“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I told her, figuring my best move to avoid conflict was to go along with what she was saying. “The news shocked me is all, and I needed a few minutes away from the crowd to absorb what had happened.”
“Of course, dear,” she said with a warm smile. “If you don’t feel well enough to travel, you’re welcome to stay here for the night. As a close friend of my daughter’s, there is always a room open in our home for you.”
“Will my parents be staying here as well?” I asked.
“I offered, but they were also distressed over what transpired tonight, and said they would feel better once they returned safely home,” she said. “The repairs on your coach should take a few days, so Lord Givens offered to loan your parents our chaise until your coach is deemed fit to ride again.”
I plucked from my past self’s memory that a chaise had room for only two passengers. That meant Lady Givens was politely giving me no other option but to spend the night, unless I wanted to walk or ride horseback, which would be a death wish in the cold, rainy weather.
“Thank you, Lady Givens,” I said, trying to remain as calm as possible. People in this time period seemed to keep their emotions in check much more than people did in the twenty-first century. “That’s very kind of you, and you’re right that it’s best I don’t travel tonight. Hopefully the weather will be pleasant enough tomorrow that I can take one of the horses home.”
Lady Givens looked appalled at my suggestion of riding horseback. I loved traveling by horse—it was relaxing and freeing—but it was certainly something that her daughter, the Lady Catherine Givens, would never lower herself to do.
“Very well,” she said, although it didn’t sound like she meant it. “We’ll discuss it further in the morning. In the meantime, I’ll send a maid to prepare the guest room. And now, as eventful as this evening has been, I must bid goodnight to my guests. If you’ll excuse me.” She lifted her skirts, and turned to the door.
“Thank you again, Lady Givens,” I said as she hurried out of the room. She left the door open, and I could tell from the looks people were giving us as they walked by that we had secluded ourselves in the library for longer than was socially acceptable.
It hadn’t been a day since I’d arrived, and I was already becoming a source of gossip.
“She didn’t give you much of an option there, did she?” Drew said once Lady Givens was gone.
“No,” I said. “I suppose not. But as much as I would prefer to go home, it’s a good thing I’m staying here tonight.”
“Why is that?” Drew asked.
“Because once the guests leave, Chelsea and I can brainstorm a list of who we think tampered with the carriage, and why.”
“I’ll think about it tonight, too,” Drew said. “Tomorrow I’ll stop by during calling hours. Hopefully the three of us will be able to get time alone, without a chaperone who insists on watching our every move.”
“We’ll figure something out,” I said. “I just want to get answers so we can go home.”
Both Chelsea and Drew agreed.
Then Lord Givens’ personal valet, Mr. Brookes, knocked on the door to inform Drew that his family had their coach ready and was waiting for him to leave. We all said goodnight, and once the remainder of the guests departed, Chelsea and I headed to her room.
Despite my exhaustion from everything that had happened in the past day, we had important things to discuss, so I couldn’t go to bed yet. And I was so wound up from it all that I wasn’t sure I could if I tried.
CHAPTER 28
After changing into my nightgown, I met Chelsea back in her room. Her room was much larger than the guest room in which I was staying. She had a four-poster bed, an entire area to get ready with a vanity and wardrobe, a carved marble fireplace, a sitting area, and beautiful red drapes adorning the windows. It was much more extravagant than the bedroom my past self had with her family in their modest home.
But I also knew that the Givens’ were in financial crisis, and if Chelsea—well, Catherine—didn’t find a wealthy husband, they wouldn’t be able to keep up their lavish lifestyle for much longer.
“Finally we can talk freely,” I said, hopping onto the bed. For a moment it felt like old times again, when Chelsea and I would hang out in her room and talk for hours.
It only took a look around the room—and at the long, white nightgown I would never wear at home—to remind myself that everything was different now. My life had gone from average to extraordinary in only a few months, and I still couldn’t believe that everything I’d experienced was real. Sometimes I thought that when I woke up in the morning, it would be the first day of junior year all over again, and I’d find out that everything I’d thought had happened since then had only been a dream.
“I was thinking about it when getting ready for bed, and the only people who could be responsible are Drew’s parents,” Chelsea said with absolute finality.
“And why’s that?” I asked, even though they were on my list of suspects, too.
“They know that Drew broke the engagement with Catherine, and I can only assume that they know the reason why is because he wants to marry you instead,” Chelsea said. “I overheard people gossiping tonight about how his parents want Drew to marry into nobility. I guess they figured that if they got you out of the picture, he would return to the original plan and follow through with marrying Catherine and thus, into a noble bloodline.”
Which was exactly what happened in the past, before we changed everything tonight, I thought, although I wasn’t so unkind as to say it aloud. Chelsea was still hurting from Drew’s breaking up with her because he loved me, and I didn’t want to rub it in.
“That was one of my thoughts, too,” I said instead. “Also, and please don’t take offense to this, but it’s only fair that we add your—I mean Catherine’s—parents to the list of suspects.”
Chelsea leaned away from me. “I don’t think they would do something like that,” she said. “Besides, I’ve thought about it too, and to mess with the carriage they would have had to go out in the rain. Which means their clothes would have been wet, and they were dry all night. So it couldn’t be them.”
“We didn’t see Drew’s parents either, but I assume they weren’t hanging out at the ball with their clothing soaked,” I pointed out. “That certainly would have caused a scene. Also, if it were either your parents or Drew’s parents, they could have had a servant do the dirty work for them. I don’t think their being dry means anything.”
“Maybe.” Chelsea shrugged. “But I don’t think Catherine’s parents would do such a thing, especially since you’re one of her close friends. Look at how accommodating they were when they realized how distressed you were tonight!”
“I doubt it’s one of them,” I lied, and Chelsea visibly relaxed. “But we should consider it as an option until we can eliminate them. They know about the broken engagement, and we know the money is important to them. They have plenty of reasons to want me out of the picture.”
“I didn’t mention you when I told them about the broken engagement.” Chelsea was getting defensive. “I just said that Drew broke the engagement, and I didn’t know why.”
This admission surprised me. I’d assumed Catherine would gladly throw me under the bus if it meant taking less heat from her parents.
“Why didn’t you tell them about me and Drew?” I asked.
“Because being ditched for someone else is embarrassing!” she said. “I suppose they’ll eventually find out, but it’s not easy to admit.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I said, feeling guilty again for causing her such heartbreak. But at least Chelsea and I were on speaking terms now, which was better than where we were a few weeks ago. “Do you have any other ideas of who it could be?”
“Not that I could come up with,” Chelsea said. “Unless James went nuts and decided that if he couldn’t have you, then no one else could, either.”
I looked at her in sho
ck, unsure if she was serious. “That’s gruesome!” I finally said. “He would have to be completely mental to do that.”
“I know.” Chelsea laughed. “I doubt he’s the type to think like that. I just wanted to see the expression on your face when I said it. And trust me, it was priceless.”
I tossed a pillow at her head, and she blocked it so it fell off the bed. At least despite everything we were going through, I could still joke around with my best friend.
“So that’s it, then,” I said. “Four main suspects.”
“Yep,” Chelsea said. “That’s all I could come up with.”
“Where do we go from here?” I asked. “We can’t file a police report and properly interrogate them. And what if whoever it is tries again?” I shivered at the possibility. The scary truth was that someone wanted me dead, and they had succeeded before the three of us came back to the past and changed how last night ended. Whoever it was had to be desperate to resort to murder, and I doubted they would give up easily.
“You’ll have to be on the lookout,” Chelsea said. “Be extra cautious before doing anything, and stay with either me or Drew at all times. You’re an easier target when you’re alone. I promise we’re going to figure out who’s responsible, and then we can go home.”
“That sounds nice,” I said, unable to stifle a yawn. This past day had been exhausting, and I had no idea how long it had been since I last slept. Plus, I was still jet lagged from the flight from America to England. “Do you mind if I stay in your room tonight?” I asked, since Catherine’s king-sized bed was big enough for both of us. She had also just said that I had to stay with her or Drew at all times, and walking through the halls by myself and sleeping in the guest room alone wasn’t the best way to protect myself from whoever wanted me dead.
I doubted anyone would kill me while I was sleeping, but I couldn’t be too careful.
“I was actually going to insist that you stay in here tonight,” Chelsea said. In that moment everything felt like it did in the old days, when we had sleepovers all the time.
We might never be able to go back to that age, but I believed that with Chelsea and Drew’s help, we could make it so I would be able to live to see the new year, and many more to come.
CHAPTER 29
As promised, Drew stopped by during afternoon calling hours the next day, presumably to see how I was doing after the scare last night. I wanted to tell him the truth—that I hated watching out with every move I made because I was terrified that whoever wanted me dead would succeed, and that I wanted to go back home to normal life.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t speak freely, since social customs dictated that Lady Givens be in the room during calling hours as well. Not only that, but I had to repeat the lie that Lord Givens had told us at breakfast this morning, that further investigation proved the carriage hadn’t been tampered with, and the problem was due to the bad weather mixed with the carriage being old and in need of updating.
I didn’t believe him for a second. Yes, the carriage was old, but our coachman had been working for our family for years. I knew from exploring what I could of my past self’s memories that he wouldn’t raise alarm unless he was certain he was correct.
I also wondered about Lord Givens’ motivation behind the lie. My first conclusion was that it looked bad to have an attempted murder occur during an event hosted at his house, and he wanted to stop the gossip. But the other, more sinister possibility haunted my thoughts: What if he was behind the attempt and was trying to cover his trail?
It made me antsier to speak with Drew and Chelsea in private. However, Lady Givens seemed so thrilled that Drew had stopped by that I doubted she would be leaving the room any time soon.
Not thirty minutes had passed before Mr. Brookes came into the sitting room and announced that my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Davenport, had stopped by. They seemed relieved to see me. Lady Givens broke the “news” to them about the problem with the carriage being an accident, and as much as I hated the lie, it put my parents at ease. I couldn’t imagine what had been going through their minds last night. They had no idea about the relationship between Drew and me, so they must have been confused about why someone would want anybody from our family dead.
Lady Givens switched the topic as soon as she could, asking my parents how they enjoyed the ball. This led to a lengthy discussion of who was wearing what, who said what to whom, and who danced with each other and how many times. It seemed like my mother could gossip with Lady Givens for hours on end.
All I wanted was to speak to Drew and Chelsea alone, but that was looking more and more impossible.
This was made more impossible when James and his parents stopped by. Presumably, they were there to thank Lord and Lady Givens for throwing such a wonderful party, although I suspected they were looking for a way to get James under my skin. I wasn’t spending as much time with James since I’d met Drew, and I could tell he was worried that my feelings for him were waning. Which, of course, they were.
I wanted to break the engagement as soon as possible.
But making such a strong, public announcement would only make whoever wanted to kill me more determined to finish the deed. Breaking the engagement would have to wait until the person coming after me was stopped.
The awkward conversation between the group lasted for another hour, although it felt longer. There was also no opportunity for Drew, Chelsea, and me to converse privately. I was bursting with the anticipation of wanting to tell Drew what Chelsea and I had discussed last night, and to hear his opinions, but I had to keep my emotions in check.
I would be able to talk with him eventually. For now, I had to be patient.
“Would you all like to stay for dinner?” Lady Givens asked when the conversation lulled.
“That would be lovely,” my mother said. “Thank you.”
Mrs. Williams accepted the invitation as well, and Lady Givens left the room to inform the kitchen staff to prepare food for the added guests. I imagined this might cause a frenzy in the kitchens, but no one seemed concerned.
This also meant I would have to sit through a long, drawn out dinner before speaking privately with Drew and Chelsea. It wasn’t what I wanted to do, but with the social rules inherent with the early nineteenth century, I had no other option.
At dinner I ended up squished between James and Mr. Williams. I say squished because Mr. Williams was quite a large man—so large that I was surprised his bottom fit on the chair. James didn’t seem to have inherited this unfortunate gene, but who knows what could happen in the future.
Lord and Lady Givens arranged it so Chelsea sat next to Drew, and that I was as far away from the two of them as possible. None of this would have seemed odd to anyone—since I was engaged to James—but it angered me. I didn’t like being told where to sit. It wasn’t my home, though, so I wasn’t going to say anything. Plus, in the scheme of things it wouldn’t be a big deal.
When the red wine came out, Mrs. Williams raised her glass to make a toast. “To a wonderful party held by Lord and Lady Givens last night, and to the hope of many more fabulous nights to come!” she said.
Everyone raised their glasses and took a sip. I did the same—but only to be polite. I wasn’t a big drinker at home. The one time my mom allowed me to have red wine at a nice restaurant, I became fatigued and ended up with a headache for the rest of the night.
I stuck with water instead, hoping no one would notice. I assumed my past self had no trouble drinking wine at meals, since it wasn’t illegal for teenagers to drink alcohol in the nineteenth century and she would have grown accustomed to it, but I didn’t want to risk it.
“Are you not drinking your wine?” Mr. Williams asked mid-way through the main course. So much for no one noticing.
“I have a slight headache, so I’m only going to be drinking water tonight,” I explained.
“Well, we mustn’t let a fine glass of wine go to waste!” Mr. Williams said. His ears were bright pink—he’d had a lot
to drink, and I suspected he was feeling the effects of the alcohol. “Would you mind if I had yours?”
I told him it was fine. Without delay, he reached for my glass and downed half of its contents in one gulp.
“Oh, honey,” Mrs. Williams said quietly, sounding exasperated. “I’m sure the staff wouldn’t mind refreshing your wine. There’s no need to make a spectacle of yourself by drinking from Miss Davenport’s glass.”
“Miss Davenport doesn’t mind,” Mr. Williams said, taking another gulp of the wine. “Right, dear?”
“Right.” I nodded, although I agreed with Mrs. Williams that Mr. Williams’ drunkenness was causing him to “make a spectacle” of himself. I didn’t say it out loud, though.
Lady Givens ordered Mr. Brookes to bring more wine to the table, but not before Mr. Williams had finished my entire glass. When Mr. Brookes asked me if I would like more wine, I said I was fine with water. He didn’t look pleased, but that wasn’t my problem.
“Do you have any news on the date of Mr. James’ and Miss Davenport’s upcoming nuptials?” Lady Givens asked Mrs. Williams.
This question led to a long (and for me, unwelcome) discussion of possible dates and locations for the wedding. The mothers were excited to discuss every detail, and their husbands seemed more than happy to take the time to properly enjoy their meat.
Only Drew, Chelsea, and I knew that this wedding would never happen.
“You’ve been quiet this evening, my dear,” Mrs. Williams observed, looking at me in concern. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine,” I said. “I just have a slight headache, is all.”
Timeless (Transcend Time, #2) Page 13