Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

D espite Theo’s plans to confront Lady Holly, he let himself be distracted by Ash, and glass too many of port. The long day on the road, plus a lingering chill in his bones, conspired to send him to bed early, where he slept long and hard.

The footman stirring up the coals in the morning woke him, as requested. Theo dressed, tying his cravat in an informal knot, then went down to find some breakfast. The earl and his wife were in the breakfast room, finishing up their meal, and Theo joined them. He filled his plate from the chafing dishes on the side table, happy to see poached eggs and bangers, as well as an assortment of scones and the delicacy of fresh oranges.

“Off to Knavesmire, is it?” Lord Hartley asked as Theo settled himself at the table.

“Indeed. And, if all goes well, bound for Dovington Hall this afternoon.”

“Tea?” Lady Hartley offered, pouring out a cup when Theo nodded. “I find this idea of bringing a tree inside a bit perplexing, I must say. What if there are…creatures within it?”

“Chopping it down dislodges any stray squirrels and the like,” Theo reassured her.

“But what about spiders and such?” she asked, with a delicate shudder. “One hardly needs to introduce more insects into the home, after all. And think of the mess! Dirt and sap and needles everywhere.”

“It’s not that bad,” Theo said. “Some evergreen needles drop, certainly, but the servants can sweep them up easily enough. As for the rest, I can tell you such things haven’t presented a problem in the two years we’ve had a Christmas tree at Dovington.”

“It still seems a very strange custom to me,” Lady Hartley said, with a sniff. “No doubt it will fall out of fashion soon enough.”

“Even if the queen and Prince Albert continue the tradition?” her husband asked. “I understand such things are usual in Prussia.”

“Well.” She took a sip of her tea, then set her cup down resolutely. “Some places aren’t as civilized as England, are they?”

Theo had no reply to that, and instead applied himself to his breakfast. To his surprise, Ash appeared at half past the hour, his brown hair standing up and his eyes still heavy with sleep.

“Good,” he said, sitting down heavily and accepting the cup of tea his mother slid across the table without asking. “I thought I might have missed you.”

“You’re coming to Knavesmire then, I take it?” Theo smiled at his friend. “I’m impressed you got out of bed for the occasion.”

“Nonsense.” Ash slurped down half his cup of tea, then smiled blearily at Theo. “I can’t let you cut down the blasted tree all by yourself, can I?”

“Mind you manners,” his mother said sharply. “We hardly need such language at the breakfast table.”

Ash rolled his eyes, but reined himself in for the remainder of the meal.

A scant hour later, they were riding through the crisp morning air, accompanied by two brawny footmen and headed for Knavesmire Wood.

“I’m sorry to have missed your sisters this morning,” Theo said. “Are they usually late risers?”

“Rose is, certainly, though Holly usually joins my parents for breakfast. Perhaps she slept poorly last night.”

More likely she was avoiding Theo, and his mouth twisted at the thought.

“Is your sister—Lady Holly, I mean—generally of good moral habits?”

Ash turned a quizzical look on him. “Good grief, Thorn. Why are you asking? You’re not actually thinking of courting my sister, I hope?”

Blast it, that hadn’t gone the way Theo had hoped. And yet…perhaps such a ruse would provide the cover he needed to ask Ash a few pointed questions about his sister. Theo cleared his throat, and resolved to dive in.

“If I were,” he said, “it stands to reason that I’d like to know the lady’s character. To your knowledge, is Lady Holly possessed of any, er, untoward behaviors?”

“I can’t believe you’re actually asking me such things.” Ash shook his head and then blew a plume of frosty breath into the air. It hung a moment, whitely illuminated by the morning sun, before dissipating.

“Humor me,” Theo said dryly.

His friend, brow furrowed, rode silently for a few minutes, and Theo was wise enough not to press. Or to imply that perhaps Lady Holly was overfond of the gaming tables.

Finally, Ash shook himself and looked over at Theo.

“My sister is, I believe, quite proper in all ways,” he said. “Though she might be unduly stubborn, as I believe I’ve mentioned, she is generally kind and well-meaning.”

“So, she has no propensity toward…” Theo broke off, searching for the words.

“Good gad, Thorn, what are implying? That my sister is a lightskirt?”

“Not at all,” Theo hurried to say. “I’m not impugning the lady’s reputation in the least. I was simply wondering if she had, say, a hidden fondness for strong drink or the like. I’ve heard that—on very rare occasions, mind you—young ladies can sometimes fall into unfortunate behaviors.”

Even as he said the words, he winced. They were coming out all wrong. Yet he couldn’t come straight out and accuse Lady Holly of being an obsessive gambler—especially if he had no idea if it were true. The circumstances of their last meeting were suspicious, and yet, he himself had been in that same unsavory neighborhood, for reasons of his own.

“You are serious about courting her, then?” Ash shook his head.

“I…might be?”

“Well then, never fear—Mama keeps both my sisters on a short string. I can assure you that Holly wouldn’t have any opportunity to get up to mischief, even if she were inclined to. Which, I must say, she’s not. That’s far more Rose’s line. You may court my sister without undue worry, Thorn. Much as it pains me to say so.”

“Thank you.” There was no other response Theo could make. He could hardly argue that Ash was wrong.

“I suppose you’ll be stopping by Hartley House again after the holidays,” Ash said.

“I will?” Theo felt as though he was suddenly riding a horse that had gone wild, careening ahead with the bit in its teeth while he desperately tried to rein it in.

“To do your billing and cooing, I presume. And, of course, to speak with my father.”

Theo swallowed. “I’m not ready to proceed quite so quickly.”

“So now my sister’s not good enough for you?” Ash scowled at him. “Getting a bit high in the instep, aren’t we Lord Thornton?”

Theo inhaled deeply of the crisp morning air, and turned to his friend. This had to stop.

“For goodness’ sake, Ash, stop being such a bear. If this is what you’re like in the mornings, remind me never to call on you until well after noon. I was merely asking a few preliminary questions. That is all.”

Ash let out a peevish snort but, thankfully, didn’t press Theo any more on the matter. They rode in silence for a time, until the crossing to Knavesmire Wood came in sight. There, waiting as promised, was the cartman who’d helped transport the last two trees up to Dovington Hall.

Their party turned into the wood, Theo leading the way and the cartman bringing up the rear. It was only a short distance along the road to reach the stand of fir trees where Theo had gained permission to harvest one evergreen per season.

He pulled his mount to a halt and nodded at the dark green cluster of trees. “That one in front is a likely specimen. Ash, care to help me decide?”

His friend sighed, but swung off his mount and joined Theo in pushing through the brown stalks of bracken fern.

The first tree, as it turned out, was full in the front but thin on the sides and back. Theo rejected it, and two more, before deciding on his prize. Ash’s stalwart footman left their mounts with the cartman and set to work sawing down the evergreen.

“Seems a bit sacrificial, don’t you think?” Ash asked.

“No worse than harvesting a Yule log, or the mountains of greenery I saw the servants bringing in to Hartley House. And once the season’s over, it will make any number of fine fires to help heat Dovington Hall.”

“And what do you put on it, again?”

“Bags of sweets—in fact, Viola asked me to bring a few more up from London. Garlands of ribbons, toys, and this year, balls made of mercury glass. And candles, of course, in clip-on tin holders.”

“It sounds festive, certainly. And flammable.”

“That’s why we keep an extra bucket of water handy.” Theo grinned at his friend, then glanced at the footmen, who had removed their coats, their faces shiny with exertion. “Shall we spell your men?”

“It’s a damnably early hour for exertion,” Ash said. Nonetheless, he rolled up his shirtsleeves and went to take one end of the saw.

The smell of fresh sap freshened the air as Theo and Ash bent to their work. They managed to finish cutting a little over halfway before Theo swiped at his forehead and suggested the footmen resume.

“I thought your men sharpened the saw,” he said to Ash, half in jest.

“If you hadn’t picked such a ridiculously large tree, we’d be done by now.” Ash turned his back on the tree and shook his head. “That behemoth seems far too big for Dovington. In fact, I doubt it would even fit in Hartley House’s great hall?—"

“Look out!” one of the footmen yelled.

Theo watched in horror as the huge tree began to topple, slowly but inexorably, right where Ash was standing. Without even thinking, Theo dashed forward and pushed his friend out of the way. There was a crack that sounded as loud as a rifle, and then the ground seemed to shake as the tree thudded down.

It bounced to the side, the trunk landing on Theo’s ankle with a white-hot pain, the branches smothering him as the needles stabbed through his shirt and trousers.

“Theo!” Ash cried. “Get that tree off him, men. Now.”

The footmen grunted and thrashed, and a moment later they levered the evergreen off Theo.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice coming out more weakly than he’d intended.

“Good gad,” Ash said, bending over him. “The tree you killed nearly murdered you in turn. We should burn it where it lies. Jones”—he gestured to one of the footmen—“ ride to the village and fetch the doctor. Tell him to come to Hartley House.”

“That’s not necessary,” Theo said. “I’m a bit dazed, is all.”

“Can you stand?”

“Certainly.” Clenching his jaw, Theo sat, then attempted to get to his feet.

The instant he put weight on his right foot, agony washed over him in a wave, and he collapsed back into the crushed foliage.

“Thorn, face facts,” Ash said. “You’re hurt. I refuse to repay you for saving my life by letting you act like a fool. We can transport you back to Hartley in the cart.”

“But what about the tree?” Theo glanced at the fallen giant.

“The devil take the tree. It can rot there, for all I care. Let’s get you to the cart.”

With Ash on one side and the remaining footman on the other, Theo managed to get to the waiting cart. He was shaking and sweaty by the time they boosted him into the bed. Ash made a makeshift splint for Theo’s ankle out of a sturdy piece of stick, lashing it onto Theo’s leg with torn strips from the bottom of his shirt.

“Come back for the tree,” Theo tried to tell the cartman as the vehicle lurched into motion, though he wasn’t sure the fellow heard him.

Then it was flashes of pain and the sky overhead, pale blue blurring to white.