Chapter Fourteen

In spite of their unorthodox method of transportation, Pip and Allegra were standing on the steps of Bridgeford House before ten o’clock that morning.

Simpkins had borrowed the wagon and was able to deliver them to the blacksmith and the repaired carriage quite promptly. So Pip’s dire predictions of being the laughingstock of his Hunt Club should any of them catch him riding in the back of a hay-wagon did not, fortunately, come to pass.

Although that had not stopped him from complaining to Allegra and haranguing poor Simpkins about it for most of the journey home.

In some ways, she was glad for the distraction. It kept her from thinking about his hands, his lips, his warmth...

“And, my Lord, if it wasn’t for the blacksmith’s wife having a baby, and him having to go for the doctor, I could probably have got all this done hours ago,” said Simpkins apologetically, repeating the tale one more time.

She felt sure that the blacksmith’s new offspring could not have received as enthusiastic a welcome as did she and Pip when their carriage arrived at Bridgeford House.

The doors were flung open and what seemed to be dozens of people crowded down the steps to greet them, alternately hugging and kissing them, and shaking their hands, until Grace made a discovery.

“Uncle Pip, I am so happy and relieved you’re home, but you look awful. And I hate to mention it, but you smell even worse.”

At these words, Allegra recalled herself to her duties. “Oh my goodness, Grace_you’re quite right. Would you be so kind as to send for Dr. Hatch? I shan’t rest until he’s looked at your Uncle’s wound. Penelope, please direct Cook to prepare a substantial breakfast to be served within the hour. Other than an apple, Cousin Pip and I have not eaten since yesterday at Wandle. Sir Vivian, could I prevail upon you and Mr. Redfearn to escort my Lord, who will doubtless protest, to his room because he is really still quite weak? And Runcorn, if you would be kind enough to inform any and all callers that we are not receiving today...”

At this flurry of commands the parties scattered, Lord Allenbridge accepting the wisdom of Allegra’s instructions, and the lady herself more than ready to soak in the hottest tub imaginable and wash away the dirt and mud of the past twenty-four hours.

Whether she could wash away the memories was another matter.

It was rather more than an hour later when everyone finally gathered in the small parlor of Bridgeford House, watching a well-scrubbed, properly bandaged Lord Allenbridge and a damp but clean Lady Falworth feast on quite copious amounts of food.

“You probably realise by now how worried we all were,” began Grace, as Allegra reached for her third cup of tea. “We arrived home just before dark, and expected you within the hour...”

“We couldn’t exactly let you know what was happening,” said Pip, between mouthfuls of hot buttered scone.

“Well, Angus and Vivian stayed quite late, waiting with us. We wanted to call out the Bow Street Runners or send a messenger to Wandle, or something...anything...but they talked us out of it,” said Penelope, somewhat reproachfully.

Pip nodded his gratitude to the two young men.

“I can appreciate your frustration, Penelope, but nothing would have served the purpose,” said Allegra. Regretfully, she gave up on her fourth scone.

Pip folded his napkin carefully. “However, we must now face the consequences of this unfortunate episode.”

Grace and Penelope looked concerned, Angus and Vivian looked uncomfortable, and Allegra wondered what the devil he was talking about.

“I suppose the first question should be, has anyone outside Bridgeford House found out about our predicament last night?” Pip asked the question quietly.

After a short silence, Angus responded. “Unfortunately, my Lord, the answer to that is ‘yes’. Naturally we were all very concerned about you and Lady Falworth, in fact some of us...” A glare was sent across the room to the girls, “...would have imagined the direst things. Anyway, it was nearly impossible for me to rest last night, so I returned here very early this morning to see if there had been any new developments.”

Angus swallowed awkwardly. “As I was arriving, a carriage passed, and I was accosted by that Rajah fellow. He made some passing comments about our trip to Wandle and how he’d decided to return to town early, and I was just about to leave him and come in when Sir Vivian arrived.”

Sir Vivian had the grace to look extremely embarrassed.

“Well, how was I to know you were in conversation with some chap in a closed carriage at five o’clock in the morning? Anyway, what I did was call out to Angus, something like...er... ‘any news?’ or something?”

“What you actually said was ‘is there any news of Pip and Lady Falworth’,” quoted Angus dryly. “At which point, the Rajah’s ears nearly jumped off his head. I managed to pass it off. “

Angus wiped a hand over his face as he recalled his lame excuses. “But I knew the fat was in the fire, so to speak. So unfortunately, my Lord...the answer is the Rajah Gupil knows that you and Lady Falworth didn’t come home last night.”

“That tears it.” Pip sank back in his chair.

Allegra, who by now had realised the drift of this conversation, entered the fray.

“That does nothing of the sort. If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, then I beg leave to tell you that you may stop thinking it immediately. I have not been compromised in any way.”

Something caught in her throat as the uttered these not-quite-true words, and she failed to meet Pip’s eyes. Resolutely squaring her shoulders, she continued.

“I do not expect any offer of marriage. Why the whole idea is ridiculous!” She concluded with an emphatic nod of the head.

“But...Cousin...” said Grace, hesitantly.

“But nothing, my dear. You can see that your Uncle sustained a quite nasty head wound last night, and that alone would have rendered him incapable of compromising me should he have been so inclined, which of course he wasn’t, and anyway I wouldn’t...I mean certainly not in a barn...well, it only goes to show. Besides, I’m a widow...and...”

Allegra’s cheeks flushed fiery red, and her well-intentioned monologue trailed off as she realised from the faces before her that she was alone in her ill-expressed opinions.

“Of course we all know that nothing improper happened between you and Uncle Pip...” said Penelope soothingly. “After all, it’s Uncle Pip, and it would be unthinkable.”

Pip’s eyebrows quirked, and he rested a heated gaze on Allegra.

She shivered.

“But you must realise, Cousin, that the world will immediately believe the worst of people, and there are bound to be lots of jealous fools out there who are just waiting for a tidbit like this. Miss Millington always used to warn us of situations where the ‘worst interpretation could be placed upon the facts’ because it invariably would be,” added Grace wisely.

Allegra raised troubled eyes to Pip. “Is this indeed the case, my Lord? For if the situation is as grave as you would have me believe then it would seem in the best interests of all if I were to make arrangements to leave immediately.”

Protests arose from all quarters as Allegra said this, the twins being near tears as they rushed to her side.

Finally, Pip put a stop to the noise. “Enough everyone, how can we think with all this racket? I think it best for me to speak to Cousin Allegra. Privately, if you please?”

He managed to usher them out of the room and close the door firmly behind them before Allegra had a chance to realise that he’d done it.

Drawing a breath Allegra prepared to continue her discussion but was forestalled by Pip’s raised hand.

“It is time for me to have my say, if you will allow it, Ally. There are some things I must tell you before you go any further in your plans. If, after I have concluded, you decide that leaving is still your best course of action, then I will honour it.”

Curious, she indicated her assent and seated herself more comfortably in her chair.

“Some years ago I was introduced to La Comtesse Ariel DeFontaine.”

Allegra froze at this pronouncement, although she could have sworn her heart leapt about three feet out of her bodice.

“I don’t suppose you’ve heard of her, but she took the town by storm that season, with her jet-black hair and eyes the color of a stormy sky. Definitely an Incomparable, she was much admired and sought after, as you may well imagine. She was clever enough to encourage all the gentlemen and yet seem to favor none_several were quite overcome by her charms.”

Allegra discovered that her customarily delicate fingers had tensed into claws and were digging into the palms of her hands. She tried to relax. I hate this woman.

“The Comtesse appeared to have all the virtues of a member of the aristocracy, dispossessed of course by all the troubles in her homeland. She refused several perfectly acceptable offers for her hand, and it was generally held that she was waiting to fall in love before giving herself in marriage. I was quite...I suppose infatuated would be the word...and when she started favouring me before all others I was encouraged to hope that she would accept me.”

Pip paced as he spoke, his movements as abrupt as his words. “There did not seem to be any kind of a guardian of whom I could request permission to pay my addresses, only a distantly related chaperone. So one night, we managed to elude such chaperonage and travel home from a dinner party together, alone.”

Pip turned to face the window, as if unwilling to betray his emotions while his story unfolded. “It was during that ride that I asked her to do me the honor of becoming my wife.”

He swallowed, and Allegra felt her breathing stop. Oh God.

“I shall never forget her laughter. I thought it was happiness, but it turned out to be triumph. The carriage turned in to a deserted house and, I can only say that I was overcome by passion at the time and not thinking clearly. I accompanied her inside.”

Allegra knew she had to breathe or die and miss the end of the tale. She gulped some air quickly.

“There, after some time spent in...er...in the pursuit of our relationship, shall we say...I heard a door slam and a man entered. Ariel jumped up and into his arms_straight from mine, I might add_and told him that she was to be Lady Allenbridge. Then she turned and introduced me to_her words exactly_my lover Marchand. I was stunned.”

“Stunned?” said Allegra breaking her silence. “I would have thought devastated would have been a better description.”

Pip straightened up his shoulders and took a deep breath, as if in the telling the embarrassment of the situation had lightened. “Yes, I was devastated. Apparently, Ariel and this man had planned everything, right down to picking me as their target if you will. They intended to carry on their affair under the umbrella of respectability that marriage to me would give them and of course my money didn’t hurt. We were now alone, isolated, at night, and Ariel was completely compromised. There was no way out for me. I was apparently trapped, and they felt secure enough that they allowed me to see the truth.”

His mouth puckered as if tasting something unpleasant.

“Allowed me to see the truth. That’s an understatement. They wanted to shout the truth at me. My God, they must have hated me and all that I stood for. They made no secret of their desire for each other, and they must have been convinced I was trapped, because they even asked me if I wanted to...”

Suddenly Pip recalled himself and straightened, staring out the window.

Allegra’s eyes narrowed. “Clearly you managed to extricate yourself, my Lord?” Her words were encouraging.

“Yes,” he snorted. “Their one mistake had been to underestimate my determination. I had a pretty good idea of where we might be, and so at the earliest moment I left the house and ran like a hound for what felt like hours. I still don’t know to this day how I did it. Fortunately, I ended up at a good friend’s country residence and was able to spend the rest of the night there. We did not arrive back in town together to announce our engagement, and Ariel was not seen again for several weeks.”

He sighed as he turned to Allegra.

Now she knew. Knew that he’d once been a young and foolish idiot, and his dangerous mistake had made him a man determined to avoid such a situation in the future.

Would she despise him? Or worse, pity him?

What he saw melted some of the ice that had formed around his heart. His eyes warmed as they watched her lips tremble with outrage on his behalf, and he crossed the room to sit beside her and cover her cold hands with his warm ones.

Just the touch of her skin sent his senses soaring and brought his thoughts firmly back to the woman beside him and all the things he wanted to do with her and share with her.

They still had one hurdle to clear, however.

“But, and here’s where it becomes our problem, there were whispers. I don’t think Ariel started them, because she knew that I was aware of her scheme and could make a lot of trouble for her if I wanted to, at the risk of my own reputation. It was really in both our interests that we keep silent on the whole matter. However, our feelings for each other had not been discreet, and I heard that bets had been laid at Whites on whether I would come up to scratch. So when she suddenly dropped out of sight, I was pestered for some time by the curious and the rude...of whom there are many.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I never saw Ariel again. In fact, I heard later that she had gone to the Viennese Court and married some German diplomat.”

Pip faced Allegra and met her eyes squarely.

“There are those in this town that have long memories, and some are only too ready to believe the worst of persons such as myself. Especially those who feel I have slighted them in one way or another. They will resurrect those stories if last night’s episode gets around, as I’m sure it will if people like Blanche Fawcett and her ilk get hold of it. I will then be in the unenviable position of developing a reputation for luring women into the country and doing heaven knows what to them and then arranging for them to disappear. I would prefer not to have that reputation.”

Allegra squeezed his hand. “But surely those who know you...”

“Those who know me well are few and far between, you know that. I have purposely distanced myself from others because of my distaste for the society of most of my ‘peers’_I much prefer to select my friends carefully. However, that policy is now in the process of causing me great potential harm, and only you, Allegra, are in a position to prevent that from happening.”

Pip drew a breath, realizing that for some unknown reason, his hands were trembling. But he had no hesitation in speaking his next words.

“So, without further ado, I must formally request the honour of your hand in marriage.”