Page 40 of The Runner
Cara smiled and sipped her tea.
‘Have you spoken to my parents about it? They may know more, although they just left for an extended Caribbean cruise, so we won’t see them for a while!’ Kate said.
Cara thought of George’s parents. They were a lovely couple who had welcomed her into the Cavendish family as though she had always been a part of it. ‘Yes, we saw them to say goodbye, but they were in a bit of a rush, so I didn’t get a chance to pick their brains this time.’
Kate continued, ‘Ancestor George is said to have been playing cards in the village, when his arch enemy turned up and taunted him, so things got heated and he went all in. Gambled the house—and lost…’ She shook her head. ‘Imagine having to live with that. No wonder he turned to drink, and the estate fell into ruin. Reputations were everything for noble families in those days. I imagine the disgrace finished him and the family at the time.’
‘It sounds awful.’
Kate continued, ‘Maybe he tried to burn it down in a fit of despair, but failed?’
A dense gloom descended over Cara, and she realised she was very likely experiencing the karmic weight of those tragic events. When she was affected by the past, it seeped into her soul and consumed her every feeling.
One thought ran through her mind like a relentless ticker tape as she shifted on the deckchair and stared up at the blue sky.
Who was George’s arch enemy at the card game?
Willow Manor,York - Georgiana
Olivia gallopedacross the fields with Taylor following closely behind and they arrived to see George’s carriage in front of the house, already vacated. She handed her horse to Taylor and ran into the house, clutching the skirts of her riding habitso they wouldn’t hamper her progress. She saw one of the maids as she fled through the downstairs hall. ‘Where may I find the earl, Harriet?’ she cried, only slowing down enough to catch the girl’s reply.
She knocked, and without waiting for a response; she burst into the blue drawing room. ‘George, George,’ she cried. ‘You are home, at last! We spotted you on our way into the village and I insisted we turn around immediately and abandon our errand.’ Tendrils of golden hair escaped from her riding hatas she bobbed her head about.
‘My dear girl,’ he laughed, embracing her, and then holding her at arm's length. ‘Let me have a good look at you. You have grown much in the short time since I saw you last,’ he exclaimed.
‘Short time? It was too long and wearisome without you, brother. I couldn’t wait to see you and to hear all about your adventures at court.’
‘Pray go and change, my dear,’ said the countess, ‘and then we shall take tea and hear your brother’s news.’ She signalled for Olivia to do as she bid. Olivia hesitated and moved towards the door with an unconcealed sigh.
As she approached the door, George called out, ‘I trust you returned in the company of Mistress Caroline and one of the grooms?’
‘Taylor escorted me like you instructed Caroline, but she continued onto Willow Wick to deliver Mother’s basket as we had originally intended.’
George’s dark eyes narrowed. ‘You mean to say you and Taylor left Caroline to ride to Willow Wick and back, unaccompanied?’
Olivia’s lip trembled. She couldn’t abide it when her brother was displeased with her. He was slow to anger, which was just as well because he had a fierce temper when provoked. ‘Caroline insisted. She didn’t want me to ride back alone, and she said she must complete the errand for Mother.’
The countess interjected. ‘It’s not safe or proper for her to ride alone, but in this one instance in the name of charity, we may overlook it,’ she said, imagining her word would be final.
George towered above them, his formidable height, and broad shoulders in his white shirt and coat, filled the window against which he stood. ‘No, Mother, I’m afraid it won’t do. I sent implicit word the ladies were not to ride without a groom, and they have ignored my instruction. I shall ride out now to find Mistress Caroline, for it is far too dangerous for her alone. She is under our protection, after all.’
The countess stared after him as he swept from the room, and Olivia scurried out, tears rolling down her face. She hated being out of favour with her brother and now she was genuinely scared for Caroline’s safety. What had she done?
George strode to the stables, not bothering to change out of his fancy London clothes. He commanded Taylor to saddle his black stallionand leapt onto its back, the groom at his heels. They galloped out of the estate and thundered across the field, and joined the footpath to Willow Wick.
‘We may need to search for her in the village. Let us split up—you make haste to the family’s cottage and see if Mistress Caroline is there. And I’ll go to her father’s, by the green, and see if he knows her whereabouts.’
Taylor nodded and soon after disappeared from the footpath as he entered the village. George continued at a slower pace, looking and listening carefully for anything untoward. He had an ominous feeling, and he believed in following his instincts. Something wasn’t right—of that much, he was certain.
And then he heard a muffled cry. It sounded like a woman, but he couldn’t be sure. He pulled on the horse’s reins and drew to a sharp halt, stroking the horse’s neck as he scanned the area from which the noise had come. And there it was again. He was certain now it was a woman’s voice, and he dismounted stealthily from his horse and tethered the stallion to a nearby post. He walked with long, careful steps in the voice's direction.
Then he saw Caroline. She was wedged against the bough of a huge ancient oak tree, and a tall black-haired man stood in front of her. George edged closer, and saw that Caroline saw him over the man’s shoulder, so he put his finger to his lips to urge her not to alert her captor. Then George moved forward and grabbed the man deftly from behind, and he was taken off guard and almost fell backwards.
As he suspected, the man was Ralph Knight.
‘You!’ said George.
‘What the devil are you doing?’ Ralph snarled, cursing as he tried to shake George’s powerful grip off his back. Caroline took the opportunity to move away from the tree and beyond Ralph’s reach, as she stepped swiftly behind George.
