Glancing from Lydia’s face to her chartreuse spencer, Cora nodded. “More than fine, more than splendid. That is a very flattering color for you, Lydia my dear. Fine, indeed.” And then she paused. “But you are a mite … how shall I put it? Um—distracted. It is such an odd state for you.”
“Yes, I suppose so.” Lydia lapsed into silence for a moment, uncomfortable with the idea of revealing that her thoughts had been focused on the breadth of Robert’s shoulders and not the placement of the carriage’s step. “Yes, well,” she said, giving her head a shake, “onward and outward, a fun day to be had.”
Sitting back, Lydia offered a wink to both Ivy and Tessa, who were seated facing them. “Shall we go?” Pleased with the girls’ grins and giggles, Lydia called up to Mr. Hodge as soon as she felt the dip of Hugh stepping up onto the back of the carriage.
It was a fairly short and uneventful drive into Spelding and not much of a substitute for Bath, yet both the young young ladies and older young ladies of their party were quite excited about the outing. Lydia had had a few days to settle back into her routine; she had reclaimed her equilibrium and found that, despite all that had transpired in the past week, life had returned to such a state of normalcy that one could almost wonder if the harrowing events of her abduction had really taken place.
No, that wasn’t entirely true. There was one significant change.
Cora’s spirited character had returned, along with a pretty blush on her cheek, colorful ribbons at her waist, and light conversation on her tongue. Lydia attributed this upturn to eager anticipation of a letter from Shelley … or Mr. Granger, rather than setting aside the terrors of their Bath excursion. It hardly mattered whence the euphoria came.
Cousin Elaine and Aunt Freya were still being thoroughly uncivil to her, departing any room as soon as Lydia entered. Her company—in her own house—was apparently too much to bear. It was one part humorous and three parts pathetic. Unfortunately, that in and of itself was not a rare occurrence. A transgression of this magnitude was perceived at least once a month. Their pique would undoubtedly increase when they learned that their hoity-toity attitude had contributed to a missed opportunity to venture afar. Their disappointment would likely be reshaped into disapproval and laid at Lydia’s feet.
Lydia had offered her mother an olive branch in the form of a solicitation to join the shopping excursion, but dearest Mama had claimed the need to finish the invitations. She alluded to her tireless efforts to complete the chore, ignoring the fact that Lydia had done all but a handful.
Yes, indeed. All was back to normal.
Spelding was a good-sized village working its way up to a market town. As such, it had several shops, two hostelries, a smithy, and three pubs. It was a pretty place; the buildings were predominantly redbrick with white trim and the occasional black door. Flower boxes had been set in place under the mullioned windows, though it was too early for planting. Still, the common in the center was greening up nicely, and there were a fair number of persons milling about.
Mr. Hodge set the company down at the west end of the village and would wait upon their pleasure at the east end. Hugh, in his stylish green livery, followed—as requested by Cora—ostensibly to carry parcels, but Lydia knew it to be more for her protection than the need to remain unburdened.
The girls skipped ahead, pretending they were interested in their surroundings when, in fact, Lydia knew them to be directing their steps to the milliner. Ivy and Tessa had been offered new bonnets, and they could barely contain their excitement. Cora, who would usually walk to the inside of the road, made a very pointed maneuver to the right. Lydia shrugged, and they continued, as was their norm, discussing arrangements for the ball as they meandered.
Stepping over a puddle left from the rains of the day before, Lydia was rather disconcerted to find Cora, once again, placing Lydia next to the buildings in a definitive move. Shifting aside when ladies or families passed going the other direction, Cora jumped in front of Lydia if any person of the male persuasion approached, singly or in a group. The scowl that accompanied the move was endearing and comical—although how it could be both, Lydia was not entirely sure, but it was.
“You are being a goose, dearest friend. You need not fear the inhabitants of Spelding on my behalf. I am quite safe.” She spoke in a soft tone so that her words would not carry to the girls ahead or Hugh behind.
“I know you think so, Lydia. But I am not so certain. We do not know the reason you were taken or the persons involved, and until we do, there is no such thing as too much caution.”
Lydia laughed and hooked her arm through Cora’s, stepping forward and pulling her along. “This was an impromptu jaunt. The villain or villains could not know that I was to Spelding today, and as I am seldom here, they would hardly await me with nefarious plans.”
“Visiting Bath is an event even more rare, and yet that is where it happened.”
“True enough, but it was a planned outing and had been part of my schedule for over two weeks. Plenty of time for thugs, deviants, and generally unscrupulous persons to … to … Cora?” Lydia stopped midstep and stared at the far distance without seeing it. “Did you hear what I just said?” She turned toward her friend, who was nodding slowly, her expression troubled.
“Oh dear. I did, indeed.”
“The entire parish would not be curious about my schedule. News that I was to visit Bath would hardly be bandied about. No, in truth … just the inhabitants of Roseberry Hall and Wilder Hill Manor would have had any interest … though, not excessively. It is possible that news spilled out a little farther. A casual comment here or there…” Recalling the shadows and the sensation of being watched, Lydia considered for a moment and then veered toward another possibility. “Or a question asked here or there. Hmm. I wonder if I should ask Shodster to speak to the staff? Ask if there has been anyone querying my comings and goings. That might be a productive avenue of investigation.”
Glancing behind, Cora frowned. “We are holding up others and receiving some very impertinent looks,” she explained as she pulled Lydia forward. “You are forgetting someone. There was someone else who knew about your Bath appointment, someone who likes to comment on your punctuality and lives in Bath … where there are far more unscrupulous persons.”
“Are there? Why do you say so?”
“Numbers if nothing else. A city has a larger population—that alone … oh, Lydia, stop teasing. You know to whom I am referring.”
Lydia fought to maintain a solemn expression and finally capitulated, allowing her mouth to curve into a grin. “You speak of Mr. Robert Newton.”
“I do, indeed. And though it is clear that you esteem the young man—”
“I have said no such thing!”
“Really, Lydia. What is there not to like? A handsome, intelligent gentleman who admires you—”