"Maybe you should go inside and see where she is?" Michael suggested to Olivia.
"And disturb the entire household at this time of morning?" she retorted. "No. This was your idea, maybe you should go inside."
"Alright we'll wait a bit. But if she's too much longer the morning will be wasted."
"The morning has barely begun!" Olivia exclaimed.
"You know what I mean," Michael said, sounding slightly grumpy that Olivia still hadn't come around to the beauty of his plan.
The past few weeks had seen a final change in Alexandra and she was almost back to the fun and carefree woman she had been before her marriage. Or at least as close as she was ever going to be. And Michael had taken advantage of the change by convincing her to come along on one of his early morning rides. Once Michael and Alexandra had agreed to the outing Olivia had succumbed to their pleading and agreed to go along as well.
"Well if you won't go inside, maybe you should do something else. Go around to her bedroom window perhaps," Olivia suggested, whilst attempting to smother a yawn. She wanted nothing more at the moment than to return to her bed, but she knew that once they started to ride the speed of the animal beneath her and the fresh air rushing past her would wake up her properly.
"And what, throw pebbles at her window?" Michael scoffed.
"Well we can't wait here all morning." Her growing annoyance with Michael was making her more alert than any horse ride would have been able to.
"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Alexandra exclaimed as she rushed around the corner of the house to the stables, tying the ribbons on her bonnet as she did so. She had obviously come through the kitchen entrance in order to take a shortcut through the house.
"We haven't been waiting long," Olivia told her.
"What? Yes we..." Upon seeing Olivia's glare Michael reconsidered what he was going to say, "Have only just arrived ourselves."
But Alexandra didn't seem to notice what her two friends were saying and hurried into the stables, calling out behind her, "Kenneth was ill last night so I still need to saddle my horse. I won't be long."
"Maybe we should cancel and try another morning," Olivia sighed.
"Absolutely not!" Michael exclaimed. "I've finally managed to get the two of you here; we are going for this ride."
Olivia could feel her horse getting restless as they stood outside the stables waiting for Alexandra and nudging it slightly she started leading the horse in a slow walk around the courtyard.
Despite Alexandra's dismissive attitude towards Mr Goren's treatment of her the night of the ball at the Cragen's, it remained a puzzle to Olivia, one that she wasn't going to let go until she had solved it.
Her friend in London had told her that Mr Goren was quite popular amongst the ladies but that he was never overly attached to anyone in particular. Perhaps his conduct was simply an example of that aspect of his nature? But then that would not explain why he had been discretely trying to ask Olivia about Alexandra. And whilst that sort of conduct may be acceptable in London, country life was very different and he would quickly find that he would soon run out of friendly companions if he were fickle with his affections. Olivia felt certain that there was something more to it.
"What do you think of Mr Goren?" she asked Michael suddenly.
"He seems a pleasant gentleman," Michael replied. "But you've met him almost as much as I have. Why do you ask?"
Ignoring his question Olivia continued to proceed with her own questions. "Have you spoken to anyone in London about him?"
Michael shook his head. "You should speak with you father if you want to know about London. After all he was the first one to learn anything about Mr Goren."
"He only had that one conversation with Mr Stone months ago. He hasn't heard anything since," Olivia said. However her back was turned to Michael and she was on the other side of the courtyard so he didn't hear her reply. Turning back to face Michael she directed the horse to back to where she had come from. "But surely you have spoken with him more I have."
"I don't know, I haven't been keeping a record of our conversations," Michael remarked.
"Well what type of gentleman did he appear to be?" Olivia asked impatiently. "Do you think he could be the type of gentleman who could be unfeeling towards a lady, who would trifle with her affections?"
"What are you talking about?" Michael asked, fearing that his plans for a relaxing ride were quickly coming to an end. "Do you think he has been improper in his conduct towards you?" The last thing that Michael wanted to do was become involved in Olivia's romantic entanglements.
"No, not towards me. Alexandra," Olivia explained.
Michael just looked at her blankly.
Olivia barely held back a groan. "Didn't you see Alexandra talking with Mr Goren at the Deakins's dinner party? After the meal had ended they were seated by the window together."
He couldn't recall seeing them together but he nonetheless asked. "How could he do anything improper during one conversation in a crowded room?"
"That's not what I'm saying! Do you really think Mr Cragen would have invited him into his home if he had done anything improper to Alexandra?"
"Of course not. But I don't know what you are trying to tell me," Michael replied.
"Alright," Olivia started. "Alexandra spoke with Mr Goren at the Deakins's dinner. She said she only started the conversation because she saw that he was standing on his own, but she said it was still a very pleasant conversation. I did see them and I must say it was the most lively I saw Mr Goren the entire evening. He certainly made an impression on Alexandra as well. But to be honest I really didn't give the matter anymore thought until he appeared at the house."
"Your house?" Michael questioned.
"Yes," Olivia nodded. "He just appeared on our doorstep one morning wanting to speak with Father regarding some business matters. Father was meeting with Mr Schiff at the time so O'Halloran had him wait in the library. I didn't even know he was in the house until I walked past the library. So I spoke with him about Canarsie House and the party. But he started asking questions about other events that our group holds and whether there were any young men who attended. He tried to hide it but it was clear what he was asking."
"Really Olivia, if you were a man I would say that you should join Scotland Yard," Michael commented.
"Well think about it. It appears that the most enjoyable part of his evening was a conversation that he shared with Alexandra and then he starts asking about other young men. Those who may be interested in courting Alexandra for example?" she hinted heavily.
"Perhaps. But that doesn't mean anything will come of it." After going through their families, any man who wanted to court Alexandra or Olivia would also have to meet with Michael's approval as well.
"I know. But still I thought that he should be aware of Alexandra's circumstances, before he made any decisions about whether he wanted to pursue things any further," Olivia explained.
"Joseph," Michael stated.
"Exactly. I didn't want a situation to develop where Alexandra might become attached to this man only to have him reject her when he discovered she was a widow. So I told him," she said bluntly.
"Does she know that you've told him?" he asked.
"No. But she won't mind. It's hardly a secret and its better for all that he finds out sooner."
"Let me rephrase," Michael tried again. "Does she know that you've been interfering?"
"It's not as though I'm attempting to play matchmaker," Olivia countered.
"Of course," Michael agreed.
"So I told him and it seemed at the time that he was going to be perfectly accepting of the fact, but now I'm starting to think otherwise."
"I don't know him well," Michael cautioned. "But he doesn't appear to be the type of gentleman who would be bothered by such a thing."
"That's what I thought," Olivia agreed.
"It's hardly the type of thing to do when you are surrounded by her family and friends. Everyone in the area knows who Alexandra is and who Joseph was. He wouldn't have many friends left if he made those feelings known. And I get the feeling that he is planning on staying in Hertfordshire indefinitely. He's purchased Canarsie House and hasn't spoken of returning to London," Michael said.
"No. I believe he is determined to make Hertfordshire home for his mother and himself. That was one of the reasons he spoke with Father, he doesn't want to have to go to London so often for business."
"Ah."
"But if that is all true then why did he virtually ignore her at the ball the other evening?" Olivia questioned.
"He didn't ignore her, I saw them dancing," Michael pointed out.
"Once," Olivia emphasised." He danced with everyone else at least twice."
"That doesn't mean he was ignoring her. It's probably just a coincidence." Michael, leaning over to rub the mane of his horse, who was also getting restless. "Perhaps he was just in poor spirits. After all he had just travelled from London, he was probably tired. That would also explain why I could barely get two words from him."
"But he was watching her. There has to be more to it," Olivia insisted.
"He was watching her?" Michael questioned, suddenly realising what may have happened. "If you're correct and Mr Goren is interested in Alexandra, then I think I may know what has happened."
"What?"
"I danced with Alexandra at least three times that evening. If Mr Goren was watching her then he would have seen that. It would also explain why he was so short tempered with me when I attempted to start a conversation with him."
"He thought that you were already courting Alexandra and that he had lost his chance," Olivia said, following Michael's train of thought. "But you danced with me just as much as you danced with Alexandra and nobody has ever given any serious thought to the idea of you courting either of us."
"Ah but one, Mr Goren wasn't watching you, he was watching Alexandra. And two, everyone else in attendance has known us for our entire lives and that the idea of me courting either one of you is absurd. Mr Goren does not. As far as he is concerned the thought may be perfectly reasonable, as it would be to any outsider who joined our circle."
"That would make sense," Olivia agreed, feeling much better about the entire situation. If they were right, this was a matter that could be easily resolved with a few pointed comments.
"But you still don't know whether you're right about his interest. It could just be that he was making conversation and you're reading too much into the situation," he cautioned her.
"No, I think I'm right about this, we just need to see how things proceed from here," Olivia said confidently.
"Are you even sure that Alexandra is ready?" he questioned, not knowing how she felt about the idea of marrying again.
"Yes I am ready Michael," Alexandra said, riding out of the stable. "Has anyone ever told you that you are very impatient?"
"Never," he grinned.
"A likely story," she retorted. "Were you two talking about the ball the other evening?" At their matching questioning looks she clarified, "I heard you say that you danced with me three times Michael, but I didn't hear the rest of the conversation."
"Well we were talking about the ball," Olivia started, wondering whether she should mention Mr Goren to see how Alexandra reacted.
"But before that we were talking about the dinner at the Deakins's," Michael interrupted, keen to start riding. He knew that if Olivia dragged Alexandra into a conversation about Mr Goren they would never leave. "Time to go," he said, kicking his horse into a trot and leading the ladies out of the courtyard and into the fields.