Love your comments. Thanks.

~~H~~

Recovery

Sir Marcus stayed behind for a private word with Alexandra.

'Are you truly well?' he asked, concerned.

'I am not as unaffected as I led my cousin to believe,' admitted Alexandra. 'But I will be in better spirits when my aunt recovers and that man has paid the price for injuring such a dear lady.'

'I do not think you need to worry. I have never seen those gentlemen as angry before. All of them are great believers that it is their duty to protect ladies.'

'Yes, they were quite my knights in shining armour.' Alexandra smirked. 'But I was happy to hear they had more sense than you. What were you thinking? Offering to duel Marven. You could have been hurt or even killed.'

'I do not think so. Marven is a coward and a bully; and more interested in debauchery than practice.' Marcus decided that a change of topic was called for. 'On the way over, I discovered that you are quite mendacious. You led everyone to believe that Lady Beatrice was your guardian,' teased Sir Marcus.

'She was my guardian. But we agreed that it would be more politic to let society think that I still needed her guardianship. It slowed down some fortune-hunters since they expected my aunt to be more astute than a young lady. But now I am worried that this pretence may cost my aunt her life.' Alexandra was still distraught.

'Have faith, dear lady. Your aunt has a strong constitution and a zest for life. I am convinced that she will recover. If only to hear the screams of anguish when society finds out that you two have pulled the wool over their eyes for years.'

At last, his joking had the desired effect. Alexandra smiled at him. 'Thank you for cheering me up. But if you would excuse me, I am anxious to get back to that lady, to do what I can to make your words come true.'

~~H~~

As Marcus strolled back to Matlock House, his mind returned from the last few hours to the last twelve months.

Over the past year, since he left London so precipitously, he had thrown himself into his work, to try to keep his mind from the enchanting young woman, who had captured his imagination.

But neither work nor study had helped. Lady Alexandra intruded not only on his waking hours, but also his dreams. He wondered how long it would take for Robert to court and marry her. He was torn whether to hope it would be soon, to remove her from being a temptation, or later, as in never, so that he would not have to think of her married to someone else.

Marcus could hardly believe how quickly he had become enamoured with the lady. They had not met above two dozen times, but he had to admit to himself that he had fallen hopelessly in love with Alexandra.

And it was hopeless. She might see him as a friend, but she could not possibly consider him as a serious contender for her hand. And even if she could be convinced, which he greatly doubted, since he had nothing to offer her which she did not already possess and more, but Lady Beatrice would surely not allow her ward to tie herself to him.

The first time, since his departure from London, when he received a letter from Robert, Marcus had procrastinated opening the missive for several days, afraid that his friend would announce his engagement. Eventually he had to know, and he broke the seal. Robert did indeed write about engagements, but they were of a martial kind, rather than marital.

Without betraying any details, Robert informed him that he had been sent to fight, and there was not the slightest hint of a personal involvement in the letter.

The situation had continued for a year. Two weeks ago, Marcus could not put it off any longer. He had to come to London for estate business, and today he had paid a visit to Richard Fitzwilliam, a mutual friend of his and Robert's, who was on a short leave.

Marcus had been on his way out of Matlock House, when Lady Alexandra's footman had just delivered his message to the Earl. Since Marcus overheard where the Earl and his companions were bound, he could not help himself, he had followed along.

He had been shocked to learn that Lady Beatrice was no longer Lady Alexandra's guardian. In truth, she had not been in that role for the two years he had known the ladies. Marcus could intellectually understand the explanation Alexandra had provided, but was chagrined that she had not trusted him enough to tell him the truth.

Did she consider him a fortune-hunter?

The thought was unpalatable.

He had to remind himself that she did not know him well enough to make that kind of judgement.

Perhaps, while they were both in town, he would have the opportunity to strengthen their friendship at least.

~~H~~

Alexandra returned to her aunt's side, and used the quiet time to ponder the happenings of the previous hour.

She was amazed at the strong reaction she had had when Sir Marcus offered to duel her cousin. She had been terrified that the gentleman might be hurt, or worse, killed.

She tried to imagine several other gentlemen of her acquaintance in that position. While she was mildly concerned about their wellbeing, as she would be about anyone who might be in harm's way, the thought did not cause the anxiety she had experienced with Sir Marcus.

The gentleman greatly confused her. He appeared to enjoy her company. At times during their conversations, he relaxed his reserve and became animated, even allowing her glimpses behind his polite public persona. When that happened, she felt a spark, a connection which made her catch her breath.

At other times, his reserve was fully in place, and although his conversation was interesting and pleasant, he was shuttered and withdrawn.

Sometimes he seemed interested in her, at other times he was formally polite. It seemed almost like he enjoyed her company as a friend, but was trying not to raise her expectation.

It was most frustrating, particularly since she found herself thinking about him frequently in terms other than friendship. She was in serious danger of losing her heart to him, but was afraid that it was a hopeless dream.

Looking at her aunt lying in her bed so very still, she decided that she had enough concerns at present, and would not let herself be distracted with things she could not control.

~~H~~

The following morning Lady Beatrice regained her senses, and a week later the doctor allowed her to leave her bed and join her niece in the drawing room on the condition that she did not exert herself.

'Doctor Fisher has very decided opinions,' complained Lady Beatrice. 'He only allowed me to come downstairs, if I promised to sit quietly and not exert myself.'

'Aunt, a week ago I did not know whether you would live or die. I should hope you would be sensible enough to take it easy and take care of your health. For my sake if not for your own,' scolded Alexandra.

'I must be getting better since you feel free to scold me,' grinned her aunt. 'Now tell me all the news you have been withholding during my convalescence.'

'Not much has happened unless you count that I rejected a marriage last week,' teased Alexandra.

'Who proposed to you,' asked a surprised Lady Beatrice.

'No one proposed as such. The day after your attack, Cousin Frederick simply insisted that I should marry him within the hour… irrespective of my wishes. He had made this clergyman believe that with you incapacitated, he had the right to make decisions for me.' Alexandra laughed.

'I gather you managed to convince him otherwise.'

'I did indeed, although I had some assistance.' Alexandra now related the whole incident to her aunt.

Lady Beatrice was angry when she heard that her cousin had arranged the attack, but was satisfied that Frederick would face the consequences of his actions.

'I am relieved that you did not try to deal with the situation on your own,' praised Lady Beatrice.

'I may be proud of my independence but I am not stupid. When I have to deal with a misogynist like Frederick, I know he will not listen to anything I have to say. Luckily, Lord Matlock's house is almost next door, and I knew him to be in residence. I am grateful that he was at home and willing to come immediately.'

'Yes, he has always been a good friend. Now, what else has been happening?'

The ladies spent a pleasant afternoon chatting.

~~H~~

Two days later, Doctor Fisher informed the ladies, that while Lady Beatrice was out of danger, the injury had taken its toll, and it would be advisable if the lady were to remove to the country, to complete her recovery.

Lady Beatrice was reluctant to leave town, since the purpose of the visit was to allow Alexandra to meet with potential suitors. Her niece on the other hand, was delighted with the idea, especially as they had had an awkward visit the previous day.

Sir Marcus had come to call, ostensibly to enquire about Lady Beatrice's condition. Although on the surface the conversation had been pleasant, Sir Marcus had used words like friend and friendship much too often for Alexandra's liking.

It was becoming clear to her that although the gentleman liked her, he was obviously trying to manage her expectations. The realisation hurt, and she wanted time away from the pressure of the season's marriage mart to consider her options.

In the end, the doctor and Alexandra prevailed, and the ladies quit Town, travelling to Herne Hyde in easy stages.

Lady Beatrice managed to get one concession from her niece. Since Alexandra was missing out on the opportunity to interact with eligible gentlemen, she would issue invitations for a house-party, to be held over the summer months at Herne Hyde.

~~H~~

They had been back at Herne Hyde for a fortnight, when Lady Beatrice confronted her niece.

'Alexandra, what is going on with you. You have been alternately moping, or losing your temper, snapping at people. To be honest, I worry more about the latter than the former.'

'I have not…' Alexandra snapped to deny the accusation.

'You have indeed.' Lady Beatrice gave her a pointed look.

As Alexandra was preparing herself for another sharp riposte, she caught herself, realising what she was doing. At that point, the fight went out of her. 'I am sorry, Aunt.' She sighed, as she calmed a little more. 'I have been quite distracted lately.'

'So I noticed. What, or should I say who, is the reason for your unreasonable behaviour. It is quite unlike you.'

Alexandra hesitated, before admitting, 'a gentleman of my acquaintance, of whom I have become rather fond, does not reciprocate my feelings.'

'I must disagree with you, Alexandra. Sir Marcus does seem quite smitten with you.'

'Aunt, please stop. He has made it quite clear that he is only interested in me as a friend.'

'I believe that friendship is a wonderful basis for marriage.'

'Aunt, while I agree with you in principle, how often do I have to repeat that for some people, friendship alone is not enough.'

'Perhaps you and he just need more time to work things out.'

~~H~~

A few days before the guests for their house-party were to arrive, Lady Beatrice received a letter from Lord Matlock.

The missive informed her that the Earl of Marven had been tried for the attempted murder of Lady Beatrice in the House of Lords.

Due to the impeccable witnesses who had heard his confession at Herne House, the verdict had been almost unanimous, with only a few abstentions. He was sentenced to be hung, a sentence which had been carried out the day before.

As a consequence, the family, except for Lady Beatrice had been stripped of all titles, and the Marven estate, at least what was left of it, had been confiscated by the crown.

He added almost as an aside that Reverend Partland had been defrocked and stripped of his living.

Lady Beatrice, who read the letter to her niece, chuckled as she read the last paragraph. 'We will be keeping an eye on those Lords who did not find Marven guilty. This is too good an opportunity for some house-cleaning.'

~~H~~

A/N Sorry, for once I am throwing all sorts of misunderstandings and obstacles in their way.

Will they ever manage to sort things out? 😊

~~H~~

Lady Alexandra's Hunt by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2021