After breakfast, they walked to church in the fresh spring air. Bright, new leaves unfurled on the trees, the air sweet with greenery. A fawn appeared, then vanished into the woods. Bella skipped ahead along the road with Scotty trailing after her.
“I have decided we’ll begin with Endymion,” she said with a sideways glance at the man walking beside her.
“I shall be sure to read it,” Nicholas promised. “But the beauty of nature is all around us, Carrie. Life is so much more alive and real than poetry.”
“One enriches the other.”
He smiled at her, his eyes speculative. “Quite so.”
They reached the small gray stone church where the vicar waited. Nicholas introduced Carrie, Bella, and Scotty to him.
“What a blessing it is to our small society to have more young people amongst us,” Mr. Braithwaite said. “I trust you will enjoy my sermon.”
“I’m sure it will be most efficacious as usual.” Nicholas escorted them inside, where the sun, shining down through the stained-glass windows, colored the interior with pretty lights. He seated them in his family’s pew.
Carrie looked around. Penningtons were baptized and buried here. She intended to wander in the graveyard and learn more about those whose portraits she had inspected in the long gallery.
From the pulpit, the vicar cleared his throat and began.
Sometime later, they emerged blinking into the sunlight. Carrie stood as Nicholas shook the vicar’s hand. “A good sermon,” he said. “We shall gain much from it.”
Mr. Braithwaite looked pleased.
“I enjoyed how you drew your sermon from John 3:16, Mr. Braithwaite,” Carrie said. “I am always inspired by God has a plan for you.”
“Thank you, Miss Leeming.” The vicar flushed with pleasure and was about to elaborate on his theme when a lady came to his elbow and interrupted him.
Nicholas drew Carrie away. He introduced them to the parishioners milling outside the church. A gray-haired, late-middle-aged lady pushed through the group to reach them. A determined smile on her long face.
“My lord, how delightful to have those two children entrusted to your care,” she said. The look she cast Carrie seemed speculative. “If there is ever anything I can do to assist, please ask me. I have little enough to do these days except to look after Mother.”
“Thank you, Miss Carswell. That is very kind but entirely unnecessary. I wouldn’t dream of taking you away from your duties.” Nicholas replaced his hat. “Please give my regards to your mother.”
He offered Carrie his arm, and they walked back along the road, Bella and Scotty strolling ahead.
Carrie withdrew her hand when those ahead were out of earshot. “That was not kind, Nicholas.”
“What have I done now?”
“You should not have treated Miss Carswell in that manner.”
He met the appeal in her eyes with a slight smile. “And what manner was that?”
“You sounded condescending.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Condescending?”
She firmed her lips.
“If it seemed so, I apologize.”
“Perhaps you should apologize to Miss Carswell.”
“Dear God, you go too far, Carrie,” he remonstrated. “We’d have the woman poking her nose in the kitchen door annoying my chef. You know what trouble that might cause.”
He was making light of it. She wanted to laugh with him. It was most annoying. Carrie refused to return his smile. Even at his most disgraceful, he was so very appealing.
Bella walked back to them. “I am going to walk to the lake. Do you want to come with me, Carrie?”
“No. But don’t be long. It’s almost time for luncheon. And Jeremy will be here in a few hours.”
Bella turned back with a grin. “I won’t.”
An hour later, the meal was about to be served, and there was no sign of Bella.
“She might still be at the lake. Or the stables perhaps,” Nicholas said. “I’ll send someone to find her.”
The footman returned without Bella, and luncheon was left uneaten. It would have been impossible, for Carrie’s stomach was queasy with nerves. They had all gone out onto the drive to watch for her.
“I’ll ride out and search for her. She can’t have gone far.” Nicholas placed a hand on Carrie’s arm. “I’ll bring Bella back. Don’t worry.”
“I should have gone with her,” Carrie said, a catch in her voice. “Bella can’t swim.”
“Bella isn’t a child, Carrie, and she’d hardly enter the water,” Nicholas said firmly. “The bottom of the lake is muddy and cold this time of year. She has merely lost her way. Footmen and my gamekeeper will search the woods.”
Carrie shivered slightly and rubbed her arms as he headed off to the stables at a jog. What might have happened? Bella could be forgetful, but she was very much looking forward to seeing Jeremy, so why hadn’t she returned?
Chapter Seven
His jaw clenched, Nicholas rode straight to the lake. It couldn’t happen again. Life couldn’t be that cruel. Emerging from the trees, the dank smell of reeds, water, and mud assailed him. A slight breeze ruffled the lake’s surface where waterfowl swam serenely, while others gathered noisily on the bank. No sign of Bella. Allowing himself a small groan of relief not to find her in trouble, he entered the woods and rode Aquilo down the bridle path, yelling Bella’s name. His voice echoed through the trees and was caught up with the cries from members of his staff searching for her.
Growing more uneasy, he rode onward through the trees, the crackle of leaves beneath his horse’s hooves, the rustle of animals in the undergrowth, and the twitter of birds in the canopy overhead the only sounds in the quiet air. Still no sign of her. How far could Bella walk in a few hours? Could she have stumbled somewhere in the woods and hurt herself or fallen foul of a poacher’s trap?
He prayed they would find her before nightfall. It would be difficult to continue to search after dark. Determined not to return empty-handed and fail Carrie, he continued on. He understood Carrie’s fierce sense of responsibility. She would blame herself if her sister were harmed.
Earlier, in his riding gear, when he emerged onto the drive, Carrie anxiously searched his eyes. “You’ll find her, won’t you?”
Carrie trusted him, and he would not let her down. “We’ll have her back soon,” he’d assured her. But as time went on, his concern grew. Where had Bella got to?
The girl’s safety was his responsibility. He should have expected this, made her understand not to venture far from the house. An hour passed. As Nicholas continued along the riverbank, one of his footmen who had joined the search emerged from the trees.
He held up a handkerchief. “Found this in the grass, milord.”
Nicholas reached down and took it from him. A dainty piece of muslin edged in lace. His first thought was that it could belong to a lady riding the bridle path in the past and blown there by the wind, but the material was dry and unmarked. And there had been a shower yesterday. “It could be Bella’s. Where did you find it, Jerry?”
“The south meadow, milord.”
Nicholas turned Aquilo’s head and rode toward the meadow. He urged his horse over a fence and rode at full gallop toward a distant band of trees. What could have drawn Bella here? Surely she would not have been abducted. The estate grounds were extremely safe. Then something occurred to him, and he wheeled his horse around.
The wanderer camp occupied a field on his land to the north. The gypsies settled there once a year, with his blessing. Last week, his bailiff had told him they’d returned. There was an unspoken agreement: they could catch rabbits as long as they didn’t enter the woods and disturb his birds. Occasionally, the home farm sent a side of lamb for their pot. It kept relations cordial. He’d had no trouble with them. Peace-loving people, most of them, who traveled about England, but there were always a few bad eggs capable of the worst crimes, which right now made his blood run cold.
As he dre
w closer, smoke wafted through the trees. He heard music. They had tied their ponies to the fence near a wagon. Entering the clearing, Nicholas searched for Bella among the tents clustered in a wide circle around the fire. He couldn’t see her. Dismounting, he led his horse across the grass.
The men turned suspicious eyes upon him as he approached. Their women folk stared at him from where they sat nursing their babies, their children playing at their feet. The leader, Vano, a handsome, swarthy-faced man in leather breeches with a yellow scarf tied around his neck, emerged from the group and hailed him.
He reached Nicholas and stood, his legs slightly spread in an arrogant stance. “’Tis a privilege to welcome you to our humble camp, m’lord. That’s a very fine bit of horseflesh if yea don’t mind me sayin’.”
Nicholas nodded. “Good day to you, Vano. I am searching for my ward, Miss Arabella Leeming. It appears she’s got lost.”
“Lost m’lord? She seems happy enough.”
The men parted to reveal Bella clapping her hands in time to the women’s tambourines.
Nicholas sagged with relief. He turned to Vano. “Did you bring her here?”
“Aye. I did. Found her alone and thought it better, seeing as a man has been lurking around our camp of late.”
Nicholas frowned. “A traveler, Vano?”
“Aye. Kept to himself once he knew he’d not be welcome here.”
“Thank you for taking care of Miss Arabella. But you might have brought her home.”
“And get gunshot in me rump by your gamekeeper for me pains? I knew you’d come for her soon enough.”
“If you see this fellow again, send word, will you? I’ll have the home farm deliver some poultry to you.”
Vano, a proud man, gave a slightly mocking bow. “I’ll watch out, m’lord, but perhaps you should take better care of your women.”
Nicholas raised an eyebrow. He turned and strode over to Bella. “What are you doing here, Bella?”
She cast him an anxious glance. “Oh. Nicholas. Isn’t this fun? We don’t have gypsies at Leeming.”
“You’re coming with me, now!” He grabbed her arm and hauled her toward his horse.
“Have I missed luncheon? I’m sorry. I lost track of the time.”
He mounted, then pulled her up behind him. Taking up the reins, he guided his horse back toward the river.
“Are you cross with me, Nicholas?” Bella asked in a small voice as he cantered the horse across a field.
“You’ve come a long way from the lake. How did you get here?”
“I met Vano at the river, and he invited me to visit his camp.”
“Did you see anyone else?”
“No. I’m sorry, Nicholas, I didn’t mean to walk so far.”
“You must stay close to the house, Bella. There are many hazards on this estate. You must be careful.”
Who was the man Vano spoke of? A poacher? He would give instructions to his bailiff and warn his gamekeeper. But he was too relieved to be angry.
“But the gypsies were very friendly,” she said regretfully.
“There are unscrupulous men in this world who would take advantage of a defenseless girl. Who would hear your cries? Who would come to your aid?”
He heard her gasp. He had been brutal, but he doubted she’d hear plain speaking from her sister. To a lesser extent, perhaps, but Carrie was also innocent of the ways of the world.
When they reached the house, Carrie stood on the driveway with Miss Scotsdale and a lanky young lad. Jeremy.
“Jeremy!” Bella cried, waving so violently she almost unseated herself.
“Steady.” Nicholas reined in and dismounted. When he helped her down, she ran with a sob to throw herself into Carrie’s arms. “Nicholas is cross with me, Carrie, because I visited the wanderer camp. Vano said it was perfectly all right. That I’d be safe. And I was.”
“Thank you for finding her, Nicholas.” Carrie’s gaze met his over her sister’s head. Her eyes were soft and glowed with emotion.
That look pleased him far too much. It went beyond wishing they were on friendly terms. “We’ll talk no more of this episode, Bella. I’m sure you’ll be more sensible in the future.” He needed a hearty slug of brandy. His nerves couldn’t take too much of this. He walked over to Jeremy, who stood waiting, his young face pale, his eyes strained. The boy had brown hair and green eyes but had inherited his father’s features, which caused a pang in Nicholas’s chest. He smiled and held out his hand. “Good to have another male member in the family, Jeremy. It goes a long way to redress the balance.”
He shook Nicholas’s hand with a slight grin. “Good to be here, Lord Pennington.”
“Call me Nicholas. Shall we all go inside? I don’t know about you, but I am famished.”
Bella ran up to her brother and threw her arms around him. “We are dying to hear your news.”
Jeremy unraveled her arms. “I can offer nothing to match yours, Bella. You must tell me about the gypsies. I’ve never met one.”
They trailed into the house behind Carrie and Nicholas.
When Nicholas retreated to his library after luncheon, a knock came at the door.
Carrie entered. She declined to sit, standing with her hands clasped in front of her. “I shan’t disturb you. I’m sure you have wasted enough of your day already.”
“Not at all.” He wished she would stay and talk to him.
“I just wanted to thank you for finding Bella so swiftly.”
“I should have made her understand she was not to wander about the estate alone,” he said, disliking the worry in her eyes.
“As should I,” she said with a rueful expression. “You have my most sincere thanks, Nicholas. We have disrupted your life, I fear.”
“My sister would consider it a decided improvement on the old one.”
“But do you?”
“Yes,” he said, his gaze roaming her face and settling on her mouth. “I do. Very much.”
With a brisk nod, she left the room.
Nicholas stared at the closed door. It wasn’t necessary to embellish the truth. He did enjoy having a family, for that was what he now considered them. Finding Bella safe invigorated him so much, it was as though he’d emerged from fog into the sunlight.
Would he be so content when Carrie was no longer here?
***
Bella threw herself on Carrie’s bed and sniffed. “I didn’t know it was wrong to go there. I thought Vano was a friend of Nicholas’s.”
“Because he told you so?”
Bella shook her head. “Not exactly. But he said Nicholas welcomed his family here every year. When he invited me to his camp to hear the music, I didn’t see any harm in it. I was only going to stay for a few moments, but the way they live fascinated me. How romantic to pack up and travel from one town to the next, selling homewares and reading fortunes. I should like my fortune read.”
“Bella, Nicholas was right to be furious with you.”
She sniffed. “The gypsies were nice to me.”
“You must realize how dangerous it is to put your trust in strangers. Nicholas is quite justified if he restricts your freedom in the future.”
“I suppose he will, now, won’t he?” Bella wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“It’s my fault. I should have told you. You simply cannot run free here as you did at Leeming Hall.”
“No, I realize that now.”
Carrie sat beside her, an arm around her sister’s shoulders. She hated to leave Bella like this. “I’m sure I can trust you to be sensible.”
“I will, I promise.”
“Take Scotty with you on your walks.”
Bella sighed. “She is cross with me, too.”
“Scotty is never cross for long. I think she was scared for you. You should go to the schoolroom now. You mustn’t keep her waiting.”
Alone, Carrie had time to think. Bella’s escapade could have ended badly. If one of those men… She shook her head, unable to dwell on
the horror. She rested her chin on her hand and stared sightlessly into space. How impressive Nicholas was. He’d taken command and acted decisively. How relieved she was to leave Bella and Jeremy in excellent hands. And while that eased her worry, a strange yearning had lodged in her chest; she found it difficult to ignore the desire to remain here at Elm Park. To rest her weary soul and recover from the past few turbulent years. But was it just that? If she examined her feelings, it wasn’t weariness she felt now, but elation. How striking Nicholas had looked riding toward her with Bella on the horse behind him. Carrie bit her lip. It was more than profound relief that Bella was safe.
Anna came into the room and cast Carrie a glance.
Carrie rose quickly, aware her hot cheeks gave her away.
At dinner, Nicholas and Jeremy discussed ancient ruins. Nicholas promised to take him to the British Museum to see the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone. Jeremy’s eyes were like stars. Carrie felt thrilled for him. Later, when Nicholas played snap with Bella, she whooped with laughter. Today’s worrying episode slipped from their thoughts. When the others played spillikins, Carrie and Nicholas played chess. She hadn’t played the game since her father became ill and expected to be beaten soundly. She had not expected the game to be so… intense. As Bella and Jeremy argued, she and Nicholas considered their moves, drawn into a small world of their own. His eyes met hers, a small smile on his lips. She toyed with a pawn, undecided about the next move.
“Are you going to play that?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t rush me.” It didn’t matter what she did, he would beat her. He knew it, too. His arrogance was insufferable, and she had the childish desire to poke her tongue out at him.
She moved her pawn, and Nicholas took it.
Carrie frowned and moved her rook.
Her senses were alert, fully aware of the flickering firelight, the snap and crackle of burning wood, and the sweet applewood smoke. She glanced up at Nicholas’s mouth and chin, his dark lashes as he studied the board. His long fingers moved the pieces with swift intent as she fought to hold off his attack on her queen. With a gleeful cry, she pounced on his knight, then discovered the smoldering humor in his eyes. He had won. She breathed deeply to slow her galloping heart as he took her queen.
Never Dance with a Marquess (The Never Series Book 2) Page 6