Anne Ashley - Lord Hawkridge's Secret

‘Unfortunately, yes, Budd,’ she responded testily, which induced Sarah and the housekeeper to exchange startled glances, for they both knew how much she enjoyed being out in the fresh air. ‘Would you be kind enough to ask Amy to go across to the stables and inform Finn that I require the curricle in half an hour.’

Silently cursing herself for taking the trouble to entertain someone who appeared to have had little difficulty in ignoring her very existence, not just last night, but for the past five years, while conveniently forgetting that his lordship had never once failed to send her a present on her birthday, Emily begrudgingly took herself back upstairs to change her attire, and was in the process of tying the strings of her bonnet, when Amy entered the bedchamber to inform her that both Lord Hawkridge and Sir Charles Deverel had arrived at the house.

Although still consumed by biting resentment, Emily did not delay in making her way down to the parlour to discover Sarah there too, dressed in her outdoor clothes. The faint hope that Lord Hawkridge might have called to cancel the planned outing was quickly dashed, but her spirits revived when Sir Charles announced his intention of joining the outing and taking Sarah up beside him.

‘You look remarkably well pleased about something,’ his lordship commented, attaching himself to Emily the instant they stepped out of doors.

She was, but she had no intention of admitting to it, especially not to the man whose conduct she found increasingly puzzling, for today he had dropped that annoyingly affected drawl, and was more casually attired, seeming far more like the Sebastian Hawkridge of old.

‘I feel that there’s more than just a touch of spring in the air today,’ she responded lightly. ‘Why shouldn’t I be pleased?’

‘Yes, I must agree. Spring, it appears, is nipping at a few people this year.’

Emily looked up at him sharply, noting the glint in his eyes before he turned to watch Charles assisting Sarah into the phaeton, and wondered for a moment what he had meant, before deciding that he, like herself, must have observed the attention Charles had paid his cousin at the party. It was without doubt the only satisfying aspect of the entire evening, especially when Charles had made a point of dancing with Sarah. Which was more than the man beside her had requested her to do! Resentment reared its ugly head again, and it was as much as Emily could do to stop herself from slapping his hand away when he politely assisted her into the carriage.

‘There’s no need for you to come along, Finn,’ Lord Hawkridge announced, clambering up into the seat beside her. ‘I’m capable of taking care of your young mistress.’

Emily could hardly believe her ears, and almost found herself gaping in astonishment. What a crass nerve to be giving instructions to her servants! she inwardly fumed, and was not reluctant to give voice to her annoyance.

Sebastian regarded her for a moment in silence, noting the angry set of the determined little chin, as she gave the bays the office to start. ‘I’m sorry, Em,’ he apologised softly. ‘I took it for granted that you wouldn’t require your groom’s presence. I didn’t take into account that you might have become nervous in my company.’

‘Of course I’m not nervous!’ she snapped, before something struck her as odd. ‘And how came you to know my groom’s name, may I ask?’

A moment’s silence then, ‘I was speaking with your grandfather last night. I suppose he must have mentioned it then. He spoke highly of Finn, as I remember. Said that he went everywhere with you.’

Having by this time regained control over her temper, Emily could only wonder at herself for losing it so easily in the first place. It simply wasn’t like her to take a pet over mere trifles, and behave like some overindulged child who had been thwarted. Unfortunately she had never experienced the least reluctance in giving full rein to her feelings when in Sebastian’s company, and old habits, it seemed, were hard to break.

‘Yes, he does,’ she confirmed, striving to concentrate on her horses, and ignore the warmth exuding from that powerful frame too closely positioned beside her in the seat. ‘Grandfather engaged him shortly after I came to live in his house. I must confess I resented it at first, not being allowed to go out on my own, but I’ve grown accustomed,’ she admitted. ‘Not that I think his presence is necessary. Nothing ever happens down here.’

‘That isn’t what I’ve heard,’ he countered, swift as a flash. ‘I understood you came upon a body, lying in the road, not so very long ago.’

Emily didn’t attempt to hide her surprise. ‘How on earth did you discover that? I don’t believe Grandfather told you. I doubt he even recalls the incident.’

‘No, it was Sir George Maynard, as it happens. I believe I mentioned I called to see him yesterday. When he discovered I was acquainted with you, it—er—came up in the conversation.’ Sebastian paused to study the delicate profile once more. ‘It must have been very distressing for you, Em.’

‘It certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience,’ she admitted. ‘He came stumbling out of Kempton Wood, just a little further along this road. I thought I’d hit him at first, but then I discovered he’d been shot.’

‘He wasn’t dead, then, when you found him?’

‘No, but he died shortly afterwards. At first Finn thought it might be a trap, but we didn’t see anyone else about. The man appeared to have sustained a beating before he was shot. The attack must have occurred sometime before we came along. None of us heard a firearm being discharged.’ Emily drew the curricle to a halt as they arrived at the spot where the incident occurred. ‘Somehow, though, the poor devil managed to summon up sufficient strength to get himself as far as the road. It was just about here.’

His lordship took a moment to gaze about him, before asking, ‘And he didn’t give a clue as to his own identity, or the identity of his assailants?’

It was at that moment, as she watched those shrewd grey eyes continue to scan the woodland off to the left, that it occurred to Emily that he was betraying an uncommon interest, and that perhaps far more lay behind the seemingly innocent questions than mere idle curiosity. ‘No, he didn’t. Why do you ask?’

When finally he returned his attention to her, there was something oddly disturbing in his gaze. ‘Would it surprise you to know that I still concern myself about you? If there is a lawless gang in the area, preying on the occasional hapless traveller, I shouldn’t wish for you to become the next victim. You are still very…precious to me, Em.’

She swallowed in an attempt to rid herself of the painful ache which had suddenly attacked her throat, and hurriedly turned her head to stare at the road ahead, lest her expression betray the depth of feeling she still retained for him. ‘I thank you for your concern, sir,’ she said at length, relieved to discover that her voice at least remained steady, ‘but I think in this case your anxiety is misplaced. I have not heard of any other such incidents in the locale in recent months. Besides which, I do not personally believe that he was set upon by scoundrels, bent on relieving him of any valuables he might have been carrying. I strongly suspect that he was killed for a completely different reason.’

Suddenly aware that Charles’s phaeton was some distance ahead, Emily instructed her bays to move off, and they were soon bowling along at a smart pace, proving to Sebastian that she could handle the team well, her hands light but in full control.

‘What makes you suppose that?’ he enquired, when she had successfully caught up with their friends and could concentrate once more on something other than her horses.