Page 30 of The Runner
She drew herself up to her full height on her horse and spoke clearly so Olivia would witness the conversation. ‘I have not abandoned my father, as you well know.’
‘Aye, whatever you say.’ He clicked his tongue and turned his head towards Olivia. ‘You look particularly fine today, Mistress Olivia,’ he said, directing the full force of his charm at the young girl who lit up beneath his intent gaze.
‘We are expected back at the house,’ said Caroline, her tone stern.
Ralph bowed his head and flicked his reins to direct his horse to move aside.
As Caroline passed by him, he said, ‘If you are unwilling to visit me, I shall come to you. We have matters to settle,’ he said ominously, his jet-black hair glowing in the afternoon sun.
Cara shivered, turned away abruptly, and tapped her booted heels into her horse’s flanks. The mare needed no encouragement. ‘Come on, I’ll race you home,’ she said to Olivia, who turned back for one quick glance at Ralph, before she followed Caroline, who had already set off at a fast canter.
As she rode, Caroline considered Ralph’s intentions. He was clearly using Olivia to provoke her and try to make her jealous, but what if it was more than that? What if he had really taken a liking to the girl? Olivia was at a vulnerable age and although she was sensible in most matters, Caroline doubted she would be quite as sensible under the full blaze of Ralph’s charms.
He knew how to turn it on when he wanted, which was one of the reason’s she hadn’t seen through his nature, to just how cunning and vicious he could be when he wasn’t having things his own way. As long as she’d been available for him and didn’t go against his wishes, he had been a caring and loyal friend, albeit with romantic intentions, which she had deflected. Until now.
Would he really have the audacity to come to Willow Manor, or was he using the threat to manipulate her?
One thing was certain, she must keep an even keener eye on Olivia because he knew she was her weak spot, and he wouldn’t hesitate to exploit it.
CHAPTER13
Willow Manor, York - Present day
George saton the chesterfield in the library, carefully turning the delicate pages of the Cavendish history volume he had recently discovered. The paper was thin and tore easily, so he had to take his time.
Cara was emptying the boxes of books and restoring some order to the antique bookshelves. ‘The only thing with tidying books is it’s a never-ending job,’ she said. ‘Unless it’s an official library with reference numbers and a system, it’s tricky to know how to organise them.’ She picked up a slim book and fanned her face. ‘Are you hot? It’s roasting. I’m going to open the windows.’
‘It’s a stunning day. We’re not making the most of it huddled in here, but I must say it’s good to have a dusty old manuscript in my hands again,’ he said.
They continued reading and sorting in amiable silence for some time and Cara reflected on how right things were between them. She reorganised the books to the comforting sound of the rhythmic tick of the grandfather clock in the hallway that echoed through the open door. A feeling of deep peace descended upon her, and she was calm for the first time since the experiments with Eddie. She’d been back into the wormhole several times in a variety of scenarios under his guidance so he could get some solid data, as he called it. The vortex appeared every time she reached out to touch the wall.
Eddie and George had been back in several times too, alone and together, touching and not touching the wall. Eddie was in what she laughingly calledprofessor modeand he was nothing if not dedicated and thorough, so she had followed his instructions, but she was relieved she could now get on with her other projects.
The professor had returned home the previous evening on the fast York to London train, eager to get into his lab and study his data.
‘Listen to this,’ said George, his finger underlining a section on a page of the old book.
Cara looked up expectantly, a heavy book in her hands.
‘It was never proven, but is widely believed that Lord and Lady Cavendish were sympathetic to the Roman Catholic cause. They were suspected to have harboured priests in their ancestral home, Willow Manor in York, to protect them from being caught and charged with heresy by the Crown. In one particular case, a member of their household, their children’s tutor, is said to have saved the life of a well-known Jesuit priest by hiding him in a priest hole, which has never been found. The tutor became a hero amongst the locals, many of whom were still for the pope, following the disastrous end to the Pilgrimage of Grace: the Tudor uprising against the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the reformation of the church.’
‘Wow!’ said Cara. ‘Good spot. That gives us something tangible to say about the priest hole to generate public interest. The journalists will be all over that if we position it right,’ she said, ever the savvy business-historian.
‘You’re right, it’ll be brilliant for the centre. But even more intriguing is the reference to Eddie. It says he was actively involved in saving this Jesuit priest, which explains that weird deja-vu moment he had when we were in there.’
Cara nodded. ‘And now I think of it, he disguised himself as a priest when we planned to break you out of the Tower of London in Tudorville, and he mentioned that his family had ear-marked him for priesthood. It makes sense he would have connections and be sympathetic to the cause.’
‘Poor Eddie, he’s not had an easy time of it over the centuries.’
‘That must have been a dangerous time for all of us. Do you remember anything about it?’ said George.
Cara shook her head. ‘I don’t recall a thing after I was lady-in-waiting to Jane Seymour, and it kicked off in the north with the Pilgrimage of Grace. As far as I’m aware, that was the last time I travelled to Tudorville, and I have no idea what happened to us after that. I’m keen to read that book. You mentioned there are other volumes?’
George peered at Cara over his glasses that had slipped down his nose at an angle. ‘This is volume one, which means there are probably others, but I don’t know how many or where they are.’
‘What we could really do with is the volume that covers Georgiana so we can get a better idea of what went on after Ralph hypnotised Caroline.’
They agreed Cara would look for the other volume and George would reach out to a journalist about the priest hole publicity.
