A Midsummer Bride (17 page)

Once she had divested herself of her unwanted suitors, Harriet felt moderately better, but she was still in a drawing room filled with people who found her mere presence an inconvenience. She needed escape. She needed to talk to Thornton. Ever since their kiss earlier that day, she had thought of him, dreamed of him, wanted to spend more time with him. She saw him in the drawing room, making polite conversation, looking, if anything, more formal and reserved than usual.

He glanced her way once then turned away, never to look in her direction again. It was frustrating and lonely. Now that her suitors were gone, she was obliged to sit by herself as the rest of the drawing room thronged with vitality, people talking, people laughing, a young lady on the pianoforte exhibiting her considerable skill. A few young people even got up to dance as she played a reel. It was quite the diverting sight—if only she had been invited.

Harriet quietly left the drawing room to have a little break. The hall was cooler than the room, a relief after so much pressure and heat. She wandered to the library again, in search of a good book, or at least privacy. She had read through her chemistry book while she was “ill” and was ready for more.

In America, she was considered a bit of an oddity for her interest in alchemy, but her family was well-known, and she was always welcome in gatherings to talk and laugh, play and dance. She never entirely fit in, but she never considered herself an outsider before now.

Though her back was to the door, she knew the moment Thornton entered the library. The door squeaked, and footsteps fell on the floor behind her. His boots. His steps.

“Good evening, Lord Thornton,” she said without turning around.

He walked around her chair and sat in one across from her. “How did ye ken who it was?”

She smiled at his drab attire and his somber face. “I know your step.”

The fact did not appear to please him. “Miss Redgrave, I noted ye came here and I felt I needed to talk with ye about what occurred this afternoon.”

No. Don’t. “I do not see that we need to—”

He held up his hand to stop her. “I cannot rest easy with my conduct. It was too forward. I should not have taken ye riding unchaperoned. The nature of my conversation was not appropriate, and my actions I can only look upon with regret. I do apologize for the discomfort I have exposed ye to then and now. Please do forgive me.” He stood. Bowed. And left the room.

Her book slid from her hand and dropped to the floor. It was over then. She had lost her only friend.

***

Harriet rushed out of the library and away from the company of guests as far as she could, emerging on the top of a turret, without quite knowing how she got there. She could not return to the drawing room, could not stay in the library, and could not go to her room. She wanted to be where no one could find her. She wanted to go home.

Always a practical girl, Harriet rarely cried, but the tears ran down her face without a thought to sensibility. She missed her mother, her father, and even her brothers. She missed home, where she was accepted and where she belonged.

In the still of the summer night, truth crept in on soft paws. If she was honest, truly honest, she did not fit in at home either. People were kinder to her, and her family made sure she did not hear most of the gossip, but little bits managed to slip through the cracks.

What kind of heiress did experiments in her garden shed and spoke of minerals with the passion that most young women reserved for Byron? She was different. Where other ladies her age were married with children, she remained awkward in social situations. She had no credible suitors; her father or brothers ran off anyone who smelled of fortune hunting, which meant there was no one left to show interest.

Truth was, she was an outsider even before coming to the British Isles.

She wiped away more tears and blew her nose on a handkerchief. She leaned on one of the parapets and put her cheek down on the cool stones. Maybe if she closed her eyes and wished very hard she could wake up in a different world where science was considered fashionable and a woman was judged not by her external beauty but by her knowledge of basic elements. She smiled in spite of her situation and tried to imagine a world in which she would be the leader of society and everyone would be envious of her collection of acids and bases.

“
Bonsoir, mademoiselle
.”

Startled, Harriet opened her eyes to find the impeccably dressed d’Argon. “Oh. It’s you. Hello.” She could not even muster enough energy to be polite. She had not hiked up several flights of stairs to be accosted by another fortune hunter, even if he was French.

“I can see I am disturbing you. A thousand pardons,
mademoiselle
, I merely wished to take in something of the view. It is very nice, no?”

“It’s dark. Can’t see a thing.”

“Ah but the stars, they are very beautiful.”

Harriet glanced up and was slightly surprised by just how many stars hung low in the sky. They twinkled brightly, clustered in a wide band that crossed the sky. To the north, Harriet was surprised by dancing lights of green and blue. “My word, what is that?”

“It is what I hoped to see. The northern lights. Aurora borealis. I have heard of it, but never before have I been at such a northern latitude to see it.”

The lights flickered and danced before her eyes. It was startling. How could she not have noticed it before? The tears must have clouded her vision. She stood a little taller and took a deep breath of the cool, clean air.

“Thank you for showing them to me,” murmured Harriet.

“I thought it was why you were here.”

Harriet shook her head. “I needed to be alone.”

“I am disturbing you then. I shall leave you.”

“No, no, it is all right. I am sorry to be such poor company. Stay and watch the show. I could not deny you the opportunity to see it.”

“I thank you.”

They watched in silence until d’Argon commented, “No one knows what causes it. Perhaps the gods, they are angry.”

“I believe science will explain it. Perhaps it is related to magnetic fields as Benjamin Franklin proposed. I should like to discover its cause someday.”

The duc turned to her, one eyebrow raised. “You should like to be a scientist?”

Harriet bristled at the jab at a fresh wound. “Yes, I should like to be one very much. In truth, I study chemistry. I like to do experiments as my uncle did before me.” She met his surprised look eye for eye, her chin raised. She was tired of pretending to be someone she was not.

The duc paused for a moment, clearly surprised. “Why, this is marvelous. I should like to hear more of it. One does not often meet a young lady with such a passion for alchemy.”

Was he merely flattering her? He could not possibly be interested, could he? “You need not feign interest to be polite. I understand it is a topic few find as interesting as I.”

“I cannot claim to possess such an expertise as you have, but I am always willing to better myself. Now tell me, for I am interested, what is Mr. Franklin’s theory on the aurora borealis?”

So Harriet described the theory to him. He listened intently, and even asked questions that showed her he was actually paying attention. Best of all, she did not feel she needed to feign disinterest or lack of knowledge. She could simply be herself.

“Fascinating,” declared d’Argon. “I am so glad you were here to describe it to me.”

“I am glad you were here to point it out to me.”

“May I ask, or perhaps I am too bold, may I ask why you came to here, to be alone?”

Harriet sighed. “I am a newcomer here. I often feel a bit out of step with the rest of the company.”

The duc nodded. “I have understanding of what you say. I also am come from afar. It is often I feel a longing to be back in the country of my birth.”

“Yes, I know how you feel. I miss my parents awfully.”

“I also miss my parents. They died in the horror. The guillotine.”

“I am so sorry for your loss.” A lump formed in Harriet’s throat. She was lonesome for a home she could still return to. But the duc, he had lost everything. He could not return.

He turned and faced the green lights, softly swaying, his face a picture of noble suffering. “I like to remember them as it used to be.” He turned back to her. “But I must live here and now. Even though I am, as you say, an outsider, I still choose to move forward. One cannot change the past, but one can choose the future.”

“Yes, you are right.” She felt better now. Stronger. She would not let narrow-minded people tell her who she was. “I should not let others make me feel small.”

“No, indeed you should not. Were you feeling the smallness?”

Harriet smiled at the way he phrased things. “Yes, the smallness I was certainly feeling.”

“Is that why you created the story of not inheriting your dowry and having to live in America to claim it?”

Harriet smiled. “Did you see through that ruse? You would be the only one. I simply wished people to want to speak to me because they enjoyed my company, not because they coveted my inheritance.”

“A worthy cause. Many a mistruth was spoken for far less a noble purpose.”

“I appreciate your understanding. I hope you will not reveal this deception to the world.”

“No, indeed, I shall not. I shall keep your secret, on that you can rely.” The duc took a step closer to her, his voice low and throaty.

“I should go,” said Harriet. For the first time, she realized she was on a tower quite unchaperoned with a man.

“No, do not be so hasty. I should like to hear more of your stories of your homeland.”

“Perhaps tomorrow.” Harriet took a step toward the exit.

The duc took another step blocking her. “No, I insist you stay to speak. There is much we can learn from each other,
n’est-ce pas
?”

In her mind Harriet had a flash of fortune hunters who were known to compromise a young lady, thus forcing a marriage. Was he trying to compromise her, or did he simply wish to be friendly? If he thought he was going to put pressure on her to stay one moment more than she wished, he had no idea he was speaking to the daughter of Captain Redgrave, scourge of the sea.

“Very kind of you but must dash.” Harriet stepped up to him and vigorously shook his hand. “Have a nice sleep.” She stepped forward and shouldered past him, more than brushing by him. “So sorry, good night.”

The surprise on his face was evident, and he stepped back instantly, making her feel poorly for attributing to him such dastardly motivations. “
Bonsoir, mademoiselle
. I hope you will have a pleasant sleep.”

Sleep? Harriet flew down the stairs all the way down to her room. It had been a long, emotional day, but one that was illuminating. New facts had come to light. New variables had been introduced. If her life were a science experiment, it was about to get interesting.

Harriet stared out her window at the castle ruins above, barely visible in the early dawn. She had gone to her castle laboratory every morning—but not today. She did not wish to see him today. She had to remind herself not to be disappointed. Thornton had been honest with her from the start. He said he would not marry her nor any other lady, and he had kept his word, so why should she be upset?

She was not upset. And she did not care. At all. Not in the least. She wasn’t even thinking about it.

Harriet paced in her bedroom until she could take it no longer and strode out behind the house in the opposite direction from the castle. Someone had made a halfhearted attempt at taming the wild bushes and trees, particularly those that could be seen from the house. But once she got beyond a few yards, the gardens turned wild. They matched her mood. She brushed past unkempt bushes and sprinted past overgrown trees. It was good to get some fresh air, to be out in nature again.

She decided it was time for a brisk constitutional up and down the overgrown paths and into fields of heather. The grasses brushed her skirts, most likely leaving stains, but she continued without a care. Her social credit could not be made much lower if she walked about with stains or even entered the ballroom as naked as when she was born. Of course, then she might be locked up for lunacy.

She breathed deeply. She could get used to living here. It was wild and the air was fresh and sweet. It brought to mind her family once more and she hoped they had received her letter telling of her safe arrival.

If her parents could be reassured, she would enjoy spending more time in Great Britain. Not in society, of course, but this was the hub of scientific exploration. Many scientists had moved from France to avoid the Terror and had organized communities of people with like-minded interests. Naturally, she would be banned from these meetings. No single female would be allowed. It just was not done.

A married lady might have a chance, as Lavoisier’s wife had been accepted due to her marriage to a noted scientist. If only she could find a man interested enough in chemistry to support her by gaining entry for both of them into scientific meetings. Maybe she could even write a treatise about her results and publish under his name. She smiled at her happy dream.

Harriet reached the top of a rise and sat on a fallen tree to enjoy the view. The top of Thornton Hall was visible through the trees below her. Farther away, the old castle ruins rose majestically in the distance. It was a lovely view and she remained there until the sun rose over the hills. She was calmer and refreshed from the exercise.

In the distance, a man on horseback rode along a country road below her. She stood to see who it was and the Duc d’Argon came into view. He noted her as he got closer and stopped to wave up at her. She waved back. He dismounted and began to walk up the hill to see her, and she obligingly ran down to meet him.

“Miss Redgrave! It is a surprise to see you.”

“I went for a walk.” Harriet caught her breath from her run. Perhaps, she realized too late, skipping down the hills of heather might be seen as quite unsophisticated and unladylike, but d’Argon, if a trifle surprised, only smiled at her. A welcome change from the almost constant barrage of criticism.

“And a healthy walk it must have been. You are far from the house.”

“Am I? Such a beautiful day, so I kept going. It is lovely here.”

“Ah yes, I have also been enjoying the countryside. It is a lovely but wild place, no?”

They walked back to the road and d’Argon walked beside her, leading his horse down the narrow lane, which eventually led back to the house.

“I did not know you enjoyed riding. Is this your mount?” asked Harriet.

“No, I cannot claim it. I borrowed the horse from our gracious host to see if my equipment had arrived. I sent it separately to the nearest town to Thornton Hall.”

“Equipment?”

“It is nothing much, only some things to help me make some observations.”

“Observations?” The man had certainly caught her interest.

“
Oui
. But maybe you would be interested. When I had received an invitation to Thornton Hall, I hoped the northern latitude would allow me to witness what I had heretofore only read of in books, the aurora borealis. It is so pleasant to have this wish gratified and to have shared this first night with you. I have sent myself my telescopes, through which I hope to observe this phenomenon further and perhaps even present my observations at the Royal Academy of Science. But I should not bore you with such things.”

“Oh, I am far from bored. Have you been to some of the meetings of the Royal Academy?”

“
Oui
. I can tell you it was the greatest honor of my life. I have endured many unfortunate occurrences. I survived the Terror, yes, unlike my parents, but though I was safe, I was far from home. I have been lost. Then a friend invited me to a lecture, and a new world opened for me. I began to take interest in things; I began to see that my life could have purpose once more.”

“You must have endured much,” said Harriet with feeling.

The duc only gave her a wistful smile. “Many things I would change, but I cannot. This is my life. I must play the hand I am dealt. I must do what I must to survive.”

“I am glad you have found solace in scientific inquiry. I have always found it to be a comfort.”

“In what way,
mademoiselle
?”

Harriet smiled involuntarily. Something about being called
mademoiselle
in a sultry French accent sent shivers down her spine. “Science is constant. It does not judge; it has no bias; it simply is. The secrets of the world are available to all with the patience and temperament to unlock them. It is a great equalizer. Your upbringing, your pedigree, mean nothing; only what you can do with your mind matters. It is open to all thinking people without prejudice.”

“I feel in myself the same. It is a comfort to connect with absolute truth, not something of relative opinion. I enjoy facts.”

“Yes! Me also!” cried Harriet. “I cannot tell you what a pleasure it is to have found someone so like-minded.”

“I cannot express how much it pleases me to have been able to give you pleasure.” His voice dropped lower and the smile in his eyes heated.

Harriet turned away and tried not to blush. Of all the stupid telltale signs, blushing was the one she wished she could ban from her life forever. She had thought herself safe speaking of science, but somehow it had turned into something else. Once again she realized, too late, that she most likely should not be walking by herself with a man. And yet they were never out of sight of the house. Surely there could be no real harm.

“Did you know that Lord Thornton has a copy of one of Lavoisier’s works in his library?” d’Argon changed the subject. “Someone has borrowed it for now, but I hope it will be soon returned so I may read it.”

“What a remarkable coincidence! I am reading that book!” declared Harriet.

“You are? Well, of course, you told me so your own self that you have an interest in chemistry.”

“I shall lend it to you immediately.”

“No, no, you must keep your book.” D’Argon held up his hand to silence protest. “No, and I insist on that. However, I would not be opposed if you would tell me a thing or two of what you have learned.”

“I would be delighted to. But I must allow you some reading time as well.”

“Perhaps we can do this. We can share the book; you spend some time reading then myself, and we can discuss what we have read together.”

“Yes, I would love that!” Harriet clapped her hands in excitement, in a manner not at all consistent with a lady.

“I am glad the plan meets with your approval.”

“I am glad we met. You are so different than any of the other men I have been introduced to. I cannot imagine speaking of scientific theories to anyone within the
haut
ton
. It is rare to find anyone who shares my interest even remotely.”

“You should enjoy attending scientific meetings then, to be with a room of like-minded individuals and listen to investigations.”

“I should love that above all else, but as an unmarried female, I would be barred.”

“I would gladly serve as your escort, but no, as we are both unmarried it would not do.”

“No, unfortunately not.”

“We shall devise some plan,” said the duc. “Perhaps as a married lady, you could attend with your husband.”

“Yes.” Why must she always need a husband to do what she wanted to do? And where could she find one quick?

“And we are returned to Thornton Hall,” said the duc as they arrived at the house. “It has been so refreshing to speak with you. I hope to have this repeated many times in the future.” He bowed and walked off toward the stables, his gray horse following behind.

He enjoyed science. He was unmarried. He did not appear to be horrified by her presence.

Perhaps it was time for a new plan?