“I mean that the usual courting process can take years. I have no intention of waiting that long before we make matters more permanent.”
Beatrice studied him; a little nonplussed at his statement. He sounded as though he was reading an article in a newspaper. The stern, authoritative lines on his face made him look almost officious, and considerably less like a man with romance on his mind. His blunt words, untampered with flowery words and amorous declarations, dampened the thrill of the moment a little if she was honest, and she wasn’t quite sure what to say.
She studied the blanket beneath them a little too carefully while she tried to quell her disappointment, and find something suitable to say.
Ben watched her, and wondered if he was pushing too hard. While he didn’t want to rush her into anything she wasn’t ready for, it was important that she understood his intentions were honourable. It was not a case of ‘if’ they were going to be married; it was a case of ‘when’.
“You are aware of the attraction between us,” he argued, even though she had yet to speak. “Neither of us can deny it is there. I have wanted to get to know you from the second I first saw you in Tipton Hollow. To be honest with you, I followed you after service last Sunday, just to be able to find a way to speak to you. While I am sorry that you were injured, at least something good came out of it. Not only did I manage to get you to talk to me, but I came to your rescue as well.”
“I am glad that you were the one who came to my rescue,” Beatrice admitted softly. “Although I could have done without the injury, I cannot think of anyone I would have liked to rescue me more. I just hope that you don’t make a habit of it.”
“Talking to you?” Ben scowled dramatically.
She smiled and rolled her eyes. “Rescuing me,” she sighed. “I have to admit that I felt a fool for being so helpless.”
“You are no fool, Beatrice,” he assured her.
To his consternation, he watched her pack the left-overs back into the basket, and wondered if she wasn’t ready to acknowledge the prospect of a future together yet. It irked him a little that she was clearly uncomfortable discussing matters so close to her heart, especially with him. He wanted her to feel as though she could talk to him about anything, whenever she wanted; even her deepest and darkest feelings.
Beatrice closed the lid of the basket and sat back to finish her wine. She was aware that Ben had moved to sit right beside her, but kept her gaze firmly locked on the river.
“I want you to know that I am happy to slow the progress of our relationship a little, if that is what will make you more comfortable. The last thing I want is to push you into anything you are not ready for. I want to assure you that, now I have you in my life, I am never going to let you go, Beatrice. As far as I am concerned, our future lies together; as man and wife.”
“I am just not used to this kind of thing, Ben, that’s all. I am glad that you want to see me again; of course I am. It is just that we hardly know each other,” she sighed. “So much has changed in the past week that I don’t know what to make of it all. I just need things to settle down a little before I make any decisions about anything. My life has gone from being boring and predictable, to downright chaotic. While I would feel considerably better if I never saw that plant again, or any of the men involved with creating it, all of this has made me realise just how much I am missing out on in life.”
“Now wait a minute,” Ben gasped. He dropped his glass onto the grass beside him and turned to face her. “I hope you are not getting used to all of this espionage and subterfuge? I don’t mind it for a little while, but if you even think for one second that you are going to find another mystery to keep yourself occupied with when this is all over, then you really will have to think again.”
Beatrice stared at him with eyes that were tinged with just a little bit of disquiet. “I make my own decisions on what I do in life, Ben,” she replied quietly, but firmly. “I am an independent woman who makes her own choices in life. All I am trying to say is that I don’t think I am suited to marriage,” she added with a frown.
She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her. Her was a man; a dark, passionate, caring man, who was offering her everything she had ever wanted. Yet all of a sudden, she had doubts. She had no idea where they came from; or how to get rid of them; they were just there, and refused to be ignored.
Ben snorted disparagingly. “There has never been any woman more suited to marriage than you, Beatrice. You are kind, generous, caring, considerate, passionate, loving. You would make an excellent mother, and perfect companion. I have the strongest suspicion that life with you could never ever be considered boring in any way, shape or form.”
She looked frankly at him. “My life has been boring, Ben.”
“That is because of your circumstances. Those are changing around you as we speak. Marriage won’t stop you continuing to change things until you establish the life you are happy with,” he assured her. “You will never find out what you want if you don’t take chances. I know that you have the Circle, your friends, and the house to run. That alone is more than enough for any woman to contend with. However, you are an intelligent young woman who needs stimulation, and something to think about. While I cannot provide you with another mystery to solve, we are both in a financial position that will enable us to explore the country a little, if not the world around us. There is nothing to say that marriage will confine us to the house. I, for one, do not want a biddable wife who will put dinner on the table each night, but will be bored stupid doing it. I want someone to share my life with; someone who will walk by my side.” He picked her hand up in his and interlaced their fingers. “Hand in hand.”
She shivered as the warmth of his hand encased hers, and she stared at him as she listened to his impassioned speech and felt her heart expand beneath her breast.
“I want someone who will walk with me, Beatrice. I don’t expect to drag you through life telling you want to do with your days. Walk with me,” he urged in a husky whisper.
She knew he was laying a golden carpet beneath her feet, and she would be a fool if she refused to walk with him along it. He was everything she had ever wanted, and more besides. In spite of their short acquaintance, she knew that this was right.
“Ben,” she whispered in a voice that was laden with tears. She didn’t move when his head dipped toward hers, and sighed when her lips were captured in a tender kiss that robbed her of all thought.
Her sigh of acceptance was all he needed to hear, and he slowly eased her backward until she lay on the blanket. He leaned over her without releasing her lips and tilted his head this way and that as he sipped from the honeyed nectar of her mouth. She didn’t protest; she couldn’t, and merely clung to his jacket to hold him in place while she accepted the prospect of their future together.
“A’ternoon.”
Neither of them had heard the rumble of farmer’s cart until it was directly beside them. Ben lifted his head and watched the carriage wheels roll past before he lifted his gaze to the farmer, who nodded at him and turned to face forward as though riding past a couple locked in a passionate embrace was something he encountered every day.
Ben looked down at Beatrice and grinned at the fiery blush that stained her cheeks. While he cursed his folly at having kissed her in such a public place, he was glad that he had taken the opportunity to at least get her to think about a future with him.
“Do you think that one day we may be able to do that without being interrupted?” Beatrice asked as she sat up and primly began to push her hair back into place.
Ben grinned at her and downed the rest of his wine. “We are going to have to start to lock ourselves into the house, I think.”
They quickly packed the rest of the picnic things and folded the blanket.
“Thank you for this, I really enjoyed it,” Beatrice said quietly as they walked hand in hand back to the carriage.
“I am glad, darling. It has been really rather wonderful, if I d
o say so myself.” He nodded to the sky overhead, which had started to darken ominously. “However, I think that the best of the day is over if that heavy raincloud follows through with its threat.”
Beatrice looked at the rain clouds and shivered as she climbed aboard the carriage. “Do you think we will get home before it starts to rain?”
Ben climbed aboard and guided the horse back onto the road. “We should do, but we have been in caught out in a storm before so at least know what to expect. At least we are not on horseback this time.”
Beatrice rolled her eyes. “You are not going to let me forget that are you?”
He grinned at her. “Well, it is a rather defining moment in our relationship, my darling. If I hadn’t happened along that particular stretch of road, at that particular moment, we may never have met.”
She had to agree with him, and settled back in the seat in contented silence.
Once the horse was on a straight part of the lane, he leaned into the back of the carriage and draped the picnic blanket across their legs. Now that the sun had disappeared, the temperature had started to drop rapidly and, although she wasn’t chilled, she was not as warm as she had been on the picnic blanket earlier.
Beatrice snuggled beneath its heavy warmth with a sigh, and leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his jaw, deeply touched at his consideration of her.
“What should we do now?” She sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder. Her smile grew dreamy when he kissed her forehead.
In spite of the pleasurable day, her mind refused to settle. “I have to say that I don’t think you will be contacted by Richard Browning.”
“I know, I completely agree,” Ben acknowledged with a sigh.
“I don’t ever want to go back to his house.”
“I think it is a waste of time to go back there. We have to go and see the last man on the list, Bernard Murray, and see what he has to say. He lives in Tipton Hollow. Why don’t we look at doing that tomorrow? We can call in at Harriett’s for tea while we are there?”
“If the weather is nice, we can walk into the village,” she suggested. “That would be nice.”
Ben kept quiet. The last thing he wanted was for Beatrice to walk anywhere. After all, the last time she had been on foot, she had nearly ended up beneath carriage wheels. However he kept his thoughts to himself, although hoped that it would rain tomorrow.
“How about if we walk, cut through the woods and call in at my house on the way? You can then see to the plant, and we can go on to the village from here.”
Beatrice smiled at him and nodded. She had never been to Ben’s house before, and had to confess that she was really rather intrigued to know what it was like.
For the next half an hour they exchanged desultory conversation about their respective homes, their past, and their families. It was difficult for Beatrice because it stirred up so many memories that she would have preferred remained hidden. However, as soon as she had told him about her rather nondescript childhood, turned on its head by the abrupt death of both of her parents from influenza; she started to feel a little better about the past. She had no idea if it was down to the fact that she had talked about it, but her childhood suddenly didn’t seem to hurt so much. As she spoke, she felt as though she was talking about someone else’s life. It was a little odd really, although not entirely unwelcome.
In contrast, Ben’s childhood had been filled with a large family of extended relatives who were still scattered all over the country. If he needed any of them, they were close enough to contact relatively easily. However, they lived far enough away to enable him to live his own life without their interference, and that was just the way he liked it.
She, on the other hand, really had nobody other than Maud. Although she had asked her uncle several times about her own extended family, Matthew had informed her rather vaguely that there were some somewhere, only he couldn’t remember where. When she had pushed him for more information, he had mumbled something about finding the details before he had disappeared into the study. Unfortunately, he then appeared to have promptly forgotten all about their conversation.
As a result, she still didn’t know if he had just been trying to pacify her, or had honestly forgotten, or just didn’t want to tell her that there was nobody other than the two of them.
“Watch out!” She screamed suddenly when a huge black carriage suddenly appeared in the lane beside them.
Ben swore loudly and tried to pull back on the horse’s reins. Unfortunately, the horse was spooked by the huge black beast thundering past so closely, and began to fight the restriction of the reins in a desperate attempt to break free.
Ben threw Beatrice a dark look. “Hang on to something.” His warning was cut short when the horse suddenly yanked his head down and began to charge after the large black carriage, which was now barrelling swiftly down the road in front of them.
“Jesus,” he snarled and began to saw on the reins in an attempt to force their horse to stop.
“Ben, what do I do?” Beatrice cried. She threw a wild glance at the hedgerow as it rushed past in a horrifying whirl, and tightened her hold on the seat beneath them.
At the speed they were travelling, the carriage could tip over and they would almost certainly die. She began to pray.
“Brace yourself,” he bit out when the carriage in front of them tipped onto two wheels as it sped around the corner and disappeared from sight.
“Ben!”
As they reached the end of the road, the horse tried to head in the same direction as the black carriage, but Ben was determined, and braced himself as he drew back on the opposite rein. Confused, yet equally determined to get its own way, the horse danced around as it fought for supremacy. It trotted, then tried to break into a canter, but couldn’t get its head free so it could surge forward as it wanted to. Thankfully, it was enough to slow them down. Although they were going faster than Ben wanted, they were at least able to make it around the corner in one piece.
With no sign of the other carriage ahead of them, the horse reluctantly settled into a brisk trot.
“I daren’t stop the carriage right now, Beatrice. With how spooked he is, he could bolt before I get you down. I don’t want him running off without us.”
“It’s alright,” Beatrice gasped. Her heart pounded so heavily that she could hear very little else. “At least if he continues to trot, he will wear himself out eventually.”
“Keep an eye out behind us, darling. I want to make sure that the driver doesn’t circle around somewhere to try that again.”
“What do we do if he comes back?” She gasped. “That was the carriage from the other day.”
He glanced at her. “Do you think that it is the same one that tried to run you down?”
Beatrice nodded but didn’t know if he saw her because he had turned his attention back to the road before them. “I am positive it was the same black carriage.”
“Did you see the driver?”
She shook her head. “No, did you?”
“No. He was wearing black from head to foot and had a cap on his head that hid his features.”
“It is definitely a man,” Beatrice whispered quietly.
“I cannot conceive of any woman who would be strong enough to control a horse and carriage at that speed.”
Beatrice frowned at the road ahead and thought about Caroline Smethwick’s carriage. She had used her large, black, nondescript carriage to travel around the country lanes at night while she tried to gather information on the clairvoyants who had fleeced her elderly aunt out of most of her wealth.
While she didn’t suspect that Caroline Smethwick had anything to do with the attempts on her life, she wondered how many other people used nondescript black carriages to conduct their criminal activities.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Beatrice continued to glance back at the road behind them while they made their way through the country lanes toward home. Thankfully, there was no sign of the ca
rriage. It was a relief when they finally turned back onto the lane that would take them to Tipton Hollow. With that in mind, she sat back in the seat with a sigh of relief and looked at Ben.
“Do you think it was Hargraves?”
Ben nodded. “I think that it has to be, don’t you? I mean, I cannot conceive that it would be anyone else. He has been the only one in the area of late who has a carriage very similar to that one.”
“I don’t know, Ben. I think that the carriage today was different to the one Hargraves uses,” Beatrice mused. “If you remember, Hargraves said that he had only purchased his carriage last year. The carriage today looked as though it had been built to go with Browning’s house.”
Ben looked at her steadily for several long moments while he thought about that.
“Do you think it was Browning?” she gasped.
“I think it is entirely plausible, don’t you? At first glance, the carriage today and Hargraves’ carriage do look similar. However, the one that just passed us today wasn’t highly polished, and definitely not new.” He threw her a look. “I want you to think carefully about the carriage that nearly ran you over the other Sunday. Was it bright and shiny like the one Hargraves uses; or dull and dingy like that one?” He tipped his head backward to indicate the road behind him, and waited for Beatrice to reply.
In all of his life he had never had a carriage journey as fraught as this one. If he had been on his own, he would have felt a little less stressed throughout the remainder of the journey home. However, with Beatrice beside him, a good outcome suddenly became considerably more important. He wanted to get her home safely; to protect her and nurture her, not put her in a ditch and bring an end to her life.
“I really cannot say with absolute certainty. However, I don’t think that the carriage on Sunday was as shiny as Hargraves’. Now that I come to think about it; wasn’t his horse brown?”
Ben scowled off into the distance and nodded. The horse that had just passed them had been as black as the carriage it had pulled. He couldn’t help but wonder if a third person was involved.
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