Fate Is A Stranger: Regency Romance (21 page)

Violet felt helpless and knew that it would have been a lot better if she had been allowed to contact the duke.

She was certain her mother would have been in much more capable hands with the duke than she was with Souten and Lady de Compte.

This strange manner of leaving the castle still rankled on her and she had every intention of explaining everything to the duke once her mother had been treated and they returned to the castle. Such an event seemed so far away to Violet now as to seem almost an impossibility.

Finally, it occurred to Violet that they had passed a village as she leaned out and saw the coach leaving the lights of the village. She was not familiar with this area of the country they were going through and had not been paying attention to it as her attention was taken over completely by her mother.

There was a strong smell of burning wax from the lanterns inside the carriage and outside the dim light from the full moon looked eerie.

Why had Souten not stopped at the village they had just passed?

She leaned out the window and saw that those in the coach ahead did not seem to be concerned by the fact that a woman in the condition Sadie was in could not be left without the care of a physician for much longer.

She wanted to signal to the coach ahead to stop in order to confer with Souten and Lady de Compte about why they had not stopped at the village they had just passed, so she banged on the roof of the carriage to signal the driver to stop. But the driver, even after repeatedly signaling him to stop, ignored her.

This was all too strange!

What else could she do? Violet decided to remove her arm from around her mother and lean out of the carriage window and yell out to the driver.

Finally, both carriages came to a stop.

Violet saw Souten walk back from the carriage ahead of the one she was in.

"Miss Durbin, we must transfer your mother to the other carriage. Your driver has signaled that the axle in your carriage is giving way."

"Well, no wonder,"  Violet exclaimed, annoyed. "We were going at breakneck speed!"

"Miss Durbin, I’m only trying to get to the physician as quickly as possible—”

"By passing the village where the doctor lives without stopping?" interrupted Violet. "I find all this very strange, Lord Souten. I demand to know why you didn’t stop at the village. My mother can’t continue this way much longer."

"The doctor is not at that village, Miss Durbin. We must go directly to his house in the next village. Please, you’re only making your mother wait longer—"

"Vi-Vi—please…" her mother’s faint voice filled Violet with remorse. Perhaps she should not interfere when Souten was only trying to help her mother. What if something happened to her? She would blame herself for the rest of her life.

"Yes, my dear, we must transfer you to the other carriage, as the one we are in is becoming disabled," said Violet with resignation.

Violet looked on as Lord Souten and an outrider carried her mother to the other carriage. She also saw Lady de Compte climb in and sit beside her mother and just as she, Violet, also attempted to climb into the carriage, an outrider barred her way.

"There is no room in that carriage, miss," he said, and taking her by the arm pulled her back to the other carriage.

Violet struggled to get free of the man's large hand on her arm as he forced her to the carriage, but to no avail.

"What is the meaning of this, Lord Souten?" asked Violet angrily as she tried to get loose from the outrider's grip on her arm.

"There is no room in the other carriage for you, Violet. Let Lady de Compte will care for your mother on the way to the doctor's. You and I can follow in this carriage."

"In this carriage, the carriage you assured me would soon be disabled?"

"It’s not disabled yet and it will be lighter with just you and me in it. Come, let us board quickly or we will lose sight of the other carriage.”

Alarmed, Violet saw that the carriage where her mother was had taken off at a fast pace. There was nothing to do but to board the "disabled" carriage if she didn't want to lose sight of her mother.

Violet looked suspiciously at Lord Souten as they sat across from each other in the carriage. Then she leaned out the window to see if she could still see the carriage where her mother was in. No sight of it!

Something was terribly wrong, she thought. Images of another time six years ago came flooding back to her mind. Could there be foul play in this incident? Did Souten have ulterior motives for not stopping at the village? Why had he separated Violet and her mother in two different carriages?

What was going on here?

And why was he now calling her "Violet" in such a familiar way?

CHAPTER 21

Unable to sleep when the ball had ended, Jared was sipping brandy in his bedroom. Feeling restless in spite of the soothing brandy, he went to the window and as he looked down he was surprised to see two carriages taking off at the same time, one after the other, down the gravel drive.

He wondered why those two carriages were leaving as dawn was about to break. He didn't believe they had such eccentric guests at the castle that took off in the middle of the night without saying good-bye to their host. Or did they?

He had been unable to see the coat of arms of the carriages because he had seen them from behind and it was dark. He determined to go downstairs and see if the watchman had seen who had left the castle.

Jared walked quickly down the dark corridor and was startled to see a lady wrapped in a cloak rushing along the hallway. There were wall sconces at long intervals and as she passed by one, her hood slipped and Jared saw that she had fair hair tied at the crown with a circlet of rosebuds.

"Madam, Viscount Falweir at your service,” he called out. “A word with you, if you please.”

At the sound of his voice the lady increased her pace, almost to a run and turning a corner disappeared in the gloom of an ill-lit corridor.

Jared turned the corner himself and tried to find the lady but to no avail. Why did she not stop? Anybody else would have. What was going on?

And when before he had been merely curious as to the two carriages that had left the castle in the middle of the night, now, after calling out clearly to a lady who refused to stop, he began to feel that something strange was going on. His curiosity had now turned into determination to find out what was afoot as he retraced his steps along the gallery and toward the stairs.

As Jared went down the wide circular staircase, he tried recalling the ball in order to remember who had worn her hair dressed in such a unique way. He ran through the young girls that were houseguests in his mind and then it hit him: Lady Galena! It was Lady Galena who had worn her hair in that fashion.

What was Lady Galena doing in a cloak and running down dark corridors of the castle near dawn? And why had she not stopped when he called out and identified himself?

Jared found the two watchmen that were supposed to keep guard by the door fast asleep. He woke them up and asked them about the two carriages that had just left. The two men scratched their heads but could offer no information as to whose carriages they were or who had left in them.

Jared went back to his room to ponder the situation. In the morning he would question the stable grooms. Surely they would be able to say which carriages were missing.

Yet something, an indefinable feeling, told him that he should go wake up the hostlers and demand they tell him which carriages were missing
now
, in this instant. Strange things were going on at the castle and he should at least make an effort to find out what they were. After all, this was his uncle's castle and people had no business coming or leaving without the duke's knowledge.

So Jared went out the back door and to the stables.

"Now lessee," said Jiddy, the head stable man, sleepily, "'e be 'ere, sire. Right about 'ere."

"Right about here what?"

"M'lor's carriage."

"M'lor
who
?

"M'lor Souten."

"Souten! I never did like that man," said Jared. "So it was his carriage that left near dawn. How come you didn't wake up with the commotion, Jiddy?"

"Heavy sleep, milord, heavy sleep. My mum, na'—she told me often enough I have the sleep 'o the dead."

"That you do have," agreed Jared. "Which was the other carriage?"

"A hired 'un."

"A hired carriage. By whom?"

"Same un, m'lor Souten."

"Why would he bring two carriages to the castle?"That be a mystery to me as to you m'lor."

"How did he bring the carriages? Both of them at once?"

"The one with the coat 'o arms at the beginning of the house party, the other one yesterday."

"This gets really strange," said Jared. "I believe I better wake the duke."

Anything to do with Souten had to be suspect in itself, thought, Jared, who had inherited his dislike of Souten from his uncle.

"I would, if you think it strange, m'lor," agreed Jiddy.

Jared ran up the stairs and tapped loudly on his uncle's door.

"What on earth! Jared?" asked the duke sleepily. "What are you doing up at this hour? What's going on?"

"I'm glad you're up Uncle Perry. Some strange things have been going on and I need your advice."

"I'm
not
up," said his uncle, highly annoyed as he tied the band of his dressing gown, "you practically lifted me off my bed. You woke me to obtain my advice at three o'clock in the morning, Jared? It better be an important reason."

"Souten left the castle with two carriages, Uncle Perry. One his own and another hired."

"And you consider that conduct out of the ordinary? Haven't you by now realized that
everything
that cad does is strange? Haven't we discussed countless times that Souten's behavior never makes any sense?"

"The hostler was asleep and did not see when the carriages left, Uncle Perry. I saw them leave and that was why I went down to the stables to find out why it was that two carriages had left without their occupants saying good-bye."

"It's hardly strange that Souten would leave without saying good-bye, Jared, as we are not on speaking terms. I suffer him only because of Arabella. He is very well aware of it and keeps as far away from me as possible. There is nothing strange in his leaving in the middle of the night. Considering his character, it makes perfect sense to me."

"Then there was Lady Galena," added Jared. "She was wearing a cloak and walking quickly down a dark corridor just minutes ago. When I called out to her she took off running and I was not able to locate her."

"That indeed is strange. Perhaps we should see if both incidents are related. Who is Lady Galena friends with?"

"She has lately befriended Violet."

"Violet—you call her Violet? You must call her Miss Durbin, Jared, do not forget that."

"She allows me to call her Violet."

"She does, does she?" said the duke, his mouth had turned into a grim, pressed line. Just hours ago Violet had denied him that same request, insisting that it would not be proper to address each other by their given names.

"What else has she allowed you, Jared? You seem to be in very familiar terms with Miss Durbin."

"Not as familiar as I would hope, Uncle Perry; I have asked her to marry me."

There, it was out, the duke could now go ahead and yell at him and get it over with. Jared knew that Violet would not agree to marry him as long as the duke opposed the marriage so it was best he start trying to convince his uncle that he was of age to make his own decisions.

"Go to bed, it's well past your bedtime," said the duke, annoyed. "There is nothing to worry about in the things you disclosed. Lady Galena was perhaps at an assignation and she didn't want you to find out about it and Souten is acting very much within character.

"I see no reason for you to disturb my sleep. And as for you marrying Miss Durbin, we shall see about that. I believe as your guardian I will have something to say about such insanity."

"Very well, Uncle Perry, but first I shall make certain Violet and her mother are all right. I don't like the look of any of this. I have noticed that that slimy package, Lord Souten stares at her in a very strange way."

"You are manufacturing ghosts, my boy. Just close the door with yourself on the other side of it," said the duke. "I have noticed nothing of the kind."

"Good-night, Uncle Perry."

Once out in the hallway, Jared walked briskly. He believed the duke should not have dismissed his suspicions of Souten. He had noticed Souten’s obsessive interest in Violet on several occasions and this thought made Jared very uneasy. He could not go to bed without making certain Violet and her mother were safely tucked in bed, even if he had to wake them up to make certain of it. Luckily, he knew exactly in which rooms they were staying.

When he reached Lady Kelly's bedroom door, for he did not deem it proper to knock on Violet's door, Jared at first tapped the door softly. Then, on getting no response, he knocked louder. He waited a few minutes after each loud knock and still no sound came from within. He then turned the knob of the door and was surprised to find it gave way; the door was unbolted!

He went into the darkened room and almost tripped on a bulk on the floor. There was a faint light coming from the embers and he went to the fire and stoked it so that it gave out more light. He then lit the candle on a nearby table and in the dim light glanced around the bedroom. He realized that the bulk he had tripped over was a person in servant’s garb and he rushed over to her and tried to revive her. The girl appeared to be either asleep or unconscious. Probably unconscious, for what lady's maid would sleep on the floor, close to the door?

Jared lit a candle that was on a table and shook the girl's shoulder. "Miss, wake up—wake up!"

The girl appeared to Jared to be more drugged than asleep. Could she have taken a sleeping potion and measured more than she should have? Then Jared glanced behind the screen in the bedroom and realized that the bed was empty!

Where was Lady Kelly?

A fear swept through him. What was going on here?

When he finally revived the maid, Jared gave her water from a pitcher on the table. At first the maid appeared jolted at being awakened in her room by Lord Falweir. She calmed down when Jared informed her that the door of the bedroom was unlocked and he had found her lying on the floor, unconscious.

The girl told Jared in a faint voice that her name was Annie and she was Lady Kelly's maid.

Jared asked her where Violet's bedroom was and the girl said that it was a few doors down. To Jared's question Annie said that she had no idea where Lady Kelly was or why she, Annie, was lying unconscious on the floor.

"Do you think you can manage to stand up, Annie? I must have you accompany me to Miss Durbin's bedroom."

"Yes, my lord," said Annie, "Let me just get my shawl."

When Annie had wrapped herself in her woolen shawl she walked to Violet's bedroom with Jared. Jared knocked on the door several times to no avail. Then he tried the door handle and it gave way.

Jared and Annie walked into the bedroom and found it empty. Both Jared and Annie were greatly alarmed.

"Where is Miss Durbin's maid, Annie?"

"She was to spend the night with Lady Bea, my lord, because she was feeling very ill and Lady Bea has some teas and medicine."

Jared looked around Violet's bedroom and then the envelope on top of the dresser caught his attention. He opened it and read the elopement letter. He shook his head, his mouth grim and put it in his pocket.

He could not believe the note had been written by Violet. She would have to tell him herself that she had written it before he would believe it. Meanwhile, he would not leave it behind to be found by anyone before he found out where Violet and Lady Kelly had been taken. He would protect Violet from scandal for as long as he could.

"Go over to Lady Bea's bedroom and find out if Lady Kelly and Miss Durbin told her anything, Annie," said Jared.

"Yes, m’lord, at once," said Annie and walked a few doors down. She was admitted into the bedroom and soon came out. She rushed over to Jared, who waited in suspense.

"Well?"

"Neither one of them is in Lady Bea's bedroom, my lord. Maribel, Miss Durbin's maid was there and answered the door. Lady Bea continued on asleep. Maribel is now very worried, sir. Do you think something happened to them?"

"I don't know, Annie. Lady Kelly may have become ill and that is the reason they left the castle. We won't know until I catch up to them."

"Get back to your bedroom, Annie," added Jared, "It's cold our here. I'm going to try to find them. I only hope to God it isn't foul play."

"Oh, m’lord. I'll pray until you get back. I hope nothing happened to them!"

Jared shook his head. “So do I." Jared then ran along the corridor and then down the stairs, his heart about to burst.

Hawkinston, unable to sleep, was pondering Jared's disclosures of the night.

Drat. He would be unable to sleep now because Jared's assertion that Souten stared strangely at Violet now stuck in his mind and would not let go. He would now have to go down to Violet's room and make certain she and her mother were all right.

He should not have dismissed his nephew so cavalierly. And there was no denying it, jealousy at having learned that Violet allowed Jared to call her by her name had been the cause of it. He should have taken his words more seriously.

Hawk dressed quickly, the fastest he had dressed in his life without a valet and just as he was headed to the door, he heard a noise below his window.