Chapter Eleven

“Thank you, Mary,” Maddy said as her lady’s maid for her visit stepped back from the mirror with a flourish. “That looks lovely.” Maddy examined the intricate hairstyle the woman had crafted for her out of her blonde locks, and then turned with a smile. “That will be all for now. Thank you.”

With a small curtsy, Mary exited the room, leaving Maddy to find her favorite wrap and descend the stairs. Breakfast that morning had been a quiet affair, though thankfully Lady Drake was nowhere to be found, and Maddy and Rose had agreed to meet shortly to take a turn about the lush gardens they viewed from outside the window while they leisurely sipped their tea and ate their toast.

Maddy stepped into the front hall and smiled at her friend, who was fussing with her own hair absently, twirling a red lock around one finger. “Shall we go for a walk?” Maddy asked, and the two friends linked armed and strolled outside. “Absolutely beautiful day,” Maddy murmured, turning her face to the weak sun peaking through the clouds, lighting up the manicured gardens in front of them.

“God, yes,” Rose agreed, inhaling deeply and smiling.

Rotheram House was a truly magnificent estate – the house was naturally large and handsomely furnished and lavishly cared for, the lawns were pristine and the gardens tantalizing, and the woods and fields that surrounded estate were just begging for a ride atop a horse, Maddy thought as she and Rose ambled down the stone steps into a slightly sunken garden.

Without conscious thought, Maddy found herself scanning the area around them, hoping to catch sight of Jamie – Lord Carrington – as she had not seen him since the night before. Rose noted her gaze and laughed softly.

“I’ve not seen him yet this morning, either,” she said and Maddy blushed slightly.

“Whatever do you mean?” She said coyly and Rose laughed outright.

“I know you’re searching for him.”

“I am most certainly not!”

“Ooooh?”  Rose teased, drawing out the sound, making Maddy laugh at her tone.

“I’m sure he and the other gentlemen are on horseback or have gone shooting for the day, and gentlemen are wont to do. I was just making sure we weren’t going to run into that dreadful Lady Drake.”

As if on cue, the two women turned at the sound of steady hoof beats echoing against the house, and moments later, Lady Drake emerged from the stable atop a beautiful chestnut horse. She looked poised and elegant in her riding suit, her carriage perfectly straight and her hair tucked neatly into a riding hat. Lady Drake glanced over her shoulder with a warm, friendly smile, and Maddy’s stomach dropped to her toes.

Because right behind Lady Drake was Jamie, atop his own enormous black stallion, smiling right back at her.

The two conversed briefly, and then took off at a brisk trot down the lane, before picking up speed as they reached the rolling field beyond, both of them with smiles on their faces, and speaking to each other, though Maddy and Rose were too far away to hear them.

“I’m sure he’s just being polite by taking her riding,” Rose said, though her tone betrayed her disbelief at that. “He’s ever so polite.”

“She did say she was going riding with him last evening when we spoke,” Maddy said evenly. “At least in this she told the truth.”

“Would you like to return to the house?” Rose asked as the two riders disappeared over a low rise and winked out of sight.

“No, I’m fine, thank you,” Maddy said, lifting her chin and striding forward again, and then her mouth widened into a smile as Fitz bounded down the steps to greet them, looking handsome in his breeches and Hessian boots, his hair still damp from a recent bath.

“Well met!” Fitz said jovially. “I was just going to take a walk myself, and I’d like nothing more than to escort both of you beauties as I do so. Shall we walk?” He asked, crooking both of his elbows so that the two ladies may rest their hands on his arms. “What do you think of Rotherham?” He asked easily as they went up the stone steps on the opposite side of the garden and turned towards the rose garden. “Is it as you remember, Maddy?”

“It is truly magnificent,” Maddy said. “Very much as I remember it from our visits here, though it’s been years since I was last here. It appears that Lord Carrington has taken fastidious care of it.”

“Indeed he has,” Fitz agreed as they ambled forward at an unhurried pace. “According to the servants, he is much loved by his staff and those dependent on his estate as well. I know his father often had difficulty managing money, but Jamie has done an admirable job turning things around. Frightfully smart bloke, he is.”
Maddy nodded in agreement. “It is truly beautiful.”

“I’m glad he returned from the war intact. It would be a shame to see an estate like this entailed away to a distant cousin,” Fitz continued, and Maddy nodded.

“I’m glad he has returned quite safe as well,” she murmured, and Rose arched an eyebrow at her but said nothing.

“I’m quite looking forward to our shooting party in a few days, when a few more gentlemen from town are due to arrive to join us. More eligible men for you ladies to examine with care,” Fitz said with a joking lilt, and Rose reddened slightly. “Come, lovely Rose, you can’t tell me you aren’t in the market for a rich, gentried husband to make you his wife?”

“I… of course. But I hope to marry for love, not connections.” Her voice was wooden, and though Fitz appeared not to notice, Maddy did. Though she said nothing, she wondered at Rose’s statement. Rose had never before spoken of love, only of wanting to live comfortably – well, more than comfortably, given her penchant for the latest fashions.

“We all wish for that, but we can’t always have what we want. Isn’t that true, sister?” Fitz said sympathetically.

“It is true,” Maddy agreed. “Perhaps a gentleman will sweep Rose off her feet and take her away from us forever, the two of them living on some grand estate in the south with a gaggle of children,” she added with a teasing smile.

“I would not wish to be away from both – both of you,” Rose said quietly, and Fitz chucked her under the chin teasingly.

“That’s true. We can’t let you get taken away too far. Whoever would keep us in line, and keep us in stitches with her happy words?”

“I… have happy words?” Rose asked hesitantly, but with a hopeful smile.

“Rose, everything you say makes me smile,” Fitz said easily, and Rose ducked her head slightly.

“I agree,” Maddy added. “We shan’t let you disappear too far from us.”

“Speaking of too far,” Fitz said. “The sun has gone in… shall we return to the house for a cup of tea and a game of cards?”

Maddy watched Rose for a long moment, then demurred. “You too go in. Do. I’d like to walk a bit longer, and write in my journal before the day turns too gloomy. Please, go. Have a lovely time.”

Fitz waited for Rose to decide, and when she nodded slightly, he tucked Rose’s hand into the crook of his arm and they turned back towards the house. “We shall see you later,” he said and Maddy gave them both a small wave as they walked slowly back towards the house, their heads bent in quiet conversation.

Maddy bit her lip slightly, sinking down onto a nearby bench and taking her journal out of her reticule. In the last few months, Rose had become increasingly uncomfortable around Fitz, and Maddy wasn’t entirely sure why – they had always been great friends. She did so hope that Fitz hadn’t said something untoward, or offended Rose in some way, though Rose was surely the most easygoing, happy creature she knew – not easily offended at all.

Unless…

No, it was impossible.

If Rose were in any way interested in Fitz, Maddy would surely know it.

Rose would have mentioned it. She couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.

If the occasion arose, she promised herself to ask Rose about her odd demeanor towards her brother to make sure nothing was amiss.

In the meantime, she wiggled her toes in her slippers and settled onto the bench, trying to form her words for her journal. Much as she wanted to write about the beauty all around her, she could only think of the strapping gentleman currently galloped across the fields, the snotty Lady Drake right on his heels.

It made enjoying the lovely scenery incredibly difficult.

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