A Comfortable Wife (Regencies 8)

With that, she touched her heels to the black's sides and took off through the woods.

Philip watched her go, his eyes slitted, his gaze as sharp as honed steel. Suddenly, he recalled he rode much heavier than she—he couldn't let her get too far ahead. With a curse, he set out in pursuit.

Despite his best efforts, Antonia was still in the lead when the end of the ride hove in sight. It led up to a small knoll at the back of the woods; cresting the rise, Antonia saw a single horseman waiting patiently. Recognizing his square frame, she waved; moments later, she drew up alongside Henry Fortescue.

He returned her greeting punctiliously, nodding as Philip joined them, then, somewhat glumly, turned to Antonia. "From your presence, I take it all is lost?"

Antonia blinked at him. "Heavens, no! Catriona is too well watched for it to be safe for her to ride out to meet you—Ruthven and I came in her stead."

Ignoring Philip's glance, she smiled brightly and was re­warded with a smile in return.

"Well, that's a relief." Henry's smile faded. "Not that my news holds out any hope."

Philip brought his bay up beside Antonia. “What did the Earl say?"

Henry grimaced. "Unfortunately, things weren't as we thought. There was no legal guardianship established, so the Earl has no real rights in the matter. The Countess assumed Catriona's guardianship by custom, so there's no gainsaying her. Not, at least, until Catriona comes of age—but that's years from now."

"Oh." Despite her earlier optimism, Antonia felt her spirits sink.

"Not that we wouldn't be prepared to wait," Henry went on. "If that was the only way. But the problem is, the Countess has her own row to hoe. And she's not one to let up."

Antonia grimaced. "Indeed not."

Henry drew a deep breath. "I don't know what Catriona will say—or do—when she hears the truth."

Antonia didn't bother to answer; Henry's gloom was con­tagious.

"Then before we tell her, I suggest we establish the facts ourselves."

Antonia stared at Philip. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I suspect we have not yet reached the truth." Hands folded over his pommel, Philip raised a brow at her. "I took refuge in the library last night—a little habit of mine, you might recall."

Antonia narrowed her eyes. "So?"

"So, while idly pacing, not having any other distraction

to hand, I noticed a family bible on a lectern in one corner. It's a handsome volume. Out of sheer curiosity, I looked at the fly-leaf. It doesn't, as I had imagined, belong to the Earl's family but to the Dallings. Indeed, I imagine it might belong to Catriona as it was certainly her father's before."

Henry frowned. "But what has that to say to oversetting the Countess's schemes?"

"Nothing in itself," Philip acknowledged. "But the in­formation the bible contains bears consideration. Inscribed on the fly-leaf are the recent generations of the Dalling fam­ily. The history clearly shows the Countess is one of twins—her only sister is her twin. As is often the case with twin females, there's no distinction made between them— no record of who was born first—that fact is stated explic­itly in the bible. So, by my reckoning, Catriona's other aunt would have equal right to act as her guardian by custom."

"Lady Copely!" Henry sat his horse as one stunned. "She's always been Catriona's favourite but she couldn't come to Catriona's father's funeral because one of her chil­dren came down with whooping cough. Instead, the Count­ess arrived and swept Catriona up as if she had the right to do so. Naturally, we all assumed she had."

Philip raised a hand in warning. "We do not, at this stage, know if the Countess acted with Lady Copely's as­sent. Do you know if Lady Copely would be willing to aid Miss Dalling in marrying as she wishes?"

Henry frowned. "I don't know."

"I do." Eyes bright, Antonia looked at Philip. "I saw Lady Copely's daughter and her husband in town. Catriona told me they had married for love." Blushing lightly, she transferred her gaze to Henry. "Indeed, she told me Lady Copely herself had married for affection, rather than status. From all she said, her ladyship sounds the perfect sponsor for yours and Catriona's future."

"If that's so," Henry mused, "then perhaps Catriona could claim her ladyship's protection?"

Philip nodded. "It seems a likely possibility."

"Well, then!" Fired with newfound zeal, Henry straight­ened in his saddle. "All that remains is to discover her ladyship's direction and I'll apply to her directly." He looked hopefully at Antonia.

Antonia shook her head. "Catriona never mentioned where Lady Copely lives."