Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
Meanwhile, back at Taywards…
W hen was the last time anyone saw Grace?” Westwood asked the group as they stood around after the wedding, ready to climb into carriages to depart for London.
“She was not feeling well during the wedding breakfast this morning, so I sent her to a cabin to lie down,” Faith explained.
“She must have fallen asleep,” Patience said with dawning realization.
All of the sisters exchanged panicked glances. Grace could sleep through the second coming.
“Oh, no!” Faith’s hand flew to her mouth. “We must return to the docks to see if we can catch them before they sail.”
“Ashley and I will go. The rest of you can go on to London, if you wish, before darkness falls,” Westwood said.
Patience could sense the hesitance, but Rotham took charge. “Even if she is on that ship, there is little for any of us to do. Carew will bring her back.”
Patience did not wait to see what the others decided. She was not about to be left behind. She ran to the stables and helped saddle another horse before they all set off towards the docks.
As they dismounted from their mounts, tied them to posts and ran out on the pier, they all stopped, their breaths heaving. There was no ship there.
“We are too late.” Patience stated the obvious as Westwood uttered a curse.
“Do we follow after them?” Ashley asked.
“No,” Patience answered. “What is done is done.”
“Carew will bring her back unharmed,” Westwood said with conviction.
Yet none of them asked the question that was heavy on all of their minds. What would happen to her reputation? There was no secret that Grace was enamoured with the Irish Earl, but he’d shown her no more attention than mere solicitousness. Not the type of connection anyone would want for their sister, Patience mused, especially not now that three of them had found true love.
They stood there staring at the water, as if they could beckon Carew’s ship back by sheer will alone.
“The tide is strong, and who knows how long it will be until he even realizes she is a stowaway?” Ashley asked.
“She did not do it on purpose.” Of that, Patience was certain. Grace was not bold enough nor confident enough in her feminine wiles ever to do such a thing.
“I trust him implicitly,” Westwood said with a hand on her shoulder.
Patience nodded. It was of little comfort to know Grace’s fate was out of their hands.
As they returned to deliver the news to the others, the news was not well received.
“What do you mean Grace is gone?” Faith asked, even though she had to know well and good what had happened.
“I mean that she is not here.”
“Are we ready to depart?” Hope asked as she came into the room. She stopped when she saw Faith. “Is something the matter?”
“Grace did not come off the ship,” Joy explained.
“Then someone should go and fetch her. If we do not set out for London soon, it will be too late to go today.”
“The ship is gone, Hope. It sailed immediately after the wedding.”
“Oh, dear,” Hope said faintly as she sat next to Faith and took her hand for comfort.
“What do we really know of Carew?” Faith asked.
“He is a deliciously mysterious Irishman?” Hope offered.
Rotham scoffed.
Faith ignored the remark. “I have never been concerned about him because he is your friend, but you must admit he does not have the best reputation,” she said to Westwood.
“He has shown no interest in Grace, even though she was taken with him,” Joy said unhelpfully and received a reprimanding look from her sisters. “It is true.”
“Carew will not harm her,” Westwood said emphatically.
“I am relieved to hear it, but that only matters to us. Once word gets out, she will be ruined and we all know it. The servants are probably already talking about it.”
“Then we must control the damage at once.” He opened the door and called for Hartley. Rotham strode into the room, dressed in buckskins, a many-caped greatcoat, and Hessians for travel.
“You must speak not a word to your servants, and carry on to London as you were. We will say Grace went with you, and you will say Grace stayed with us. That should delay discovery until we hear from Carew as to when and where to fetch her.”
“You cannot think to leave her all alone with those, those sailors!” Faith spat the word as though it were venom.
“I feel for Grace, truly I do, but what good would it do to chase after them at this point?”
“We would have our Grace back far more quickly?” she answered rhetorically. “We have no idea what state she is in!”
“But we cannot be certain of the route he is taking. It would only delay a satisfactory reunion by chasing all over who knows where. And I am not a sailor.” Westwood threw up his hands.
“How many routes are there to Ireland? You do know where he lives, do you not?” she retorted.
“I thought it had been decided that we will wait for Carew to return her,” Rotham remarked.
“My lord?” the butler enquired as he stepped into the room.
“Hartley, there was some confusion as to where Miss Grace was. If you hear anyone speak about her being missing, please reassure them that we know exactly where she is. I do not wish to hear any gossip otherwise.”
“Yes, my lord.”
After the butler had closed the door behind him, Faith turned back to Westwood. “Dominic Stuart, we will go after my sister at once. If you refuse to help, then I will go by myself and take whoever cares to come with me.”
“Carew will take care of her.”
“That will do little to salvage her reputation, sir. A chaperone is what my sister needs at the moment.”
“I cannot like you going anywhere since you recently gave birth. Think of the baby,” Westwood said softly.
“Nor you,” Rotham said to Hope.
“I would love to go, and Freddy can go with me,” Joy remarked, and several looks were cast her way. “She would not be alone, at least, and I did not just give birth,” Joy pointed out the obvious, of course not thinking of Freddy Cunningham as an eligible bachelor.
“But you would be alone until you joined her,” Faith said.
“You are game to come along, are you not?” She nudged her friend in his side.
“Of course.” Mr. Cunningham agreed as he always did.
Personally, it seemed very reasonable to Patience, and though she would never say it, she didn’t think Faith was completely rational since having the baby.
“Mayhap Major Stuart and Patience would be better suited for such a task. They would fit both rescuer and chaperone,” Hope suggested.
“But they are just married,” Faith argued.
Patience and Ashley exchanged glances. She did not mind if he did not.
“We will go,” Ashley offered.
“Excellent. We have a plan. I will see to it,” Rotham said, trying to urge everyone out of the door. “I will send another rider to alert my crew to ready my yacht. It is not as big as Carew’s ship, but may catch them faster.”
“I am most grateful to you,” Westwood said and quickly shook Rotham’s hand before the party exited the house.
As the others took their leave, the entry hall and drive buzzed with a flurry of purpose. Instructions were exchanged in clipped tones, and the gentlemen and servants moved determinedly, their urgency tangible. As the others drove away from the house, Faith lingered with worry.
She touched Westwood’s arm lightly. “Stay a moment,” she murmured, her voice steady but low enough to keep their conversation private. Westwood’s brows furrowed, but he nodded and closed the door softly behind him. He gestured for her to speak.
“We must discuss what happens should this situation come to light,” she began, her tone practical. “Whilst I am relieved there is a plan to retrieve Grace, we cannot ignore the consequences should even a whisper of this reach Society. Her prospects, her reputation…everything hangs in the balance.”
Westwood exhaled heavily, rubbing a hand over his face. “I’ve already spoken to Hartley. He will quell any rumours amongst the servants. Ashley and Patience will track her down. We will tell everyone she was with family the entire time.”
Westwood did not seem to understand the gravity of Grace’s situation.
“Even if Grace returns safely, she is with Carew…”
“Indeed. Whilst I do not think he will harm her, I cannot see him as a good match for Grace. Two more incompatible beings would be difficult to find. There is a darkness to him that I would shield her from.”
“Then we must consider the possibility of a swift marriage to someone else.”
Westwood’s brows lifted, and a wry smile curved his lips. “And would you have a candidate in mind, my lady? Or do you intend for me to scour the countryside?”
“I trust you would find no shortage of eager suitors,” Faith replied lightly, “but I would suggest we tread carefully. Any arrangement must be for Grace’s happiness as well as her reputation.”
Westwood nodded with resolution. “I will consider it, but she has had plenty of time to choose someone else and has not.”