Lord Cavendish Returns (9 page)

“
Have you already met with Robert and Doctor
Lawton?”

“
Angus,” he replied gently. “Yes, I met with them earlier. I
own the house that Angus uses – used - for his surgery in the
village, and I am staying there for as long as I am in the
village.”

The
words popped out before she could stop them. “How long will that
be?”

“
I am not sure yet,” Harper replied huskily. “I only recently
found out that I own the house and am not quite sure what my plans
are. I need to get my work concluded first, before I decide what to
do about anything.”

“
Your work finding the parish records?” It wasn’t really a
question and Harper didn’t bother to answer. His work encompassed
the parish records, the Star Elite, the War Office, and now his
house. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it all.

He
followed her out into the afternoon sunshine and waited patiently
while she closed the church door. As they walked toward the
vicarage, the sunlight captured the copper strands in her hair. It
gave her a rather angelic glow that caught his imagination and
refused to let go.

“
Thank you for your help in all of this,” he murmured quietly
and waved a casual hand toward the church behind them.

“
You are welcome. I shall have a look for the records later,
once I have seen to my other chores, and will let you know in the
morning if I have found them.”

“
I should like to come with you to Moldton to look for them if
it turns out that they are still there.”

It was
on the tip of Arrabella’s tongue to refuse his help but the thought
of the dark and gloomy walls within the old stone crypt gave her
the jitters, so she nodded instead.

“
I will call by after breakfast in the morning,” he promised.
Although Arrabella nodded her agreement, he made no attempt to turn
around and walk away. His feet seemed reluctant to take him away
from her. It was rather ridiculous, really, to think that anyone
could have the power to draw him in such a way. “I will bid you
farewell,” he declared gently and sketched a bow. His eyes searched
hers for several moments longer than was necessary. The urge to
kiss the back of her hand, her cheek, her, was so strong that he
hesitated for one brief moment before he gave himself a mental
shake and smiled at her instead.

Arrabella blinked owlishly at him and remained perfectly
still while she watched him walk back toward the village and Doctor
Lawton’s house.

“
Good Lord,” she whispered, and rubbed a trembling hand down
the apron on her dress. She glanced down at herself and cried aloud
in dismay at the smudged and soiled state of her. He had been far
too polite to mention it, but he must have been aware that she
looked as though she had been dragged through a hedge backward. A
groan did escape her when she lifted a hand to the coiled knots
that had been her hair and she closed her eyes as a wave of
humiliation swept over her.

“
What is it girl? Whatever is the matter?” It was highly
unlike Arrabella to have such a pained expression on her face and
it caused Mavis Able, the vicarage housekeeper, considerable alarm
to see her thus. Mrs Able frowned at the retreating back of the
handsome man who was just turning out of the driveway, and studied
the soiled dress Arrabella wore, and immediately understood the
source of the young lady’s consternation. With a soft smile, she
steered Arrabella toward the kitchen doorway.

“
Is your young man coming back, dear?”

Arrabella jerked and stared at Mrs Able. “He is not my young
man,” she declared firmly. “Yes, he will be back tomorrow,” she
added with a sigh.

CHAPTER
FOUR

The
following morning Harper rode alongside Arrabella on the curricle
he had borrowed from Robert. His brother’s amusement at Harper’s
request to borrow a suitable conveyance to take a lady to Moldton
had only dimmed a little when Harper had reported that it had
nothing to do with any personal interest in Arrabella Farthing, but
was to satisfy his curiosity about his birth parents.

In spite
of the reason for their journey, it was good to be out in the
morning sunshine with a pretty lady like Arrabella seated beside
him. She looked positively radiant today, and even more beautiful
than yesterday. He studied her closely and noted the sparkle of joy
that shone in her eyes that had grown considerably when she had
caught sight of the curricle he had brought for her to travel in.
Her enthusiasm for the trip was evident from the infectious smile
that curved her sensual lips, and the faint tinge of pink that
coloured her cheeks. The tight bun at the back of her neck did
little to confine her wayward curls, and he watched several silken
strands slither free of the tight confines and bob gently against
her face. His fingers itched to tuck one of them behind her ear but
he daren’t touch her. Instead, he turned his attention back to the
road and studied the spire of Moldton church in the
distance.

“
Tell me, Arrabella, do you have any brothers or
sisters?”

“
No, there is only me I am afraid. I should have liked a
brother or a sister, but my mother took ill not long after I was
born and didn’t have any more children.”

It was
on the tip of his tongue to confide in her about his own familial
problems, but something held him back. He wasn’t sure what it was,
but his gut instinct warned him that he had to protect
her.

“
I envy you,” he sighed.

“
Envy me? Why?”

“
I think that you were very lucky not to have spent your
childhood dragging your siblings out of various
scrapes.”

“
It sounds like a lot of fun.” If she was honest, although she
knew she was loved by her parents, she had always wanted someone of
her own age whom she could talk to and confide in. As the daughter
of the vicar, she had always had difficulties getting anyone to see
her as a real person and longed for someone who she could laugh and
have fun with.

She
sighed and glanced at the rolling hills on either side of the cart
track. It really was a pleasure to ride in the curricle. It bounced
and swayed around the country lanes but Harper never took the
horses above a steady walk. It was strangely comforting to simply
rumble along without a care in the world.

“
Are you alright?” He heard her sigh and glanced over at her,
only to find himself grinning back at her when she smiled at
him.

“
I am absolutely fine. I cannot remember the last time I took
a moment to simply enjoy the day.”

Over in
the distance, a church spiral protruded from the cluster of
rooftops that formed Moldton. He calculated that they would have
twenty minutes together before they were in the churchyard. Of
course they would have the journey home later, but their time
together didn’t seem to be long enough and he began to wonder if
they could take a slight detour.

When he realised what he was doing he bit back a curse and
shook his head in disbelief. Not for the first time he wondered
just what the hell the country air had done to him. He was a
soldier; a fighter, someone who lived and worked in the shadows,
yet all it seemed to take was one sight of this pretty lady and his
mind turned to mush
.

“
I think that I should tell you that I haven’t been entirely
honest with you.” He had no idea where that had come from. He slid
a sideways glance at her to gauge her reaction and found her
studying him.

“
The records you want are about you,” she said
gently.

“
I want you to promise me that you will keep this between us.
My brothers know, of course, but I have recently had cause to
believe that my parents were not the people who raised
me.”

“
I wasn’t part of the village when you were here as a young
boy, so I never actually met your parents, you understand. When you
mentioned that you wanted a birth record from one and thirty years
ago, I wondered if it was yours but didn’t want to pry into
something personal.” The smile she gave him had no hint of censure
in it. If she was honest, she was glad that he felt able to confide
in her.

“
Well, I have been born in Hambley Wood, I know that much,”
Harper frowned off into the distance. His voice lowered. “Well, I
think I was.”

Arrabella couldn’t help but feel sympathetic to his plight
when she read the confusion on his face. Of all of the things she
felt she had missed out on in life, she had at least always lived
with the security of knowing who her parents were and where she
came from. She couldn’t understand what he might be going through
and resolved right there and then to do whatever she could to help
him.

“
I checked the boxes in the attics at the vicarage last night
but the registers weren’t there, so they must be in the old crypt
at Moldton. Nobody ever goes in the crypt, so it is going to be a
little dusty I am afraid.”

Harper
nodded, and lifted a hand to wave at his brother, Joseph, who
appeared at the gate to one of the fields a little further ahead.
He carefully drew the curricle to a stop and greeted his youngest
sibling.

“
Have you met Miss Farthing?”

“
Yes, I have,” Joseph replied and smiled at Arrabella
carefully. “Good morning, Arrabella. I take it that my brother
isn’t being too demanding of your time?”

Arrabella smiled kindly at him. “I am quite enjoying myself
actually,” she replied and flashed a contented smile at Harper that
made him blink at her in shock.

“
Well, if he starts to become a nuisance just come and tell
me. He isn’t too big to be put in his place.”

To their
consternation, before either of them could say anything else,
Joseph turned around and disappeared. Within minutes, the dull thud
of hooves drew their attention and they watched him ride over the
hill and disappear from sight.

“
I hope I haven’t done anything to offend him,” Arrabella
murmured as she stared at the space where Joseph had
stood.

“
I don’t know what has come over him. He isn’t usually rude
like that,” he turned toward Arrabella with an apologetic frown.
“Of course, it has been some time since I have been home, but I
cannot conceive that he would have changed that much.” He wondered
where Joseph was heading off to because his farm was in the
opposite direction. “I am sorry about him. He must be in a bad mood
this morning.”

“
I take it that you got the opportunity to meet up with him
last night?” Arrabella asked.

“
I did,” Harper replied and gave her a quick smile that was
somewhat marred by his dark frown. “But he wasn’t rude and churlish
like that.”

They
completed the rest of the journey in contented, if thoughtful,
silence. In the churchyard, Harper drew the curricle to a stop and
immediately jumped down. Given that she didn’t ride in curricles
very often, she had no idea what she should do. It was an awfully
long way off the ground; should she jump? Her indecision must have
shown on her face because he circled the curricle and moved to
stand beside her. The sight of him beside the curricle with his
hands held out so that he could help her down surprised her. She
wasn’t sure whether to accept his hand and climb down the narrow
steps in a ladylike fashion, or launch herself at him and hope he
was strong enough to bear her weight. Before she could do either,
he placed his hands on her waist and lifted her clean off the
conveyance.

She
barely noticed when her feet touched the floor. She was too busy
thinking about how she had to tip her head right back in order to
look up at him. He was far too close than was usual, or polite, but
she didn’t feel threatened in the least. It felt right; protective
almost. She could feel the warm caress of his breath brush gently
across her face and froze when she realised that she had started to
lean toward him.

After
several moments of silence, Harper stepped back and held a
gentlemanly arm out to her. Arrabella studied it for a moment. Now
that she came to think about it, she had never had anyone treat her
with such consideration before. It was a novelty and made her feel
rather special. By the time they reached the church door, she
struggled to keep the smile off her face.

“
Do you have the keys?” The husky rumble of his voice broke
into her thoughts but she had no idea what he had just
said.

“
Pardon?”

“
Do you have the keys?” Harper fought a smile. He knew now
that he had the same effect on her as she had on him. It was a
relief in some ways, because he wasn’t going to have to do anything
drastic to get her to notice him. He quite liked the way she had
started to gaze adoringly up at him. The urge to tease her a little
was strong but he didn’t want her to retreat behind the awkwardness
she had clearly felt when he had arrived at the vicarage yesterday
and so he smiled back at her instead.

Arrabella handed him the keys and stood back to allow him to
open the door. She shivered as she walked into the frigid air
within the stone church and drew her shawl tighter around her
shoulders as the cold began to bite through her thin walking dress.
It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest that they stay outside
in the sunshine, but then wouldn’t find them the parish records
they were after. Determination to help him forced her to lead the
way through the pews to the ante room.