Page 67 of The Runner
Charlotte had not taken the rejection well and left in a fury, storming out of the room and later he heard she had left the palace.
He regretted hurting her, but his heart felt lighter, and he was relieved to be free to return to Caroline. They could obviously not officially be together, but he must be near her—that much had become clear to him when they were apart. He made plans to return to Willow Manor and his spirits were noticeably lifted at the thought of being in her company again soon.
Then he was felled by the casual reference in one of his mother’s letters, where she informed him that Caroline had left unexpectedly to tend her sick aunt. When he enquired about more details, his mother confirmed the governess did not intend to resume her post at Willow Manor, and they were all very sorry to lose her.
His heart raged with sorrow, and he had never known a feeling of such emptiness each morning as he awoke. He could not foresee a life without her and resolved to risk searching for her, so he may bring her back to Willow Manor. At least she would be safe, and he could take care of her in the only way society permitted, without bringing disgrace upon all of their heads.
He had even considered setting her up in a house in London where they might be together, and she could be his mistress, but he had soon banished the notion as grossly unfair to her. The thought of his family, as well as her father learning of their disreputable arrangement, sent chills of horror through him.
George had trouble admitting, even to himself; he was ashamed of his dire failing in being in love with a woman of such inferior social status.
Why had this happened to him? His path was so clearly laid out for him by his father, the earl, for as long as he could recall, and George was disappointed at his own lack of willingness to follow through on securing his noble bloodline. He was certain he would love no one but Caroline in this all-consuming manner, but marry her he could not, so he found himself in a painful bind with no way out. He was only grateful his father was not around to witness his fall from grace.
Cara awoketo shrieks from the hallway and the sound of women arguing. She pulled the cover over her head, seeking the bliss of sleep, but it was no good—the peaceful interlude was shattered, and reality blasted into her mind. Cara had entered the priest hole and time travelled to Georgiana again. She must put things right with George. Her dreams warned her that if the Twin Flames were left to their own devices, they would spiral into disaster. She had been given the opportunity to reset the timeline, and that was what she intended to do.
She arrived to find Caroline wandering the streets of London en route to a cheap boarding house, which was all she could afford with the meagre savings she hurriedly crammed into her stays.
More shrieks from the hallway prompted her to rise reluctantly from the narrow bed with the lumpy mattress, which was a world away from the luxurious four-poster bed in her peaceful green chamber at Willow Manor.
Caroline had planned to seek a new governess position and had the foresight to request a letter of recommendation from the countess. She suspected George would follow her even if he were betrothed to Charlotte.
A quiet voice whispered to her it was not over between them, no matter how far she ran.
She went down to a meagre breakfast and shivered in her gown, wishing she had worn her cloak. There was no roaring fire lit by the servants to warm her tired body and weary soul, and she worried how she would find a new position with no friends in the city. She was only offered the position at Willow Manor because of her father’s connection to the countess.
Before leaving, Caroline visited her father stealthily, taking a longer route to Willow Wick to avoid any chance of bumping into Ralph. Her father tried to discourage her from leaving, and she told him she couldn’t explain now, but he must trust her and if anyone from the big house came calling, she begged he confirm her story of a sick aunt.
It was a paper-thin fabrication, and George would see through it if he went in search of her, for she had merely made up an address when the countess pressed for one.
Caroline’s memories flooded into Cara’s consciousness, and she knew what had happened, but not how to fix it. She longed to return to Willow Manor, but couldn’t go back after making such a dramatic exit and deceiving the countess and Olivia.
Or could she?
Willow Manor,York - Present day
George returnedfrom the Tudor Heritage Centre to find Cara preoccupied in the library, gazing out of the window with a heavy tome perched on her lap. ‘I know that look. What’s going on in that busy head of yours?’
She stretched and returned his kiss. ‘I can’t hide anything from you, can I?’
‘I can read you like a book, but the question is, what did you find in that one?’
‘It’s the Georgiana volume. I was hoping some of the gaps might have been filled in again, but the pages are still blank, so it looks as though nothing is resolved and the timeline is still in flux.’
‘Do you know what’s going on with Caroline?’
‘Last thing I recall is she left Willow Manor and is staying in some dreadful boarding house in a dismal area of London.’
‘Why on earth did she leave York? I thought she was Olivia’s governess.’
‘To cut a long story short, she left after George went to court. She thinks he will return betrothed and obviously can’t face it, so she made up some lame tale about a sick aunt and fled to London with nowhere to go and only a few shillings to her name.’
George raised one eyebrow and sat down next to Cara.
‘Forgive me for saying, but isn’t that just like you, my darling… to be so headstrong and impatient? To leave instead of waiting for me to come to my senses! Cara, Caroline—whatever your name is and whatever the century, you really are one and the same.’
‘Oh, don’t,’ said Cara. ‘I was too late to stop her—she had gone before I got back. I should have listened to my gut instead of delaying and listening to Eddie.’
‘I suppose that’s a lesson we both seem to have to keep learning,’ he said, raising her hand to his lips and tenderly planting a kiss on her palm. ‘Never mind, I’m sure it will work out. You’ll find a way to sort it. You always do.’
