The ladies all dipped in swift curtseys and Robert’s smile grew still wider as his eyes met Madeline’s.
“Good afternoon, Miss Turner,” he said, with eyes only for her.
Of course, she would seek to bless those less fortunate than her at Christmas. It was just the kindness she would pursue and he wondered if he had known it, somewhere deep in the soul of his being, and that was why this particular task had appealed so to him.
“Might we accompany you on your journey?” he asked, peering into his own basket. “Our supplies are running low but I dare say whatever we have left to give will still be gratefully received.”
“Indeed!” Edmund declared, laying a hand on Robert’s shoulder and turning him to a side-street. The party fell into place behind them and Robert felt only a fleeting disappointment that he should be walking with Edmund and not Madeline. It was fleeting, only, for he liked Edmund and was certainly grateful to receive such a welcome hand of friendship.
“I’m quite glad our paths crossed if truth be told,” Edmund confessed, darting a sly glance over one shoulder. Robert raised his eyebrows, certain that his friend was poised to share some secret and determined to give him the very fullest attention.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, indeed!” Edmund laughed, clapping Robert on one shoulder. “Not a thing! In fact, it is the very opposite! I wished to ask you a question and you must answer me truthfully, as a gentleman.”
Robert’s heart constricted, fearing what dreadful inquisition was to follow this introduction.
“Yes?” His voice was tight and he swallowed past the lump that had formed in his throat, praying his friend did not notice his discomposure.
“It concerns Miss Turner.”
Robert said nothing but kept his gaze fixed on the street ahead of them. His features must have betrayed him, though, for Edmund looked at him briefly, before nodding and murmuring a quiet “A-ha.”
“What about her?” Robert managed, at last, striving for nonchalance and failing completely.
“I had a fancy that you begin to care for her, Hodge, and have taken it upon myself, as a de facto brother for the Turner clan, to persuade you to continue.”
“Pardon?”
Robert stopped walking, so shocked was he by Edmund’s smooth words. Fearful of drawing the attention of the rest of their party, he hurried into motion once more.
“What did you think I would say?” Edmund asked his eyes dancing merrily. “You thought I would disapprove? Warn you off her?”
“I thought you would see the folly of our ever considering a match,” Robert confessed, before recovering a little of his sensibility. He straightened, clearing his throat. “I have not spoken of it for I know our positions are quite different and she is sure to be beset with suitors.”
“None she has ever shown even the slightest partiality to.” Edmund grew serious, his perpetual smile dropping at last. “I wish her to be happy, Robert. We both - that is, we all wish her to be happy. I believe you are the very fellow who might make her so and thus I wish to encourage you to speak, now, while you have the opportunity.”
“But it is Christmas!” Robert protested. “Surely there is a better time than this?”
“I cannot think of a better one!” Edmund’s eyes sparkled with humour and a secret that, had Robert not already been contending with too many emotions of his own, he might have pursued. As it was he merely met his friend’s gaze and nodded, slowly, turning over the idea in his mind.
“Christmas is a better time than any to speak of love, Hodge. I recommend you do it soon, before so-called wisdom persuades you to wait.”
Chapter Fifteen
“I cannot believe it was Edmund who needed to persuade us to come out today,” Juliet mused. “That Edmund Gale should be teaching us the meaning of charity!” She shook her head. “It is a shame! I shall have to be extra pious in my scripture reading this evening. There is surely something very wrong with the world!”
Maddy was scarcely listening. Although she walked alongside her sister and nodded at intervals to suggest she agreed with whatever topic Juliet currently warmed to, her whole being was straining towards Mr Hodge and Edmund, who strode off together, their heads bent in quiet conversation.
Did he mean for our paths to cross? she wondered, her heart racing at the thought. She recalled only too well how canny Edmund had been in seeing straight to the truth at his dinner. He had deduced, by some queer display of insight, that Maddy was beginning to care for Mr Hodge. What hope had she, now, that he was not relaying this precious piece of information to the very gentleman it concerned! She blinked back tears. Edmund would not be so cruel, surely?
“Maddy?”
Juliet had noticed her inattendance, if not her distress, and Maddy blinked quickly, forcing a shaky smile onto her features as she turned towards her sister.
“Yes, Juliet? Is something the matter? Look, here are some children who would undoubtedly appreciate the walnuts we were saving.”
She steered her sister towards a group of cheery children, who smiled and rejoiced at being given the bundle to share and wished the ladies a high-pitched Merry Christmas as they went on their way.
“You needn’t think you can distract me with that happy bit of charity,” Juliet said, snuggling closer to her sister as they walked in an effort to keep the cold at bay. “You were not listening to a word I said and as I personally know just how interesting I can be that indicates that all is not well with you! Come, dear, it is Christmas! Surely nothing can be upsetting you at Christmas!”
Maddy had a fleeting impulse to remind her sister that she was perfectly entitled to keep her secrets, as Juliet surely kept a great deal to herself that she never cared to share with anyone else, but her courage failed her. She would prefer to have her sister’s counsel at a time like this, even if it meant confessing the truth and risking a little teasing. She took a deep breath and began.
“What do you think Edmund and Mr Hodge are speaking about at present?”
“I hardly know!” Juliet sniffed. “Hunting, probably. I expect Edmund has invited him to his usual Boxing Day delight and is now quizzing him on his past experience.”
This was a sensible suggestion and Madeline let out a shaky sigh. Of course they were not talking about her! Of course Edmund would not be so cruel as to share what he knew, or thought he knew. Still, she felt a strange glimmer of disappointment. As embarrassing as Edmund’s meddling might have been, it might also have the happy result of prompting Mr Hodge to think of love and to think of her. She was surely not enough to draw his eye unaided.
“Although...” Juliet frowned, staring intently at the pair. “They are being incredibly secretive for so dull a topic as hunting. I wonder...”
“What?” Maddy’s voice was so sharp and urgent that she startled herself to hear it, and evidently had the same effect on her sister, for Juliet turned immediately to face her, her cheeks spotted with colour. Maddy’s eyes narrowed. “What do you know?”
“Nothing!” Juliet tried to smile but the effect was hardly convincing and Maddy had spent too many years of her life either complicit in, or as a victim of, her sister’s schemes not to know when she was up to something.
“Tell me!” she demanded. “Or I shall be forced to ask Mr Hodge myself!”
This was a bluff, for there was no way Madeline was about to march up to the two gentlemen and demand to be told the reason for their whispering, but Maddy held her ground, praying her sister would not test her resolve.
“Oh, very well!” Juliet let out her words in a rush, her eyes fixed on the ground as if she could not bear to look at her sister at the same time that she confessed the truth.
“We wished to find you a suitor before the year was out - Edmund and I, I mean - but it seems you did not need our help, for you have won Mr Hodge’s heart all by yourself. I assume you do care for Mr Hodge, otherwise, I think it quite cruel of you to act as if you did. Edmund is convinced he
discovered the truth first but I maintain that you are my sister and I like to think I know you a little better than he does -”
“You - and Edmund?” Maddy’s voice shook but whether with anxiety or anger she could not tell. “You wished to find me a suitor - then...” She frowned, thinking back over Juliet’s peculiar behaviour over the last few weeks. “Then is that why you persisted in mentioning Colonel Black to me at each and every opportunity? And Edmund -” A horrible thought struck her and her hand flew to her mouth. “Is that why he invited his friends to stay?”
“Yes,” Juliet said miserably. “At least, it is part of the reason. I think he wished to match you with Mr Heatherington, which was a ludicrous idea, as I might have told him if he’d bothered to ask me, but he was so eager to win -” She stopped talking, too late to take back the word that lodged painfully in Maddy’s mind.
“Win?” She dug her fingers into Juliet’s forearm, feeling a malicious pleasure when her sister winced. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “What do you mean win?”
“Well, it was a competition - but Maddy, you must understand, I only took part because I wished to see you happy. And he did, as well. This was only to spur us not to waste any time, for the end of the year is fast approaching, and we both fancied we knew the type of gentleman who might most appeal to you, and -”
“You were competing? Over who could provide the best suitor for me? And what was the prize?” Madeline’s eyes flashed angrily and she was not surprised when Juliet faltered, mumbling something Maddy could not hear.
“Actually, I do not care what silly wager you came up with. When will you grow up, Juliet, and learn that not everything is about competing with Edmund Gale!”
Turning on her heel, she stalked away, unconscious of the stares of her friends, seeking only to be alone and away from the embarrassment of knowing that her sister - her own sister! - thought she was such a hopeless spinster that winning her hand must be made into a game.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY TO Madeline?” Edmund was all accusation as he turned to Juliet, who looked stunned and guilty after her sister’s sudden departure.
“Nothing,” she said, biting her lip and looking as if she might cry. Edmund had only rarely seen his old friend so upset and he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder which she leaned into for all of a moment before seeming to recall precisely who he was and shrugging it off again. She lifted her chin, her face clear except for a slight shadow in her eyes. “What have you been saying to Mr Hodge?”
Edmund stiffened, the accusation in Juliet’s voice going straight to his chest.
“Nothing,” he countered. “We were merely talking about tomorrow’s hunt.”
“Aha! Then why the secrecy?”
“We did not wish to overpower the group’s conversation.”
“Hadn’t someone ought to go after Miss Turner?” the elder Mr Hodge asked, looking concerned but also pleading that he not be saddled with the task.
“Yes!” Juliet said, glaring at Edmund. “I shall go.”
“You shouldn’t,” he replied, bluntly. “You are the cause for her running off in the first place.”
“Oh!”
“Juliet,” Bess whispered, stepping forward and laying a consoling hand on her sister’s arm. This touch, Edmund noted with a hint of irritation, she did not shake off so swiftly. “What happened? Did you and Maddy have a disagreement?”
“No,” Juliet said stubbornly, her eyes fixed on the ground. Edmund fancied it was he she refused to look at, and felt his frustration with her grow. Why did she seem to think this was all his fault? Had she not been at least equally invested in their wager? At least I easily abandoned my own interests when I recognised a truer pairing happening before our very eyes. Juliet had remained opposed to Robert far longer than Edmund had, and even now, he had been the one working to bring about a happy conclusion for Madeline and Robert, both. What had Juliet done other than muddy the waters?
“She discovered our scheme,” Juliet muttered, at last, so low that Bess had to dip her head closer to hear. Edmund himself would not have discerned her words had he not been staring quite so intently at his friend. His throat constricted.
“What?”
“What scheme?” Nash had been observing the drama from a distance, but this revelation had evidently piqued his interest. “Gale?”
“It wasn’t a scheme,” Edmund said, swiftly. “Merely a...a project.”
“A competition,” Juliet said, bitterly. She turned to Bess and buried her head in her sister’s shoulder, so that her words, when they came, were muffled. “Edmund and I were competing over who could find the best suitor for Madeline and when I confessed that neither of us could compare to Mr Hodge, she ran off!”
The older Mr Hodge cleared his throat, inconspicuously taking a step back from the younger folk and making a great show of examining a low stone wall beside them. Edmund fancied his ears were still attuned to their discussion, though, and turned to see how Robert might be reacting to hearing himself so discussed.
“A competition?” Nash laughed, shaking his head in sudden realisation. “I suppose this is what you invited us all down for, to make matches of us all?” His brow furrowed. “And who did you have in mind for poor Miss Turner? Not me, I suppose, for you have sought to keep us apart, if anything.”
“Heatherington,” Edmund muttered, praying only Nash would hear him.
“Heatherington? Then you are foolish indeed! You know the fellow is engaged already?”
“What?” For a moment, Edmund broke free of his concern with Juliet and turned a curious gaze on his friend. “What are you talking about?”
“Lady Sarah Fortescue. They are to be married at Whitsun.” Nash grinned infuriatingly. “I thought you knew.”
“He never said.” Anger grew in Edmund’s chest. In fact, Heatherington had been only too happy to flirt and attempt to win Maddy’s heart. For what? To toy with her and then cast her aside when he returned to London? Edmund’s blood boiled. “Well, in that case, I am glad she never took even a passing interest in him.”
“You oughtn’t to be surprised he is an opportunist and a cad,” Nash said, lazily. “I wonder if you know your friends at all...”
“He was better than Colonel Black, in any case,” Edmund put in. “At least he could stand to be in the same room as Miss Turner and stay sober.”
Juliet let out a loud sob that was quite possibly for show and Bess shot a longsuffering look at Edmund.
“Well, I suppose I ought to go and make my apology,” he said, lifting his hat in order to smooth down his hair before replacing it. “Will you come, Juliet, or should I go alone?”
“I’ll come!” Juliet exclaimed, turning a streaky face towards him. “I do not trust you not to blame me for the whole!”
In spite of himself, Edmund smiled, pleased to see his friend back to her old self. He made a theatrical show of offering her his arm and she took it, bidding a teary smile at Bess, who remained behind with Nash and Mr Hodge.
They had scarcely made half a dozen steps when Juliet turned, arching her neck to look behind them.
“What is the matter now?” Edmund asked, his voice gentle, for he did not like to see Juliet so upset and himself at least partly the cause.
“Where is Mr Hodge?” Juliet asked, looking around as if she might find him lurking somewhere close by. “He has disappeared. Oh, I do hope he did not hear us and take offence!”
Edmund looked too and at last, he saw the fellow he sought a little way in the distance, standing beside Madeline and speaking in hushed, serious tones.
“I think he may be seeking to mend what we did our best to destroy,” he murmured, nudging Juliet and pointing out the pair. She turned a radiant smile on him, quite forgetting to be cross with him and they paused to watch the little romance play out, undisturbed.
Chapter Sixteen
Juliet and Edmund were still arguing when Robert slipped away. He hadn’t seen Madeline leave, but his heart wouldn’t let
him stand by when there was a chance she was upset. He gave no thought to the cause of the argument between her and her sister, merely wanting to find her and reassure himself that any distress she felt was temporary. It is Christmas Day, he thought. Nobody should be sad on Christmas Day!
Scanning the street for her, he turned down one alley then another, before finally spying her up ahead, standing on a bridge over a small river and staring silently down at the choppy water below.
“Miss Turner!”
She tensed at the sound of his voice but didn’t look up. Nonetheless, he continued, reaching her side in a few long strides.
“Your friends are concerned about you, Miss Turner.”
“My friends?” Her voice was bitter and Robert frowned, surprised at the apparent change in her sweet temperament. She looked up at him, her cheeks colouring. “Forgive me,” she murmured. “I am cross with my sister and Edmund, but that is no reason to dismiss your concern. I am quite well, Mr Hodge, thank you. You need not wait for me. I shall rejoin my family in a little while.”
“Do you wish to be alone?” Robert did not move. He would not leave her unless she expressly asked him to.
She sighed, apparently considering his question.
“No,” she said, at last, blinking up at him and permitting the merest hint of a smile. “No, I do not wish to be alone. Only -” She paused, her cheeks reddening. “I do not know what Mr Gale or my sister have told you -”
“Nothing!” Robert said, quickly. Turning over what he had witnessed of the argument between Edmund and Juliet he began to piece together just what had so upset Madeline and wagered it concerned him more than he realised. “What ought they to have told me?” He smiled to show he was teasing, but Madeline’s cheeks grew still redder and she looked away.
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