Page 37 of Miss Harvey's Horribly Lovable Fiancé
“Proud.” That confounded him. How or why would putting shame on herself make him or her father proud of her? Her pride tangled up with her abandonment of him. If she loved him—and he had always believed she did—then he did not understand that logic at all.
He ran a hand over his mouth. “She dismissed you at what time?”
“Within minutes after I came to help her.”
“Did she ask you for anything?”
“No, sir.” The girl shook her head.
“In the stables, they say she took her father’s stallion.”
The girl nodded and wiped her nose with a small wadded up handkerchief. “She often rides him.”
“You did not see her leave the house?”
“No, sir. I was downstairs in the hall.”
“Did you examine the room? Has she taken anything with her?”
“Her valise. Her small one.”
“And inside? What?”
Jane bit her lip. “Comb. Brush. Night gown. Slippers.”
“Gown? Corset?”
“No, sir. No, sir.”
“And what is she wearing? Have you noted what’s missing in her dressing room?”
“Aye, sir. Nothing but her man’s clothes.”
Giles shot a glance at Courtland.What the hell?“And that consists of what?”
The girl explained, giving descriptions of color, fabric and texture. Courtland did not appear shocked by the descriptions. So then, normal was it that his darling rode out as a man?
Giles had quite a bit to learn about the lady he loved. “Well, then,” he asked her father, “where would she go?”
“My hunting box near Marlborough.”
In the middle of the night?Christ, my darling. You are quite mad.
“Or to her Great Aunt Elizabeth on the Dun.”
“Why go to her aunt?”
“She loves her. They are renegades of the mind. Together, you see, they’ve always amused themselves creating stories of women who are bold.”
Giles snorted. “How old is Aunt Elizabeth?” he asked but didn’t know why it mattered.
“Eighty-two.”
So his darling had an old, old friend who encouraged Esme with her wild nature. “They wove adventures together did they?”
“Elizabeth was a bluestocking, rich, spoiled, funny and dear,” said her beleaguered father.
Giles shook his head. He did know one thing very clearly. To save Esme’s reputation, Giles had to find her quickly and learning her rationale was vital to speed.
