Laura Matthews (24 page)

When the ladies parted for the night, Julianna hugged Olivia impulsively and murmured, “I could not wish for a better sister, and I am so glad for you that Noah will be home soon,” before she disappeared in the direction of her room.

Olivia lay awake for a while contemplating Julianna’s plight. Perhaps if her devotion to Alexander had sustained such adversity it would be well for Olivia to champion her cause with Noah and Lady Lawrence. Not that she liked Alexander any better, but it would be bleak indeed to stand alone against the whole of one’s family for the love of a man, and Olivia sympathized with her. If only Alexander were not such a feckless nodcock, it would be easier to assist Julianna, Olivia thought with a sigh. Restless now, she rose from her bed and wandered into Noah’s suite of rooms with a candle.

Outside there was no moon and her candle gave little light in the room, but she placed it on the bedside stand and sat gingerly on the half-tester bed. It would not do to be found there, of course, but she felt sure the entire household was asleep, and it was comforting to sit and remember the one night they had spent together at their home. Olivia placed her hands on the growing area which she concealed as best she could from her fellow occupants in the house and smiled gently in the shadowy light. Noah would be pleased about that, at least.

When she rose to return to her room a movement out on the lawn drew her attention. Leaving the candle behind her, she walked to the window, but she was unable to distinguish the figure now disappearing into the woods. Perhaps it was a maid or footman bound for a secret assignation. Olivia returned to the stand and retrieved her candle, thinking that Lady Lawrence would certainly wish to look into such a matter, but knowing that she herself would do nothing whatsoever. Her sheets were cold by now and she shivered as she tucked the bedclothes about her.

As she started to drift off to sleep the realization came to her that the figure on the lawn might have been Julianna. But that was wild speculation and highly unlikely. Olivia lay for some time trying to rid her mind of such a preposterous notion, but it would not go away. Finally she rose from her bed, determined to just peek in at Julianna’s door to make sure that she was fast asleep as she should be. Nothing less would allow her any peace, she thought with exasperation.

Wrapped in a warm dressing gown, Olivia glided noiselessly through the corridors to her friend’s room. The door squeaked when she opened it, but there was no response from the bed. Without a candle she could not see well, but she did not find it necessary to walk all the way to the bed to see that it was unoccupied. Olivia stood motionless regarding the empty bed while she considered what was best to be done.

Lady Lawrence should be informed, of course, but she would be forced to send someone after her daughter, and the scandal would spread about the neighborhood. Olivia remembered her promise to Noah that she would not overlook such a contingency out of sympathy for Julianna, and she had no inclination to do so. From her youth it had been instilled in her that such an elopement was a disgrace, and she could see no excuse for Alexander. Julianna would come of age in just five months and had more than once told Olivia that she waited only for that time to wed her chosen young man. Why then should she elope now when there was such a short time left to wait?

There was no use in trying to understand the reasons behind her flight, Olivia decided impatiently as she softly closed the door and raced back to her room. I will bring her back myself, she thought grimly, and perhaps no one need ever know. Her dressing gown disposed of, she hastened to the wardrobe to choose a warm outfit before she realized that as a woman abroad that late at night she would be courting danger. Instead of abandoning her plan she turned to Noah’s dressing room and awkwardly outfitted herself in stockings, breeches, a shirt, waistcoat, and riding coat.

Her black curls she tucked under a bicorne hat she found, but she wore her own boots for comfort. Ever aware that her mission was not without its peril but hopeful that she would be back to retrieve it before anyone entered her room in the morning, she scribbled a note explaining her absence. Then she hurried down to the side entrance through which she planned to leave, but decided at the last moment to carry one of Noah’s dueling pistols which she had been shown some time before. Olivia had not the least idea how to operate such a weapon, but it made her feel safer to have it with her and she tucked it in the band of the breeches.

All was silent in the stables and it was her desire to disturb no one. The mare pricked her ears at Olivia’s soft voice and stood patiently while her mistress awkwardly saddled her in the darkness. Everything was taking so long, Olivia thought desperately, and I cannot be sure in which direction they have headed. It seemed logical that they would go first to Ely, and the figure Olivia had seen on the lawn could only have been headed for the southwest gate.

Olivia led the eager mare out of the stable, then carefully closed the door and mounted. There was no activity anywhere about the house or stables and she urged the mare immediately onto the grass to deaden the sound of hoofbeats. Once through the southwest gate she gave the mare her head, confident in the animal’s stamina and sure-footedness. No other travelers were about, and there was no indication of a carriage having recently been along the road, but Olivia had expected none. She touched the pistol to bolster her courage in the blackness of the night and whispered encouragement to her horse.

An hour later and almost half way to Ely the mare pricked her ears forward, and Olivia perceived a carriage traveling at a good clip in the distance. In spite of her exuberant start, the mare was beginning to flag; Olivia prayed silently that they had indeed reached the end of their journey. She rode alongside the carriage; but the blinds were drawn, and she was forced to call to the coachman. He was startled to hear a feminine voice and immediately drew the horses to a stand. Alexander’s voice issued from the enclosed carriage demanding to know the reason for the halt, but he was enlightened soon enough when Olivia thrust open the door.

Julianna’s face, poking out from under her bonnet, looked haggard in the dim light of the side lamp. “Dear Lord, Olivia, you should not have ridden after us!”

“You must come home with me, love. This is no way to start a married life. I will intercede for you with Noah, but you must not shame your family with such a helter-skelter flight,” Olivia pressed gently.

“She is not going home!” Alexander roared. “She is going with me and you will kindly leave us, ma’am.”

Olivia frowned at the young man. “If you wish to marry my sister-in-law, you must go about it in such a fashion as will not disgrace her, Mr. Cutler. She will be of age soon enough, and my husband and her mother will not stand in her way then, I assure you.”

“I have no intention of waiting, Lady Olivia, and you cannot convince me otherwise. You would do well to return to Welling Towers without a word to anyone,” he added coldly as he made an attempt to wrest the carriage door closed.

Julianna gave a cry of protest when she saw Olivia’s arm struck by the door, but Alexander pushed her firmly back on the seat. “I would advise you to stand clear, ma’am,” he ordered Olivia, “for I am about to instruct my coachman to proceed.”

The pistol had appeared suddenly in Olivia’s hand and she pointed it steadily at Alexander, who regarded her with astonishment. She spoke quietly but firmly. “You are going nowhere with Julianna tonight, Mr. Cutler. Get out of the carriage and instruct your coachman to climb down from the box.”

“You would not use that weapon,” he blurted uncertainly.

“Try me.”

Alexander did as she ordered. Olivia next tied the mare to the rear of the carriage while she kept the pistol leveled at him. After a word of comfort to Julianna, she climbed on the box and urged the four horses to turn in the middle of the road.

“You do not intend to leave us here, surely?” Alexander shouted in protest.

“I do, you know. A good walk will perhaps clear your mind and convince you of the wisdom of keeping silent in this affair. If no word is whispered abroad of it by you or your coachman, I will undertake to keep Sir Noah from . .. acting hastily when he hears of it. If not ... well, I cannot answer for the consequences.”

Olivia left the young man spluttering in the road, his coachman’s face a mask except for the twitching of his lips.
Of necessity Olivia kept the horses to a sedate pace and after a few miles halted them so that she might check on her passenger. Julianna was huddled on the seat, her face wet with tears and her body shaken with sobs.

“Do not cry, my love,” Olivia consoled her as she stroked the strands of hair from her friend’s face. “He should not have induced you to do such a thing. Surely you knew that Noah would not oppose you once you came of age.”

“Y ... Yes, but Alexander ... wished to be married now,” Julianna gasped brokenly. “He comes into some ... property on his marriage and he is short of funds.”

“Not a very flattering reason for eloping,” Olivia suggested gently.

“Oh, I know it was wrong! I have worried over it for days. But he would marry someone else if I would not go, because of his debts, you understand, not because he does not love me
.
” The rain of tears came harder.

“I’m sure Alexander is fond of you, Julianna, but I think you would be wise to accept that he was using you for his own purposes. And a man who would do such a thing would not make the right husband for you.”

“And is Noah not using you?” Julianna asked bitterly.

“Your brother offered me the protection of his name when I was stranded, my dear,” Olivia answered over the lump in her throat. “He used no deceit to entice me to marry him, nor was he in need of my money. I had no choice, but you do, love. Do you think that even if Noah had been in Alexander’s circumstances he would have acted as Alexander did?”

Julianna turned her stricken face away from her friend’s intent eyes. “No,” she whispered painfully. “Noah could never do such a thing.”

“I do not think he could either,” Olivia said softly. “It was hard of him to leave me so soon after our marriage, but he had never promised me that he would be a faithful husband nor be forever at my beck and call. He promised me his protection and his financial and social support. You do not wish a marriage of convenience, Julianna, especially not one that is only convenient to your husband. Let us return to the Towers. You must be exhausted.”

Olivia wrapped the rug about the young woman and returned to the box. The drive seemed to take longer returning than it had coming, and Olivia had more time than she wished to consider her own marriage and Julianna’s distress. She had not meant to be hard on her friend, but there was no use allowing Julianna to love an illusion when the means were at hand to show her the reality of the situation. In speaking with Julianna so openly Olivia had tried to put her own situation in perspective; and though it hurt to admit the truth, she found it somehow comforting as well. She would try in future to see her own marriage as one of convenience and not romanticize it on the basis of her honeymoon.

As they approached the southwest gate Olivia was faced with a decision as to what to do with the carriage and horses. To take them to the stables would arouse the men there; to leave them in the road would be unfair to the tired animals. When she drew them to a halt before the gates, Olivia sprang down and consulted Julianna. As the night was warm, they decided to unharness the horses and allow them to graze in the pasture. The carriage was left beside the gate, and the two young ladies led the mare to her stall.

There was no activity about the stables or the house, so Olivia and Julianna were able to return to their rooms unobserved. Olivia took her exhausted friend to her room and helped her undress for bed before she whispered comfortingly, “We’ll talk in the morning, love. There’s no need for anyone to know about your adventure.”

Olivia removed and hid the clothes she had borrowed from Noah’s dressing room so that she could inspect them for dirt before putting them away. The note she had left she now tore and crumpled before climbing into bed exhausted, where she fell asleep immediately.

Nothing further disturbed her sleep, but she found herself in some pain when she awoke late the next morning. She rang for toast and chocolate in bed, but did not feel like consuming them when they were brought. When Marie returned for the tray, she discovered Olivia white-faced and doubled over with pain.

“Shall I send for the doctor, m’lady?” she asked, frightened at the sight.

“Yes, I think it would be best.” Olivia’s reply was barely audible and the maid hastened from the room.

Lady Lawrence and Julianna were with her before she had time to consider what to say to them. The older woman’s face contorted with concern and her daughter’s eyes rounded with anxiety. Taking Olivia’s hand, Lady Lawrence asked, “Where is the pain, my dear?”

“I fear it is the child,” Olivia whispered, stricken.

“Is Dr. Davenport aware that you are with child?” Lady Lawrence asked bluntly.

“Yes, I have seen him.”

“Why did you not tell us, Olivia?”

“I wished to tell Noah first,” came the soft reply.

Julianna sank to the floor and buried her face in her hands. “Oh God, Olivia, this is all my fault.”

Lady Lawrence’s puzzled frown went unnoticed as her daughter poured out the story of the previous night’s happenings, in spite of Olivia’s weak protests. The older woman’s astonishment gave way to resignation as she laid a soothing hand on her daughter’s bent head.

“What is done is done, Julianna. Pray compose yourself so that we may make Olivia comfortable.” She turned to her son’s wife and asked gently, “Shall I send for Noah, my dear?”

“No, no. Let us see what
Dr. Davenport has to say.”

The doctor was reassuring when he had made his examination. “I am persuaded that Lady Olivia will not lose the child if she remains at rest for some days. She told me, in confidence of course, of the strenuous riding and driving she had undertaken, and I dare say the upset of the situation affected her; but she’s young and healthy. Keep her in bed and do not allow her to become upset, and I believe she will come about.”