Page 47 of The Runner
‘Think nothing of it, my lord,’ she said. ‘You are most kind.’
‘I would not have you suffer so because of one of my foolish remarks made in the heat of the moment—if you wish to visit your father, please do so with my blessing.’ He looked into her eyes as if trying to read her soul. ‘Please do have a mind to ride with one of the grooms to ensure your safety,’ he added. ‘We mustn’t have you ladies riding about the countryside unattended.’
‘Thank you, my lord. I am grateful for your concern and will visit my father at the earliest convenience, as you suggest.’
She was not homesick but was relieved about the misunderstanding. It would be unbearable if he knew she was falling apart over him, and she would put them both in an untenable spot.
‘Right, that’s settled then,’ he said, looking at her and still making no move to leave.
‘I must prepare for my morning with Olivia.’ Caroline inclined her head and excused herself after what seemed like an age of awkward silence.
‘Of course,’ said George, bowing. He reached the door, turned abruptly, and then hesitated.
Caroline flicked through the book she had pulled from the shelf, not seeing a word, her senses crushing her ability to focus. She felt his eyes upon her and looked across at him. ‘My lord?’
‘Um… nothing,’ he said. ‘Nothing at all. I wish you a most pleasant day.’
He disappeared through the door, and the clip of his boots on the wooden floor grew distant until the room was silent.
She was alone with her raging heart.
Willow Manor,York - Present Day
Cara satin the snug with the Cavendish family history book open on her lap. There was finally a lull in her schedule for her to concentrate on the volume she’d dug out of the kitchen cupboard.
Kate had gone into the city to look for some antique pieces and do some errands, so she would be out for most of the day, and George was overseeing what he called the final touches to the centre.
‘Aren’t final touches supposed to befinal?’ She’d remarked the other day with a wry smile.
George shook his head. ‘I know, I know… You would think so, but the place never seems to be finished! There’s always more to do for this opening.’
‘I think that’s what we’ve signed up for,’ said Cara, ‘so I suppose we’d better get used to it.’
George glanced at her, concern in his dark eyes. ‘Once the new staff are trained and we’ve been through the inevitable teething phase of a new operation, we’ll go away somewhere lovely for a break. Would you like that?’
Cara hugged him and said she would like that very much. She knew George was excited about the centre and it was wonderful to see him back to his old self and so engaged in his work again, but they could do with a break. She reassured him that holidays could wait while they launched the centre.
The intrigue built within her as she turned the pages of the exquisitely bound blue book. She’d only managed to read a few pages and now that she was about to lose herself in the old volume, she was excited.
The embossed gold lettering on the cover said it was Volume III and covered the Georgian period. The book George had found was Volume I, which covered the Tudor period and contained references to the Jesuit priest and Edward. So, if this was Volume III, presumably Volume II would cover the Stuart period. Cara wondered whether that was one of the books George’s parents had mentioned, but for now she was content to have the Georgiana book in her hands and a bit of peace amid the recent mayhem to study it.
She read the introductory section on the family background and learned that the Cavendish family of Willow Manor, York, was related to another noble branch of the Cavendish family, whose family seat wastheChatsworth House.
Cara made some notes and then chewed on her pen. That was the house they’d used as Pemberley in one of the film adaptations ofPride and Prejudice. So that was why the Cavendish name had sounded so familiar to her when she’d first met George. And he wasn’t one to name drop, so she’d never put two and two together. The book explained that the family descended from Sir John Cavendish, who took his name from a village in Suffolk, where he owned an estate.
There were references to the earl, William, and the countess, Margaret. The book also referenced their son, George, and daughter, Olivia, and she turned the page and held her breath in anticipation of finally discovering what happened to George and Caroline. All she had to go on so far were the snippets relayed to her by Kate and the rumours George had picked up in Victoriana.
But the page was blank…
She flicked over again, taking care not to let her impatient fingers damage the delicate old paper. But there were only more blank pages.
What the heck?
She turned some more pages, but the rest of the book was impossible to read. There was faint text on many of the pages, but it had faded to such a degree that it was illegible, and the pages had turned a dark yellow.
Cara had been counting on this book to provide the answers she needed to fill in the gaps about what happened to the family and the house between 1729 and 1840. She’d been hoping she would find that George had married Caroline, and all had worked out for the best following Sylvia’s undoing of Ralph’s hypnotic rewrite.
She flicked back to the first half of the book and read about the lives of George’s parents and grandparents.
