Captain Hartington let himself be dragged into the back gardens, following between Rosalie and Renley as they made for the box hedge maze. There at least, they might get a bit of a reprieve from the gusting wind.
Rosalie didn’t bother fetching a bonnet. She didn’t want to fight to keep it on her head. And instead of a pelisse, she snatched Mariah’s shawl off the back of her chair. She wrapped herself in the soft purple silk, following along after the pair of brooding, long-legged sailors.
As soon as they passed into the hedge maze, the wind died down and she brushed the tangle of loose curls from her face. She caught Renley’s eye and her cheeks warmed at his heated gaze. She looked pointedly away.
“So…how do you two know each other?” Captain Hartington muttered, the corner of his mouth tipping into a grin.
“We met back in September at Alcott Hall,” she replied.
“Ah, yes…the famed Alcott Hall. I’ve heard much about its beauty from Renley over the years.”
She smiled. “None of it is exaggerated.”
It pained her to admit just how much she missed the place already. It was dangerous to think of it as her home, even if her position with the duke seemed to be more settled. A social nobody like Rosalie could never be too careful, nor get too attached.
The captain sighed, tucking one hand in the pocket of his waistcoat. “And what do you make of our Lieutenant Renley here?”
“Easy now, Hart,” Renley laughed. “We can’t ask the lady to spill all her secrets upon a first meeting.”
The captain jabbed Renley with his elbow. “I’m just trying to get the lay of the land. It’s been nigh on three years since we last met, Ren.” He turned to Rosalie. “Are all the ladies falling over themselves to make him a good and proper wife?”
Her smile strained as she glanced to Renley. “I…”
“Ah…I see I’ve stuck a nerve.” He glanced between them, his grin lifting the corner of his mouth. “Is there a secret understanding between the two of you then? Can we expect a letter from Gretna Greene?”
“Christ, you always dive right in, don’t you?”
“You know you can tell your old friend Hart. I am a veritable vault of other people’s scandalous secrets.”
At the sound of Renley’s laugh, Rosalie blushed anew. “That is quite enough,” she pressed, tugging the ends of Mariah’s shawl tighter around her shoulders. “Lieutenant Renley and I are just friends. All those in the Corbin’s inner circle have been very good to me,” she added, not daring to look at Renley, lest it give them both away.
“Fine, keep your secrets,” the captain said with a shrug. “Tell me about this engagement then. Why does Livy seem so miserable over it?”
She glanced over at Renley. His expression was veiled, his smile gone now that they had a grave matter to discuss. He gave her a nod, his meaning clear. It was safe to confide in this man. “Suffice it to say the match may be wanted by certain parties, but it is assuredly not wanted by the pair themselves,” she explained.
The captain paused in his steps, turning to meet Rosalie’s eye. “She’s not in love with him then?”
From his other side, Renley huffed a dry laugh. “The gorgon in love with Burke? She despises him. She hates everyone.”
“Gorgon?” Captain Hartington repeated.
“Aye…that’s what we call her,” Renley muttered. “A bit of an inside joke…sorry, Hart.”
“Livy the Gorgon.” The captain chuckled. “…It fits.”
Renley smirked. “Christ, does it ever.”
“Enough, Tom,” Rosalie chastised. These two may be intimate friends, but she still didn’t like them speaking of Olivia in such a way. She glanced back at the captain. “Lady Olivia does not want the match. Anyone would be upset in her position.”
Hartington growled, cracking the knuckles on each of his massive hands. “Henry would never stand for his sister marrying someone she despised.” He let a slow breath, thinking it over. “I’ll write to him tonight. If it’s the marquess putting pressure on her, maybe Henry can head him off.”
A fresh gust of wind blew down the lane and Rosalie held tighter to the ends of her shawl. “It is not the marquess who conspires,” she said. “If the Rutledges could be free of this match, they would already be gone from this house.”
Captain Hartington scowled. “So…it comes from Norland then. Or is it the brother? Finchley?”
“James is the best of men,” Renley declared from his other side. “He is Burke’s dearest friend and is doing everything in his power to break this engagement…with minimal damage to the lady’s reputation.”
“Wait a goddamn minute,” the captain snapped. “Does this Burke-Corbin character mean to jilt her then? Leave her high and dry before the whole ton?”
Rosalie glanced from Renley back to the captain. “He respects the difficulty of her position. He means to help her if he can…but he will not marry her.”
The captain’s scowl crinkled his ghastly facial scar. “This is preposterous. What kind of gentleman in his position turns down someone like Livy? Is her dowry too great? The lure of a title too overwhelming? This Burke must be slow in the head!”
“Christ, Hart look at me.” Renley took the captain by the shoulder and turned him. “Burke is taken, alright? There is no question of him marrying Olivia Rutledge.”
The captain’s back was now to Rosalie, and his broad shoulders blocked Renley from view, so she couldn’t read either man’s expression. Slowly, his shoulders stiffened under Renley’s hand.
“Taken?” the captain muttered.
“Aye,” came Renley’s soft reply.
The wind whipped around them, tugging at her dress. She was about to speak when the captain’s shoulders relaxed.
“Fine,” he muttered, shifting away from Renley’s touch. “Well, it sounds like you’re all working on some kind of plot to get them out of this.”
“Quite right,” Renley replied. “The plan was all Rose’s idea.”
The captain glanced at her. “And what is this great plan?”
“She wants to be married,” Rosalie replied. “She wants it all—the husband, the children, the life. So, we are finding her a suitor worthy of the name. Someone more respectable than Burke, so she can jilt him without harm to her own reputation.”
Captain Hartington eyed Renley again. “There is no question that Mr. Burke agrees to be jilted?”
“None whatsoever,” Renley replied firmly. “In fact, it is his greatest wish. And we fear we need to move quickly. The forces pushing them together are quite determined. She needs to find a better match, and soon.”
The captain let out a slow whistle. “Well, this is certainly a Herculean task.”
“Perhaps not,” Rosalie replied, even as Renley nodded. “There is an innocence to Lady Olivia that she keeps hidden. I see it in her…I think you do too,” she added with a smile. But she couldn’t lay this on too thick. Not until she was surer of the captain and his shared history with Olivia. “She is strong because she must be. Her life and her status demand it of her. We aim to find her a partner who can be strong with her…strong for her.”
Captain Hartington flashed Rosalie a curious smile. “Yes…I can see why Renley likes you so much.” Before she could reply, he clapped his hands together. “Right, very well. I’m in. Tell me what you need me to do.”
