I believe you will find that Charity is an amiable, proper young woman who has endured misfortune after misfortune, by no fault of her own. Perhaps you will even find that I am not the greedy, disreputable man you want me to be.” His eyes bore into mine, and I couldn’t look away, nor could I speak. Shame enveloped me, and I was fairly certain I had never felt more uncomfortable.
“F-forgive me. I did not know.” My voice was weak, quiet, the opposite of what I wanted it to be. I was rarely stricken silent.
Dr. Pembroke did not smirk this time, he did not revel in his victory. He simply continued staring down at me. As if hoping to alleviate my discomfort, he changed the subject. “Did your sister tell you of our courtship?”
“Yes.” I forced the word past my embarrassment. “She did tell me.” I studied his face, desperately searching for any sign of malice or triumph. All I saw was a set of genuine grey eyes, a straight and even nose, and a smile that was not meant to charm or deceive, though it was charming without intention.
I looked away, cursing myself for finding a single thing about him to admire. Dr. Pembroke may have been right—again—but he was still my enemy. He stood directly in the way of Juliana’s happiness, and as a result, directly in the way of mine. The very moment I allowed myself to agree with Aunt Augusta’s assessments of him, of Juliana’s new opinions of him, then my determination to ruin the courtship would falter. I could not willingly thwart the plans of a friend, but I could certainly sabotage an enemy.
“Are you pleased?” Dr. Pembroke asked.
“Pleased?” I scowled. I could not let him see that I was intending to destroy his opportunity to marry Juliana. “Yes. I am even more pleased now that I know you are not a rake.”
Half his mouth lifted in a smile, bringing out a dimple in the center of his cheek. “I still cannot believe you would rustle up such an idea.”
Why had I not kept my theories to myself? If I had paused to think of other possible scenarios then I might have realized he was just on a physician’s visit to Oakley Manor. But because I had been guilty of believing the gossip about Charity, I had wanted to believe the worst of her. Dr. Pembroke was right about me in saying that I judged others too harshly. If he was not as terrible as I thought, then how could I sabotage the courtship? For a brief moment, the thought of telling him about Gilbert flitted through my mind. I banished it the moment it came. I could not break that promise to Juliana.
I ignored the warmth on my cheeks. “It was difficult not to think the worst of you.”
“Because you are still so determined to hate me?”
I clasped my hands in front of me. “No, because you appeared very… sneaky.”
“If there is any sneaking happening here, it has little to do with me.” He threw me a pointed look.
I pressed a hand to my heart with a gasp. “I was just taking my morning walk.”
“You cannot lie to me, Miss Elizabeth. You are quite terrible at it.” He gave another of his infuriating smiles, and I finally understood why Aunt Augusta and Charity, judging by her flirtatious laughter, had been so charmed by him. Charmed as I was, it did not stop me from wanting to plant him a facer.
I sighed. “If there is anything to be terrible at, I suppose it should be lying.”
“I must say I am surprised.”
“Surprised about what?”
He straightened his hat, eyeing me from beneath the brim. “For a woman who practices lying so often, I would think you would have a greater talent for it.”
I gasped. “For a man who practices insulting so often, I am surprised you manage to charm so many women.”
“Are you charmed by me, Miss Elizabeth?”
I scoffed. “No.”
He tipped his head back with exasperation. “Again with the lies. Will you ever learn to stop?”
Oh, he was infuriating. I glared at him, mentally retracting any compliments I had given the man. He would not see his day as master of Brookhaven, not if I had any hand in it. Today had served as a slight diversion from my plan, but I could recover from it. I had nearly three months to enact all my strategies. Dr. Luke Pembroke did not know what was coming for him.
He was still chuckling, staring down at me with his arms crossed as if he had won our conversation somehow. I reminded myself that this morning was simply a battle. The war was mine to win. “I will stop only when you surrender your attempts to court my sister,” I said.
“I cannot do that. I plan to call on her tomorrow afternoon.”
I pushed my curls back away from my eyes as the wind took hold of them. “Then I must politely request that you change your plan.”
“Why? Is she truly so disgusted by the thought of courting me?”
Again, the thought to tell him about Gilbert crossed my mind, but I refrained. There was a way to tell the truth without mentioning Gilbert. “I do not want her to marry out of obligation.”
Dr. Pembroke looked down at the grass, his expression growing serious for a moment. “That is not always possible. There are other things to consider.”
“Such as property? I am certain that I could never be happy spending my life in a large house if my husband were someone I found sufficient, acceptable, or merely tolerable. I would rather have a life full of love and laughter than any measure of finery or prestige.” I echoed Juliana’s words from our walk to visit Gilbert those weeks ago. “Juliana would too.”
Dr. Pembroke’s chest rose and fell with a heavy breath. “Are you trying to make me feel guilty for wanting Brookhaven?”
A minuscule smile pulled at my lips. “Perhaps a little.”
He smiled back, but a flare of competition still burned in his eyes. “Then I suppose I will have to make your sister fall in love with me. If I am as charming as you say…”
“You are not charming.”
He cocked his gaze up to the sky. Before he could accuse me of lying again, I tapped Aunt Augusta’s watch. “Now go inside, you are already late. Again.”
He bit the inside of his cheek, turning away from me with an exasperated look. “Good day, Miss Elizabeth.”
“Good day, Dr. Pembroke.”
I watched him walk away, suddenly very eager for Juliana to receive his calling card the next day. It would give me a grand opportunity to enact the next item of my plan. For if the physician intended to take Juliana for a walk, propriety would demand that she bring a chaperone.
Chapter 9
Step 3. Make Dr. Pembroke appear an utter fool.
As any effective chaperone, I remained close enough to keep Juliana and her suitor in my sights, but far enough to allow their conversation a bit of privacy. I kicked the twigs in front of my feet as I followed Juliana and Dr. Pembroke through the wooded path. Sunlight fell through the pockets between the leaves above, leaving tiny droplets of light on the ground and in Juliana’s hair. Occasionally I caught sight of a smile on her face as they conversed, but it was nowhere near the size of the smile I had seen when she spoke with Gilbert. Her posture was stiff, her expressions even more so.
The next step of my plan had been rather vague. To make Dr. Pembroke a fool would be more difficult than I had previously considered. He walked with purpose, poise, and his manners were impeccable as he addressed Juliana. Occasionally he glanced over his shoulder at me, as if to ensure that I was still the proper distance behind them, or that I was not aiming a rock at his head.
I stepped over a fallen log. Despite the shade, the humidity of the day from recent rain made my curls stick to the back of my neck. I inhaled deeply, listening to the birds chirping above, and tried to concoct an idea. If Juliana could be convinced that Dr. Pembroke was a foolish simpleton, then I could reasonably argue that he was not fit to manage an estate as large and with as great an income as Brookhaven.
It was worth a try at least.
With nimble feet, I moved around a boulder, searching the surroundings for any opportunity. Glancing ahead of me, I realized I had let Juliana and Dr. Pembroke too far out of my sight.
I ran to catch up, finding them approaching the shallow pond that lay at the center of the woods. The stench of the water wafted up to my nose, and I nearly gagged. Mud and animals and mold could only produce such a smell. Baking in the sun, the pond was even more revolting. Juliana and Dr. Pembroke stood at the opposite edge, their backs turned to me as they observed carvings on a nearby tree. My eyes caught on something in the water—something that moved.
A small toad wriggled near the shallow edge, its bumpy, brown skin almost invisible in the murky water. Before I could lose my nerve, I took off my bonnet and scooped the creature between my palms. I set it inside my bonnet, covering the top with my hands. My stomach heaved as I felt the slime between my fingers.
The slight splash had not distracted Dr. Pembroke or Juliana. They both stared steadfastly at the tree. Dr. Pembroke took off his hat to get a closer look at the markings they were observing. He held his hat with the open side up, propped against his leg.
Perfect.
I crept around the pond, acting as nonchalant as possible. Dr. Pembroke glanced at me, one eyebrow raised as I approached, and I turned, pretending to be interested in a moss-covered rock at the edge of the pond.
He returned his attention to Juliana, and I took another step closer.
“I could not help but be curious about what was so interesting about the tree,” I said, stopping beside Dr. Pembroke. His gaze shifted to my face, then to my bonnet, before returning to my eyes. My heart hammered. If I was going to do it, I had to do it fast. “What are these markings you are both staring at?” I pointed at the tree. Thankfully, both Dr. Pembroke and Juliana turned to look at it again.
In a flash, I took the slippery toad in my hand and placed it as gently as possible inside Dr. Pembroke’s hat. Eventually it would make a noise or leap, and would hopefully startle him enough to cause a scene. The creature was so small, I doubted he felt its weight as distracted as he was by the engraving.
An Unwelcome Suitor (Entangled Inheritance Book 4) Page 7