Page 50 of A Lady's Heart Deceived
“Eat up. I promise not to tell anyone how much you ate. It’s good to have a healthy appetite. And this picnic is the best I have enjoyed in a long time,” she said.
They sat in companionable silence for a while. They ate, observing the nearby sheep as they grazed in the old mere below the castle. Occasionally, a fellow tourist or local farmer waved to them from the other side of the Great Hall, but the rest of the time it was just the two of them.
With bellies full, they finally packed up the basket and put it to one side of the blanket. Piers yawned. He was badly in need of a post-feast snooze. “I might just lie down here for a short while if that’s alright with you.”
Maggie nodded. “I feel the same. Two days running I have eaten a huge midday meal. I shall need to walk all the way back to Coventry to work this food off or my new clothes won’t fit.”
“You would look lovely at any size, Maggie. I on the other hand might need to start cutting back on supper. Military uniforms don’t have much give in them, especially the buttons,” replied Piers.
His heavy eyes closed. He wanted to rest, but not sleep. These moments alone with Maggie were something to be savored.
“Have you had a chance to think any more about the future? I mean, what will you do when you finally return to London?” he asked.
He didn’t want to push Maggie, but Piers was keen for her to consider what her life might look like after this trip. She could stay away for as long as she liked, but eventually, she would have to return to her family.
“I gave it some thought last night. I couldn’t sleep. My mind was too busy. I suppose the obvious is to try and pick up the pieces of my life. To put this awful business behind me.”
You are right; this has been an awful business. And that scoundrel has made you suffer needlessly.
“Easier said than done,” he replied.
“Yes. It’s going to be difficult to talk to my family, but it is what it is. I’ve also come to some decisions regarding him. I think it is best that I leave all of it in the past. He has a wife and children. They shouldn’t have to suffer because of his selfish stupidity.”
Piers opened his eyes. “That’s very magnanimous of you, Maggie. Plenty of other people wouldn’t see it that way. They would want him punished.”
He wanted nothing more than to wrap Maggie up in his arms and offer her comfort, but the moment he moved toward her, she held up a trembling hand.
“Please don’t. I need to be able to deal with this without other people having to continually offer me their sympathy.”
“I hate to see you upset.”
The meek smile she gave him in return struck at his heart. “I know, but I’ve got very good at accepting bad news. It will just take me a little time to be able to get this all straight in my head. And some of it, I fear, I may never be able to understand.”
The thought of her going home and trying to explain things to her family filled him with empty sadness. Hadn’t Maggie suffered enough already? There had to be something he could do. A way to ease her burden.
What if she doesn’t go back to town straight away? Time and distance could be what she needs. Get her out of Coventry. Away from the worry of running into that blackguard.
But would she agree to come with him? And was he being completely honest with himself when it came to his motives? To the plans that were evolving in his mind.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
“Maggie, you said before that you hadn’t had much of an opportunity to see the rest of England. That your family travels the well-worn path back and forth to Scotland each year.”
“Hmm. Yes, that’s what we do.”
“Well, I was thinking we might take the long road back to London. We could do a spot of sightseeing on the way. My parents are in residence at Denford Park, which is a couple of days easy coach ride east of Coventry. I haven’t been allowed home since the summer, and I would dearly love to see my parents.”
And to introduce you to them.
Firstly, as his friend, but in time, hopefully as something else. His mother and Maggie’s were acquainted. They came from similar backgrounds. Good families. They were the sort of people who he could count upon not to judge Maggie for her misfortune.
“We can travel through Naseby on the way to Denford Park. Continue our tour of battle scenes from the English civil wars. Naseby is the site of the major turning point of the first English Civil War; Kenilworth’s destruction came at the end of the second.”
“And the invasion of Scotland took place during the third war,” she replied, giving him a nod. Piers wasn’t the only one who knew his British history. Maggie Radley was clearly an intelligent, well-read woman. Perfect material for his future viscountess.
And the mother of your children.
Maggie finished the last of her ginger beer and put the empty bottle back into the basket. Piers held his tongue, not wishing to press her for an answer. It didn’t need saying that him arriving home at the family estate with the Bishop of London’s unwed daughter would bring with it more than one or two questions.
