In Pursuit of Miriam (7 page)

The wedding date was set for the first Saturday
in October, at the Lampton home in South Yorkshire. Miriam's dressmaker had put the final touches to her dress and she had purchased a new bonnet, gloves, boots and cape. Percival had travelled on ahead to South Yorkshire with his groomsmen and was staying in a local hotel.

Miriam and her aunt set out the day before the wedding. They had been invited to stay at the Lampton family home, Wybourne Manor, on the night before the wedding and the wedding night. They had been up since five o'clock and climbed into the carriage just as the sun was beginning to rise. Luggage, maids and footmen were travelling in a separate carriage.

“We have been invited to dine with the family and their other guests this evening,” Aunt Beatrice told her delightedly. “I have met Catherine's parents on a few occasions and they seem extremely well-mannered people. I believe she is from a big family and has a number of brothers and sisters, as well as cousins, nieces and nephews. I think that we are the only people not directly related to the family who are being accommodated at the Manor. We should feel honoured that we have been accorded the privilege. So much better than staying in a hotel or hostelry, don't you think?”

“I have never met any of the family,” Miriam worried, “and only met Catherine herself on one occasion. I feel a little daunted at the thought of dining with them, but I am sure that it will be a special occasion. Catherine must be so nervous and excited.”

“Indeed! And I should hope she feels privileged to marry Percival, especially with his having inherited the title and Charlwood House so much earlier than expected.” Aunt Beatrice was quite oblivious to the effect her words had on Miriam, and when Miriam did not reply continued in her speculations about the upcoming two days.

They had only one short stop on the journey for a meal and a comfort break, and keeping to their schedule, they arrived at Wybourne Manor in the late afternoon. The large, brick manor house with its stone-framed sash windows was a welcome sight. They were both tired and dusty from the journey and made some last-minute adjustments to their hair and dress as the carriage pulled up the driveway and came to a halt on the wide forecourt.

Their arrival had been noticed and a footman led them through the grand front entrance where the baronet, Lord Lampton, and his wife, Lady Lampton, were waiting with their daughter Catherine to greet them. “We trust you both had a safe journey and it is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Miriam,” Lady Lampton greeted them graciously. “I will get the maid to show you up to your rooms. I know you have had a long journey and will want to refresh yourselves and change before dinner this evening. I will have a pot of tea sent up for each of you. The meal will be served at seven o'clock and I will send a maid to knock on your doors and show you the way to the dining room.”

Miriam, supported by her aunt, slowly followed the maid to the first floor where they were shown to their bedrooms. Their rooms were next door to each other and both were well appointed, although Aunt Beatrice grumbled that the windows faced the rear of the house when she would have much preferred the front.

“Aunt, I think the views are magnificent and I am sure the front-facing guest rooms have already been allocated to close family. We are not even related as yet,” Miriam pointed out.

On leaving her aunt, Miriam closed the bedroom door, took off her bonnet, cape and boots, and lay down on the bed to rest while Susan was busy unpacking her trunk. The next thing she knew Susan was gently shaking her to wake her up. A hot bath was ready and steaming and her pale blue dress was laid out ready for her. She had completely missed having the tea that had gone cold while she slept. She did, however, feel much better for having a nap and gave herself up to her maid's ministrations as she readied her for dinner.

At seven-o'clock there was a knock at the door, and Miriam took a last look in the mirror to check her appearance before she left the room. She knew the pale blue dress complemented her eyes. Her maid had dressed her hair with matching blue ribbons, and her white gloves and boots were pristine. She pinched her checks to bring a bit of colour to them before limping after the footman who had come to lead her to the dining room.

Entering a room was always uncomfortable for Miriam because any announcement drew unwanted attention. The footman announced her very formally—“the Honourable Miss Miriam Knightly”—and directly following her, he announced her aunt.

Lady Lampton came straight over and introduced them to her son William, who had agreed to show the ladies to their appointed seats. They exchanged pleasantries about the weather and the journey they had undertaken for a few minutes and then the meal was announced. William, a slender, fashionably dressed young man of about eighteen, took Miriam on one arm and Aunt Beatrice on the other and sat them at the table. Miriam was pleased to find that he would be seated directly to her left as he seemed a pleasant young man. An older man in military uniform and sporting a fine moustache sat to her right. William introduced him as Major Whitslade.

Miriam looked around. She estimated at least thirty people were sitting around the table, and at first glance, other than her aunt, Lord and Lady Lampton, Catherine and William, she did not see a face she recognized, although she hadn't expected to. A shrill female laugh from a seat on her left made her turn to look in that direction. Her heart almost stopped. She had never expected to see him again. Lord Chantry was sitting next to the laughing lady and Miriam could see that it was a comment from him that had resulted in the unladylike noise.

As she looked at him he looked over and saw her. She knew that she had blushed a bright red and looked down at the table quickly trying to hide this. Throughout the meal she found it difficult to concentrate on the conversation around her and thought that she must be a very dull dinner companion for poor William, who was doing his best to engage her in conversation on any number of topics. She found she was only paying him the briefest of attention because she could only think about Lord Chantry and why he was here. As the meal progressed she frequently heard his dinner companion laughing at his conversation and wondered at their relationship.

At the end of the meal the gentlemen retired to the library for brandy and cigars, and the ladies had time to refresh themselves before retiring to the drawing room for tea. Aunt Beatrice took Miriam's arm as they followed the others through to a large, elegant drawing room, decorated with a beautiful, floral-patterned wallpaper, where maids were supplying trays of tea. Aunt Beatrice and Miriam settled on a small, exquisitely carved settee to the rear of the room so as not to intrude on what was predominantly a family gathering.

Aunt Beatrice had been called over to inspect some needlework when the gentlemen joined them. Miriam watched from under her lashes and saw Lord Chantry making his way across the room. At first she thought he was heading to where his dining companion was seated, but he walked straight past that lady and continued towards her. He made a small bow by way of greeting when he reached her. Miriam did not rise but bobbed her head in acknowledgement. She had been certain that he would want to avoid meeting with her again, and had certainly not expected him to seek out her company.

“'Tis delightful good to see you again, Miss Knightly. Are you in good health?” Vincent enquired.

“I am, thank you, and are you in good health, my lord?” Miriam was pleased to hear that her voice sounded calm, in contrast to her heartbeat that she could hear pounding in her ears.

“I am, thank you. Is this seat taken?” He indicated the seat her aunt had vacated.

“My aunt has been called elsewhere, so the seat is available at present should you wish to sit,” she managed to respond while her brain was churning, wondering why he wanted to sit with her when his charming dinner companion appeared to be unaccompanied.

“If you can bear my company for a short while, I will do so.”

Miriam smiled and gently patted the free seat next to her. As he folded his long frame into the small space beside her, she realized she had made a big mistake. She could feel her body burning and her cheeks flushing as his side pressed against hers. She tried to move as close to the side of the seat as she could, but the settee was so small it made little difference. When eventually she had recovered her senses she remembered good manners and struck up a conversation with him.

“I was surprised to see you here, my lord. I was not aware that you had a connection with the family.”

“Catherine Lampton is one of my many cousins. I, too, am surprised at finding myself here,” Vincent admitted wryly. “Had I remained in London instead of returning to Yorkshire, I would not have been press-ganged by my dear mother into attending. My younger brother has managed to forgo the pleasure by pleading that Oxford is too far to travel and he would miss lectures.” Lord Chantry had such a tragic expression as he imparted this information that Miriam had to smile.

“I thought that a wedding was meant to be an enjoyable occasion,” she teased.

“I think, like the opera we saw, it may be that weddings are more appealing to women than men,” Vincent responded dryly. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Other than my aunt and yourself, I do not know anyone here and have only met my cousin's intended bride on one occasion before today, so I cannot say with all honesty that I am. I am glad you took the time to speak with me. Tell me, how was life in Bath after I left?” Miriam wondered how Lord Chantry could look so relaxed when she was so affected by his close proximity.

“I left the day after speaking to you. I went to London and closed up my house there before returning to the countryside. Robert did not leave with me and I think your friend, Lucy, may have been the reason.”

Miriam wondered if this was a rebuke for her turning down his marriage proposal, but as she could not ask this she decided to take what he said at face value.

“I think you may be right. Lucy was back in Derbyshire last week and speaks constantly of her time in Bath. Robert Bright's name is mentioned more frequently than any other,” Miriam confided to him.

“Indeed,” Vincent replied, smiling. “Robert is a lucky man.”

Miriam tried not to stare at his nicely carved lips. She wondered what they would feel like if she passed her fingers over them. Would they be smooth? Soft? Firm? Warm? His closeness was very distracting.

Hastily, she plunged on. “I am to stay with Lucy on my return until I can find a house, because Percival and Catherine will have moved into Charlwood House. Lucy and her mother are helping me to find a suitable house in Buxton or Matlock, but I will so miss the countryside and the home where I grew up.”

Vincent sympathized with her. “I have the opposite problem. I find I am having to live at Maudley Castle, which is in the country, when I would prefer to live in the city and take up my seat in government.”

“Then we are a sorry pair,” Miriam laughed. “You had a lucky escape, for had I known how miserable I would be when I left Bath, I might have accepted your proposal.”

Vincent frowned and did not appear to find her comment amusing. “I still think that what I proposed was a good solution for both of us. I just had not considered that you had already turned down Sir Thomas. What I saw as my gallant attempt to rescue you from such a fate was not, in fact, required.”

“You can be assured that I certainly never regretted turning down Sir Thomas,” Miriam told him earnestly, grateful that he seemed to hold no animosity towards her for refusing his offer of marriage.

She was, however, surprised when he looked her directly in the eye and said solemnly, “My proposal still stands. Can you not give it further consideration?”

Miriam felt as if the room and all the other people in it had suddenly ceased to exist, and only she and the earl were there, cocooned in their own private world. She felt short of breath. “You would be trapped if I married you. If it was a marriage of convenience, only think of the scandal if the marriage ended in an annulment. Would you want that? Despite what you think, we would both suffer from the scandal.”

“I could cope with the scandal, but if you could not, or did not wish an annulment, I would not press for it. We could live amicably apart. I could also arrange for you to keep your own fortune so that you could be independent should you choose to leave me at a later date.” Vincent wondered why he persisted when she obviously wanted nothing to do with him.

“You do not understand my meaning,” Miriam tried to explain. “Why would you marry me when there are many other young ladies who are perfectly eligible, and do not limp? What if I agreed and then within a short time you met someone and fell in love?”

“As you say, I have met many eligible young ladies and most, I should imagine, would be happy to marry me for my wealth and title, but that does not mean that they love me or I them. The ladies who are eager for my attentions I find far too demanding and they prattle endlessly. It is hard work for me to retain a semblance of interest and good manners. You, Miriam, do not prattle endlessly, and I find you easy to talk to,” Vincent replied candidly.

Ah, but no pretence at affection
, Miriam thought dispiritedly.

“I will take that as a compliment. As I have never thought of marriage in a serious way, I have not felt it necessary to develop the skills of flirtation that other women find so important,” she answered, noting to herself that he had used her first name.

“When you turned down my proposal I was somewhat taken aback,” Vincent admitted. “I had considered other women of my acquaintance and realized that there was not one I would care to face at breakfast day after day. I still am of the opinion that we could rub along nicely together if you give it a chance.”