When Cora finally exited the stage coach at the inn in Danbury, she had never felt more weary. She had planned to walk to Mooreston and speak to her parents directly, but Lady Harriett was already in the inn yard, waiting inside her carriage for her friend.
"You are coming first to Langtry Park," Lady Harriett insisted as soon as Cora had climbed inside. "There you will eat, bathe, and change into a fresh gown before I will allow you to face your widgeon parents."
Cora smiled at her frank speech and settled against the cushions. How she had missed Lady Harriett. "You will hear no arguments from me. Thank you, my friend, for writing to me and being here. I will be forever in your debt."
Lady Harriett leaned forward and grasped Cora's hand. In a rare show of earnestness, she said, "Only promise me that you will not offer to take your sister's place."
As the carriage jostled away from the inn and onto the road leading to Langtry Park, Cora looked out the window, wishing she could make such a promise. "You know I cannot. If Father refuses to listen to reason and Rose refuses to cry off, which is highly probable, I don't know what I shall do. Rose has not yet reached her majority and is not free as I am."
"Only you would consider housekeeping freedom," said Lady Harriett wryly.
Cora breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, thinking how much more joy she had felt at Tanglewood than all her years at home. "When you are happy you are free, no matter what you are doing or where you are. And for the most part, I was happy at Tanglewood."
Cora had yet to tell her friend about all that had occurred between her and Jonathan. Lady Harriett knew nothing of his declarations, his kisses, or his goodness. She had no inclination that Jonathan was a romantic after all, and Cora could no longer enlighten her. Too much had changed since those wonderful, blessed weeks, and Cora did not know if she would ever know such happiness again.
Lady Harriett sat up straight once more, her body swaying back and forth with the movements of the carriage. "Mark my words," she said. "We shall see you restored to Tanglewood as soon as humanly possible. If it takes kidnapping Rose and tying her up in my cellar to keep her from going through with this wedding, so be it."
Cora chuckled at the image of her sister shackled in Langtry Park's cellar. Perhaps Lady Harriett really should pen a novel. "Tell me of Lady Drayson," said Cora in an attempt to redirect the conversation. "Has your long-awaited niece made an appearance yet? I would love nothing more than to hold a newborn babe at this moment."
Lady Harriett's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Not yet, but soon. She is due to arrive in four week's time and I cannot wait. I'm certain she will be perfect."
"She?" said Cora.
"Of course it's a she. A son would never dare to arrive first, not when Mother and I have already made the most lovely silk christening gown with flounces and rosebuds and white satin ribbons. It would look utterly ridiculous on a boy."
"What if it is a boy?" said Cora.
"Do stop," said Lady Harriett. "You sound too much like my brother, and I cannot tolerate such impertinence. It is a girl and that is final. Even Lucy agrees with me."
"Very well," Cora said, grateful to have something amusing to think about. She had spent far too many days in a stuffy coach with disgruntled and downcast passengers. Not five minutes after being in Lady Harriett's company, she felt a lifting of her spirits. Perhaps the plan to kidnap Rose was not so outlandish after all. Anything seemed possible with Lady Harriett.
The carriage finally arrived at Langtry Park, and Cora was swept up to a beautiful blue and gold bedchamber, where a petite and kindly maid awaited with a bath already prepared. Cora needed no convincing to slip out of her things and into the warm liquid, closing her eyes and her mind to everything else. But all too soon thoughts of Jonathan intruded, demanding attention. His green eyes, full lips, and that dimple that had not been nearly so elusive as of late. Would it go back into hiding now? Was he angry with her for leaving behind only a note? Would he come after her? Did he plan to wait and see if she returned? Would she return? Or would this time next month find her married to Sir Gowen?
Cora shivered at the thought and sank deeper into the tub, hating that she did not know the answers to any of these questions. She only knew that she ached for Jonathan. She missed him like she had never missed another person. Before meeting him, she had thought she needed nothing more in her life. But now that she had experienced a taste of what it could be like with him, it suddenly felt as though a part of her had gone missing—the happy part.
Knowing she could not dawdle indefinitely, Cora finally pulled her wrinkled body from the wash tub and allowed the maid to help her dress into one of Lady Harriett's gowns. It was a pretty blue dress with a contrasting white waistline and felt wonderfully clean. As the maid wrapped her hair into a lovely knot at the crown of her head, Cora stared at her reflection, wondering if the sadness would eventually fade from her eyes.
Cora thanked the maid for her help and squared her shoulders, ready to move forward so that she could put this day behind her. She felt as refreshed as she possibly could under the circumstances, and the time had come for her to face her parents. Her heart pounded as she walked slowly down the stairs, feeling as though she were about to stand trial. Would her parents even see her? Probably not. They'd likely cut her off after she'd left, and even if they did acknowledge her, Cora's opinion on the subject would not amount to much. Yet she had to try for the sake of her sister.
The butler was waiting in the great hall and led her to the drawing room, where the entire family was already gathered, partaking of afternoon tea. Cora smiled first at Lady Harriett on the sofa, then at the dowager countess at her side. Lord and Lady Drayson sat across from them, and Cora couldn't help but notice the woman's protruding belly. She looked ready to burst at any moment, yet she radiated joy. Cora tried her best not to be envious.
At last, Cora raised her gaze to the gentleman standing beyond the group and next to the fireplace. The moment their eyes locked, her smile froze and her heart began thumping wildly. Jonathan. Could she possibly be dreaming? Her eyes drank him in as though she had been deprived of him for too long. From his whimsical hair and firm jaw to his strong arms and capable hands, he looked entirely too huggable. She wanted to run to him, throw her arms around his neck, and claim him as hers. But he was not hers and she was not his. Her ruined reputation and Sir Gowen's horrid title had put a division between them.
Yet he was here. He had come.
"You look far lovelier in that frock than I ever have," said Lady Harriett, sipping her tea as though nothing monumental was happening. "Perhaps you ought to keep it."
Cora pried her eyes away from Jonathan and noticed that Lord Drayson was now standing as any gentleman would, obviously waiting for her to cease her gawking of Jonathan and take a seat in one of the chairs. But Cora couldn't move. Her gaze drifted back to Jonathan and his beautiful green eyes. She did not know what to say or do or even how to think. Cora's ears thrummed with every vibration of her pounding heart.
"Do sit down, Cora, so I can tell you how cross I am with you," said Lady Harriett. "I had to find out from Mr. Ludlow himself what a romantic he is. Why did you not write, or at the very least fill me in during our carriage ride home from the inn? I had so hoped you would, and yet you said nothing on the subject. Can you understand now why I am so cross? I had thought we were friends. "
Cora blinked for a few moments, trying to digest it all, only to stare at Jonathan once more. "What are you doing here?" she finally said.
He rolled his eyes as though the question annoyed him. "Did you truly believe I would do nothing while you scuttled recklessly back home? And for what purpose, I wonder? To foolishly offer to marry Sir Gowen in your sister's place?"
Cora frowned at his tone, not liking it at all. "I never scuttle, and if that is what it takes to free her, then yes. As the eldest daughter, it is my duty—"
"Your duty?" he said, walking towards her. "To sacrifice your life? To pledge yourself to a man who will only bring you misery?"
Cora pressed her lips together and clenched her jaw. Did he truly not know that a young woman's life was not her own? She had once thought she could make it so, but she had learned otherwise. "I cannot let Rose marry that man." Surely he could understand that.
"Of course you cannot," he said, stopping directly in front of her.
"Pray tell me, what other options exist?"
"I can think of an obvious one." He grasped her hands and held them tight. "Marry me instead."
Cora's breath caught and her heart ceased beating, only to race back to life moments later. She looked down at their clasped fingers, thinking how perfectly they fit together. Oh, how she'd yearned to hear him say those words. How wonderful, thrilling, and exquisitely easy it would be to agree and share the rest of her life with him. She wanted nothing more. And yet it was not so easy as that. Nothing ever was.
"I assure you, sir, I would love that above all things, but—"
"Deuce take it, Cora," he growled. "I can open far more doors to your parents than Sir Gowen ever could. Miss Rose could set her sights a great deal higher than him, I assure you."
She shook her head, wishing it was so. "You overlook my low connections without a thought, but others do not. Mr. and Mrs. Notley will always be my parents, and what they crave most is for one of their daughters to marry into a titled family. Social standing means more to them than good breeding or intelligence or kindness. They will not willingly let this opportunity slip by, not when you cannot guarantee a better match for Rose." Cora's chest began to throb most painfully as she searched his beautiful eyes. "There's also you to consider. Surely you must see that forming an acquaintance with my father, to say nothing of becoming his son-in-law, will bring you nothing but embarrassment. Trust me, sir, you are better off without me in your life."
Jonathan's jaw hardened, and an angry glint appeared in his eyes. "That is for me to decide and not you." He released her hands and turned towards the Draysons, executing a graceful bow. "If you would please excuse us, I believe Cora and I have some business to attend to at her family home. We will return shortly."
"Please do," said Lady Drayson. "I feel as though I am in the middle of a delicious novel and someone is snatching it away."
Jonathan held out his arm to Cora, which she stared at in surprise. "You wish to come with me?"
His eyes widened as though he could not believe she would ask such a thing. "Of course I'm coming with you. How can such an intelligent woman be so thick at the same time? Honestly."
Cora opened her mouth to argue, but Lady Harriett's laughter intruded. "I couldn't have put it better myself, Mr. Ludlow," she said, waving them away with a flick of her wrist. "Now off you go so that my brother may finally sit down. You'll find a carriage waiting just outside."
Cora cast an apologetic look at Lord Drayson, who merely shook his head and smiled. "We wish you well in your endeavors and hope you will return soon with happy news."
"Shall Mother and I begin wedding preparations while you are away?" teased Lady Harriett.
"Yes," answered Jonathan at the same time Cora said, "No."
She glared at him, and he pulled her out the door to the waiting carriage, where the maid who had helped Cora earlier was already waiting inside.
"Lady 'Arriett said I was to accompany you," she said by way of explanation.
Cora nodded and took a seat beside the girl. Jonathan sat opposite them and directed his gaze towards the window, saying nothing the entire drive to Mooreston. When the house finally came into view, Cora looked at it as she would a stranger. She felt no nostalgia or tender feelings or anything of the sort. All she felt was dread.