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Chapter 5
Olivia walked down Bond Street in London, arm in arm with Emma, towards a millinery shop to purchase hair ribbons. Lady Henrietta was walking alongside them and kept glancing at her daughter with concern.
Olivia knew she was quieter than usual, but she still felt slightly dazed after that alarming encounter with the handsome blue eyed teasing stranger on the horse this morning. She could not stop thinking about it and how she wished he had followed her, even though he had been abominably rude.
“Are you quite well, Olivia?” asked her mother, her voice lilting with anxiety. “You are not feeling fevered? Your colour is high. Your cheeks are flushed.”
Olivia sighed. She should have known her mother would attribute her odd mood to being sick. It was always the same if she were quiet or withdrawn in anyway. At least her grandfather was not here to question her relentlessly as well. He had abruptly left London today, saying he was returning to Essington Manor, on unspecified business. He had been acting a bit oddly now that she thought about it. Distracted.
“Why did Grandpapa leave so suddenly?” she asked her mother, ignoring the question entirely. “He did not mention it at all at breakfast this morning.”
Lady Henrietta shrugged. “He did not tell me, daughter. He just said he had urgent business and wished us the best for the rest of our stay, saying he would see us at home in a week.” She hesitated. “But I do not know if we should wait that long. The gowns we ordered shall be ready by the morrow and there is no reason to linger in London. We shall be returning here for the season within a short time anyway.”
Olivia smiled gently at her mother. Mama did not like London and always wanted to get back home as quickly as possible. Olivia suspected it was because her mother felt closer to her late husband and son there. Mama always said she could not imagine not living at Essington Manor anymore and being able to visit them in the graveyard on a regular basis. She went there religiously.
Olivia sighed. They would both have to leave their home one day. As much as the thought horrified her, she knew that her grandfather could not live forever. He was old. When he was gone, Essington Manor would be sold. She could not bear the thought.
She loved their home, too. And she missed the country air, the wide green fields, the sense of freedom. As much as she was looking forward to the London season, she wanted to go home now, as well. Their task here was almost done, as her mother had said.
Olivia turned to Emma. “You would not mind if we cut our visit short, dearest?”
Emma shook her head. “No, of course not. We shall be back again within a short while. If you would both like to leave ahead of schedule, I do not mind.”
“Then it is settled,” said Olivia, smiling, turning to her mother. “We could return home the day after tomorrow if you want, Mama.”
Lady Henrietta looked gratified. “Oh, that warms my heart! What a kind daughter you are, Olivia, to think of your mother. Let us get on with our business now and be done with it for the day. We really do need to purchase ribbons to match some of your new gowns.”
They set off at a renewed pace. Olivia smiled. It took so little to make her mother happy. And she deserved her small measure of peace, after all she had gone through. Her heart shifted.
It seemed terrible that her mother must lose her beloved home one day along with everything else, but there was nothing Olivia could do about that. She could, however, accommodate Mama’s desire to be there as much as was possible. It was the least she could do.
***
Alexander gasped as he rode up to the top of a hill. Suddenly, it was there, sprawled in front of him, unfurling like a magic carpet, making him catch his breath in sheer wonder.
Essington Manor. The ancestral home of the Earl of Weaver.
He did not know what he had been expecting. A large, stately home perhaps. But this house was beyond that. It was beyond anything he had ever seen in his life. It looked like he imagined a palace to look. Like it should belong to a king or queen.
It was three storeys high, but that was not what impressed him. It was the width of it. The vastness. It seemed to go on forever. The main house, then a number of attached buildings in either direction. A long circular driveway leading to a stately front door. Beyond the building, he spied gardens unlike anything he had ever seen, full of opulent fountains and statues and tall trees. They put Hyde Park to shame.
He sat atop his horse, so stunned, that he could not move. His eyes simply drank it in.
This could be his one day.
The thought that he might one day own this palatial estate was beyond imagination. He had only ever lived in small houses and cottages. For the past few years, his home had been his ship. It completely floored him. He was the son of a merchant. How could he possibly own something as grand and opulent as this?
And yet, it seemed that Essington Manor could be his for the taking if he wanted it. And all because of a small amount of noble blood flowing through his veins.
Alexander grinned, spurring the horse onwards, towards the house and his destiny. If he wanted it. If he decided this was the life for him. A strange new life, to be sure, but he could not discount the possibility. Not now he had seen it with his own eyes.
