Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The morning of the wedding

Olivia kept to her usual pattern on her wedding morning and began by taking Marguerite to the small park adjoining the town house. It was only when the Lady Leighton arrived to oversee final preparations that her absence was noted.

Marcus and Colin arrived while the house staff searched every corner of the house trying to find her. He worked out that his bride was missing and had been for more than two hours.

"She should have been backages ago," said Ellen. "I know she's felt tired in recent days, so I let her sleep. I just went to wake her, and she isn't there.

"She's gone? Ellen, listen this is important. Do you think she has been missing since early morning?" asked Marcus.

"Since the time of her early morning walk in the park. She's disappeared and so has Marguerite," replied Ellen.

Lady Leighton slumped down in a chair. "Send a search party out to the park. Jocelyn, can you search her room. We have to find her and every second counts."

Lord Riversmead sat opposite, grave concern etched across his face.

"Mrs. Jennings, please arrange for a message to be sent to Tewkesbury Crescent to alert the party there to a delay," Marcus commanded.

"Where is she? This is so unlike her." said Jocelyn.

"She can't just have vanished into thin air." said Marcus.

They heard voices in the hall and an ashen faced Mrs. Jennings came in carrying Marguerite in her arms. "Look who they found, in the park, wandering round on her own."

"Somebody has snatched her from the park," said Marcus with certainty.

A quiet knock on the door, and a footman handed a letter to Lord Riversmead, who tore open the seal and read the contents, before handing it to Lady Leighton.

"This says that Olivia is sorry, but she has called off the wedding, because she cannot go through with marrying Marcus, when her heart belongs to Sir Jonathan Ellington," read Lady Leighton.

Looking at Marcus she continued, without taking a breath. "Marcus, I am going to tell you now that knowing my friend, I do not believe a word of this utter tripe, this gobbledygook."

Jocelyn seized the parchment, scanning the words. "She didn't write it."

"What do you mean?" asked her uncle.

"Look, this is not how Olivia writes her letters. She always puts a little flick on her O's and a flourish on her F's. She's always been a stickler for her signature being individual. That's one thing.

"Also, when I was little, we spent ages devising a signature for me, so I could write Jocelyn in a unique way. Olivia always uses that signature when she writes my name. It's a special thing between us. This looks nothing like the way in which she writes my name. Even the ‘J' lacks any flourish," she continued.

Jocelyn kept staring at the content of the letter.

"She never calls uncle, ‘the earl', she always calls him Uncle Harold. It's a small thing, but it's significant," she added.

"And finally, she dislikes Sir Jonathan intensely since he wrote that letter to Marcus, where he claimed she still loved him. Even if she called off her engagement with you Marcus, there is no way she would go back to that weasel." Jocelyn took a deep breath and looked around the group.

"This letter," and she held it up in the air, "is absolute poppycock. This, however, written a day ago says what she thinks. It is very private, and I hesitated before looking in her journal, but she may be in danger."

Jocelyn handed the diary to Lady Leighton who began to read, while Jocelyn continued. "She loves you, Marcus. It is clear that she is in love and looking forward to the wedding day."

"I believe I can share this with you," said Lady Leighton, giving the book to Marcus.

He took it and went over to the writing desk to read the words alone.

As her indignation drained away, Jocelyn looked scared. "Someone has taken Olivia. She's been seized on the street, or in the park. She goes there every morning, so it would not be difficult to set a trap."

Marcus returned, cold rage etched on his face. "We have to find her. Time is of the essence. I agree with Jocelyn. Olivia has been kidnapped and the chief suspect has to be Sir Jonathan. He showed his true colors in that letter he wrote to me, claiming that she still loved him."

Lord Leighton stepped forward. "Mrs. Jennings, send one of the footmen, no, better send two of the footmen, to keep watch on Sir Jonathan's house. He is not an intelligent man, so in all likelihood he has taken Olivia there."

Mrs. Jennings nodded and rushed away.

"Marianne, my love, you and Lord Riversmead must call the authorities. The constabulary need to begin questioning and investigating this abduction. Someone must have seen something."

He turned to Marcus and Colin. "I suggest you get your weapons in case we need them, and the three of us go to Sir Jonathan's house.

"What about Lady Cressida?" asked Jocelyn. "Could Olivia be there?"

"I suspect not," continued Lord Leighton. "She is most probably the brains behind this scheme, but she would be careful to distance herself from an abduction. Lady Cressida is far too clever to risk being caught by the authorities."

"I'd like to see her thrown into Bridewell Prison, with the keys thrown into the River Thames. She has purposefully maligned Olivia and worked to ruin her reputation. She is like an evil puppeteer, pulling the strings in secret, confident that no one will ever prove her involvement," said Jocelyn.

"You're right, my dear," said Lord Riversmead. "But for now we need to concentrate on finding Olivia. I agree that it is most likely she is held by Sir Jonathan at Lancaster Crescent." He stood and asked Mrs. Jennings to send his valet downstairs with his outdoor hat, coat and pistol.

"I believe I am the one most likely to gain entry to the house in Lancaster Crescent. I've known Jonathan since he was a lad," said Lord Riversmead. "Never liked him, as he wasn't kind to his dogs, but the fact remains that I can gain entry with the excuse of that letter." He pointed at the letter where Olivia purportedly claimed she loved Sir Jonathan. "That letter gives me the perfect excuse to call and ask if he has my niece staying with him."

He paused. "He won't want to let me in. However, under the circumstances I believe he has little choice. If he refuses me entry, then it looks as though he has something to hide."

He looked towards Lord Leighton. "I'd be glad of your company my boy. I could go alone, but I'd like someone with me."

Lord Leighton nodded in agreement.

"While we talk with Sir Jonathan, my suggestion is that you enter the house via the kitchen back door, Marcus," he continued. "Take two men with you. In fact, if you take Cook with you, I suspect you may even be invited in for lard cake and tea," he added with a smile.

"I believe it might work, by jove," said Marcus. "Come Colin, we have much to do and no time to lose."

***

Everything proceeded like clockwork. At the end of a long day, they gathered together at Swanbourne House, and compared their stories.

Lord Riversmead started with his account. "When we knocked on the door a somewhat surprised Sir Jonathan greeted us. We shared the contents of the letter from Olivia, telling how she had ended her engagement to the Earl of Hatfield as she loved Sir Jonathan.

"He responded by saying he was surprised and had not seen Olivia. He then added with, I might say, suave confidence, that he had offered her marriage recently, but she had turned him down.

"I told him I was perplexed. It is as though she has disappeared from the face of the earth."

Lord Leighton then joined in. "I told him we'd alerted the constabulary as I sensed that Jonathan was starting to show signs of being in a state of panic. I said we were now working on identifying a carriage seen close by the park."

Lord Riversmead continued the story. "We kept him talking and it became clear he had already been drinking heavily. Then we heard voices in the hall and contained him in his study while you searched the house, Marcus."

Marcus looked at the earl with admiration. "You look quite fearsome with a pistol sir. You had him pinned in that chair, with sweat pouring from his body."

"It was a pleasure to hand him over to the law," said Lord Riversmead. "I never expected to be wielding that pistol again."

"Again?" queried Jocelyn.

"That's a story for another day. For now, let's hear Lord Hatfield's story," he replied with a grin.

"You were quite right in assuming the Cook, Mrs. Bolton would let us in. It seems she is a distant relative of Mrs. Maltby, your cook. We were all invited in, though I think there was some surprise at two Lords and two footmen joining her in her kitchen," said Marcus.

"Our job was made easier because Mrs. Bolton told Mrs. Maltby all about the house being at sixes and sevens, with the young lady being kept locked in the guest bedroom on the first floor," added Colin. "And by the way I do believe one of us should offer Mrs. Bolton a position, as her apple pie is the best I've ever eaten."

"Colin, you've wandered off the point, but you are quite right about the pie," said Marcus. He continued with the story.

"We soon discovered that Mrs. Bolton did not like her employer and was preparing to leave, hoping in fact, that there might be employment at the newly re-opened Silverton Hall."

"She thought something was amiss with the young lady, who had arrived unexpectedly that morning and was locked in a bedchamber. Mrs. Bolton had already sent one of the scullery maids to fetch a constable. Who arrived soon after we had located Olivia."

"And took Sir Jonathan away for questioning. He protested his innocence as they loaded him into the prison wagon," said Lord Riversmead with a smile.

"How is Olivia?" asked Marcus, with concern.

"Exhausted. She's resting but insists she will join us after supper." said Lady Leighton. "Today should have been her wedding day, and instead she was abducted by a man she once loved."

"We must begin to plan a second wedding day for her. I'd like to marry her tomorrow, but she deserves a special day."

"And she should be married at Silverton Hall," said Lord Riversmead. "It sounds as though I may have a cook in residence by then. What was the name of this cook and where do I find her?"

"She is with Mrs. Maltby in the kitchen here," said Lady Leighton.

"Excellent. I shall go and thank her for calling the constable and offer her the position of cook at Silverton Hall." He looked around the room, smiling brightly. "I shall also tell her she has a wedding feast to plan."