By the time Owen came downstairs the next morning, the entrance hall of the Imperial Laurel Inn was already full of Ferrers servants.
They were carrying trunks and travelling cases out through the front doors, and from the courtyard came the stamp of horses and the creak of carriage wheels being drawn into place. Hugh stood near the doors with a list in his hand, directing the escort. Agnes had gone back up to Owen’s room to make sure nothing of his had been left behind.
Owen found Gareth in the courtyard, standing beside one of the carriages while a groom checked the harness on his horse.
His brother looked a great deal better rested than he had at the East Gate. He was tall and broad through the shoulders, and his dark hair was still damp, as though he had only just washed. When he saw Owen, his gray eyes brightened.
"Morning," Gareth said. "Sleep well?"
"Well enough." Owen came to stand beside him. "There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you since yesterday."
"Only one thing?"
"You were supposed to be away on a mission," Owen said. "Then you turned up at the East Martial Court just before the duel. How did you manage that?"
Gareth leaned back against the side of the carriage. "I’d already finished. The mission was in a village not far from here, so once it was done, I thought I’d come and see you before heading home." He shrugged. "I went to see William first, and he told me what you’d been up to. A fight with Lucien de Clare, the next morning at ten. I couldn’t believe it."
"So that’s how you knew."
"I called Father on the telephone afterward to let him know." The corner of Gareth’s mouth twitched. "He told me to keep an eye on you. Make sure you didn’t get yourself into any unnecessary trouble."
Owen could see where this was going.
"Looking back," Gareth said, "I think he might have been worried about the wrong person. Someone should have been keeping an eye on Lucien."
Owen rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t quite stop himself from smiling. "You didn’t do much keeping an eye on anyone. You just sat there."
"I sat there very attentively."
Owen laughed. "What was the mission, anyway? What were you doing in the village?"
"Military business," Gareth said.
"That’s not an answer."
"It’s the only one you’re getting." Gareth pushed himself off the carriage and nodded toward the groom, who had finished with the horse. "We’ve got two days on the road ahead of us. If you want something to talk about, you can tell me what you thought of the capital."
Owen looked at him for a moment. Gareth only raised his eyebrows back at him, perfectly pleasant, and Owen could see he wasn’t going to get anything more out of him.
He let it go.
A little while later, Hugh crossed the courtyard toward them.
"Everything’s loaded, Young Master. We’re ready whenever you are."
Owen climbed into the carriage after Clara and Elise and helped Agnes in beside them. Gareth swung up onto his horse, Hugh signaled the escort, and the Ferrers party rolled out of the courtyard and into the streets of the capital.
* * *
It took the better part of the morning to leave the crowded capital behind.
After that, the roads opened out. They passed through small villages where children stopped to watch the carriages go by, and long stretches of farmland where the fields were green and the hedgerows grew thick along the roadside. On the first afternoon it rained for an hour, drumming on the carriage roof, and then the clouds broke and the countryside steamed under the sun.
Owen spent some of the journey talking with Gareth through the carriage window whenever his brother rode alongside, and a good deal of it resting with his eyes closed. Clara talked happily about everything they passed. Elise answered her with a dry word here and there, usually when Clara had been going on for some time.
On the second afternoon, the land began to look familiar.
* * *
The Ferrers estate came into view late on the second day.
Owen watched it through the window as the carriage climbed the last of the approach. The long road lined with trees, the high outer wall, the great gates with the Ferrers crest above them. Guards were stationed along the approach, and they straightened as the party came into sight.
The gates swung open.
The carriage wheels rattled across the stones of the courtyard and came to a stop. Servants were already hurrying forward from the house to see to the luggage, and one of the guards called a greeting to Gareth as he dismounted.
Owen stepped down and looked up at the house.
He had enjoyed the capital. But it had been crowded and loud, and there had always been someone watching, someone to bow to, someone to be careful around. Here, the air was quiet, and everything was exactly where he had left it.
It was good to be home.
Hugh took charge of the luggage at once, and Agnes went off to see to Owen’s things. Owen turned to Clara and Elise.
"My father will want to see you," he said. "Shall we go and find him before you rest?"
* * *
Edmund was in his study.
The tall windows let in the late afternoon light, and the shelves along the walls were lined with books and neatly arranged papers. The big desk in the middle of the room was covered in documents. Edmund looked up from them as the footman announced the visitors, and set down his pen.
His dark hair was graying at the temples, and his steel-gray eyes moved from Owen to the sisters, and he rose to greet them.
"Welcome back," he said. "Lady Clara. Lady Elise. I hope the journey wasn’t too uncomfortable?"
"Not at all, Your Grace," Clara said. "And thank you so much for everything. For letting us travel with your household, for the rooms at the inn, all of it. We’ve been very well looked after." She glanced at Owen. "Lord Owen especially. He’s been wonderful company the whole way."
"Everything was arranged very smoothly, Your Grace," Elise said. "We were grateful for it." She paused. "And Lord Owen has been very patient with my sister."
Clara gave her a look. Edmund’s mouth twitched.
"You’re both very welcome here," he said. "You must be tired after two days on the road, so I won’t keep you long. Rest tonight. Arrangements will be made for you to return to House Ashcombe tomorrow. You needn’t worry about the carriage or the escort. My household will see to all of it."
"Thank you, Your Grace," Clara said.
"That’s very kind of you," Elise said.
The sisters curtsied. Owen turned to walk them out.
"Owen," Edmund said. "Stay a moment. I’d like a word with you."