I caught myself chewing on the corner of my shawl in anticipation and made myself stop. No need to act like a ten-year-old.
When they reached Suzannah’s home and turned up the walk, their pace slowed even more, which I hadn’t realized was possible. They were barely moving now, drawing out the moment to postpone the inevitable separation. It was adorable. When Fynn had escorted Suzannah to the dance last time I was home, I had been thrilled, but I had no way of knowing if Fynn would truly take it seriously. He might have been scared off by the idea of not flirting with every girl in sight. But watching them now, I had a real hope that he had finally figured it out.
I crouched in the shadows across the lane. Suzannah stepped up onto the tiny wooden porch in front of her home and turned to look at Fynn. She was almost as tall as he was now, and their hands were still connected. He toyed with her fingers as they spoke for a few minutes more. Then he raised her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. Suzannah looked as if she might faint away right there. Instead she smiled, and though I couldn’t see her cheeks, I was certain she blushed. Then she took a step back, her hand still clutching his until the last second when she opened her door and slipped inside.
It was with some difficulty that I prevented myself from letting out an audible squeal of delight. Then I realized I had better get out of there before Fynn caught me. Luckily he still stood looking at the door in a trance, so I quietly slipped around the corner of the house I crouched by and wove my way through the neighborhood until I found the road leading to our home.
I smiled and even hummed a little, watching my shoes as they crunched over rocks. I pulled my shawl tighter, happy to bask in the knowledge that my matchmaking might have done a bit of good—or at least that it hadn’t ruined anything.
My pace was measured because I wanted Fynn to catch up with me. I would tell him I had waited here, knowing that he would pass this way. This road was the same one I had traveled coming from Mantock Manor, so it made sense that I would meet him here.
I saw him as he turned onto the road and smiled at my secret knowledge that he had fallen for my friend. I stood there, waiting for him to look up and recognize me. It took me a moment to realize that something about him was off. His walk was different. An uneasiness welled up inside of me, but I didn’t realize why until he looked up.
I sucked in a breath, and my heartbeat sped up. It wasn’t Fynn. It was Jayden. An awful grin split his face when he saw me, and his stride lengthened.
My stomach dropped, and I turned, walking as quickly as possible away from him. I hadn’t seen him since his fight with Fynn. I didn’t ever want to see him again, but when I looked back, his walk had turned to a jog.
I picked up my skirts and ran flat out, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I was too far from home, too far from Fynn, and I wasn’t fast enough. I couldn’t outrun him. I shouldn’t have to outrun him.
My panic and the urge to cry left my breath tearing from my lungs as his footsteps drew up behind me.
“Hold on there, filly,” he said as one of his hands clamped down on the back of my neck and the other grabbed my arm. “What’s the rush?”
He dragged me to a stop, his fingers digging into the sides of my neck, making me arch my back as I cried out. He released my neck and yanked me around to face him, his grip on my upper arm tightening as he jutted his face forward.
“What’s wrong, little girl? Afraid I might hurt one of your precious books?”
I stayed silent, my eyes wide with terror as I was forced to stare into his cruel gaze. My breathing was heavy from exertion and fear, and my heart ached from pounding so hard. What could I do? What could I do?
His hard eyes raked over my face, his mouth twisting in disgust. “You got nothing to say? I guess those books didn’t do you much good after all.” He flicked my temple hard with his middle finger, and I flinched into action.
“Stop!” I tried to twist away, but his grip tightened, his nails digging into my skin. “Let me go!” My throat ached with the need to cry, but I refused to let him see me reduced to tears.
He yanked up on my arm even more, forcing me to balance on my toes as his fingers dug deeper into my arm. “I know you think you’re something special.” I turned my head away from his hot breath. “You think you’re better because your fool brother married the princess or because you have that noble twit sniffing after you, so let me just remind you.” He moved his face even closer so his nose pushed into my cheek. “You’re no better than the rest of us.”
I picked up my foot and brought my heel down hard on the inside of his foot. He grunted, and his grip loosened just enough that I was able to reach down and grab a handful of dirt, which I quickly threw in his face. He yelled in fury, but he let go of me to scrub at his eyes.
I pushed away from him and took off running. I didn’t follow the road but dashed away from it and into a field of corn while Jayden’s cursing scorched my ears.
With only the moon to light the land and the stalks grown up tall around me, I was soon swallowed by night. Jayden’s howling faded, but I didn’t dare stop. I burst from the field and only barely spotted the stream in time for me to jump over it. I slipped on some loose rocks but quickly regained my balance, turning to follow along the stream, allowing the shimmering light that reflected off the water to guide me. I ran the best I could over the uneven ground, unable to comprehend anything but escape. I looked over my shoulder constantly, but never saw Jayden.
My body eventually collapsed in exhaustion, my hands and knees gouging into the soft earth. My lungs screamed at being so abused, and my arms shook as I tried to keep myself from falling on my face. I looked behind me as I heaved for air, studying the moonlit landscape carefully. There was no movement but the swaying of crops when the wind brushed by. I tried to listen for any telltale noises, but my breathing still shrieked in my ears.
I gave up trying to hold myself in a sitting position and instead lay down, covering my eyes with my hands as if I could block out what had just happened.
Jayden was an arrogant, mean-spirited bully and had been for years, but I had never expected him to go this far. Did he really hate me simply because Gavin had married Ella? Or was there something else? I didn’t know, and I hated it.
I pressed my lips together and forced steady breaths in and out of my nose, but it was a losing battle. A sob pushed past my lips. Then another and another until I was curled up on my side, shaking with anger and fear and sobbing into the ground.
It was a long time before my tears stopped, and I found myself staring through the grass at the reflection of the moon rippling on the surface of the stream. Jayden had terrified me, but I was having a difficult time knowing how much of my distress was for him and how much was for Rylan. Jayden had been awful, but that hadn’t been all that surprising. Rylan, however, had betrayed me in a way I couldn’t even describe. I didn’t have a claim on him that anyone would acknowledge, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there or that I didn’t feel it down to my toes.
My vision unfocused as I let my mind wander over different moments with Rylan. From the first time he’d bowed to me as a child to the last time he’d kissed me. I closed my eyes, trying to keep the sweet memories from being ruined by what had happened over the past month. I convinced myself to relax in an attempt to rid myself of the anxiety still threatening to overcome me.
My skirts were damp where I had lain on them. I needed to get up and find my way home, but after the long ten days of work, after the encounters with Rylan and the altercation with Jayden, I had nothing left.
Someone called my name, and I froze, afraid it was Jayden, but then realized he wouldn’t be calling after me, and I recognized the voice of my brother. Somehow Fynn knew I was close by.
When I heard him call again, I pushed myself to my feet and walked in the direction of his voice. “I’m here!” I called back.
“Kinley!” he called out a few moments before appearing from the bushes farther downstream. He r
an to meet me, his arms encircling my shoulders when he reached me. I gratefully fell into the safety of his embrace.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice shaking.
I tried to nod.
“Did he hurt you?” He pulled back to look at me, but all I could do was swallow. “I was almost to the main road when I heard you scream, but when I finally turned the corner to see what was going on, you were already fighting back. You took off before I could call you back.”
“It was Jayden.” It was the only coherent thing I could think to say.
“He’ll be limping for a week at least.” Fynn’s voice was more menacing than I’d ever heard it.
“You fought him?”
“The whelp is lucky I didn’t murder him. He would have deserved it,” Fynn bit out.
I half laughed, half cried at his vehement defense, but I was grateful he hadn’t killed Jayden.
“You’re shaking,” Fynn said.
I suppose I was. The cold felt as if it had seeped into my bones, even though I suspected that I hadn’t been out here all that long. It had only seemed like an eternity.
✼ ✼ ✼
Jayden’s fingers had left a ring of bruises around my upper arm. When I returned to work, I was reminded of their presence by the dull ache that came every time I lifted something. My neck was stiff as well from when he grabbed it to force me to stop.
I did my best to ignore it, but there was a constant ache at the back of my throat as I struggled to keep my composure. I tried to convince myself that he was just a boy throwing a temper tantrum, that he wouldn’t have done anything truly terrible to me. Only I didn’t believe it.
I got through breakfast and was grateful to discover that the family was leaving for the rest of the day to visit with Lady Mantock’s sister, who lived on an estate across the river. They were out the door well before the lunch hour. My workload had suddenly lightened, and I was grateful for the reprieve.
The rain started early afternoon. I was eating my midday meal in the kitchen when Hansen, the butler, came down. “We need a pot of tea for the front parlor.”
“Is someone here?” the cook asked as I moved to prepare a tray.
“Mr. Baylor is come to see Miss Aveline. I told him the family wasn’t here but invited him to stay and wait out the storm. It’s turning into a bad one out there. Said he’d be much obliged for something warm to drink.”
Hansen departed, and I looked down at my hands, which had frozen in the middle of setting a cup and saucer on the tray.
Not again.
My hands completed the task of their own accord, it seemed, and soon enough the cook was shooing me out the door and up to the parlor.
I bit down on my anger, traversing the corridor with staccato steps and entering the parlor without even knocking.
Rylan had discarded his coat and stood in the middle of the room, his hair and the bottom of his trousers wet from his ride in the rain. After crossing to the table, I barely restrained myself from slamming the tray down. The cups rattled, but I didn’t care. I straightened, looking Rylan full in the face with a glare, then spun around.
“Wait.” Rylan reached for my arm to stop me, his fingers pressing into the bruises left by Jayden’s hands.
I hissed in pain and pulled away.
He looked confused but quickly made his assessment. “You are hurt.”
“It’s not your concern. Why are you here?” I demanded in an angry whisper. I should ignore him, refuse to give him any of my time, but I just didn’t understand. “The family is away, and I know you aren’t afraid of getting damp.”
“I wished to speak with you,” he answered as if that weren’t important, then asked, “How did you get hurt?”
“What did you wish to speak to the maid about?”
“Why won’t you tell me what happened to your arm?” His voice and expression were both near panic.
It would be easier to just tell him. “Jayden Hamlin. The rat who ruined my book.”
He drew back. The mix of indignation, anger, and concern that swept his features tugged at my heart, making me want to weep. His mouth worked to form words, but he seemed hesitant to actually speak. Finally, in a voice more vulnerable than I had ever heard from him, he asked, “Did he hurt you elsewhere?” No doubt he was imagining some of the nightmare scenarios that had run endlessly through my own mind.
“Only my arm and the back of my neck.” I pulled my shoulders back, drawing out my own strength. “I did some damage of my own and got away. Unfortunately for him, my brother saw it. I’m told Jayden won’t be walking well for some time.”
He let out a puff of air. “Good.” He swallowed, and his fingers tapped against his thigh. “Perhaps I’ll have my own talk with him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m fine, Rylan.”
“You’re hurt, and this is not the first time he has accosted you.” Indignation made his voice rise.
“I don’t need you to defend me.”
“Well then, who will?”
“My brother did a fine job of defending me! And besides, I won’t be walking home anymore. I’ll wait for Fynn to drive me from now on.”
“Or I could, if you need conveyance. If your brother is ever unavailable or if you’d like to go home earlier, I’m happy—”
“Oh, stop it, Rylander!” I said in a fierce whisper. How could he be so concerned and caring toward me while we stood in the house of the girl he was courting?
He stepped back in the face of my vehemence.
“What will you do?” My voice shook with indignation and hurt and a longing that I resented. “Excuse yourself after a romantic stroll with Miss Aveline so that you can give the maid a ride home?”
He gave a long-suffering sigh that grated on my nerves. “There is nothing romantic about my strolls with Miss Aveline.”
“You forget that I am privy to a rehearsal of all the time that she spends with any gentleman. Now, if you will excuse me, I must return to work before they have me sacked for consorting with a guest.”
“I’m not going to let them fire you.”
I scoffed. “Do you suddenly outrank a lord?”
“Lord Mantock is a reasonable man. I’m certain he would listen.”
“Do you have any idea how tenuous my position here has been? The housemistress hates me. She’s tried to find every excuse to let me go. The only reason she hasn’t yet is because Bram Mantock—whom you so vehemently dislike—stood up for me.”
His mouth twisted as he clenched his teeth, then ran a hand down his face. “Did he ask anything in return?”
“Not a thing.” I had to leave. “Go stand by the fire. You’ll dry faster.”
“Kinley. Please. I’m not here for Miss Aveline. I came to make sure you’re all right. I know it seems—”
“Stop it! The butler is likely outside of this room wondering what is taking me so long. Do you wish to start gossip? If you care for me at all, then please let me leave with my reputation intact.”
I turned my back on him. If he tried to stop me again, I would not give in. Anything he could say would only make things worse. I stepped from the room and hadn’t made it two steps into the hallway before Mrs. Tate came into the entry. She looked toward the parlor door then back at me. “We have a visitor?”
“Yes, madam. I brought him the tea that Hansen asked me to deliver.” I looked her in the eye, desperately hoping I didn’t look as guilty as I was.
She finally gave a stiff nod. “Very well. Run along, then.”
“Yes, madam.” I hurried down the corridor, letting out a shaky breath. If I had remained in the parlor only a few moments more, Mrs. Tate would have found me arguing with Rylan. Not even Bram could deny that such conduct was grounds for dismissal.
I would have to hope that my pleas to Rylan had been heard and that he would leave me be.
Chapter Twenty
FIVE DAYS LATER, he came again, riding up on his horse as I was dusting the curtains of Lady Mant
ock’s sitting room. I had the perfect view of him sitting tall atop his mount with his coat flapping behind him. He was . . . magnificent.
And here to court Aveline.
I wished I could hate him.
Instead, I would have to settle for avoiding him. Of course, that would only be possible if they did not have refreshments. What if he stayed for a meal? I wouldn’t be able to bear it.
Rylan handed the reins of his horse to the groom and strode across the gravel, disappearing from my view as he reached the front door. I refocused on my task, finishing the curtains and moving on to the furniture. As I rubbed at the wood, my stomach twisted into knots, reminding me that Rylan was downstairs.
I was kneeling on the rug, oiling the legs of Lady Mantock’s favorite chair, when footsteps came pounding up the stairs, followed by the distinct sound of Aveline crying. Her wailing grew louder, then faded as she passed by the door, no doubt on her way to throw herself dramatically across her bed.
Her chamber was next to the room I occupied, so it was easy to make out the opening and slamming of her door.
How very curious. Rylan must have left. Aveline would never have thrown a tantrum with a suitor in the house.
The more sedate rustling of Lady Mantock came and went past the door. A quiet knocking drifted down the hall, followed by Lady Mantock calling Aveline’s name.
Curiosity got the best of me, and I crept to the door and peeked down the corridor. Lady Mantock still stood at Aveline’s door, knocking again. “Aveline, dearest. Please open the door.”
The volume of Aveline’s cries increased as the door opened, and she threw herself into her mother’s arms. “Rylander Baylor is nothing but a horrid tease!”
“Whatever do you mean?” her ladyship asked as she escorted Aveline back into her room.
Keeping Kinley Page 24