– Are you so afraid that you cannot convince her otherwise that you hide from her like a hen in her henhouse? – grinned young Cranford.
– What a flattering comparison! – Vivian giggled playfully. – By the way, have you heard that Lady Marlborough's daughter Alexandra is now engaged to a German nobleman? All London is talking about it!
– Don't try to confuse me," Anthony said grimly, and cringed at the thought that the other Alexandra, his sister-in-law Agnes's sister, must have been in Devry by now, wondering why the man she had been promised to meet, or even betrothed to, had disappeared.
– I'm not trying to confuse you, Anthony, I'm just giving you the latest news," her cousin said in a slightly annoyed tone.
Vivian didn't like the fact that he'd guessed her intention to divert the conversation.
– Well, I apologise. But how are you feeling now, with the wind playing outside and the November chill? – Anthony smiled conciliatingly.
– Today? Fairly good.
– Fine. Then we're going to Lillehus.
This announcement so astonished the landlady that she immediately stopped and looked at her cousin with a stunned, disbelieving gaze.
– To Lillehus! – she exclaimed. – For Charlotte to see me like this?
– You forget that it is autumn, my dear, and no one would be surprised to see you in a long-sleeved dress. You can hide your neck under a scarf, as you are now," Anthony said in a firm tone, and led her back to her chambers.
– But what will Jeremy say when he comes home from hunting and doesn't find me at home? – The girl asked worriedly. She was desperate to see her friend, but she was afraid that her husband would be angry at her uncoordinated action.
– We'll leave a note for him. I'll tell him I've taken you to your best friend's house. Call the maid and change your dress," Anthony replied.
– 'But, what if he gets the wrong idea? What if he doesn't believe it?
– He knows my handwriting very well. Besides, your butler has seen me here more than once and will be able to confirm that it was your cousin who took you from the house.
– But…
– No buts. Your friend needs you and would be over the moon to see you tonight.
Anthony's voice was so firm that Vivian believed him, and her soul was filled with joy: she was going to Charlotte! At last! Anthony, her knight, would take her away from the dragon's lair, if only for a little while!
While Jane, radiant at seeing her beloved mistress smiling after long days of sadness and sorrow, was dressing Vivian in one of the beautiful, new dresses which had recently been made for her by the visiting modifiers and seamstresses at the house, Anthony wrote a short note to his friend.
"Dear friend, I am glad to report that I have at last returned to London. The first thing I wished to do on my arrival was to welcome you and my cousin. Alas, however, you are enjoying the hunt at the moment, so I am taking your wife to her friend Miss Salton. There is no need to worry: I will have Vivian home safely by eight o'clock this evening," said the note which Anthony handed to the butler.
Soon, full of happiness, Vivian was sitting in the Wingtons' handsome closed carriage, beside her cousin, who was taking her outside Wington Hall for the first time in three months. She wore a sumptuous muslin dress, long-sleeved but rather low-cut, but the blue stains on her neck were safely hidden by a green scarf, and the half-covered sleeves concealed the bruises on her wrists. A long warm cloak was worn over the dress, and the girl's head was adorned with a pretty hat.
