Chapter 29

Nor shines the sun alone
Upon one favoured hour,

 

Ainsley, Margaret, Jonas, and Nathaniel arrived at Breaside after a somewhat cramped journey in their carriage along waterlogged roads. A break in the rain allowed them to exit their conveyance at the base of the front steps with gratitude for the space to move about and the notably fresher air. Eager to accept Nathaniel’s arm, Margaret led the way up the damp and slippery stairs, allowing Ainsley and Jonas to follow behind them.

“Come now, cousin,” she said, cheerily, “We shall see how a duke and duchess throw a party.”

Nathaniel gave a look of confusion to Ainsley as he was ushered up the stairs toward the front door.

With Margaret a few steps ahead of them, Ainsley saw her take a quick glance over her shoulder before quickly averting her gaze. She had said very little to him as they prepared for their outing and he couldn’t fathom why.

Once in the foyer, they were invited by the staff to remove their coats and were escorted to the parlour, where Lord and Lady Thornton greeted them exuberantly.

“I cannot tell you how pleased I am you could come,” Lady Thornton said, planting kisses on Margaret’s cheeks. “Blair hasn’t stopped asking me questions about you,” she said in a low voice, though still loud enough for Ainsley to hear.

Margaret smiled demurely, but Ainsley saw her smile quickly melt away once the duchess turned.

Lord Thornton approached Ainsley and Jonas then, effectively removing Ainsley from the conversation.

“So you are the doctor, then?” Lord Thornton asked, shaking Jonas’s hand excitedly. “Please to meet you, good fellow. I hear you are making quite the impression amongst my friends and colleagues, saving the House of Lords one by one, I see.” Lord Thornton slapped a hand on Jonas’s back in congratulations.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that—”

A footman appeared with a tray of champagne. Lord Thornton grabbed two glasses by the stem and presented one to Jonas and one to Ainsley.

“Everywhere I go, your name comes up,” Lord Thornton continued. “Dr. Davies this and Dr. Davies that.” He laughed heartily and pulled on the bottom of his lapel. “When my son Brandon told me that you were staying at The Briar I told my wife you mustn’t be excluded from our guest list.” Lord Thornton turned slightly and gestured to another couple. “Allow me to introduce to you Sir John Stratton, and his elegant wife, Lady Stratton.”

Ainsley and Jonas greeted them warmly, shaking hands in turn as Lord Thornton spoke. “My son, Brandon, has proposed marriage to their daughter, Priscilla, you see,” he said, rocking back and forth on his feet. “A finer match there never was, if you ask me.”

Jonas lifted his glass of champagne. “Congratulations,” he said before looking to Ainsley, who could only muster a smile. As the introductions continued, he stole a glance across the room and saw that Blair had approached Margaret and they were now invested in a conversation, though Margaret seemed deeply distracted.

“Mr. Marshall.”

Ainsley turned to see Lady Thornton approaching him slowly. “They looked well-suited, do they not?” she asked, gesturing with a slight nod of her head toward Blair and Margaret. “I understand your aunt was unable to join us this evening, and so I ask you out of my own curiosity, has Margaret been approached by anyone in particular?” Lady Thornton was careful to keep a smile on her face and her voice low.

Ainsley worked hard not to glance to Jonas, standing beside him.

“Marriage prospects, you mean?” he asked.

“Naturally.”

“Not that I am aware of,” Ainsley said with a closed-mouth smile.

He noticed Lady Thornton’s eyes light up. “Excellent.”

 

Before long, dinner was ready and Lord and Lady Thornton entreated the guests to follow them to the dinner hall. Ainsley kept to the side as everyone filed out of the room before pulling at Margaret’s arm at the last moment.

“Peter!” She looked as if she could strike him.

He glanced over her shoulder to make sure everyone was still making their way down the hall. “You cannot keep ignoring me,” he said in a whisper.

“Why not?” she asked, nearly hissing. “As far as I see it, you are my least favourite person in this house at the moment.”

Ainsley’s shoulders sank. “What have I done to spur such venom?”

Margaret let out a stunted laugh. “I went to visit Ivy today at St. Andrew’s House,” she said, scowling so deeply Ainsley thought she might spit at him. “They have her tied in this suit so she cannot move.”

Instantly, Ainsley grew lightheaded and his heart quickened. “Certainly not.”

“Don’t play coy with me. You were the one who had her admitted.” She raised a hand to her forehead as if fending off a headache. “If you think there is any forgiveness in your future you are sorely mistaken.” She turned to leave but Ainsley pulled her back.

“Peter, Margaret. We are waiting.” Lady Thornton appeared at the door to the dining room farther down the hall.

“One moment, please,” Ainsley asked before noticing Margaret turning from him and progressing down the hall. Ainsley chased after her and grabbed hold her arm so she would look at him.

“It wasn’t me,” he said quickly. “Samuel and Garret must have taken her there of their own accord. You have to believe me.”

Margaret pulled her arm away abruptly and met his gaze with anger. “Quite frankly, I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

 

A few minutes later, they were all seated in the dining hall, a vast room elegantly adorned with hanging chandeliers and massive bouquets of flowers at each pillar. The table had been set for twelve, with Margaret and Blair seated opposite Ainsley. Jonas was given a more prominent seat toward the head of the table. Priscilla Stratton, who was hardly over the age of twenty, was seated next to Ainsley and almost immediately proved herself incapable of meaningful conversation.

One chair at the table beside Margaret was notably empty and that’s when Ainsley noticed Brandon was missing from the gathering.

Lady Thornton, seated next to her husband at the head of the table, looked apologetically to her guests. “Please forgive my son’s absence,” she said. “We hold on to the hope that he will be joining us shortly.”

Ainsley noticed a dejected look come over Priscilla’s face as the news was told to them.

“Will he be present at the hunt tomorrow?” Lady Stratton asked expectantly.

“He better be,” Ainsley heard Blair say quietly from across the table. When Ainsley looked to him he found Blair taking a sip of his wine.

“Most certainly,” Lady Thornton said, looking to Priscilla specifically. “He will not want to miss any more of your visit with us.”

“I’m sure that whatever may be keeping him is a responsibility which cannot be ignored,” Sir John said.

Lady Thornton bowed her head gracefully, thanking him for a tactful response.

“My brother thinks himself different from all this,” Blair confessed to those at his end of the table.

“He doesn’t enjoy hosting dinners and the like?” Margaret asked, as the first course was placed in front of her.

“Not in any way,” Blair said. “He has many grand ideas on the way things should be.”

Margaret stole a glance to Ainsley, who as well wished to be free of his role as second son.

“Do you know where he is?” Ainsley asked, quiet enough that only Blair and Margaret could hear.

“Sadly, I do not,” Blair answered primly. “Surprisingly.” His attitude remained cold toward Ainsley, a condition that matched Margaret’s entirely.

“You both are quite close, I understand,” Margaret offered.

“Extremely.”

Blair continued to drink eagerly throughout all courses, signalling the butler each time his glass was empty. Ainsley watched anxiously as the final dishes were cleared and the women withdrew. He expected Lord Thornton to give his son a reprimand once the ladies had cleared but no such admonishment came. The eldest Thornton only gave a look of resignation as they exited the dining hall and made way for his study.

Lord Thornton poured a glass of port for each of the men, Ainsley, Jonas, and Sir John, but his son waved it away and headed for one of the other bottles.

“Should we be alarmed by Mr. Thornton’s continued absence?” Sir John asked as they gathered round the fireplace, glasses in their hands.

“No, no, certainly not,” Lord Thornton said. “He has done this quite often and always returns home.”

“I can’t imagine he has gotten himself into any sort of trouble out here, so far from the diversions of London,” Sir John offered.

“My boys have always behaved properly,” Lord Thornton said. “I have no need to worry on their account.”

Ainsley looked to Blair, who hovered over the bottles of alcohol, avoiding the conversation.

“My daughter tells me you have an impressive collection of horses,” Sir John said. “I should like to see them.”

“You shall have your fill of them tomorrow at the hunt,” Lord Thornton said, placing his empty glass on the mantel. “Peter, you and Dr. Davies are both coming, yes?”

“Unfortunately, I must leave tomorrow. I begin my tenure at Edinburgh in a few weeks and must prepare.”

Blair turned. “Edinburgh?”

“I am to work under Dr. Tate, a professor at the university.”

Blair raised the tumbler to his lips in an effort to mask his smile. “Godspeed.”

Lord Thornton clasped a firm hand on Jonas’s shoulder in approval. “Top notch, Dr. Davies.”

“I’m quite looking forward to the hunt,” Nathaniel interjected, offering an eager smile. Lord Thornton and Sir John turned to the young man, perhaps surprised he was still in the room. Lord Thornton gave an awkward nod, acknowledging Nathaniel’s comment before moving on to other topics. Ainsley was amused by his cousin’s attempt to garner attention. His family was unknown in England and would suffer a hard time of it if he expected to meld in with society so easily. Favour was often accomplished with difficulty, relying heavily on luck and circumstance rather than presence alone.

“I don’t understand,” Nathaniel said to Ainsley as he came alongside him. “What did I say?”

“Perhaps if you were less intrusive,” Ainsley said quietly. “When they get to know you they will accept you,” Ainsley said quietly. “But it takes time.”

Nathaniel nodded, eager to take his cousin’s advice but then blatantly disregarded it when again he tried to plant himself into another conversation between Lord Thornton and Sir John.

“And I thought I looked foolish,” Jonas said to Ainsley.

“He’ll learn,” Ainsley answered. He kept his gaze trained on Nathaniel, and found it very difficult not to find his blunders amusing.

After handing each of the men a cigar, Lord Thornton led a toast in Jonas’s honour, congratulated him on his new position, and wished him the best of luck with the Scots. Everyone seemed generally happy for the young doctor, but all Ainsley could think about was the loss of a dear friend. A year prior, Ainsley would have lamented not being picked for the position himself, but that day he was saddened at the prospect of returning to London and St. Thomas without the aid of his closest ally. He wasn’t so sure he could do it alone.