The Christmas Heiress (35 page)

"He will care when he and his wife are shunned,
when his children are ignored, when his family refuses to give him their blessing and acknowledge
this marriage." The lines of worry in Charlotte's
face grew deeper. "Will you shun him too?"

Edward glared at her in silent reproach, refusing
to dignify her question with any sort of answer. He
would never forsake his brother, especially now
when he was needed most. Edward knew all too well how it felt to be on the receiving end of their
mother's cold barbs of displeasure. It was something he would spare his soft-hearted brother if at
all possible.

He picked up his glass and headed for the small
table in the sitting area of his bedchamber. "I need
a drink."

Edward lifted the stopper off the crystal decanter
and poured a generous serving of wine into the
glass. "Would you like one?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Too much wine muddles my head when I'm upset. We need to formulate a plan. Quickly."

Edward took a long sip of his wine, then paced
the room, thinking. "Is it possible they are still in
the house?"

"No. After reading your mother's note I went directly to Evelyn's room. She was not there and all of
her personal belongings and clothing are gone. I
was afraid to wake any of the other servants and
make inquires, fearing it would only alert them that
she has gone missing."

"And Jonathan?"

"I leave it to you to search his room, but I am certain you will discover the same."

"You are probably right. But there might be some
clues as to their destination. Wait here." Edward
downed the remainder of his wine, set the crystal
goblet on the table and strode from the room.

Jonathan's valet was nowhere in evidence. The
bed was turned down, but the sheets and coverlet
were undisturbed. No one had slept there tonight.
A quick perusal of the wardrobe confirmed several articles of Jonathan's clothes were missing, as was
his leather traveling satchel.

Charlotte was pacing by the window when
Edward returned to the bedchamber. "Well?" she
asked anxiously. He shook his head and her shoulders sagged. "How long ago do you think they left?"

"An hour, maybe two. They would have had to
wait until the house was quiet and the majority of
the servants had gone to bed before slipping away."

Charlotte swallowed. "Is there any chance we can
overtake them on the road?"

"It's possible, but we have no idea of their direction," Edward replied wearily. "The logical choice
is Scotland, but if Jonathan planned this, he might
have a special license with him. If so, they can be
married anywhere."

"They must have taken a carriage," Charlotte surmised. "One of the stable hands might have seen or
heard something. If you know which way they are
headed, it shouldn't be too difficult to track them."

"I'll go and see what I can find out." He reached
for his black evening coat, thrown carelessly over the
back of a chair, and slipped it on. It would offer some
protection from the biting cold, since there was no
time to hunt down his overcoat. "I won't be long. Try
not to worry."

Charlotte bit her lower lip and nodded.

The full moon provided sufficient light for
Edward to reach the stables without losing his way
or stubbing his toe. Fortunately, the first servant he
questioned was the very man who had hitched the
horses to the light traveling coach that Jonathan
had taken.

It was no small measure of relief to discover that the servant had no idea Jonathan was not alone
when he undertook this journey. At least his brother
had been smart enough to protect Miss Montgomery from the staff's curious eyes and wagging
tongues.

After assuring the nervous stable hand repeatedly that he had done nothing wrong, and then
swearing him to silence, Edward hurried back to
the manor, trying to calculate how much of a headstart the pair had really gotten.

The roads were too frozen for any mud to have
formed that could mire the carriage wheels and
slow their progress, but the wheels could become
damaged from a broken road, and if they were
trying to avoid detection, it would make sense to
travel on as many of the poorly maintained, back
roads as possible.

With a little luck, expert driving and a faster set of
horses, they could be overtaken. Her eyes huge in
her pale face, Charlotte relaxed a little and nodded
enthusiastically when he shared the news with her.

"What will happen once you find them?" she
asked.

Edward ran his fingers through his disheveled
hair. "I'm not sure. I guess I will try to persuade
them to return home. If no one has realized they
were gone, we can act as if this madness never happened and their lives can return to normal."

"What if you are too late? What if they are already
married?"

"That will certainly present an entirely different
set of problems. I don't know what I shall do. Truly,
I cannot think that far ahead. The first order of
business is to find them."

Edward moved to his wardrobe and began changing his clothing, substituting his formal evening
wear for riding breeches and boots and a warm
wool jacket that could withstand the cold.

"I am coming with you," Charlotte announced. "I
can be ready immediately. Where shall I meet you?"

Edward paused in the act of pulling on his left
riding boot. "I never said you could come."

"You need me, Edward," Charlotte insisted. "If
you find them before they are married, you will
have to convince Jonathan to return. He will not be
easily persuaded, but it will be harder for him to
ignore both of us."

Edward shook his head. "You must stay here and
somehow explain my absence. And Jonathan's and
Miss Montgomery's. That will be no small task."

"My place is with you," Charlotte said forcefully.
"If we cannot convince Jonathan to abandon this
elopement, we might succeed in changing Miss
Montgomery's mind. Though I do not claim a close
friendship with her, she will be more inclined to
listen to a woman, and I can offer her a feminine
shoulder to lean upon."

Charlotte's reasoning made sense, but Edward
was not yet convinced. "It will be difficult enough
for me to leave without attracting the attention of
half the household. How can we both do it?"

Charlotte sat on the edge of the bed. "'Tis Christmas Eve. Everyone will be busy with the final preparations for tonight's ball and hopefully too busy to
notice we are gone."

Edward groaned. He had forgotten about the ball,
a complication that would make it nearly impossible
to hide what had occurred between his brother and his mother's servant. "Miss Montgomery's absence
will be instantly obvious. My mother depends on her
exclusively and never more so than when a special
event is to take place."

"You are right. What we need is an ally in the
household. Someone who can create a plausible
excuse that the countess will easily believe as to why
the four of us are not available to assist her with the
preparations for tonight's festivities." Charlotte impatiently tapped her foot. Then, for the first time
since she had entered his bedchamber, Edward saw
Charlotte smile. "And I have just thought of the
perfect person for the job."

The minutes passed and dawn brought a bright
streak of pink and purple to the winter morning
sky. With Jones's help, Charlotte dressed warmly
in a blue wool gown and donned her sturdiest walking boots. Carrying her cloak, bonnet and gloves,
she slipped quietly from her chamber and hurried
down the hallway.

She paused outside her grandfather's bedchamber, knocking softly on the door. Lord Reginald
had always been an early riser and she hoped today
would be no exception. He called for her to enter
and she found him out of bed, standing by the
window in his purple robe, enjoying the sunrise.

As she approached, Charlotte was struck by a
strong chill and wondered at its cause. It was then
she noticed that Lord Reginald was not admiring
the view but rather puffing on a cigar and blowing
smoke out the open window.

"Grandfather! You are not supposed to be smok ing those nasty things." Charlotte stalked across the
carpet and tried to grab the offensive object, but
Lord Reginald twisted and turned, evading her
questing hands. "Dr. Harper said they were not
good for your lungs, especially in cold weather,"
Charlotte continued in an angry tone.

"Oh, hang Dr. Harper. The man's an old sourpuss
who's never had a bit of joy or excitement in his life."
Lord Reginald turned his back and puffed harder
on the cigar, the pungent aroma filling the air.

Charlotte's nose wrinkled. "How can you tolerate
that odor at this hour of the morning?"

"I like the smell," he exclaimed. "It reminds me
of my gentlemen's club."

"It smells like burning rubbish." Charlotte reached
a second time, but again failed to capture the cigar.
Sensing her growing agitation, Lord Reginald took
a final drag. Then with a dramatic sigh he extinguished it and tossed the cigar out the window, staring forlornly down at the pavement below where it
landed.

"Happy now?"

"Ecstatic."

They stared each other down for a long moment,
each stubborn in their conviction that they were
right.

Finally, Lord Reginald broke. "For pity's sake,
it's Christmas Eve, Charlotte. Can't a man have a
little fun?"

"If you only smoked on Christmas Eve I would
not complain. But we both know you indulge yourself whenever the mood strikes, regardless of the
fact that you promised me last Christmas you
would quit."

Lord Reginald lowered his gaze. "I tried. 'Tis
not easy."

Charlotte eyed her grandfather uncertainly. "I
understand, but you really must make more of an
effort."

"Temptations abound, especially in this house.
Worthington provides the finest cigarillos for his
guests. Imports them from Cuba."

"So do you."

"Yes, but here I can get my hands on a cigar
whenever I want one. Back home they are always
mysteriously disappearing," Lord Reginald said,
sending a sidelong glance at Charlotte. "Though it
is hardly difficult to deduce who has been taking
them."

"I care about your health," Charlotte admitted.
"And I do understand that sometimes the flesh is
weak, even for those with a strong will. So I hide
your cigars, hoping it will be easier for you to resist
temptation if you are not confronting a full cigar
box each day."

Lord Reginald let out a grunt. "What can a girl of
your tender years know about temptations and
weakness of the flesh?"

"You'd be surprised," Charlotte muttered, then
blushed, knowing she would be mortified if her
grandfather ever learned how weak her flesh had
indeed been. With the earl.

Fortunately, Lord Reginald was too busy lamenting the loss of his cigar to take notice of her
remark. He cast one final, sad frown at the pavement below, then closed the window. "Though I
firmly believe you enjoyed it immensely, I somehow do not think you barged in here solely to lecture
me about my smoking."

Belatedly, Charlotte realized it was imprudent of
her to have made such a fuss over the cigar when
she had such a big favor to ask of him, especially
considering that her plan to follow Jonathan and
Miss Montgomery had no chance of success without her grandfather's assistance. Quickly, she explained what had occurred, concluding her tale
with a heartfelt plea for Lord Reginald's help.

The older man whistled with surprise when she
was finished. "Poor Jonathan. He must be besotted
indeed to act with such little sense. Running off with
his mother's paid companion? Why, 'tis nearly as bad
as taking off with the family governess. Darn decent
of Worthington to follow after his brother, though,
to try and set things to rights. But this is a family
matter. I don't know why you should be involved."

"I feel responsible, since I was the one who secretly conveyed their messages. I must now do what
I can to rectify the situation."

Lord Reginald walked closer to the fireplace,
mumbling and shaking his head. But Charlotte
concluded her determination must have shown on
her face, for he did not dismiss her outright.

"It will be a very unpleasant shock for the countess," Lord Reginald mused. "And I suppose if I
refuse to help, I'll have to live with your sulking behavior for the next three months. Or longer."

Charlotte sniffed. "Grandpapa, I do not sulk."

"Not often, since you always seem to get your own
way," he replied almost cheerfully. "But when you are
crossed, you are like a bear with a thorn in its paw."

"Then you will help? If only to avoid my appalling
behavior?"

He narrowed his gaze and dropped into a chair.
Charlotte hesitated, wondering how much she
should confide in him. She did feel a great responsibility for this mess, and was compelled to do what she
could to fix it, but her need to help Edward came
from a place deep in her heart, not her conscience.

"Oh, Grandpapa. The earl cannot do this alone,
and I am unable to assist him unless you aid me."

The frown on Lord Reginald's face broke. "I might
be able to distract the countess for a few hours, but,
Charlotte, you know we will never be able to keep this
from the servants. Nothing escapes their notice. They
have a network of information that would do the
Home Office proud."

Charlotte's pulse leapt. He was going to help her!
Thank goodness! "Thus far, none of the servants
are aware that anything is amiss. My maid thinks
that I have gone out for an early-morning ride. I
want you to tell her that I have succumbed to a
nasty cough and have taken to my bed.

"Then inform my maid and the countess that at
your request, Miss Montgomery is kindly sitting
with me. Jones is terrified of catching any sort of i11-
ness. She will not enter my bedchamber until she is
told that I am recovered enough to no longer be
contagious."