For himself, Daniel had hardly slept a wink all night. He was torn between his anger at a man who could terrorize his wife in such a way and regret that he had not been firm in his determination to remove her from the premises for her own safety. He should have insisted; he should have brooked no argument.
But the whole thing was so impossible, all of it. He was, after all, just her husband’s attorney, an employee of the Duchy. And yet he had declared himself to be her friend, and she had been glad of it. But what good would any of this do him in the end? He knew he had fallen for her and fallen for her with such speed that he was already without hope of recovering from it.
And yet he knew he could not stay there at Lytton Hall, working there day after day, in hopes of spending a few minutes with her here and there. She was married; she would never be his, and yet he could not stop thinking in those terms.
But could he leave her now? The Duke had become so unpredictable that her safety was not even guaranteed. He was sure, however, that she would never speak to the Duke with such accusations again and had no doubt learned that lesson, albeit one that she should never have been presented with. After all, none of this was her fault.
But even if Eliza did what she could to manipulate her husband’s good mood, his drinking and his ego would not stop him from saying such spiteful things, and now that he had determined that Eliza could not leave the hall, surely, she would be more isolated than ever.
What sort of friend would Daniel be if he thought only of his growing client list and left her to her fate?
If only there was a simple answer to it all – if only he had never allowed his feelings to develop in such a way. Then he might have stayed easily, he might even have been able to befriend her and help her without the hindrance of other feelings.
Daniel stepped out through the French windows and onto the terrace and stared out across the lawn. He wanted to look for her, to search Lytton Hall from top to bottom until he set eyes on her and knew that she was truly safe. But where would he begin?
Daniel took a deep breath and strode out across the lawn, almost marching as he went, his eyes fixed upon the woodland in the distance. He hated the feeling of having his hands tied, of being unable to take any action that would benefit either him or Eliza.
It was the first time in his life that Daniel did not know what to do, and that knowledge was making him agitated, angry even. But years of calmness had taught him that anger was no sensible standpoint from which to think, and so he continued to march and march, determined to keep walking through the woodland until he returned to his old self.
By the time Eliza made it into the morning room, she already realized she was too late to see Daniel. She hastened to the French windows and saw him disappearing into the distance, speeding towards the woodland.
She needed to speak him, to show him that she was safe, and if she was going to do so, she would need to do it now whilst her husband was still fast asleep in his bed.
Choosing not to waste any time or draw attention to herself, Eliza stepped out through the French windows and began to hurry after him without either bonnet or cloak.
She hastily looked around before she set off across the lawn, and seeing no sign of anybody, nor any face at any window, she began to hurry.
She could hardly think of how she had escaped Augustus and been saved by Daniel Winchester without her heartbeat quickening and her breath growing ragged once more. It still filled her with fear when she thought of how close she had come to harm.
And she had hardly slept a wink all night, laying terrified in the bed as she wondered if her husband would ever wake up and make his way from the drawing room to his own chamber.
But she was sure that she had chosen the right course of action. When Daniel had suggested she go to Lady Hanbury, she had almost given in. How nice it would be to be comforted by that wonderful, warm woman, somebody who truly understood what sort of life Eliza was leading, even though she had witnessed so little of it.
But that would surely have to be a last resort, a move she could only make when she truly feared for her life. For there would be no easy way of coming back to Lytton Hall afterwards.
Knowing her husband’s ego as she was coming to, if he thought that she had told anybody of his behaviour, Lady Hanbury included, his temper would be wilder than ever.
All she could do was keep quiet, behave as if nothing had changed, and hope for the best. In truth, she was hoping that her husband would sober a little and come to feel some of that shame that he had clearly felt for his first bout of appalling behaviour. She was sure that that was the only thing which could put life back on an even keel.
As soon as Eliza had darted into the woodland, she held onto her gown, lifting the hem a little as she broke into a run. She needed to find Daniel, speak to him, and hurry away again.
She was already risking a great deal by seeking to speak to him away from the house. Although Augustus had looked dead to the world, she could not guarantee that he would not awaken.
He had, in the end, climbed into bed beside her in the early hours of the morning. She could hardly breathe for fear, but his snoring, which began almost immediately, was enough to tell her that she was at least safe until morning.
When she had risen to silently tiptoe into her own dressing room, Augustus had stirred, and opening one eye, had regarded her without any emotion at all. Eliza had stood frozen to the spot for a moment, looking back at him fearfully. But the eye soon closed, and she wondered if he had truly awoken at all.
When she finally caught a glimpse of the back of Daniel Winchester, she slowed a little. She was out of breath and knew that she would soon catch up with him even if she did not run. And, within a matter of moments, he turned to see who was walking behind him.
“Thank God,” he said and looked so relieved that she thought for a moment he would embrace her.
But he did not, he just smiled and kept himself still. As he stared at her, she was reminded of how he had looked into her eyes the day before, and she was reminded of how certain she had been that he would kiss her.
But in the hours which had passed since, and with so many other worries in her heart, Eliza convinced herself that she had been mistaken. It would do her no good to contemplate such a thing, not even out of idle curiosity.
“Mr Winchester, I must speak with you,” she began to speak in a hurry, conscious of the need for haste. “But I must first thank you for your kindness yesterday. I could not have managed at all had you not been there, and I am truly grateful for your protection.”
“You need not think of it, Your Grace,” he said and seemed to relax. “Everything was alright last night?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, I was quite safe.” She smiled reassuringly. “And he is still asleep, so I can only hope that he sleeps well and sobers, at least then he might be able to think a little more rationally. But I am safe, I thank you.”
“What will you do now?” he said and shrugged.
“I will try to go on much as before, only this time I will be careful not to poke an angry bear with a sharp stick.” She laughed and was pleased when he did the same. “However much I might want to.”
“It is the wisest thing, I think, although I suspect it is not truly just.”
“No, it is not just. But I must be sensible and not allow my pride to rule my head as I have done. I shall just take a little convincing that it is a gift to myself and not to my husband.”
“Whatever it takes to keep you safe, that is the most important thing.”
“Yes, I shall bear that in mind in future.” She smiled at him and suddenly remembered how it had felt to be in his arms.
She had felt safe with him before, almost inexplicably safe, but that instinct had been true. He had declared that he would do anything to keep her safe at that moment, and she knew that had the Duke walked in and found her there, Daniel would have defended her absolutely.
But she could not spiral into such think
ing; she could not allow the attraction that was deepening every time she saw him. It just would not do; it would not help.
“You may come to me any time you need, Your Grace,” he said quietly.
“Thank you, thank you so much. And when you have done so much for me already, I am embarrassed to ask you to do yet one more thing,” she said and bit her bottom lip.
“You may ask anything of me,” he said, his fair hair looking silver in the dappled sunlight that forced its way through the thick foliage.
He was an immaculate man, so tall and broad and well-tailored. She could never imagine Daniel Winchester with filthy shirtsleeves and buttons missing from his waistcoat.
She could never imagine his skin red and roughened from too much strong liquor nor his eyes watery and rheumy as they struggled to focus, fighting against the insobriety of the rest of his body.
But Daniel Winchester was a man who was in control of himself whereas her husband was not.
“I realize it is a dreadful imposition, but would you be so kind as to take this to the post?” she said and pulled a crumpled letter from the pocket of her gown. “I would not normally ask you to do such a thing, but I do not think that I can trust any of my husband’s staff to do it. And since I am no longer allowed to leave myself, I cannot do it either.”
“Of course, you may ask me any time.”
“I think it will only be this once, for I simply needed to inform dear Ariadne that I will not be at bridge on Thursday, nor any other Thursday. I did not want her to worry, you see. Even though I have given her the rough circumstances, if I do not appear at all, I rather fear that she would make her way out to Lytton Hall to see me, and I would not put her through that. Not when I cannot guarantee that the Duke will behave.”
“I shall see that it is posted today,” he said and smiled at her sadly.
“Thank you.”
“You must continue to see me as a friend,” he said with sudden urgency. “I would not like to think that you have nobody to confide in now that the Duke has forced you to sever your ties with the outside world. You must not allow yourself to be completely isolated, not as you did the last time. You need not hide from me in the library.” He smiled to lighten the moment.
“You are my friend, Mr Winchester, and I thank God for that. And I shall not hide from you again, I promise.”
“Very good.”
“But now I must leave you. I have already risked too much time and do not know how I will explain myself if I am caught going back into the house.”
“Very well. I shall continue to walk through the woods, just in case.”
“Thank you, you understand my situation so very well.”
“Take good care,” he said with such gentleness that she felt that strange draw once again.
With a nod, she turned to leave.
Although she did not run from the woods, Eliza certainly made haste. She could not imagine that Augustus would be awake yet, but she could not risk it either. The nearer she drew to the edge of the woods, the better she began to feel. She would be back inside the morning room in a matter of minutes, and then she could relax.
But out of the corner of her eye, she caught a movement some distance away. Eliza stood stock still for a moment and looked intently until she saw what she was sure was the figure of a person darting away into the cover of the dense foliage.
She was suddenly gripped with panic but knew that she must discover the identity of the person.
Of course, they might not have been watching her, but why else would somebody be out in the woodland in the middle of the day? Surely Augustus was not yet fit enough to have walked so far and to move with such speed.
But if one of the household staff was about to give her away, Eliza at least wanted to know which of them it would be.
She quickened her own pace until she broke into a run, veering off the path and heading in the direction she had last seen movement. But when she reached that place, the foliage was so thick that she could see very little in front of her. And the undergrowth slowed her down terribly until she finally reached a clearing and was able to move at speed again.
But by the time she had reached the edge of the woodland and looked out across the lawns, she could see no sign of anybody.
She walked smartly across the lawn, her eyes narrowed, and her focus absolute. And it was then that she saw somebody disappearing down the side of the house, somebody heading towards the servants’ entrance. And, seeing the billowing of a dark gown, she knew that somebody was a woman.
Chapter 16
Eliza had been unable to settle to anything for the rest of the day. She had tried and tried to draw the image of the fleeing woman to mind so that she might decide upon her identity, but it was no good.
Most of the female staff wore dark gowns, and she could not find a way to move forward. Except that she was almost certain that she had not seen the brilliant white apron ties at the back and thought it could not be one of the maids of all works.
But a lady’s maid would not wear a white apron, would she? She would just wear her dark gown for the most part unless she was dealing with her mistress’ laundry.
Although she had been at the Hall for some months now, it was true to say that she did not know many of the household staff by name. Not because she had any objection herself, it just did not seem to be the way Lytton Hall was run.
There had been no sign of Augustus in the main part of the house all day, not even when dinner was served. Making her way into the dining room and seeing a place setting for just one, she realized that the Duke must have informed the housekeeper that he would not be coming down for dinner. Perhaps he would have a tray sent to the chamber.
So much seemed to be uncertain, and as she looked down at a full plate of food, she knew she could not eat – she realized she still did not know what reception she would get from her husband when they finally came face-to-face properly.
Eliza was aware of the footman standing awkwardly in the corner of the room ready to attend her should she need him. She would have given anything to simply dismiss him, but she did not want to draw any more attention to herself.
After all, she had already come to somebody’s attention in that house, and she was beginning to feel certain that she knew exactly who that might be.
Finally giving up on her meal, Eliza decided that she would make her way to bed early. She did not want to spend more time than she had to with Augustus, but she needed to have a few minutes with her maid to decide whether it was Nella West who had spied on her.
And so, with a feeling of dread, she slowly made her way up the stairs as if she were taking the final steps up to the gallows.
It was tempting, at that moment, to feel sorry for herself again. It was tempting to mourn the loss of the life she had once had, the love she had once been sure had radiated from Miles Gainsborough’s heart into her own, and the certainty that her future would be whatever she wanted it to be.
But self-pity would not help her now. If Eliza was going to survive this world, she would need more than an air of detachment and a perpetual feeling of angry injustice.
It was true that those feelings had not yet run their course, but Eliza knew that it was time to replace them with something more practical. She would, instead, choose to be alert, to be watchful. She really would make a study of the people around her until she knew exactly who she could trust, and more importantly, exactly who she could not.
Eliza walked quietly into the chamber and could see that Augustus had barely attempted the meal that sat on a tray on a small table at the side of the bed.
Love Stories of Enchanting Ladies: A Historical Regency Romance Collection Page 13