An Engaged Grand Tour (Book Two)

Mining heiress Lucy Maldon is determined to track down her fiancé and make him fall in love with her, even if it means chasing him across the Continent. But Walter, Lord Chelmsford, has no intention of being found.

Peter Chelmsford lives in his brother’s shadow. When his older brother decides to go on Grand Tour and leave his bride-to-be behind, Peter accompanies him. While Walter pursues other interests, it’s up to Peter to keep his childhood friend safe from his brother.

Can Lucy forgive him for stealing her heart and breaking it at the same time?

Lucy Maldon intended to hunt down her missing fiancé, and if attending nursing school in Germany was the only way to do it, she would.

            She tried to tamp down the rising excitement. Finally here! After months of waiting, after the humiliation of Walter leaving for a Grand Tour without her, she was in Mainz at the Deaconess Institute. Lucy gazed at the dome of the city’s lofty cathedral through the drab windows on the chipped plaster walls.

            The bare classroom was the least likely place to feel exhilarated, especially when she had not seen Walter since May, but she wanted to run in circles around the stark lecture hall. Traces of sunlight fought their way into the dim hall. The rough wooden floor matched the condition of the worn chairs and simple desks. The stifling heat made her wonder why so many layers of clothing were necessary. At least she wore a cotton muslin dress today.

            Lucy played with her fountain pen and tapped her foot, trying to maintain a calm demeanor.

            Papa liked all the newest inventions, like innovations in mining or new drilling procedures, but had branched out and invested in the fountain pen company when it first started twenty-nine years ago, before she’d been born. It was one of his many instincts that had paid off in dividends over the years. Using one of Poenaru’s pens felt comforting, like having family nearby.

            But she quickly tired of spinning the pen between her fingers and couldn’t help squirming a little to get a view of the other students. The stark white plaster on the walls and thin curtains around the windows gave her little else to study.

            It was such a contrast to her own home. Aunt Ellen ran the household for her papa, and Papa spared no expense. Aunt Ellen furnished every room lavishly and redecorated often. There was not a spot without a clock, a fern, a Grecian bust, a gilded frame, an urn, or a lamp. It was rather stifling in its own way, and Lucy couldn’t wait to be on her own in Europe with her traveling companions.

            Lucy sat sandwiched between her dearest friend, Rachel Wickford, and another Englishwoman, Miss Alice Loughton. Her older brother, Colonel Loughton and his friend, Mr. Kempton, occupied the seats behind them, ready to translate the lecture. The colonel was nearly ten years older than his eighteen-year-old sister. The perfect age to marry, or so he seemed to think.

            Everyone around Lucy chattered in German. She couldn’t make out a word of their conversations. She shifted a little to the left, closer to Rachel. Now the colonel would be certain to translate for both Lucy and Rachel. Ever since they’d volunteered to attend the Institute, the colonel had been most attentive toward Rachel.

            Lucy appreciated the chance to look for Walter. She ought to help the colonel’s cause any way she could. After all, without Colonel Loughton and Mr. Kempton’s invitation, she would still be at home in England. The colonel and Mr. Kempton intended to help Miss Nightingale establish a new training program in London, so they were taking close notes on the education at the school “The Lady With the Lamp” had attended herself.

            Lucy felt a little guilty. She might not complete the course. She hoped she would not still be in Mainz six months from now, but at least Rachel would. Lucy’s only concern was to find her fiancé and marry as soon as possible.

            Rachel’s hands were folded primly in her lap, her posture stiff and starched as a nurse’s cap, but her eyes gleamed with excitement. “Have you attended any medical lectures before?” she asked.

            Next to her, Miss Loughton answered. “Curtis drags me everywhere he goes, so, yes, I have attended several lectures.” Her eyes held none of Rachel’s enthusiasm.

            “Really? And have you also met Miss Nightingale?” Rachel asked.

            Miss Loughton nodded. “Yes, she made a favorable impression on my brother and Mr. Kempton. They are quite devoted to her cause.”

            Rachel leaned across Lucy. “Will you tell me more about her What is your impression of her?”

            Miss Loughton scooted her chair closer to talk to Rachel. Lucy felt trapped between the two women and quickly lost interest in the conversation. She had no idea whether she would finish the six month course or even stay more than a few days. The nursing school was a means to an end: Walter. Surely, now that she’d arrived, she would find him any day.

            They’d had only two days to unpack their trunks and settle into their rented rooms before classes started.

             She glanced around the room. Eighteen other women filled he wooden chairs, ready to learn nursing at the Mainz Deaconess Training Institute. Even though she wasn’t a Lutheran or planning to take vows, she could still learn to care for others, for a few days at least, if it took that long.

            A man entered the room. White-haired but kindly, the pastor Theodor Fliedner reminded Lucy of her father. He shuffled to the lectern and began speaking German so rapidly she couldn’t catch a single word.

            Some of her excitement waned. She felt a rising panic instead. She would never last a single day if everyone spoke like this, even with the colonel and Mr. Kempton to help.

            Colonel Loughton, sitting behind her and Rachel, whispered to them. “He’s welcoming all of you. This is an important charge. The sick and the needy are everywhere among us. Especially poor women.”

            Lucy had a hard time listening to Colonel Loughton translate while also watching the pastor. Mr. Kempton whispered the lecture in English to Miss Loughton. She could hear the pastor speaking, the scratch of chalk on the enormous blackboard that covered the front wall, the colonel speaking in low tones, and Mr. Kempton’s indistinct voice. All at the same time. The overlapping sounds made her head ache.

            “Our… joy is to find them. He and the other instructors will teach you the skills to care for them,” the colonel said. “This is a little awkward, trying to find the right words.”

            Lucy exchanged a glance with Rachel. Rachel’s face glowed with anticipation. She had wanted to study medicine her whole life. Lucy wanted to put her head in her hands and groan. She couldn’t understand a word of this German, even though she’d tried to learn a little before she left England.

            But she promised herself she would do anything to find Walter. If it meant getting a headache every day until she could quit this school, then she would do it.

            Lucy squinted at the diagram Pastor Fliedner had unrolled. She leaned closer to Rachel, so she would only hear one set of translations. She was going to need every bit of patience she possessed to see this through.