“Why not? Our generation can have its own ideas about Christmas.”
“And celebrate the birth of our Savior, instead of making it an insipid, empty holiday.”
“Precisely.” Leorah smiled, and he smiled back—just as her father came barreling down the stairs holding a gun in each hand.
“We shall be ready for anything, my lord!” he said in his booming voice.
Lord Withinghall politely took his leave of her and followed her father down the stairs.
Edward left Miss Langdon on the stair and went with Mr. Langdon outside. A servant climbed onto the seat next to his coachman, Sims, a rifle laid across his lap. The elder Mr. Langdon planned to accompany them on his horse. Mr. Langdon was an old ex-military man and seemed to relish the idea of someone opening fire on them.
“It’s probably those Luddite rebels,” he growled after he had mounted his horse. “They all ought to be shot for their insolence.” He wore a pistol on each hip as he rode beside the carriage.
Truthfully, Edward still had no idea why anyone would want to kill him, but he did not suspect the Luddites. He was aware that Pinegar considered him a rival in Parliament, but it still made no sense. And Hastings, Nicholas had confided, had asked Leorah to marry him in a most awkward manner, and she had refused him. That man would have no real reason to want him dead either. And Edward had no reason to suspect anyone else.
But someone had tampered with his carriage, and someone had almost certainly shot at him the day before.
In spite of the mystery and the potential danger, Edward found himself mulling over his interactions with Miss Langdon from the night before. What did she think of him? Had her opinions of him changed? There seemed to be a difference in the way she looked at him, and her manner was much altered from the way she had spoken when he had proposed marriage to save their reputations.
When she had told him she was praying for him to have a safe journey, his heart had soared, and he’d had to swallow the lump in his throat before he could speak. It was what anyone might have said, but coming from Leorah . . . She never gave lip service to sentiments that were not her own. She also was not afraid of disagreeing with any and everyone else’s opinions. And as a politician who so often associated with other politicians, he found that extremely refreshing.
When they reached Grimswood Castle without incident, Mr. Langdon looked disappointed.
“The impudent blighters didn’t dare show themselves today,” Mr. Langdon said as he dismounted to accept Edward’s invitation for a drink by the fire.
“Well, it is Christmas, after all.”
“Eh?”
“Christmas. Today is Christmas.”
“Oh yes, so it is.” But the thought seemed lost on the man as he began asking about Edward’s hunting dogs and how often he liked to go out shooting. At least he had stopped trying to force Leorah to marry him. Such a strategy was surely counterproductive.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Leorah’s trip to London to stay with Felicity had to be postponed during the month of January due to extremely cold weather and the dangerous state of the roads. But finally, in February, she was able to make the trip.
She and Felicity went daily for their morning constitutional with Elizabeth in tow, and if a manservant were able to accompany them, they went to Hyde Park for a more extensive walk. It was cold, but otherwise the weather and London’s smoky air did not hinder them.
After one such walk, Leorah and Felicity had just arrived home and taken off their gloves and bonnets and sat down to tea when visitors were announced—the Earl of Blakeney, the Earl of Matherly, and Lord Crenshaw.
Felicity’s face blanched white. Even her lips lost their color. “What could this mean?” she whispered.
“I’ve no idea. I’ve only met and spoken to them once. I am as astonished as you are. Still, we cannot refuse to receive them. You must bid them come in.”
Felicity looked at the butler and swallowed. “Show them in, Stephens.”
The butler nodded and disappeared. He quickly reappeared and said in his deepest and most formal voice, “The Earl of Blakeney, the Earl of Matherly, and Lord Crenshaw.”
The three men entered the room. “Forgive us for intruding,” Lord Blakeney said, “but we are here on a matter of business that should not take long.”
“I am so sorry,” Felicity said, “but my father and mother are both away from home at present.”
“No need to apologize,” Lord Blakeney said. “It is Miss Langdon with whom we wish to speak.”
Leorah inhaled quickly. A bit of saliva got sucked down her throat, and she coughed.
“Won’t you sit down?” Felicity said.
A bit of color had returned to Felicity’s cheeks, but her hand trembled as she indicated the chairs opposite the couch where she and Leorah sat.
“Stephens, please bring us more tea things.”
“There is no need,” Lord Blakeney said. “Our business will not take long.”
Felicity nodded to dismiss the butler. “Should I leave as well?”
“That will not be necessary,” Lord Matherly said. “We will get to the point quickly. Miss Langdon, I’m sure you know that Lord Withinghall has a very exceptional future in Parliament. Already he was Under-Secretary of State at the age of twenty-two before becoming a Junior Lord of the Treasury at twenty-three. Now, at the age of twenty-nine, he is poised to ascend to even greater political heights. He could easily become the next Prime Minister.”
“I am well aware of Lord Withinghall’s successes as well as his ambitions.” She allowed the caution to creep into her voice, as she was already suspicious of the purpose of this visit from three such important men.
“What Lord Matherly is trying to say,” Lord Blakeney interjected, “is that Lord Withinghall is a great statesman who has the best interests of his country, his king, and his people in mind. And as a politician, he must guard his reputation with great zeal. And as a young lady whose reputation has already been somewhat tainted by being discovered in Lord Withinghall’s overturned carriage without a chaperone, we hope you understand that it would be prudent for both you and the viscount if you avoided him in social situations.”
Heat rose into Leorah’s cheeks and into her forehead. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“All we are asking,” Lord Crenshaw added, “is that you not attend balls, parties, and other social functions where Lord Withinghall will be present, or at least refrain from speaking to him or dancing with him.”
“It is for Lord Withinghall’s own good,” Lord Blakeney said. “You would not wish to harm him or his career, would you?”
“Does Lord Withinghall know you came to say these things to me?”
“Lord Withinghall trusts us to assist and advise him in all his political dealings,” Lord Matherly said. “We only wish what is best for our country, as I’m sure you do as well.”
“You do know Lord Withinghall asked me to marry him, do you not?”
“And you refused him, did you not?”