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Chapter 6
Twoweekslater,Oliviaexited the carriage in front of a tall, dark, Gothic mansion. She had been to the Roth estate before, but the thunderous clouds painted a far more ominous picture this time. A feeling of dark foreboding settled over her, but she nudged the feeling away. She had never had good intuition, and the weather and forbidding clouds were probably just playing tricks on her imagination.
Her father offered his arm, and she put her hand on his sleeve. Her mother took his other arm, and all three of them mounted the steps to the main doors. The butler let them in, and the family instantly greeted them within the hall.
The new Marquess of Roth stepped forward and sketched a short bow. “Welcome, my lord, my ladies.”
“Roth, what a pleasure,” Olivia’s father drawled while Olivia and her mother sank into deep curtsies.
“Let me introduce you to my family,” the man said. “You already know my dear cousin, Lady Caroline, I presume.”
He nodded toward Caroline. She stood by his right elbow in a deep blue gown with golden petticoats. She curtsied and directed a fond smile toward Olivia. Olivia’s mouth spread in a smile as well. She hadn’t seen Caroline in months, and she’d missed her dearly.
“My aunt, Lady Elinor Vicary,” the marquess continued.
The tall but hunched old lady, with pitch-black hair and a dark blue gown, gave a slight nod. “A pleasure,” she said with a slight accent.
“Please, feel welcome in my new home,” the marquess said.
Olivia turned her attention back to the new marquess. He was a tall, dark-haired man with an air of nonchalance about him. She couldn’t put a finger on it, but he didn’t seem to be as stuffy and forbidding as most English peers. She hoped she’d made the right assessment of his character, but she probably hadn’t. Olivia wasn’t good at discerning people’s personalities from one look. But she would be certain to ask Caroline as soon as she was able.
Viscount Landen offered his arms to his wife and daughter and led them away.
“What a peculiar company, wouldn’t you say?” her mother intoned once they were out of earshot of the hosts.
“Peculiar, how?” Olivia asked and craned her neck to look at the hosts again.
“Do not be so obvious, dear,” her mother said. “Didn’t you notice Lord Roth’s slight French lilt?”
“French? I thought he sounded perfectly English.”
“Do not say you missed Lady Elinor’s accent!”
“No, but I didn’t recognize it as French either.”
The viscountess shook her head. “I had never heard anything about these people before they arrived. Had you, husband?”
“No, not before they arrived,” the viscount agreed. “But I heard the marquess has a young niece. And he will probably introduce her into society soon.”
“Oh, so he wants to make a good impression for the benefit of his niece.”
“That’s the rumor,” the viscount said with a shrug.
Olivia frowned in thought. She wasn’t much for gossip, but the new Roth family aroused curiosity. Mostly because they were Caroline’s new family. And Olivia wanted to be certain that they were nice, welcoming people.
Caroline looked to be doing well. Not that she’d show any emotion other than contentment to the world. Olivia would have to find time to speak privately with her. Thankfully, the house party was going to last for over a fortnight. Plenty of time for Olivia to assuage her curiosity and squash all her doubts and concerns.
A few hours later, rested and all dressed up, Olivia sat next to Jarvis at the formal opening dinner of the house party. She fidgeted in her seat and looked through the rows of people sitting along two long tables, waiting to see if Bradshaw had arrived.
“You are certain he said he would come?” she asked Jarvis for what seemed like the millionth time.
“Yes.” He heaved a sigh. “He said he’d be here. Perhaps he’s just late.”
“This is the first dinner of the house party. One would think he’d be here.”
“Darling, don’t slouch,” her mother said from across the table.
Olivia straightened instantly. “Jarvis, you’re supposed to be the one to tell me these things. You are going to be by my side far more often than my mother when I’m around Bradshaw.”
