We arrived back in London the following day, just before dinner. We went straight to Mrs Davis's residence. Her butler, Mr Streeton, showed us in and made the announcements.
"Oh Oliver! I wasn't expecting you so late! Let me ring the bell, perhaps we have enough supper for you all. Who is this charming young Lady you bring with you? Why are you here so late?"
"Supper would be most welcome," I said. "This is Lady Mai Taniyama, daughter of the late Earl of Mallin, niece of the current Earl. She was waylaid on her journey and has lost her belongings. She needs somewhere to stay and I could think of nowhere better. Especially considering Miss Mori is so taken up with her cousins."
"Oh Oliver, of course she can stay here. Come, my dear, take a seat by the fire. The weather is starting to turn."
Lady Mai smiled, eyes wide with fear, and took a seat. Mrs Davis's maid entered and spoke with her mistress for a few minutes before leaving.
"Supper will be a little thin on the ground, but as long as no one is too fussy about the amount of cabbage, we'll all be fed. I'm afraid we've been clearing out the pantry and so I am not as stocked up as I usually am," Mrs Davis admitted. "As long as I have no more late night visitors, we'll be fine."
"Lin and I can leave if—"
"You will stay and have dinner, Oliver. You do not visit me enough!"
Lady Mai smiled at Mrs Davis scolding me and I glowered at her in return.
"Take a seat, Mr Lin, how are you? Miss Mori was quite distraught at your going away. She's being run into the ground with all her cousins visiting. They're only doing it to try and win favour with her father. But hopefully she'll be free of all that, won't she?"
"Mrs Davis, stop pressuring Lin—"
"Do be quiet Oliver. Mr Lin?"
Lin smiled graciously.
"I'm afraid that with the visit of her cousins, I have been unable to request an audience with her father long enough to discuss matters."
"Well I'm sure it'll all be sorted before the year is out." She smiled and turned her attentions back to Lady Mai. "Now where did you get waylaid?"
"She ended up in Southampton, Lin and I were visiting on a business matter and offered to assist her," I said quickly.
"Oliver Davis I was talking to the Lady, not you. Will you keep your tongue!"
"It's quite alright, Mrs Davis," Lady Mai said. "Sir Davis and Mr Lin were my saviours. I was quite lost and had spent over half a day staring out to sea unsure what to do with myself. I had lost my luggage and everything so I really was grateful for their assistance."
"Have you been to Southampton before?"
"Oh no, I had not been as far south as Birmingham before," Lady Mai told her. "My Uncle dislikes London so we do not travel this way very much. He likes the lakes, so we inevitably end up going further north."
"I have not visited the lakes since I was your age," Mrs Davis said. "My husband took me for our honeymoon. Tell me, are they as beautiful as I remember them?"
"I'm sure they must be," Lady Mai said. "But I must admit I have grown quite bored of them."
The two women spoke more of various areas of natural beauty in England until dinner. While we ate, Mrs Davis spoke of all she could do to try and make Lady Mai comfortable while she resided with her.
"I daresay we can find some spare dresses for you. Perhaps not to the quality you usually have, but it'll be better than wearing the same dress several days in a row," Mrs Davis said. "And you must meet Miss Mori, she's an utterly delightful woman."
I rolled my eyes, unseen by Mrs Davis.
Lin and I left after dinner. We went our separate ways with the expectation that we would see each other the following day at the workshop.
I went home and straight to bed, tired after so much travel.
And I woke the next morning to an unexpected guest.
"Sir Davis," Mr Shepard said, having stuck his head through the door to my private chambers. "There is a Lord Mallin outside."
"What time is it?"
"Just before eight, sir."
I groaned.
"Show him to the breakfast parlour and have some food sent in for us both. Tell him I'll be down in ten minutes."
I did not dress with my usual care, but if Lord Mallin was going to call on me at an ungodly hour, then he would just have to deal with it.
When I arrived downstairs, Lord Mallin was pacing around my breakfast parlour, ignoring the offer of food and refreshment.
"Ah, there you are Davis!" he said.
"Good morning, Lord Mallin. Please excuse me but I am quite famished."
I took a seat and began piling food onto my plate.
"Yes, quite," he said, distracted. "I understand that this is entirely my fault. I should never have given the girl that book."
He lost me with this statement.
"Book?" I prompted.
"Yes, that dratted book that she went on about for weeks and weeks. In the end I read it just to appease her, and it's just the same!" Lord Mallin exclaimed. "That sister that ran off with the soldier."
I chewed at my bacon while deciphering his mutterings.
"Lydia Bennett? The one that ran off with Wickham?"
"Yes! That's the one! And Lady Mai has done the exact same thing! I don't know how you found her but—"
"How do you know I found her?"
"Lord Sanditon told me of your note about Southampton, I stopped in London on my way there and one of my servants reported to me last night that you'd returned. I presumed you had found her— You have found Lady Mai, have you not?"
I frowned.
"Yes, I have… She is residing with Mrs Davis, I thought it more proper than—"
"Well yes of course." He sighed heavily and sank into a chair with a hand pressed against his forehead. "This is entirely my fault. How ruined is she? Did she find those wretched stable boys?"
I took a deep breath before replying to this statement.
"No, because those 'wretched stable boys' as you so kindly put it, were never sent to Southampton," I said. "As you full well know."
He looked up at me and I went on.
"I found her sat by the docks, distraught that she could not locate her friends and convinced that you had lied to her."
"Look here, Davis, I set those boys up in a very reputable profession. They are likely doing just—"
"One of them is dead," I interrupted.
"You found them?"
"In a manner of sorts."
He frowned a little.
"Lady Mai is quite settled on the idea of staying in London for a few days," I went on. "Mrs Davis would be quite happy to see to her sightseeing wishes, if you'll allow it."
"What do I have to do to keep you quiet about this? Lord Sanditon's father has already declared that he will not allow his son to accept Lady Mai's hand, but there is still hope that someone else who has not heard of this little escapade might. How much do you want?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Don't be stupid with me, Davis. How much to buy your silence?"
I sighed heavily, reached for a pen, ink and scrap of paper. I wrote something down and passed it to Lord Mallin. As he read it, I stood and tucked my chair back in under the table.
"What is this?"
"Mrs Davis's address, it is where you'll find your niece. Though I suggest you don't take your governess with you when you collect her. It is her fault that Lady Mai ran away. She shouted at your niece for turning Lord Sanditon down."
Lord Mallin frowned and I left the room.
I met Lin at the workshop. He was overseeing some of the carpentry work. After he greeted me, I told him about my guest.
"And you just left?" he asked, once I had finished. "He did not take affront?"
"I imagine he did, but I think he is so desperate for me to keep quiet about it all that I think I could have slaughtered a baby in front of him and he would not have said a word."
"Do you think he'll allow his niece to remain in London for a few days?" Lin asked.
"I imagine Mrs Davis will talk him into it if he tries to take her away too soon."
Lin smiled.
Before anything more could be said, the door burst open.
"Davis, I want to see you in your office."
I turned to see Lord Sanditon. I sighed heavily and led the way.
"Why are you here?" I asked, too tired for pleasantries.
He shut the door behind him before replying.
"Look, I honestly thought you were smarter than this," he said. "Why on earth did you not propose to the girl when you found her?"
Taken aback, I frowned a little.
"Excuse me?"
"When you found Lady Mai, why did you not propose?"
"Why would I do a thing like that?" I asked. "And she was cold, starved and delirious for heaven's sake."
"And once she was warm, fed and coherent?"
"I was more concerned about returning her to her Uncle than—"
"So you do not care for her in the least?"
"That's not what I—"
"Because I thought Miss Hara had it right. I thought you cared for Lady Mai and I thought her interested enough in you…" He sighed heavily. "She had other ideas too but, alas, I guess they were wrong."
"If that is all then perhaps you should—"
He interrupted me again.
"Do you care for Lady Mai?"
He stared at me, wanting a direct answer. I could not see an immediate way out of answering.
"I—"
A loud crash from the workshop cut me off and signalled the arrival of another visitor. I heard someone say something, followed by a shout of—
"I am an Earl, you will not tell me I cannot go anywhere!"
I sighed. What on earth did Lord Mallin want now…?
"Davis! Is this true?!"
He burst into my office and completely ignored Lord Sanditon. He was dragging Lady Mai behind him by the wrist. Lin followed and shut the door behind him.
"Is what true?" I asked. "And you might want to let go of your niece. She is not a doll."
Lord Mallin's cheeks were flaming red as he spoke, pointing between me and Lady Mai.
"She tells me that you lay a hand on her! Is this—"
"Uncle, that is not what I said in the slightest!" Lady Mai cried indignantly. "I kissed him! He did no such thing to me!"
My eyes widened in surprise.
"Did you— Did she— What happened between you?" he demanded.
"I found her by the docks, gave her my coat and offered her my arm to support herself as we walked back to the inn," I stated clearly. "I did nothing—"
"Then why did she just shout to the whole of London that she kissed you or you kissed her or whatever nonsense?! Do you realise what this means?"
He rounded on his niece, still gripping her wrist in a way that was making the other gentlemen in the room uncomfortable.
"Yes I do!" Lady Mai shouted. "You utter blunderbuss! Why do you think I did it?"
"And what will you do if he will not take you for the stupid, hot headed brat that you are?" Lord Mallin shouted back. "Will you live out your days in isolation and—"
Lady Mai wrenched her hand free of her uncle's grip.
"I will live out my days in comfort on my own fortune and in peace, without you leering over me!"
"That will not do! When I took you in, I swore an oath on your father's grave that I would see you cared for and I will not let some—" He gestured wildly at me and struggled for words. I raised my eyebrow at him.
"Some…?" I prompted.
"I will not let someone of your standing marry her," Lord Mallin stated. "She is the daughter of an Earl and she deserves the best."
"I'm not sure you have much choice," Lord Sanditon pointed out. "If she has just told the whole of London that they have already… I think your only chance is to try and persuade Sir Davis to propose. His title might not be hereditary, but he is titled. And his money might come from trade, but he is in a position to buy an estate. Your niece would be well cared for for the rest of her life and so would her offspring…"
Lady Mai beamed at her friend.
Lord Mallin looked from Lord Sanditon to me to his niece. His shoulders deflated.
"This is the man you want?" he asked Lady Mai.
"The only man I want. I will accept no other."
"Good lord, what did I do to deserve this," he muttered. He turned to me. "Will you accept her?"
"On what terms?"
"Terms? She has a fortune far greater than you deserve to touch and—"
"I don't care about that. Will she be allowed to keep Luna? Or is the cat tied to your estate?"
Lord Mallin blinked stupidly.
"The cat? You're concerned about the cat?"
Lady Mai, however, laughed and darted around my desk. She wrapped herself around one of my arms. I tried not to show how pleased I was about this on my face.
"Yes, I am concerned about the cat."
"She can keep the damn cat," Lord Mallin muttered. "What else?"
"Is there anything else you want?" I asked Lady Mai. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lin and Lord Sanditon both smirking.
"I want my Uncle to marry Miss Matsuzaki—"
"You go too far!"
"She is the only woman that will accept you! And you need to marry! You need an heir for the Earldom!" Lady Mai said earnestly. "I no longer need a governess. She is the daughter of a baron, hardly an unrespectable family. Marry her and be done with it, I say."
Lord Mallin huffed heavily.
"I am going to sort out the paperwork and contact the archbishop. Can my niece stay with Mrs Davis until this business is finished with?"
"Yes, I'm sure that Mrs Davis will be delighted."
"Fine."
And with that, Lord Mallin left.
"I think we should wait until after we are married to tell him you were a stable boy," Lady Mai said in a soft voice.
"Oh so you did figure it out," I replied.
She rolled her eyes.
"Of course I figured it out!" she objected. "But why did you not tell me straight?"
"Lady Mai, you just saw your uncle's reaction to him being a knight," Lord Sanditon said. "I can't imagine what he would have said if Davis had admitted to being the stable boy that he, himself, had thrown out all those years ago…"
"He's going to be quite furious when he realises what has happened," Lady Mai said with glee.
"You realise, I never actually told your uncle I would marry you."
She pouted up at me.
"But you will marry me," she said without an element of doubt in her tone.
"Yes, I suppose I will. Are you free for the rest of the morning? I have a new carriage I want to test."
"I suppose I could find time," she replied.
"Lin, could you see to things here?" I asked.
"Of course."
"I trust you can see yourself out, Lord Sanditon?"
"I am sure Mr Lin can help me if I get lost," he replied.
I nodded and led Lady Mai out through the workshop to the stables, where I had some of the young stable boys tack up the pair of thoroughbreds I bought to the racing curricle I had Thomas finish.
Lady Mai insisted I introduce her to all of the stable boys and she complimented them all on their work. I helped her into the cab and we drove out into the London streets.
"So do you know that your uncle hired Lin and I to make you a carriage for a wedding present?" I asked Lady Mai.
"No, I did not. So it was all a ruse?"
"Yes, he has commissioned SPR Carriages for a phaeton for you," I told her.
"How kind of him," she muttered in a way that suggested to me that she was not pleased about it at all.
"Yes, but we'll take his money and give him the phaeton as requested. I thought, however, that you might prefer this…"
"This is not for a client?"
"No," I admitted. "When I returned to London I had this built as my own gift to you."
"But I do not know how to drive a curricle."
"No, you do not," I agreed. "But you can learn, if you are willing. These horses are ex-racehorses and I'm not sure how much they'll like going so slowly all the time…"
"London really isn't the place to race a curricle, Noll," she said. My heart warmed at the use of the old nickname. "But I suppose I could learn at this speed and then when we purchase an estate of our own…"
"Yes, I was thinking about that… Do you have any counties in mind?"
"Nowhere near the lakes," she said and I laughed. "But other than that, I don't much mind. We can search for places once we are married. Though I was not much impressed with Southampton."
I smiled and offered her the reins.
"So lesson number one in how to race a curricle," I said as she took them, "is to trust in your horses."
She laughed, recalling, no doubt, that first evening's conversation at Drifton Manor.
I whipped the horses up into a trot, and together, we rode around London until the horses were exhausted.
We were married two weeks later and moved to a small estate in Cambridgeshire three months after that. Close enough to visit Mrs Davis and Mr and Mrs Lin in London when we wanted. But far enough that we were not crowded by traffic to the city.
Lord Mallin married his governess, much to the excitement of the local gossips. They visited every now and then. Lord Mallin had kicked up a bit of a fuss when he had discovered my true heritage, but as I had been taking such good care of his niece, he did not grumble for too long.
We did not race the curricle when he and his wife visited.
We saved that for every day with fair weather and sometimes, days without.
And that is how a stable boy ended up with his childhood sweetheart.
Author's note: Aww isn't this sweet. They live happily ever after and I thought I was done with regency but a new idea has invaded my brain. Want to know more? Well, you gotta review and ask me about it ;)
If anyone wants to join the GH Discord server, give me a shout, I can get you in! The fandom may be dying but we will not go without a fight because I have nowhere else to go and I love these characters too much! If there are other spaces people prefer to chat on, let me know! I think the chat system on here is okay but a pain if you're not on a laptop/computer...
ALSO! Guess who has a promotion interview tomorrow? That's right. Me. If all goes well, I might post the first chapter of my Nanowrimo story entitled The Battle Front, ask me more about it in a review if you're curious. If the interview goes badly, then I'll just cry. A lot.