His Lady Spy (The Star Elite Series) (2 page)

“We haven’t seen her for a long time,” Portia murmured, considering the
possibility carefully. She turned thoughtful eyes upon Cecily as they both weighed the options.

“If we threw ourselves at the mercy of Aunt Adelaide
, and explained our predicament, she might be willing to accommodate us until we could find another situation,” Cecily reasoned, wondering where the idea had come from. “She hates Papa, and would probably take us in just to spite him.” It wasn’t like her to be so bold and daring, reckless even, but now that the idea had taken root, she was strangely reluctant to let it go. It wasn’t lost to her that once Portia had been married off; she would be the next to feel the matrimonial shackles ordered by their father as he bullied her up the aisle.

“What other situation could we find ourselves though? I mean
you could contact your young man and send him word of your problem. I have no doubt he would be willing to help you secure somewhere suitable.” Portia winced at the sadness that swept over her sister’s face, and immediately wished she hadn’t said anything.

“I doubt it. I haven’t heard from him since that horrid day
. I don’t think I will ever see him again after what father said to him.” Cecily sighed, and stared absently at the trickling water. “He wasn’t really my young man, you know. I only met him once at the summer ball at the Dog and Duck. I don’t even know why he was there. I mean, it isn’t as though he lives around here. It’s all very strange, really.”

“But the fact is that he came to find you
, and offered for your hand. He wouldn’t do that unless he was serious. He is a lord for heaven’s sakes and has more than his heart to consider before he takes anyone to wife, or even offers for their hand as he did yours.”

“But
, why me?” Cecily whispered, shaking her head. She was the first person to admit that the debonair Lord Calverton had turned many heads when he had entered the packed ballroom that night, not least of all Cecily’s. Nobody was more surprised than her when he had milled around for some time, before seeking an introduction from Squire Jefferies, upon which he had added his name to her dance card. He had stayed with Cecily and Portia for some time, engaging in amiable conversation for as long as was socially acceptable before promising to return shortly. It had been more of a wrench than she cared to admit when the time came for her to take her leave of him, and she had been just as surprised as everyone else when he had turned up at their home several days later, and asked their father for permission to approach her.

“I know, but that was then.
Things are different now. He offered for your hand, Cecily, and would undoubtedly do so again if he knew your circumstances had changed.”

“But how can we marry against father’s wishes?” Cecily argued, hating to be the voice of reason. S
he wished that Portia was right, and there was some way out of their hopeless situation, but she was already struggling with the confusion of it all and she didn’t think she could bear having her hopes dashed for a second time. 

“Marry, and then face the consequences,” Portia declared flatly, a militant gleam in her eye. “I mean, if you are married and it is consummated, there is little father or anyone can do about it.
After all, someone of father’s lowly status could hardly disgrace a man of such wealth and social standing like Lord Calverton.”

“Portia!” Cecily gasped, lifting shocked eyes to her sister. “You really are ruthless, you know.”

“No, I’m not,” Portia argued. “I just refuse to be forced into doing something that would ruin my life.”

“But marriage, and, and,” Cecily made wafting motions with her hand, “
that
! It’s a bit erm -”

“Wanton?
” Portia murmured, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Is that so bad?”

Cecily’s eyes
grew round, and she bit her lip to prevent herself from returning her sister’s smile. Portia had always been far more daring and risqué but, for once, Cecily was apt to wholeheartedly agree with her suggestion. For the first time in a long time, she began to feel the first tendrils of hope steal into her soul. Turning back to Portia, she slowly shook her head and brushed out her skirts.

“I have no idea what the future holds for either of us, but I do know that we had better make certain of our plans before we go anywhere in defiance of our father. He is going to be furious with us
, and will not take kindly to having his matrimonial plans for us thwarted, let alone us both going against is orders.”

“Do you know something
, Cecily?” Portia declared, glancing around her with a frown. “I don’t care. I am not going to just sit back and allow anyone to throw my life into misery, and that includes father.”

She didn’t know if it was her imagination
, but she got the strangest feeling that she was being watched. Studying the trees carefully for any sign of person or persons unknown, she almost missed Cecily’s next question.

“So
, what should we do?”

“
We need to go to Aunt Adelaide,” Portia murmured, peering cautiously around the trees behind them. It was too dark beneath the thick branches to see much, but she could tell by the uninterrupted chirping of the birds that there wasn’t anybody lurking in the undergrowth. So why was she getting the strange sensation of being watched? Shaking her head at her wayward imagination, she turned back to her sister.

“What if she doesn’t take us in?”
Hope began to unfold within Cecily, like the silken petals of a flower, glorying in the first tendrils of warm sunshine.

“Then you can go to Lord Calverton
, and beg for his assistance. I can go to Uncle Robert and Aunt Suzannah’s, and hope that they will accommodate me long enough to secure a position of employment somewhere.”

Cecily remained quiet for several long moments. Was
a chance of freedom really so impossible? Even if Lord Calverton refused to help her, she could probably prevail upon him to help her secure alternative lodgings. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t afraid to work for a living. Although untitled, their father was a merchant who had garnered enough wealth to be able to furnish them all with an extremely comfortable lifestyle. Unfortunately though, he was a miser, who only parted with his money when he absolutely had to. As a result, he refused to furnish the house with a proper housekeeper or even a scullery maid, insisting that it was a waste of funds to spend money on such frivolities when he had two women in the house who were perfectly capable.

“What about you?”

Portia turned her solemn gaze toward her sister. “I will be fine, Cecily. I will prevail upon Aunt Adelaide and, if she won’t accommodate me, I am sure she can furnish the suitable connections to ensure I am employed somewhere. She won’t want the scandal of having a niece homeless and destitute.” The more she considered throwing herself upon the mercy of her Uncle Robert and Aunt Suzannah, the more she decided that they would just send her straight back to face her father’s wrath rather than incur it themselves. She couldn’t take the risk that her daring plans for a better future might all come to naught so easily.

“So what do we do now?” Cecily asked, unsure how one went about defying the orders of one’s only parent and guardian.

“Choose a day,” Portia stated boldly. She would never say so to her sister, but she didn’t think that any day would ever be the right day. If they were going to attempt to escape, then they had to move quickly, especially given that Portia’s betrothal was due to be announced in the few days.

Ce
cily stared cautiously at her, as though trying to decide if she really meant what she was saying. After several long minutes of studying Portia’s implacable face, she mentally shrugged and decided to go along with it, and hope that Portia was as determined as she looked. Cecily wished she did have the confidence to throw herself upon the mercy of Lord Calverton and, although the possibility filled her with dread, she wasn’t about to disregard the probability that she would have to. She didn’t say so to Portia, but if Lord Calverton was prepared to help her, then Cecily would do everything she could to ensure that his help extended to her elder sibling.

“A
ll right then,” Cecily announced, turning to stare challengingly at Portia. “Let’s go tomorrow.”

“T
omorrow, it is.”

“But
how do we get out? I mean, father is hardly likely to hold the door open for us. How does one go about leaving home?”

“Well, we cannot take all of our things. Not that we have much
of course, but we can only really take a bag that we can carry. I have enough stored away to purchase tickets for us both on a mail coach, then there is the housekeeping of course.” Portia began to think through the finer details. The more she thought about the actual arrangements, the more determined she became that this was the course of action they should take. She knew where Papa kept the small box of money secreted beneath a stone under the chair in his study. It was stuffed full of notes that would more than adequately furnish the funds they needed for their escape. “Leave it to me. Just make sure you pack a bag with everything you are likely to need.”

“We can’t take the housekeeping, Papa would be furious.”

Portia merely shrugged. “He is going to be angry anyway. Besides, he owes us for all of the necessities he wouldn’t purchase for us.”

“Alright.” Doubt laced Cecily’s voice. “I’ll
pack a bag tonight and be ready to leave first thing in the morning.”

“We will wait until Papa
leaves for the day. There will be a mail coach at noon.”

“
Where does it go?” Cecily gasped, wondering how long Portia had been considering running away. She seemed to know an awful lot about mail coaches, and funds.

Portia shook her head. “I am not sure
, and do you know something? I don’t really care. As long as it is away from here, then it will serve our purposes. When we have got away from the village then we can work out how we can find our way to Aunt Adelaide’s.”

“We will need to take more than the housekeeping,” Cecily warned, frowning at Portia’s secretive smile.

“Leave it to me,” Portia replied vaguely. She knew Cecily didn’t know about their father’s hiding places, mainly because Cecily didn’t dare defy their father’s orders to stay out of his study. “Just make sure you have the things you will need to last you for a few days.”

“Alright,” Cecily sighed, awed at her sister’s forethought.
“Meantime, are you coming to the church to do the flowers or not? If we take too much longer, the vicar is going to send out a search party for us, and will undoubtedly mention our tardiness to Papa.”

“I’m going to stay here for a little while longer,” Portia sighed, smiling
defiantly at Cecily. She knew her younger sister wasn’t prepared for what they were going to do, and wondered if she herself really had the courage to go ahead with it. Nevertheless, Portia was determined that she
would
escape the horrid marriage, and was more than happy to drag Cecily along with her.

“Alright, but don’t sit too long,” Cecily warned, glancing up at the clouds
forming on the horizon. “I’ll tell them you were delayed, or something.”

Cecily
slowly walked across the field in the direction of the church. The last thing she really wanted to do was arrange the altar flowers. She wanted to sit beside the stream with Portia, and discuss the finer details of their escape, but she knew her sister well enough to know that she was still mulling things over. She would tell Cecily when she had made her plans, and they would carry out her scheme to perfection. That’s how things always worked when Portia made their plans to escape from their father for a few hours and, even though this time they were planning on going further, for considerably longer, Cecily had no doubt about her sister’s efficiency. If Portia decided they were going to escape their father’s wrath, then that is what they would do.

She climbed the gate and glanced back across the field. Portia looked so alone sitting on the bank
that her heart went out to her. For a brief moment, Cecily wondered what the future held in store for both of them, and hated the thought that she would not see her sister every day. From the plans that Portia had suggested, their futures were likely to be very different.

Cecily was about to turn away
and head down the lane toward the church, when a flicker of movement through the trees caught her attention. She froze and slowly turned around, wondering if she should go back and insist that Portia accompany her to the church. Cecily carefully scanned the trees for signs of anybody who might pose a threat, but couldn’t see anything. She jumped when a large black rook broke through the branches at the very top of the trees and flew off into the distance. Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Cecily cast one last look at her sister still sitting unconcerned beside the brook, and headed off to church. 

Portia watched Cecily climb the gate at the far end of the field
, and turned back to the stream. The gentle trickling of the water as it tumbled through the coarse rocks soothed her senses, and helped to ease her jumbled thoughts enough to allow them to fall into some semblance of order. The last thing she wanted was to arrange flowers for the church or anywhere else, but those were her father’s orders. She would get into awful trouble for not doing as she was told, but the worse her father would do is shout at her, threaten her with being cast out – again – and banish her to her room, which is where Portia spent most of her time, and where she preferred to be anyway. She had spent many hours locked in her room with Cecily, which was one of the reasons why she had such a strong bond with her sibling.