“Nelle, we’ve got to find Juliette. She’s run away with Jasper Grupp.” I turned, forcing my muscles to cooperate.
“To marry him?”
“Marriage isn’t likely with this man, but plenty of other catastrophes are.”
With a quick nod, Nelle tossed me a hat and followed me out the door. “We should find Silas. You cannot do this alone.”
My stomach clenched. “Not Silas. Maybe Kendrick. Or Digory. Yes, I’ll take Digory.”
“You need Silas. Kendrick is in Bristol for the day, and Digory . . . well, he wouldn’t be able to stop a kitten.”
Tugging me after her, Nelle ran down the stairs, leaving the letter on the floor behind us.
“Digory, where is Mr. Rotherham?” Nelle’s voice reached the grand hallway before her feet did.
Before the old servant could process the request, Silas emerged from Garamond’s study, a ledger book open across his palm. With quick, efficient words, Nelle summarized the events of the morning, one hand on his arm to draw him toward the entryway.
Garamond followed. “What’s happening? What’s this about Juliette?”
I turned to the men and focused on Garamond. “She’s run away with Jasper Grupp, and we’re going to find her.”
“Run away?” He blinked in disbelief, eyes bugging out of his normally placid face.
“We’ll find her, Lord Gaffney. She’s only just left.” I tightened my wrap and moved through the gathering crowd. I turned to whisper to Nelle. “But I will not take Silas Rotherham.”
“Fine then.” Nelle looked to the man in question, still anchored against the doorway of the study. “I’ll go with Silas. You can stay here.”
“Why are you going?” Glenna’s voice reached us as she sailed down the stairs, finger pointed at me. “Garamond and I will be taking the carriage, and you will wait here. And you’ll be lucky to stay another night in this house.”
“Lady Gaffney, why don’t you remain here and I’ll take the carriage out to search.” Silas popped his hat onto his head and glanced at Nelle in silent communication.
We all froze as the front doors banged open and the sound echoed through the hall. Digory’s polite voice floated in, along with the punctuated staccato of footsteps on tile. Lord Sutherland brushed into the room and slowed, surveying the small crowd, an air of confidence settled easily over his shoulders. “Quite a reception. Were you expecting me to call? I’d come to speak to Juliette.”
“That man has run off with my daughter!” Glenna reached the landing and pushed past the servants toward the visitor. “Lord Sutherland, you must help us find her.”
“Juliette?” Lord Sutherland’s smile died on his clean-shaven face. His skin blanched. “Juliette is gone? Of course I’ll help. Where have you looked so far?”
“I know where to find the man.” I stepped forward. “I know exactly where he lives, and where he spends his time.”
“Wonderful. We’ll take my carriage. Lady Gaffney, I’ll make sure your daughter is returned to you if there’s anything I can do about it.”
One hand resting on my back, pressing the buttons into my skin, he led me toward the door. Outside, Silas loaded Nelle into Lynhurst’s carriage and then with agile movements, he pulled himself up and shut the door behind him. I watched the backs of Nelle’s and Silas’s heads through the tiny rear window with a fleeting tug of regret.
But that was all I had time to feel. Worry clamped down again as the coachman handed me into Lord Sutherland’s carriage and I settled into the leather seat facing forward.
“How did this happen? How ever did he convince her?” The man’s words clipped out in the quiet air as the antsy horses surged forward.
“She’s been sneaking around with him for weeks. She convinced herself she’s in love with the man.”
“He’s a first-class scoundrel. You know that, don’t you?”
“I do. But she wouldn’t listen to me.”
He smeared one gloved palm across his face and groaned.
I gave the coachman directions to Shepton Mallet, where he’d have to leave us. This fine carriage would never fit through the nearby neighborhood streets such as Headrow Lane. Looking at the pure white glove splayed over the handsome face made me suddenly wish I’d gone alone. What would he think of where we were going? I’d have to explain so much about my relationship to Jasper, and my past in this place. And I hadn’t the energy to do it.
All of it would be overshadowed by finding Juliette, though, which would surely happen.
“How long have they been gone? Did he at least have intentions of marrying her, or did he only plan on ruining her?” Lord Sutherland’s face, so perfect and confident moments earlier, now looked haggard.
I studied his agonized face, understanding for the first time. “You care for Juliette, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.” The words snapped out, punctuated by his heels hitting the base of his seat. “I’ve known the girl since we could walk.”
But he cared more than a mere neighbor would. I watched him without a word, shaping him into a hero for another novel. He’d make a fabulous one—confident and handsome, passionate and secretly devoted. I selected a handful of words I could use to display him properly in my novel while the passing moments made him fidget. If only I could pull back his exterior and look at the thoughts flying through his mind. They’d likely be wonderfully fascinating.
“Is Juliette aware of your interest?”
Emotional strain pulled his features tight, and he finally spoke. “Sometimes it is best if two people are not coupled together. Juliette and I are exactly the same. We’d eat each other for breakfast.”
“Should a person only marry her opposite then?”
“It’s a special kind of torture to marry a person exactly like you. Imagine all your own faults and insidious habits rolled up in another person you must live with every day. A person you must love forever. Could you promise such a thing without growing weary of them?”
Silas’s gentle face appeared before my mind. Could I? It hardly seemed possible to grow weary of talking about books, walking about the gardens, and slipping into the comfortable presence of a person who understood me without explanation. And his solid handsomeness—
No. Stop.
“I understand, I think. Marriage is not always the happy ending for every love story.”
Emotion twitched across his face, and instantly a powerful turmoil showed just below the surface. “The truth of the matter is, true love is not simply about obtaining the person of your dreams but making sure they obtain their dreams.”
What on earth was I to do with the avalanche of feelings from this man, both spoken and silent? How did I always draw this out of people? Everyone except Silas Rotherham, it seemed, whose wall still remained in place, except for the large crack that had so recently appeared.
Contemplative silence filled the small space as we rolled over stone bridges and past muddy sheep fields. When the carriage finally turned toward town, I sat straight against the seat and watched Lord Sutherland’s face. Soon he’d be immersed in my background, even if he didn’t know it.
“Exactly what sort of cad is this man?”
“The kind who gets whatever he wants, in whatever way he can.”
“You were one of his victims, I assume, from the look of your face.”
Embarrassment pricked my skin. My chin dropped to my collarbone. “Briefly.” The word came out so soft, I wondered if he heard it.
Sickly fog rolled over the stone and thatch scenery of Glen Cora. With each clop of horse hooves, moments passing without conversation, my stomach calmed and I relaxed into the springy seat back. Why did it matter at all what Lord Sutherland thought of me? It didn’t, really. He was merely a neighbor. One who was possibly in love with Juliette.
Slowly, carefully, I filled in the details I knew about Jasper Grupp. I told him about the years of deceit, his poor background, the bouts of surprising rage, and most recently the lies that allowed him to at
tend parties with Juliette.
He considered me, cheeks tight. “I suppose you will make a story of this. I have heard much about your wonderful tales, and this would make a winning piece. A runaway girl marrying the wrong man, the desperate race to find her . . .”
“I shall want to forget this ever happened once we are safely home again. Even if Juliette is found immediately and everything goes smoothly.” The thought of writing brought a dull ache to my gut. I should have taken my head out of the clouds long ago and focused on real life. Then things like this might not have happened.
When we reached the center of town, I directed the coachman to the gates of Shepton Mallet, and we climbed out at the end of the street. Lord Sutherland walked with his hands shoved in his pockets, arms clamped to his sides, on guard against pickpockets or diseases in the air. He fit here as well as I had at Lynhurst the first night. Chest cinching painfully, I forced myself to stay calm. I’d need every ounce of my wits to combat whatever we might find at the Grupp cottage. Thankfulness swelled in me for the tall man who strode beside me and the safety he represented.
When I directed him to the correct house a few blocks from the prison, Lord Sutherland pounded on the door with his fist. A warm breeze circled us as we waited, but no one answered.
“Hello there!” A friendly voice called from the side of the house where the elder Mr. Grupp waved as he walked toward us.
“Mr. Grupp, where is Jasper? It’s important.” I flew down the steps to meet him, grasping his arms. “Tell me where he is.”
29
The love Lady Jayne bestowed on her friends never changed them, but rather it broke through the lies and hindrances to reveal the version of them that God always intended them to be.
~Nathaniel Droll, Lady Jayne Disappears
“What exactly is he up to?” Lord Sutherland slumped in his carriage seat, defeated.
“Perhaps he wants a ransom or simply to ruin her. Either way, we won’t have to convince Juliette he’s a cad. He’ll do that all on his own.”
Jasper’s father had given us no information except what was evident between his words—his son did not have honorable intentions. Jasper had simply disappeared yet again, his father unaware of any marriage plans. When none of Jasper’s favorite haunts provided any clues, we had turned the carriage toward home as shop owners flipped their signs from “open” to “closed.” The long day of searching had wearied me inside and out.
Our polite conversation ceased as the carriage lumbered up the drive to Lynhurst, leaving us wilted against our seats. Finally we reached the house and jerked to a stop. Dust swirled around the stilled carriage before I convinced myself to rise and step toward the house. Glenna slid out the front door, hatless, hand to her chest, her eyes haunted. Garamond joined her on the landing.
First, I’d have to face Glenna and the family. Then I’d have to talk to Nelle and hear every last detail of her carriage ride with Silas. Which would overwhelm me in the end?
Positioning myself safely behind Lord Sutherland, I approached the house, a resigned air of finality and impending goodbye trailing after me. Glenna surged forward with intensity and cinched my wrists, jerking me up the final step and silently asking the single, all-important question with starving eyes.
“We haven’t found them.” The truth soured my mouth.
The woman jerked back and collapsed into a puddle of fabric and tears on the step, her dress billowing out in the wind. Garamond knelt and cradled her, holding her head to his chest. Messy, noisy sobs echoed in the yard. I moved back. I would be the last source of comfort for the woman now.
The sobs became heaves of breath and slowed. Glenna’s body stiffened as control once again fortified her. Anger shadowed her features. Like a viper the woman rose, her back straight, her face mottled and hair clinging to her skin, glaring at me with a look of venom.
“I won’t give up.” My heart pounded. “They cannot hide forever. I’ll keep—”
“You.” Her snarl quivered. “You dirty prison rat. Look at the trouble you’ve caused, the people you have hurt. But you don’t care a whit, do you?” She waved her arms and marched toward me. “So long as you have nice dresses and parties and the name of a respectable family.” She spit the last words out. “Get out! And if I ever lay eyes on you again, I’ll shred every—”
“Here now, dainty one.” Garamond pulled at her thick shoulders from behind. “I’ll not have you injured over this. Come inside and let the men deal with it.”
“And you.” She whirled to face her twiggy husband. “Don’t you care about anything? Even your child? Take your sniveling self away and let me be.”
Folding like a fan, he backed into the shadows of the house. Glenna lifted her skirt and charged toward me. Nelle appeared suddenly and slipped between us, propelling me out of Glenna’s path, and together we stumbled up the steps and into the house. With firm pressure across my back, Nelle moved my stiff body into the great hall and swung me into a window bay.
“Now listen, you must stay out of sight. We’ll all keep looking for the girl, but you must give up the search and remain in the shadows, understand? Promise me. I want to keep you here, and that’s the only way.”
Like a warmth that melted chocolate, Nelle’s quiet words liquefied the tension holding me upright and I fell into her arms. “I do not deserve to stay.” It was my fault. Jasper’s presence, Juliette’s addiction to him, their decision to escape. “Perhaps I should go.”
“Not unless you want to break my heart. Oh, dear Aurelie.” Nelle clasped my arms, propping me up. “This family needs you more than you could ever know. You’ve touched this house with that lovely healing spirit of yours. I was merely the skillful fingers attached to a needle until you came here and saw more. Now, I imagine myself as a woman, an individual with value. Perhaps even someone to be courted.” She ducked her chin at this last part. “You’ve made my life three-dimensional, with color and purpose and hope. Even a future.”
“I only saw what was already there.” I squeezed the words out of a tight throat.
“But it made all the difference now, didn’t it? And imagine what it could do to your family if you stay. How desperately they need you, just like I did.”
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Blessings abounded where they were not deserved. Nelle’s words rolled over me, gently soothing the pain of all I’d endured that day. I held my hands over my chest, where my heart welled with too many words to speak.
Finally, I found my voice. “The need is great, but my abilities are not.”
“If only you saw the truth.” She smiled. “I must go tell Silas you’re back, but promise me you’ll not leave. At least not yet. I have wonderful news to share with you soon. I’m just bursting to tell you later. There, now I’ve done my best to keep you here.”
What sort of news? But the girl had gone, running on tiptoes toward the front door.
Silas Rotherham’s figure appeared outside, striding toward the couple on the steps who were now surrounded by attentive staff members.
Silas. Nelle had called him Silas.
Pressing my fingertips against the chilled glass, I drank in the sight of them. Nelle’s dear face tipped up to look at Silas. A pair. Two opposites that fit together. Then Lord Sutherland passed them on the path to the house, stopping to throw a glance of quick disapproval in their direction. His steps slowed so he could tell them something, but Silas pulled Nelle toward him as if to shield her from Sutherland’s words. Bittersweet emotions tugged at me as I watched my friend, heart spilling out of the girl’s face as she looked up in gratitude at the strong man beside her. How beautiful. Fitting. I could imagine Dahlia swinging between them. Tears threatened.
Turning from the window, I closed my eyes. Thank you, if this is your answer to my prayer. I bit my lip. Now can you bring someone for me so my heart doesn’t ache so much?
A familiar squeak across the floor cut through the moment. A maid rolled Aun
t Eudora’s wheeled chair through the hall and stopped behind me before leaving us. Together we stared out the window at everyone, a heavy silence blanketing the little bay for several moments.
“Yet another mismatched couple.” The voice deepened with age rang through the empty hall. “It’s as if men only want the girl they must not have, simply because they cannot have her.”
“You’re too late, Grandmama.” Clem emerged from the shadows, his eyes sparkling with victory against his pale face. “I overheard them in the carriage when they arrived, discussing their secret betrothal. Silas plans to propose to her, with or without your blessing.”
I forced a delighted smile that tugged up my lips. They were to be married. Why did I suddenly feel so heavy? Because it had happened so quickly. Perhaps it was better that I had not encouraged his affections, if he was going to be this fickle.
Footfalls echoed in the hall, and then Kendrick joined us. “Have I heard right? There is a betrothal in the house?”
“It’s not official yet.” Clem’s face pinched, almost as if he now regretted sharing the news with us, now that the information had begun leaking past our tiny gathering.
Kendrick’s eyes flew to me, and I looked down at the tile, then automatically darted a glance toward the couple outside. He followed my gaze, his countenance darkening. “Her? Why, that little tart.” He strode to the window, folding his arms. “How dare a servant presume to pair herself with a gentleman! We must forbid this. And that devious little wench is to be sent away.”
Clem turned on him with a dark look. “You’re only sore because he didn’t choose Juliette.”
“He might have, if that little Miss Wicke had not flaunted herself before him, eager to rise above her station. I, for one, will not tolerate this from a servant of Lynhurst.”
“If you dare to break them apart, just so he can make the match you believe best for him . . .” Clem raised his balled fists.
Kendrick waved him off and strode toward the library. “Save your energy, little brother. Miss Wicke will need your help when Silas realizes what he’s done. And he will—I’ll make sure of it.”
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