Page 22 of A Duke in Pursuit of Passion
“Perhaps,” Lady Ella said, though she did not sound at all convinced.
Though her demeanour towards him had remained cool and calm all day, just as it had been ever since their intimate encounter on theMerry Rose,Nathaniel had grown used to it, and he was almost completely at ease with it, having decided that if she was going to continue to be that way towards him, then he would bear it silently.
Yet with this last church, he understood that her silence was far more to do with her disappointment and exhaustion than anything else.
Throughout the day, her appearance had grown more and more fraught until she had curls sticking out at odds and ends all over her head and her hat looked as though it was slipping from its pins. Even the widow’s veil she had again chosen to wear as their cover in case anybody asked of their relationship was far more askew than it had been at the previous chapel.
And yet the moment she stepped into the building, she straightened her back, tensing with stress as though it might be the only thing still holding her up. She released his arm and wandered directly towards the man at the head of the aisle lighting prayer candles upon a table.
“Excuse me, Father James?”
Following her inside, Nathaniel could not help being astonished once more as to how in the short time they had been in Scotland, she had already come to have knowledge of just about every religious man in Gretna Green. He wasn’t sure how she had managed to fit so much information into one small head, yet he admired her for it. And so, it seemed, did Father James.
The man turned with a happy smile as they approached and bowed his head, “Yes, madam? How might I help you?”
“Father, I am Lady Ella Gideon, and this is my … my cousin, Lord Nathaniel Rolfe. We are making enquires as to the whereabouts of my sister. We believe she may have come to you along with a Mr Joshua Giles?”
Ella explained, and Nathaniel cringed. It was clear from her line of enquiry that she was out of patience. During their first few visits to places they had been far less forthcoming with any information, using as little as they could to decide whether Joshua and Louisa had been there.
“I am afraid the name does not ring a bell, My Lady, My Lord,” Father James said, glancing between them, one brown brow rising as though he was slightly suspicious of them.
“You’re sure? We have been led to believe that they came to Gretna Green to be …” Nathaniel said, hoping he might get more information from the man.
When he could not finish the sentence, Lady Ella finished it for him, “To be married.”
Father James looked as though he scoffed a little at that, though to his credit, he quickly hid it. “My dear, I do believe that is why most couples come to Gretna Green.”
The way the father glanced between them, looking more than a little suspicious, unnerved Nathaniel.
She wears a widow’s veil, for goodness’ sake!he thought, trying to force any idea of his marrying Lady Ella out of his mind. He had not come all the way to Scotland just to do something their parents would have likely allowed them to do right back in London. After all, there had once been a time when everyone would have guessed that they would have ended up together.
But that was before his grandfather had taken ill, and before he had gone off to Scotland at ten years old, and they had never laid eyes upon each other again. Until now. No, it didn’t bear thinking about, especially not with how cold she had been with him of late.
“Father, we can understand that, but in truth, we are gravely worried for the safety of my cousin,” Nathaniel explained when he saw that the father wasn’t exactly taking their questioning as seriously as one would have hoped. In fact, Nathaniel felt almost as though the man was half expecting them to enquire about a marriage license, as though their story of her sister was just a front to ensure they had a story to tell once everything was over.
“I understand,” the father said, turning his full attention to Nathaniel. “And as much as I would like to be of service, I am afraid there is little I can tell you save for the fact I have never met any Mr Giles.”
“What of a Louisa Gideon? Or perhaps Louisa Giles?” Lady Ella suggested, and it was clear from how she suggested the latter that the name tried to stick in her throat.
The father looked thoughtful. Then he began to shake his head. “I’m afraid not, My Lady. None of these names ring any bells.”
Nathaniel felt his heart sinking for Lady Ella. He watched the colour drain from her face once more and felt the urge to comfort her.
“Perhaps you might send word to us if you happen across them?” Nathaniel suggested, hoping that was at least something, though he guessed that after so many days of Louisa being gone from London, someone would have heard from them by now. It didn’t bode well, and though Nathaniel would have liked to protect Lady Ella from it all, he knew she was far too stubborn and clever for him to do so.
“Of course, My Lord. If you would like to leave an address?” the father suggested, though the look on the man’s face did not give Nathaniel much hope. He could imagine that the father saw multiple couples a day, many of them likely using false names upon first encounters before deciding which church or chapel they believed safest to wed in secret.
Deciding it best not to hang about, Nathaniel quickly left an address with the father before guiding Lady Ella back down the hill towards their carriage. She walked silently beside him, staring ahead almost as though she had gone into some kind of exhausted, defeated state in which she could only see herself putting one foot in front of the other.
She barely even looked up when he pulled open the carriage door, gestured her in with a smile, and said, “Ladies first.”
“Thank you,” she said, taking his hand to steady herself as she climbed up the steps into the carriage.
“Any luck, My Lord?” the carriage driver asked, his Scottish accent thick and heavy. Nathaniel sighed and shook his head at his aunt’s man. He was glad of the man who had patiently awaited them at every stop, and he would be even more grateful to him when he carried them home without any fuss.
“Please, take us home,” Nathaniel said before he climbed up into the carriage behind Lady Ella and slammed the door closed behind him. With a knock on the roof to let the driver know they were situated opposite each other on the carriage benches, Nathaniel leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to try and steady himself.
When he opened his eyes again, Lady Ella was looking at him as though she wished to say something. Though he opened his mouth to ask her what the matter was, she beat him to it. “That was the last one, wasn’t it?”
