The Fleeing Heiress: A funny flight into love. (23 page)

The valet at once assured his lordship that he knew of the very thing to relieve the stiffness. He bustled around with al
most his old energy in packing for the journey.

Cardiff shrugged, a grin of self-derision on his face. He
was patently too softhearted for his own good. Now he
would have his manservant insisting upon coddling him, the one thing that he most disliked. However, it was a small sacrifice if it would serve to restore Potter’s fallen sense of self-
worth.

Lord Cardiff’s porter came upstairs to announce a visitor
and stood aside for the extremely tall and large gentleman to
pass him into the room. Cardiff was surprised by the iden
tity of his visitor and he instantly went forward, his hand
held out. “Lord Henry! I did not expect to see you in Lon
don!”

Lord Henry Cummings laughed as he warmly clasped his
host’s hand. “No, and I did not expect to
be
in London. I
came up a couple of days ago and thought to inquire for you, but you had not yet arrived. I escorted my aunt, Lady Mack
leby, and Miss Paige, wishing to satisfy myself that the
ladies were well settled.”

“No doubt you wished to place an advertisement of your
engagement to Miss Paige in the Gazette at the same time?” asked Cardiff with a smile. He lifted a decanter with an inquiring glance, and at his guest’s nod, he poured out a mea
sure of brandy for each of them. He handed the glass to Lord
Cummings.

Lord Cummings laughed again, taking the wineglass. He
sat down in a wing chair at Lord Cardiff’s invitation, throw
ing one knee over the other. “That, too,” he agreed. “Lady
Mackleby will see that Dru is established socially, but I wish
it known that she is already spoken for. By the by, my sister
sends her regards. You left Chester before it was announced,
but Chastity and Jeffrey Halston have become betrothed, as well.”

“Miss Cummings?” Cardiff had difficulty bringing the
lady’s charming countenance into focus. It surprised him
because he remembered that not many days past he had be
lieved he would remember her face for a very long time.
Now he could scarcely recall the color of the lady’s eyes or
the shape of her profile. “Why, this is good news, to be sure!
A toast in honor of the happy couple, my lord!”

Lord Henry agreed to it and they drank together. There
were several minutes of companionable conversation and the wineglasses were refilled a few times. Finally, Lord
Henry set down the emptied wineglass. “I will not keep you
any longer, for your porter informed me that you will be
shortly setting out for Armouth. I take it that you will not be
returning directly to Spain?”

Cardiff shook his head. “It was my original intention, as you know, to rejoin the army as soon as possible. However,
I have changed my mind. I find it strangely difficult to leave
England.”

“Perhaps you have found something that holds you here in our dear England,” said Lord Cummings, smiling, as he
rose to his great height. He easily stood well above six feet
tall and so he was several inches taller than Lord Cardiff. He
held out his hand to his host, who had also risen. “I shall
miss you, David. Pray keep yourself safe over there.”

Cardiff grinned. “I shall miss you, too, Henry. I promise
you, I will not take too many unnecessary chances.”

The gentlemen shook hands warmly. Then Lord Henry
left. His friend’s leave-taking left Cardiff with a vague feeling of letdown. He frowned over it, playing over in his mind
Lord Henry’s visit. The news of Miss Cumming’s engage
ment had been surprising, but not unpleasantly so. In fact, it
had scarcely registered with him. What had touched him
with far greater impact was Lord Henry’s casual reference to
something about England holding him.

All at once, Miss Stafford’s laughing face rose before his
mind’s eye and a revelation blindsided him. Lord Cardiff
drew in his breath in true amazement. He had fallen in love
with the lady.

Everything fell into place. His reluctance to leave En
gland was instantly made plain. “I cannot leave, not without
seeing her and letting her know,” he murmured to himself.

“My lord?”

Cardiff turned swiftly. His valet had come into the room
and had paused, regarding him with inquiry. “Potter! I am
glad you came in. I have decided we are not going to Ar
mouth after all.”

“Very good, my lord. I assume we shall embark for Spain
as soon as a suitable passage can be found,” said the valet.

Cardiff grinned. “No, we are not. We are leaving London at once on a visit to new acquaintances of mine, the Owens.”

The valet was somewhat startled. “As you wish, my lord.
Are the Owens expecting you, my lord?”

Cardiff laughed. There was a glint in his eyes. “No, they are not! However, I hope that they will not turn me out of doors.”

“No, my lord, let us hope not indeed,” said Potter repres
sively.

Cardiff left London that same day. His valet traveled with
him inside the carriage, and his baggage was strapped
on behind. His coachman had muttered to himself and
shaken his head when he was told their destination, but it
was not for him to remonstrate with his lordship.

The carriage made good time. The bad weather had
cleared, leaving cold and hard-frozen roads that allowed
speed. Cardiff optimistically estimated that he would arrive
at the Owen manor shortly after dusk.

Of a sudden there was an ominous crack. The carriage shuddered and lurched to a jolting stop, going over on one
side. The vehicle was canted at such a sharp angle that Lord
Cardiff and his valet had to climb out of the door.

Cardiff leaped lightly down to the frozen roadway.
“What’s the damage, John?”

The coachman shook his head. “It’s the worst it could be,
my lord.” He reported that an axle had splintered and broken in two. “It will take hours to walk to the last village and have
a new one brought up, my lord.”

Cardiff swore, pithily and comprehensively. The coach
man and valet regarded him with sympathy.

A carriage swept down the road towards the scene of the
accident. Its horses were drawn up opposite Lord Cardiff’s
ruined vehicle. A window was let down. “May we be of ser
vice, sir?”

Lord Cardiff, who had half turned at the carriage’s ap
proach, now turned sharply around. Surely he knew that
voice, he thought in disbelief. “Mr. Owen?”

An exclamation, followed by a flurry of talk, was shut off with the closing of the window. The carriage door was flung
open. Mr. Owen carefully descended, and behind him ap
peared the curious faces of his wife and his niece. He closed
the door behind him.

“Lord Cardiff! What a surprise to meet you here,” said
Mr. Owen, advancing across the roadway to meet his lordship and shake his hand.

“And you, sir. I believe fate has truly taken a hand in my
affairs!” said Cardiff with a flashing grin, wringing the elderly gentleman’s hand. Mr. Owen grimaced slightly, and Cardiff apologized for his over-show of strength.

“What appears to be the problem, my lord?” asked Mr.
Owen, gesturing towards the canted carriage. The vehicle
lay practically on its side, having been popped over by the
force of the splintering axle and its own speed.

Cardiff explained quickly about the broken axle. His
predicament seemed completely unimportant to him now
with the appearance of the Owens and their niece. “How
ever, that is not the most pressing thing on my mind, Mr.
Owen. You will be astonished to hear that I was on my way
back to your home.”

“Indeed!” Mr. Owen was obviously taken aback. He regarded Lord Cardiff in some surprise. “May I ask for what
purpose, my lord?”

“I wished to proffer my suit to your niece,” said Cardiff
quietly.

Mr. Owen’s long jaw dropped. He recovered himself. “I
see! I confess, my lord, you astonish me!”

With a swift grin, Cardiff said, “I astonish myself.”

“I was under the impression that you were returning
shortly to Spain,” said Mr. Owen, looking a question.

Cardiff nodded. “I took my leave of Miss Stafford with
out any other thought than to wrap up my business in En
gland and do just that, sir. However, I discovered that I could
not do it. I had to see Miss Stafford again.”

“What motivated you to change your mind, my lord? Do
you still feel some sort of obligation towards my niece?”
asked Mr. Owen with a sharp glance.

Cardiff shook his head. “An obligation, no! Rather, I feel
an awareness and fair certainty that I have fallen in love with
her. I realized it almost at once, when I returned to London
and the time had come to arrange my passage from En
gland.”

Mr. Owen appeared thoughtful as he glanced again at the younger gentleman. “In that case, perhaps you should like to
speak to my niece.”

The two gentlemen had slowly drifted away from the car
riages during their extraordinary conversation and turned to
retrace their steps. Mr. Owen opened the door to his own
carriage. “My dear, here is Lord Cardiff, whose carriage has
suffered a broken axle.”

“What an inconvenience to you, my lord! If we had not been on our way to London, it might have been hours before
anyone else came by,” said Mrs. Owen in ready sympathy.
“I am certain that we can offer you a place in our carriage,
can we not, Thatcher?”

“Yes, of course. However, I believe Lord Cardiff would
like a word with our niece before anything else is decided,”
said Mr. Owen with a meaningful look at his wife.

Mrs. Owen’s slim brows rose in quick surprise. She met her husband’s eyes, then glanced at her niece. A swift blush had risen in Thea’s face, indicating a pretty confusion. Mrs. Owen smiled, her eyes reflecting amusement. “Of course.
Thea, why do you not get down and walk a little way with
Lord Cardiff?”

“Yes, Aunt,” said Thea quietly. Her heart was pounding as she gathered up her skirts in one gloved hand and pre
pared to step out of the carriage. She wondered what Lord
Cardiff could possibly have to say to her.

Cardiff helped Thea descend to the ground. Mr. Owen re
marked that he had no wish to stand about freezing while
awaiting his niece’s return. He climbed back inside the carriage and shut the door.

Cardiff offered his arm to Thea, which she accepted, and together they walked a short distance down the hard-frozen
road. It was cold and their intermingled breath frosted on the
air each time either took a breath, but Thea scarcely noticed it. Her heart was beating wildly because when Lord Cardiff
had met her eyes as she descended from the carriage, she
had seen the same blaze in his look that they had held when
they had danced in the gallery. It heated her clear through, and even if there had been a raging snowstorm, Thea was
quite unreasonably positive she would not have felt it.

Now that the moment had come, Cardiff strangely
enough felt uncertain of himself. Once he had realized his
own heart, he had made the decision quickly enough to drive
at once back to the Owens. But now, he did not know quite
what to say. He, who had faced battle and outwitted a French
spy, who had unhesitantly intervened in an abduction and
had emerged unscathed from countless interesting adventures, felt a prickle of sweat slide down his spine.

Cardiff cleared his throat. “Miss Stafford, I asked for this
interview because it is important to me.”

“Yes, my lord?” said Thea breathlessly, hoping to encourage him when it seemed that after that promising beginning he had come to a complete stop.

Cardiff cleared his throat again. “The truth is that I was
on my way back to your uncle’s home. I had but one objective in mind, and that was to tell you I cannot leave England
before I apprise you of my feelings.”

Thea raised her darkening eyes to meet his. “And what of
your feelings, my lord?”

Cardiff gave a rueful laugh. “Miss Stafford, I find myself
in a quake. I fear your reply and yet I must ask, or forever wonder. Miss Stafford, will you be my wife?”

“You spoke of your feelings, my lord,” said Thea softly, still looking at him.

“I am in love with you,” he said quietly and with utter
sincerity.

Thea squealed and threw her arms around Lord Cardiff’s neck, catapulting against him in her enthusiasm. “Yes! Yes,
I will marry you, for I love you, too!”

Cardiff staggered with the force of her impact even as his
arms went around her. His boot slipped on a treacherous patch of uneven ground, and he crashed down with Thea
held firmly against him in his arms. They landed in the soft
bank of snow at the edge of the road.

“Your shoulder!” gasped Thea in dismay, struggling to
rise. Her large eyes stared down into his face with concern.

Cardiff laughed. His arms tightened even more around
her. “I can see that our marriage will always be lively, Thea,
and that I risk life and limb in wedding you, but I am well content. Kiss me, sweetheart!”

Thea was unable to resist such a sweet command, and she
did as she was bidden. Their lips melded together with the promise of passion to come. Thea thought giddily that her
heart must certainly burst from her breast with happiness.

Lord Cardiff’s valet and Mr. Owen came hurrying up,
slipping and sliding on patches of ice. “My lord!” exclaimed
Potter in high distress. “Are you hurt?”

“Devil a bit,” said Cardiff cheerfully. He rose without as
sistance and helped Thea to her feet. Still holding her hand
close in his, he said, “Mr. Owen, allow me to invite your
party to Armouth for an extended stay. My parents will wish
to make the acquaintance of my betrothed.”

Mr. Owen smiled broadly. He vigorously rubbed his
hands together. “Excellent, my lord! Excellent! I must go at
once and tell my dear wife of our change in plans.” The el
derly gentleman hurried off, followed more slowly by the valet. Potter was shaking his head as he went.

Cardiff laughed and slipped his arm around Thea’s trim
waist. “I fear we have shocked Potter’s sensibilities, my
love.”

“It is no wonder when you tumble me into the snow and take such familiarities,” said Thea primly, but with a rogu
ish twinkle in her eyes.

Lord Cardiff’s arm tightened around her until she felt al
most breathless. He gazed down at her intently, inspecting
each feature of her lovely face. His eyes were very blue,
very warm. “Should you mind if we were wed before I re
turn to Spain? I don’t wish to leave you behind.”

“I shan’t mind in the least, my lord,” said Thea shyly,
dropping her lashes. “I wouldn’t mind it if you were to carry
me off this instant.”

Cardiff gave a shout of laughter. He swooped her up into
his arms so that she was pressed firmly against his chest and
their faces were close together. He snatched a swift, hard kiss. “Like this, sweetheart?”

Thea smiled lovingly at her lord. Her hands curled
around his strong neck. “Just like this, David.”