“You are here!” I said, unable to contain my relief at the sight of Brummell and Alvanley.

“Indeed, and so, it seems, are you,” Mr. Brummell said, a droll slant in his voice.

Belatedly I curtsied to the assembled company, who all returned the honor.

The commotion of extracting Lady Hester from the phaeton interrupted the reunion. Alvanley, a good deal shorter than Brummel and me, peered around us through the doorway, his genial countenance knitted with concern.

“I do not think your footman is quite up to the task, Lady Eleanor,” he said in his lisping drawl. “If you will allow me to expedite the situation, Lady Augusta?”

I smiled my gratitude. “Please do.”

He edged past us all and crossed the gravel to render his assistance.

“Lady Hester Belford, is it? Are we to expect Lord Deele?” Brummell murmured, the question for my ears only.

The man was too astute by half. “And Lord Evan Belford and Mr. Kent, a Runner.”

He considered me for a long moment, then turned his attention to Alvanley, who was manfully carrying Lady Hester into the house, trailed by Miss Grant, Julia, and the footman. With some care, he negotiated the dimly lit hallway and then walked up the steep staircase. We all followed, and in a short time the invalid was settled upon the bed in a small bedchamber with Miss Grant in attendance on a seat beside it, and the rest of the company back downstairs again.

We assembled in the library. It was a most pleasant room with even more carved wood in evidence. The walls were made of carved bookcases, a round table—its legs and underpinnings also heavily carved—displayed a number of interesting objects, and a large tabby cat, not carved but seated upon a carved stool, watched us all from beside the hearth.

“Should we send for the doctor?” Miss Ponsonby asked. She sat on the sofa beside Julia. “We have one in the village.”

All eyes fell upon me. Apparently this was my decision.

“Is she breathing well? Is her color good?” I asked Julia. My sister nodded. “Then I think not. The fewer people who know of our visit, the better. Her elder brother, Lord Evan Belford, will be here soon, and he has medical training.”

“Heavens, Lord Evan Belford,” Lady Eleanor said from the armchair opposite mine. “That is a name we have not heard nigh on twenty years.” She crooked a finger to her maid. “We will have our coffee here, and biscuits too.”

I would have liked a good lump of that roast beef that I could smell, but courtesy kept me quiet. Biscuits would have to do.

The two men had taken up positions on either side of the generous fire, Brummell and the cat eyeing each other with identical hauteur. I surreptitiously angled my feet toward the warmth, finally able to stretch my frozen toes into some kind of comfort within my half boots.