Abandoned to the Prodigal - Mary Lancaster Page 0,88
in the newspaper.”
“But I didn’t,” Barden said amiably. “I learned a lot, made a lot of useful…acquaintances in my years of servitude to His Highness. You will find me above suspicion.”
“The Regent’s snake is above no suspicion,” Cosland snapped, though before Barden could do more than flush with anger at the insulting nickname, he rose to his feet, holding up one hand as though to prevent a tirade. “However, I have said I will allow her to choose between you, and I will. But Barden? If she chooses you, you will treat her with the respect due to her birth and rank, or I will tear you down at any cost. If you insist on coming, we leave in ten minutes.”
“We” turned out to be not only the earl but the countess. And Jeremy Catesby.
“There is no point in your going,” Barden said irritably as he came face to face with his rival in the carriage. “I have a special license and mean to marry her immediately.”
“What you mean may not matter to Juliet,” Catesby said with an oddly deprecating laugh. “At least I know I have behaved badly.”
“We have all behaved badly,” Lady Cosland uttered. “The test now is if we can manage better.” She did not look at her husband as she spoke, but it was he who bit his lip.
Oh, yes, the matter needed to be finished today before the earl got cold feet and Barden lost any control. It struck him he had allowed triumph to get in the way of the cold good sense that had first formulated his plan. He had made mistakes in dealing with both the earl and his daughter. But he held the special license, and he undoubtedly held the upper hand still. The girl would choose him. There was no other viable choice.
Besides, he would make it easy for her. He could be conciliatory when he chose.
It was not a long journey to Myerly. The house unnerved him slightly because of its general air of neglect and several windows appeared to be shuttered.
“Good God,” he murmured. “Why did she come here?”
“To annoy me,” Cosland said without heat. He alighted first and handed down his wife.
The place hardly looked as if it was used to receiving visitors, and yet the door was opened almost immediately after Cosland’s sharp rap.
An elderly butler gazed at them. He did not seem surprised but bowed without immediately standing back to admit them. “My lord.”
“Good morning, Griffin. I imagine his lordship is at home if he is able or chooses to receive us. But it is my daughter I’ve come to see.”
That didn’t seem to surprise the butler either. He sighed and stood back, opening the door wide. Lady Cosland sailed in, and the others followed.
The ancient butler closed the door and tottered toward a door on the right of the entrance hall. “Please follow me, and I shall inform the ladies.”
“Lady Juliet, if you please,” Cosland reminded him.
The old man bowed and opened the door to a musty-smelling room. The shutters were still closed, letting in a few beams of sunlight through the cracks. While the butler retreated, a middle-aged footman entered and opened the shutters.
“Why would she come here?” Catesby asked uneasily. “How could she live like this?”
“Oh, it isn’t all this bad,” a vaguely familiar lady said, bustling into the room. “I’m so sorry they put you in here. It is the reception room, but as you see, there hasn’t been much call for it. Come up to the drawing room.”
“Jenny—Mrs. Stewart,” the earl said, striding up to her. “Where is my daughter?”
“I have sent for her,” Mrs. Stewart assured him.
“Why did you not tell us she was here?” the earl burst out.
Mrs. Stewart glanced ruefully from him to his wife. “I’m sorry. I can only imagine your anxiety, but she assured us she had left you a note to say she was safe. She asked us particularly not to inform you, and to be frank, I was afraid she would bolt again if we insisted. She was…upset when she arrived, and I for one thought you would rather she stayed here than went anywhere else less…safe.”
“You were right,” Lady Cosland said, following her from the room while Barden and the others trailed after her. “Thank you for looking after our daughter.”
“Actually, it has been a pleasure, although she has been looking after us. We had something of a household emergency last night, and Juliet was most helpful.”