The Countess and The Baron: Lady Prudence Baggington (The Nettlefold Chronicles Book 3)

by Isabella Thorne

  “I do not mind,” she murmured.

  “Excellent,” he offered a smile. Lady Prudence observed that Lord Halthaven was prone to smiling. It was an unusual habit for a gentleman of note, but she found that she liked it just the same. “I should enjoy the company as I make my observations of the fields.”

  “You would ride either way!” she cried with a hint of laughter. He had maneuvered her into the offer as well as the finest of peddlers might sell a rock as a gemstone.

  He nodded and joined his laughter to her own.

  “Now it should be much more pleasant,” he offered, “and Marietta will stop pacing between the windows of the drawing room in search of the sun.”

  It was true that the girl had been doing exactly that. Lady Prudence was surprised to find that Lord Halthaven was far more aware of the ladies doings than she had thought. For some reason, the knowledge gave her comfort, as if he would do all in his power to ensure their care. On the other hand, had Jasper mentioned an observation of her daily activity, Lady Prudence would have felt at once a bout of paranoia and fear of his intent.

  It was strange to her that she might feel such opposite reactions from encounters with two very different gentlemen. She agreed to the ride and left at once to don her borrowed habit and collect the child while Lord Halthaven readied the horses.

  It was a fine day for a ride, after all.

  Upon hearing the news Marietta was near bursting with excitement. She flew through the manner with a shout that called her maid to her side as if a fire had been announced. Lady Prudence could not help but laugh at her youthful abandon. She, herself, could never recall such a freedom of spirit. It would never have been permitted of the Baggington children.

  Soon, the pair hastened toward the barn where three fine horses stood saddled and ready. Lady Prudence felt a moment of hesitation. She was petite in height, far too low to the ground to mount with ease. In addition to that her buxom form made her leery of allowing a gentleman or stable boy to hand her up. She knew that it was a silly thing to be concerned with, but still the feeling of panic could not be swayed.

  “Come now,” Marietta pulled her along. The girl grasped the reins of a sleek filly of midnight hue. The beast stomped her feet, ready to be set loose. She looked as fierce as her young mistress Lady Prudence knew that she would never be persuaded to mount such an animal.

  Marietta slapped a second set of reins against Lady Prudence’s palm and gestured that she should follow. The elder looked back and allowed herself a sigh of relief. The docile mare at the other end of the leather strap looked bored and stood as still as a fence post until she was tugged along. Despite the mare’s soothing exterior, the arch of her back stood well above Lady Prudence’s head. Again, she loathed the thought of clambering atop the mountainous beast. It could not be done without being made a fool, she thought.

  Still, she followed Marietta to the far side of the barn where, much to her relief, she saw a set of mounting stairs. Marietta marched right up and leapt sidelong onto her filly. The animal pawed the ground and Marietta whispered in soothing tones a promise that they might soon race against the wind.

  Upon cautious feet, Lady Prudence climbed the steps. The mare, well trained to the task, stood close to the platform so that she might sit with ease in the lady’s saddle. The task had been completed without any harm to her person or her pride. That, in itself, was a victory.

  Lady Prudence stroked the mare’s mane and scratched behind her ear to offer her thanks. The mare leaned her head back to increase the pressure of her rider’s fingers. Her lazy acceptance told Prudence at once that they would get on without issue.

  The sound of hoof beats came from behind and the ladies were soon joined by the baron, who must have mounted from the ground and without difficulty. Lady Prudence narrowed her eyes and could not help but feel jealous of his agile frame. Young enough to be full of vigor, but old enough that he should have already been married, she wondered for a moment about the gentleman at her side.

  Perhaps he had been too occupied with his own affairs, or care of his charge, she thought. Still, she determined that there must be something wrong with him to be in his position and as yet unattached. Even she, with all her faults, had managed to be wed. Though, not well, she admitted.

  “George,” Marietta giggled as she rode circles around the pair, “might I ride ahead?”

  “Can you not wait until we have cleared the lane?” he asked. “I should not like you beyond my sight.”

  “I’ll stay to the north pasture until you catch up,” Marietta begged. “Oh, please. Look at how she prances. We must run. I promise to be watchful.”

  They had arrived at the entrance to a tree-arched lane. The sun glistened between the branches for as far as the eye could see. Lady Prudence could tell that Lord Halthaven was hesitant to allow his charge to rush ahead where she might be out of sight for a distance. His sidelong glance in her direction revealed that he too might be considering the immorality of riding alone with a young lady through the canopy.

  “Miss Riverford shall not mind,” Marietta whined with a pleading look to Prudence. Her tone and statement indicated that she saw no cause for concern as to Lady Prudence’s reputation. She was, as far as they knew, soon to be a nun. “Please tell him,” she begged.

  Lady Prudence opened her mouth but no sound came out. A part of her wanted to give in to the yearning need of the child, to allow her to race with the wind and free her spirit in a way that Lady Prudence herself would never understand. Another part of her recalled that it would be indecent to ride alone with a gentleman that was not her husband. However, the property was very isolated and the chance of observation was as rare as a white stag in the wood.

  Her mind recalled the evil grimace of her husband’s face and she felt at once the urge to defy him. Lady Prudence knew not from where her burst of spiteful rebellion had come but she soon found that she not only did not care about protecting her husband’s pride but she also felt a secret exhilaration in disregarding him.

  “Ride on,” she allowed. “I have no fear of Lord Halthaven’s company.”

  “You see, cousin?” Marietta squealed with delight.

  Lord Halthaven laughed in his deep baritone and gave his nod of permission. No sooner had his chin dipped to his chest but Marietta had kicked her mount into flight and disappeared around the bend.

  “I apologize,” Lady Prudence offered on second thought. “It was not my decision to make. I should have deferred to your permission.”

  “It is of no matter,” Lord Halthaven smiled. “So long as you approve, I shall as well. Marietta would not be restrained for long either way. We’d have not heard the end of it until she was set free.”

  Lady Prudence nudged the mare along so that she might drift ahead in her own thoughts for a moment. She could not say why but she felt a sudden bout of melancholy as she watched the gentleman interact with his charge. He was kind, gentle, and understanding of Marietta’s needs. She wondered if the girl knew what a blessing it was to be raised in such a peaceful environment.

  “Have I upset you in some way?” Lord Halthaven asked once she slowed and allowed him to draw his horse alongside her once more.

  “Not at all,” she replied in earnest. “It is only that you, and everyone that I have met at Halthaven, are very kind to the young Miss, and myself, and I wonder how two worlds can exist alongside one another and yet be so different?”

  “Is Halthaven so dissimilar to what you have known?” he asked in a quiet tone. It was as if it hurt him to hear as much.

  “As different as night and day, my lord. You truly have no idea,” she replied with a shake of her head. She regretted the admission at once and could not say what had prompted her to be so honest. Lady Prudence drew her strength around her and reminded herself that it was best to keep her walls hardened. Lord Halthaven seemed good enough to be trusted, but she had learned well that appearances were not always bound in truth.

  “I wish
that there was more that I could do to help,” he murmured.

  Lady Prudence looked over to see him watching her with wide, caring eyes. The darkened hue made his gaze seem like a deep abyss that was calling her to dive within and allow him to help bear the burden of her hurt. She could not allow it.

  “Lord Halthaven,” she began with a sigh.

  “Please, call me George.” When she did not continue he shrugged. “You are staying at my estate. Formalities seem unnecessary under the circumstances, do you not think?”

  Lady Prudence blew out a slow breath.

  “Please, I do not wish you to feel obligation,” he explained. “It is only that, for some reason, I feel as if there is so much more to know about you. I can’t explain it. I’ve never been bothered to know the others that have stayed in my care but you do not seem like the rest of them. I cannot put my finger on it. It is almost as if…” he shook his head as if unable to complete the thought. She hoped that he never did. “I don’t know. I am sorry. It’s silly of me.”

  “No,” Lady Prudence waved away his discomfort. “I’m afraid that I have never much been like others. I suppose that is my greatest flaw.”

  She looked off into the wood so that she might not see his reaction. Lady Prudence was used to gentlemen viewing her as unworthy compared to the beauties that surround them. Not that she cared if Lord Halthaven thought her beautiful, she amended. It was only that she could not believe the words that were flowing so freely from her mouth.

  If things kept on in their path of getting to know one another she would be sorely tempted to share at least a small bit of her tale. She should be embarrassed to have been so open with a gentleman that she hardly knew. Still, it felt right. It felt safe, in this moment.

  The wood was growing darker as they traveled further along the trail. The foliage from the summer was beginning to change color and soon the leaves would fall to reveal the bright sunshine through the branches above. For now, though, it seemed like an isolated paradise. Two travelers alone in the world, free to speak their hearts without fear.

  “You know,” Lord Halthaven pursed his lips and spoke in a causal tone, “I think that is what I find most intriguing.”

  Lady Prudence knew not how to respond. How could this gentleman find her intriguing? No one had ever said as much. It must be a falsehood, she decided. Perhaps he was used to paying compliments out of duty rather than truth. Still, she had not sensed a ploy or lack of verity in his words.

  They rode along through the covered lane until the woods opened up to an expanse of fields that were divided into neat rows by a meticulous fence line. Lady Prudence pressed her lips together to prevent herself from commenting on how the maintenance of the land was indicative of the man.

  Ahead, they could see Marietta racing along with her head thrown back and her windswept plait trailing behind her. Lady Prudence admired the girl’s spirit and the comfort that allowed such freedoms. She wished, more than anything, to never see it taken away from the sweet and kind Marietta. Not all souls must be crushed or burdened, she hoped.

  They rode along the fence posts. Lord Halthaven made notes of the rails that he wished mended or replaced. The tenants were out about their business and stopped to greet the landowner with wide grins and waving hands. Many expressed their pleasure with the season’s crops and promised a bountiful harvest for the benefit of all.

  To Lady Prudence, everything about this life and this estate seemed like something out of one of the novellas that her mother had been so fond of. It was as if this place could have only been created within the depths on one’s imagination. Surely, it could not be the norm.

  She watched in silence, which raised no concern as a quiet nature was to be expected from one who was supposedly fated to be cloistered.

  Marietta joined them after a time, expressing her desire to reunite with her friends once the harvest was complete.

  “It has been dismal without them,” she explained. “What a blessing that Miss Riverford has come to us, else I would surely have fallen into a state of melancholy.”

  Lady Prudence was introduced, as Miss Riverford, of course. The tenants welcomed her to the estate and expressed their desire to see her about town during her stay. Lord Halthaven looked uncomfortable at the notion. Of course, he had promised to keep Lady Prudence free from notice and as far away from the town as possible. It would have been suspect for him to mention that they wished to keep her presence and identity a secret, so he said nothing. Still, a sidelong look to the baron told her all that she needed to know. He would ensure that no rumor began to circulate of the new guest at Halthaven Manor.

  8

  The weeks went by in much the same way. Marietta’s spirits improved even further as the rains lessened and she was free to beg a ride nearly once a day. Lord Halthaven took to joining the ladies in the afternoon and soon Lady Prudence found that they had grown close in their friendship.

  If nothing else, she valued his opinion, for under his guidance Posey was soon becoming a well-mannered pup and the ladies had taken on a handful of tasks that kept them focused and occupied. With each passing day their interactions fell into a natural rhythm and Lady Prudence felt at ease as she had never before. It would not be long before he would fulfill his promise that Marietta could bring the creature into the main house so that she might sleep at the end of her bed.

  For now, the sound of racing feet and pattering paws could be heard only in the daylight hours as the pair chased one another from room to room and down the long halls. Lady Prudence would find herself chuckling to no one in particular as she thought that this is what a home was supposed to be.

  Temperance had made her appearances but it was not until one fine afternoon that she stayed for more than just a brief observation of her sister’s care. The siblings had taken a walk through the gardens and down toward a small pond where they might have some privacy.

  “You look well,” Temperance observed with a weak smile.

  “Thank you,” Lady Prudence replied. “I feel almost healed in this place. It is too good to be true. Sometimes, I even forget why I came here or, more aptly, those that had driven me hence.”

  “I have never forgotten,” the novice whispered as if the admission were a secret that she could not bear to voice.

  “Not even after all these years?” Lady Prudence had been led to think that this new life of her sister’s had been chosen for the safety and healing that it allowed.

  “I do not think that it will ever be so, for me,” Temperance sighed. “I am happy to hear of your progress. It is all that I could have ever wished for you.” Suddenly, Temperance’s features softened out of the rigid blankness that she had come to perfect and Lady Prudence caught a sight of the mischievous sister to whom she had once been so close. “It would not, perhaps, have anything to do with a certain gentleman, would it? Lord Halthaven is a good man.”

  Lady Prudence allowed her jaw to drop open as she chastised her sister for such an assumption.

  “Of course not!” she gasped. “I would never dare to think such a thing of Lord Halthaven. It would be an insult to his kindness and, besides,” she added in a hush, “have you forgotten that I am still married.”

  “A fact of which he is unaware,” Temperance grinned. “I have seen the way that he looks at you.”

  “That is the most absurd thing that you have ever said Temperance Baggington,” Lady Prudence said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “If he looks at me in any way, it is with concern for my wellbeing. There is nothing of interest in such behavior from one who has been given the task of my protection.”

  “There has been nothing to protect you from,” Temperance laughed. “Such concern as you say is without reason so far as I have seen. No,” she nodded with certainty, “he looks upon you as a man might look upon a woman that he admires.”

  “You are daft,” Lady Prudence could not help but laugh at her sister’s silly assumptions. “No man has ever, and I mean ever, looked u
pon me with admiration.”

  “You have always been far too hard on yourself,” Temperance replied. “There is everything about you to admire when you allow yourself to be true. It is only all of this hiding behind pretenses that prevents it.”

  “I am nothing but pretense here,” Lady Prudence laughed. “A runaway lady, unwed, and desirous of a life in the convent. There is nothing of truth in it.”

  “Yes, but you seem… different than I recall.”

  “My entire life is different,” Lady Prudence explained. “For the first time I am free… of father… of Jasper… and anyone who might wish to do me wrong.”

  “Well,” Temperance clasped her sister’s hands in her own, “then it was a blessing that you came to us. For that I shall be happy and say my prayers of thanks.”

  “Temperance…” Lady Prudence hesitated, unsure of how to ask the question after the Reverend Mother had been so stern in her warnings, “are you happy at the Abbey?”

  “As happy as I think it is possible to be,” Temperance replied with an unconvincing shrug. “Where else should I go? Home?” She allowed herself a harsh laugh. “I should think not.”

  “Why ever not?” Lady Prudence asked. The thought that she might never see her mother or other siblings again was the only thing that had her looking back from time to time. Now that she was well kept Prudence he worried for their well-being.

  “You know exactly…” Temperance began before she was interrupted by a quick tug on the skirt of her woolen gown by a young boy who could not be more than six or seven years old.

  “Excuse me Misses,” he touched the brim of his small hat with respect. “I been sent to tell you tha’ the wagon is ready and all loaded up with supplies for the Abbey. We’d best get going if we’re to get the cart back by nightfall.”

  “Of course,” the ladies nodded and turned toward the manor at once. Lady Prudence was disappointed that they could not continue their conversation further. She decided to wait for another opportunity to convince Temperance that her life need not be resigned to isolation if she wished it to be otherwise.