Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
The rest of the guests were expected to arrive in time for a late luncheon so Alice and Anthony decided to set off early on horseback to visit her family home the following morning.
Alice could hardly wait to see the horses in her family’s stables as well as the dogs and cats and it would be pleasant to ride with Anthony and feel that they were re-establishing a friendship of sorts.
Accompanying him on a horse ride was one of the many things she would miss when she was married, but it could not be helped.
Anthony was not interested in her, he was going to marry Sarah and there was nothing Alice could do about that.
It would be pointless to hold that against him when he was trying hard to help her and to be friends, and being back in the countryside seemed to have relaxed them and they walked out to the stables together companionably.
Two horses were being saddled up ready for them.
“Rosalind!” Alice cried in delight as she recognised the mare. “What is she doing here?”
“I thought you would enjoy riding her while you were staying. I know your estate does not have a suitable mount for you at the moment . . .”
Alice blushed at the mention of her family’s financial circumstances. Not that she had anything to be embarrassed about, she reminded herself. It seemed Anthony already knew the finer details of their estate’s accounts.
“Thank you,” she said, stroking Rosalind’s neck. “That was very kind of you.”
They enjoyed their ride together, racing for part of it, and reminiscing about the games they all used to play outside when they were younger. “Not that you often let us girls play with you,” reminded Alice.
“You were quite a bit younger than your brother and I,” argued Anthony. “And you in particular had a habit of never doing what we had asked you to. At least your sisters listened.”
“I listened! But one time you told me to be a tree and made me stand still for an hour while you and Henry were knights besieging a castle.”
“It sounds like that was not a suitable game for young ladies,” Anthony responded. “I am inclined to believe I made the right choice making sure you were out of harm’s way.”
Alice shot him a glare but was quickly distracted by the sight of her home as they reached the brow of the hill.
It had only been a matter of weeks but it seemed so much longer and it was wonderful to see the building which held so many memories for her.
Of course, she planned to head straight to the stables to introduce Rosalind to the horses there.
Anthony smiled as she slid off Rosalind and greeted each of her family’s horses in turn. He tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a bag of apples he had retrieved from his saddle bag. “Thank you,” she said, rewarding him with a grin before turning her attention back to the animals.
She was beautiful in London, but in the country, she was luminous.
Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed with happiness, and her hair shone in the spring sunshine.
The thought of all the eligible men arriving in just a few hours' time made him clench his fists.
The next few days were not going to be easy for him to get through, but he had to do his best to help Alice in her quest. Finding a husband was what she wanted, and he wanted her to be happy.
He wanted that more than anything. At least this way he could do his own research into any man showing any particular interest in her.
Make sure that he was worthy of . . . of .
. . of everything that was so wonderful about Alice.
Henry eventually came out to find them. “Were you planning on coming into the house at all, or were you just going to stay out here with the horses?” he enquired, leaning on the door of the stall Alice was in.
“I imagined you would wander out here eventually,” Alice laughed and came over to give her brother a hug.
“And should I have a pot of tea served out here as well?” Henry enquired.
“No, I will come in,” Alice said. “For a little while anyway.”
She would be so glad to be done with London and back here properly.
Hopefully, this house party would mean her meeting her future husband and she could return home.
Until her wedding at least. After which, she would have a new home who knows where, but ideally not too far from her family.
And hopefully her husband would want to spend plenty of time in the country.
She took in the house as they walked around the outside of it to the front door, examining it as she maybe never had before.
If Henry did not manage to get a grip on the estate’s finances, would he be forced to sell?
Perhaps he could rent out the house. She had heard of families doing that and then leasing a smaller place to live in.
At least then it would remain in the family until such a point as Henry could afford to reside in it again, but Alice hated the idea of strangers living in the house she had grown up in and in which she had said goodbye to both of her parents.
She blinked away tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes.
She was being silly and getting ahead of herself.
One step at a time. She could help. She would find a husband who would be willing and able to stabilise the finances of her family’s estate.
Maybe he could invest in the farmland attached to the estate to make it more profitable, build more houses for the farmworkers . . .
Alice jumped. Electricity coursed through her as she felt Anthony place his hand on her arm. “Are you well?” he mouthed to her. She nodded in response and he gave her a kind smile before removing his arm.
When it was past time for them to leave, Alice had to be practically dragged away from her precious horses so they would not be late for the guests at Anthony’s house.
“I am doing this for you, you know?” he said grumpily.
“I know, I am sorry. I am coming now,” said Alice, giving one last glance over her shoulder at the stables.
The first carriages began to arrive as Alice was still getting changed.
She found she was in no hurry to greet the newcomers and she was very tempted to ask Beth to redo her hair again to delay her needing to go socialise for longer.
There had been something so lovely about being here just with family.
But that was not going to get her a husband she told herself firmly, and she gave herself a final once-over in the mirror, thanked Beth, and headed downstairs to meet her future husband.
“There are rather a lot of very good-looking young ladies here,” grumbled Alice quietly as she joined Anthony outside the house to greet the arrivals.
Anthony chuckled. “It would look a little peculiar if I had not invited any females along. Anyway, none of them stand a chance with any of those gentlemen with you here,” he stated firmly. He walked away to say something to a friend of his, leaving Alice smiling.
Anthony greeted everyone as they arrived and directed them inside the house to where refreshments awaited them. Finally, Alice saw her siblings coming up to the house on horseback, with someone with them. On a chestnut stallion she recognised.
Alice caught Anthony’s eyes and gave him a questioning look.
“Sir Marcus Payne,” Anthony explained. “I believe you wished to be introduced to him.”
“I did,” confirmed Alice, feeling flustered and suddenly like she wanted to run away. Thankfully the riders reached them before she could follow through with her inclination.
Her sisters were fake swooning and desperately trying to signal to her from behind Sir Marcus’ back but she ignored them as Anthony said, “Sir Marcus Payne, allow me to introduce Miss Alice Fairfax. I believe you are both keen riders and will have plenty to converse on over the next few days.”
Sir Marcus Payne was even more handsome than she had believed him to be when she saw him briefly on Rotten Row, but he had an easy smile and kind eyes which she liked and helped him seem more approachable and less like some kind of Greek god.
Alice blushed slightly as she curtseyed in response to Sir Marcus’ bow and he said, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Fairfax. Your reputation precedes you and I have been anxious to make your acquaintance. Lord Tonbridge is correct, I am a keen rider and love nothing better than discussing horses with a fellow enthusiast.”
After luncheon, during which Alice sat next to Sir Marcus and enjoyed their conversation about his rebuilding of the stables on his estate, it was decided that the beautiful weather should be taken advantage of.
A walk around part of the estate was agreed upon, which even Aunt Jane was persuaded to join.
Alice found she hung back a little allowing Sir Marcus to go ahead, though she did not know why.
She was probably just a bit nervous around him as she tended to be with new people and needed a break from his attention, as welcome as it was.
She naturally fell into step beside Anthony, as he wanted to point out a particular oak tree she once got stuck climbing in.
“Do you remember me rescuing you from it?” he whispered into her ear, sending goosebumps down her body and making her feel a little light headed.
Alice took a deep breath to centre herself. “I remember you threatening to leave me up there all night,” she countered, laughing.
“I had warned you not to go up there and you had completely ignored me!”
“I do not recall that part,” replied Alice primly, now back on firm ground with Anthony and how they interacted with one another.
“I am quite sure you must be making it up. I do, however, recall that you called me Little Squirrel for the first time as we reached the ground. That awful memory is ingrained in my mind.”
“You were crying,” Anthony said. “I was attempting to make you feel better.”
Before Alice could respond, she heard her name being called by her brother.
She turned to find Henry advancing towards her with Sir Marcus in tow. “I was just telling Sir Marcus about how you calmed that mare no one could go near for weeks after she arrived. The stable hands were at their wit’s end.”
“It was nothing,” Alice said. “She probably just needed a female touch.”
Henry and Anthony dropped back and Sir Marcus began asking Alice about the horses they kept in the stables at Fairfax Hall. Alice looked over her shoulder at Anthony, who had fallen into conversation with Henry, before somewhat reluctantly returning her attention to Sir Marcus.
Sir Marcus stayed by Alice’s side for the rest of the day, attentive to her every whim and desire.
She soon learnt about the estate he had recently inherited - perfect as it was both in the countryside and so close to her siblings, though it did sound terribly grand - and that he had one younger sister who spoke French fluently and was an accomplished artist.
His attentions were flattering. Alice had never experienced anything like it before in her sheltered country life.
To begin with, she kept expecting him to wander off when he discovered someone more interesting to talk to, or a prettier girl caught his attention, but, when he showed every indication of wanting to remain talking to her, she began to relax and enjoy his company.
He was certainly charming, if a little too fond of his own appearance.
Anthony spent his time with Henry, but Alice caught him looking over to check on her regularly . . . every time she glanced over at him in fact. It was reassuring having him watch out for her.
At the end of the day, when Sir Marcus and her siblings were preparing to leave with promises to return the following morning, Sir Marcus took Alice’s hand in his and lifted it to his lips. “Sleep well,” he said, his gaze meeting hers. “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
“You too,” said Alice with a smile. His attention was lovely, but she could not help but notice that her body did not respond to his touch anything like it did when Anthony was even merely in the same room as her.