Chapter 7
Later that evening, when she returned to Humberly Hall, Meleri found Elizabeth waiting and proceeded to tell her of the meeting with Philip.
“Thank God it’s over,” her sister said, sounding supremely relieved. “I was on pins and needles. You were gone for such a long time.”
“It was for a good cause. I still can’t believe Waverly allowed his pride to get the best of his judgment. Before I knew what was happening, he was acting like the decision to go our separate ways was his idea.”
“He could deny that, of course.”
“I thought of that. Luckily, Tony and Harry were there, so I asked them to swear to what they had witnessed.”
“And they did?”
Meleri could not hold back her smile. “They did.”
Elizabeth fairly beamed with delight. “I was on my way to join Father for dinner. Will you join us?”
“I will, but first I must change out of these clothes.”
“Don’t be long. You know how impatient Father is.”
The next morning, Meleri opened her eyes at daybreak. Her first thought was that she was free: free of Lord Waverly; free of her betrothal; free of marriage to such an undesirable man.
She was dressed by the time Betty came into her room with her breakfast. “Well lud! You are up early, milady…and dressed! Are you going somewhere?”
“No place other than downstairs. Is Elizabeth up?”
“Yes, milady, she is having tea in the garden.”
“Lovely. I think I’ll join her.”
Meleri found Elizabeth in the garden, just as Betty said. Over a cup of tea, she explained her meeting with Philip in detail. “I cannot tell you how relieved I am to have this over with.”
“I keep having a nagging feeling that it isn’t as over as we think,” Elizabeth said.
“There is little Philip can do about it now. He called the betrothal off and I have Harry and Tony as witnesses.”
“I know, but still I worry.”
“Don’t worry. All will be well. Do come with me into the rose garden. I want to gather some roses for Mrs. Mayhew. I want to send them over with a sweater I knitted for her new baby.”
“Goodness! Is Mrs. Mayhew still birthing babies? How many does that make?”
“Thirteen, I believe.”
“Lord above, if I had half that number, I would insist upon separate bedrooms…no, separate floors!”
The sisters laughed, and arm in arm, made their way down to the rose garden.
After lunch, Meleri went for a short ride. When she returned, she ran into Mrs. Hadley. “There you are,” Mrs. Hadley said. “I have been looking everywhere for you.”
“I only this moment returned from my ride. Is something amiss?”
“Your father has been looking for you.”
“Where is he?”
“He was taking some sun in the garden, but that was some time ago. I doubt he is still there now.”
“I’ll find him,” Meleri said, and went in search of her father.
She found him easily, looking first in one of his favorite places, the library. He was sitting at the grand carved table that stood in an alcove, surrounded by mullioned windows on three sides. Stacked around him were volumes of old and ancient books, most of them quite rare. Two of them were considered priceless editions.
He was bent over one of his books with a magnifying glass when she came into the room. “Papa, may I talk to you?”
Sir William raised his head and pushed his glasses up from the place they had slipped, farther down his nose. “Melli, my child. Come in, come in!” he said. “I’ve something to show you.”
She was so overcome to realize her father recognized her that she could not at first move. When she finally did, she approached the chair on the opposite side of the desk from him.
“No, no, don’t sit there! Come over here, so you can better see.” She had no more than started around the desk, when Jarvis came into the room. Meleri turned toward him. “Pardon the intrusion, milady, but this just came for Sir William.”
She took the letter and saw the crest of Lord Waverly. “Lord Waverly is here?”
“No milady. One of the Duke of Heatherton’s grooms delivered it.”
Meleri’s heart beat violently. Why would Philip send a letter to her father? He was not the type to want to explain things. She barely had time to shove the letter into her pocket when her father asked, “Is something amiss?”
“No, everything is fine. It was only a messenger with a letter for Elizabeth,” she said, feeling horrible and guilty for lying to her father, even though she knew it was necessary. “I must run the letter upstairs and give it to her. I’ll be right back.”
Sir William had already picked up his magnifying glass and returned to his scrutiny of the tome in front of him.
Meleri rushed up the stairs and found Elizabeth in her room. She explained about the letter.
“What does it say?” Elizabeth asked anxiously.
Meleri fished the envelope out of her pocket. “I haven’t read it. It just this moment came.”
She started to tear the envelope, then thought better of it, and handed the envelope to Elizabeth. “Here. You open it. I find I am too nervous.”
Elizabeth’s hands, she noticed, were shaking as she withdrew the note from Waverly and began to read.
Dear Sir William,
Meleri paid me a visit today. She was not in her best frame of mind. At any other time, this would have been of no import, but today I was feeling a bit under the weather, and I am afraid I allowed my irritation with her unruliness to get the best of me. When she said she wanted to cry off, I was in no mood to beleaguer the point. I felt it best to humor her, to play the indulgent father, until she was of a nature to see things differently.
When she left Heathwood, I fear she left with the mistaken impression that our engagement was ended. Nothing could be further from the truth. As I said, I only humored her to give her time to see the foolishness of her error. I send you this note, only to inform you of what happened. Knowing Meleri as I do, I am certain she will insist to you that I agreed most heartily.
It is my dearest hope that on the morrow she will awaken and find her delicate sensibilities have settled back to normal. I think I have been patient in waiting long enough for Meleri to mature. It is time to set a date for our wedding. In a day or so, I will ride over to visit with you before I speak with her.
I feel certain we can appease whatever it is that her weakened female mind has begun to imagine. Once we are married, I have every confidence that she will stop her foolishness and become the dutiful and obedient daughter and wife we have both so long desired.
Until tomorrow, I remain, your faithful and future son-in-law,
Philip
“Oh, the bounder!” Elizabeth said as she refolded the letter and returned it to the envelope. She handed it to Meleri, whose hands were trembling as she put it back into her pocket.
“I don’t understand what happened to make Philip change his mind,” Meleri said. “He certainly did not suddenly fall madly in love with me. It makes no sense.”
“What does make sense is his comment that you will stop your foolishness and become a dutiful, obedient daughter and wife, once you are married,” Elizabeth said. “That makes me think he means to beat you into submission, if need be.”
“I don’t doubt that is precisely what he meant.”
Elizabeth took Meleri’s face in her hands. “I know this will be difficult for you, but surely you see you must leave here as soon as possible. You must put as much distance between yourself and Lord Waverly as you can. I have already alerted the staff of my intention to take Father back to London. I shall hasten to see if they cannot have things ready for us to leave in the morning. I think it would be best if you left before us, at first light. That way, if Lord Waverly should arrive before we depart, I will do all I can here to stall him, or at least send him on a fool’s errand.”
She knew things were desperate, and listening to Elizabeth slapped her with reality. Elizabeth was right. She could no longer stay here. She was not naive enough to think she could persuade Philip a second time.
Her only problem was she had no destination in mind. There must be some place, she thought. Where can I go, where no one knows who I am?
“Where will you go?”
Meleri looked down at her hands. “I don’t know. I thought I had more time to arrange things.”
Elizabeth thought for a moment. “What about your former nanny? Don’t you still correspond with her?”
“Agnes! Of course,” Meleri said. “She would be perfect. She detests Lord Waverly, and she lives in Scotland, near Gretna Green.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes and crossed her hands over her breasts. “An answer to a prayer. Now, hurry and see to your packing, but remember to take no more than you can easily carry on horseback. I don’t think it wise for you to take the carriage or anyone with you. It would make you easier to track. I’ll ask Mrs. Hadley to pack you something to eat.”
Without wasting another moment, Meleri hurried to her wardrobe and took down her letterbox. Inside, she found the last letter she had received from Agnes, written a few months after her husband died. She invited Meleri to come for a visit and gave directions to her cottage.
Meleri shoved that letter into her pocket, along with the one from Waverly. She would not bother to pack anything. She would be traveling at a fast pace and did not want to carry any extra weight that would only slow her down. Clothes could be bought. Her freedom could not.
After a night of restlessness and dreams, Meleri awoke as the first pale pink veins of dawn streaked the sky. Half an hour later, she rode hard, until she could no longer see her beloved Humberly Hall. She could not think about that now, she reminded herself. It occurred to her that she was past foolish to have left home without any money, save the small amount Elizabeth had given her. She shuddered to think what would happen if the mare foundered and went lame. She would never be able to escape Philip on foot.
She would not think upon it further. She would be well away by the time Philip arrived and that was the important thing. No matter what happened to her, it could not be as bad as going back to a life with Lord Waverly.
“Look to the future and Scotland,” she told herself, and urged the mare ahead, trying not to think about the huge shadow the future cast upon the present.