The Wayward Bride

by Anna Bradley

  Perhaps he pities me…

  It was that thought that made Isla jerk her horse around. She’d return to Huntington Lodge, and tomorrow Sydney would come, and everything would fall into its proper place again, just as it always did when he was there. Once Sydney arrived, she wouldn’t be tempted to ride past Hazelwood again, and she’d soon forget all about Lord Pierce.

  Her mind made up, she turned her horse’s head toward Huntington Lodge.

  If the storm hadn’t chosen that moment to swell, all might still have been well. Maybe then she never would have gone near the woods at all, but given the choice between sheltering trees and the fierce ice pellets striking her face, she’d chosen the trees.

  Another mistake, as it turned out, and a dire one.

  She’d only intended to pause at the edge of the woods for long enough to catch her breath, and perhaps scoop the ice from her bodice, but she hadn’t even had a chance to unbutton her coat before her horse, Sophie took a sudden fright, and without any warning, bolted into the woods.

  “Sophie!” Isla just had time to let out a startled yelp and snatch up the reins before Sophie was plunging through the trees. She wobbled in the saddle as the horse cut a haphazard path through the woods, struggling to keep her footing on the uneven ground.

  “Sophie, no!” Isla jerked on the reins, but shock made her clumsy, and the awkward tug only added to Sophie’s confusion. The horse continued her wild dash through the trees until Isla gathered her wits and brought them to a halt at last.

  She remained frozen in the saddle for long, breathless moments and waited for her heart to cease its panicked thrashing. Goodness, her legs were shaking. For pity’s sake, what had just happened? Sophie had never bolted on her before. She was as gentle a horse as Isla had ever ridden.

  Something had frightened her. There’d been a noise. Now she thought on it, Isla was certain she’d heard a series of cracking sounds, almost like claps of thunder, right before Sophie fled into the woods.

  She went still now, listening, but aside from the wind, she heard nothing.

  “It’s all right now, Sophie.” She rested a comforting hand on Sophie’s neck as she squinted into the gloom, trying to get her bearings. The shadows pressed in on her, so thick they felt like cobwebs clinging to her skin. It was so dark she could hardly make out the ground at Sophie’s feet.

  She’d ridden through these woods dozens of times. She knew the pathways and trees by heart. It had never occurred to her they could pose a danger to her, but between Sophie’s mad dash and the gloom…

  Well, there was a chance—just the tiniest possibility, of course—that they were lost.

  She peered into the shadows, but the trees looming over her were no longer the old friends she recognized from her daily rides. They were dark, forbidding shapes, their jagged branches eager to tear into her skin.

  Sophie let out a nervous whinny, and Isla stroked the horse’s neck. “Well, my girl. You got us into this mess. Which way shall we go to get out of it? Straight on, or back the way we came?”

  Whichever way that is.

  Sophie didn’t seem to have any ideas, but only pawed anxiously at the ground. The horse, sensing Isla’s tension, was growing more nervous by the minute. “Right, then. This way.” Isla tightened her gloved fingers around the reins and guided Sophie to the right, but they hadn’t taken more than half a dozen steps before she hesitated, frozen with indecision. Or was she just frozen? It was difficult to tell if it was the encroaching panic making her shiver or if the temperature was still dropping.

  She twisted in the saddle to look behind her, hoping to see something she recognized, but only darkness met her gaze. Dash it, they’d gotten hopelessly turned around. Every step she took could be leading them deeper into the woods.

  She remained still for a while, her ears straining for any sound of approaching riders, but no one came. Eventually Hyacinth would discover she’d gone, and her brothers would set out at once to search for her, but there was no telling how long that might take. If Lachlan and Hyacinth were feeling unusually amorous this afternoon, it could be hours.

  Sophie whinnied again, anxious to be off, and Isla fought against the urge to strike out wildly in any direction. Giving way to panic was the worst thing she could do. No, she needed to stay calm and think. She’d spent countless hours running through the woods with her brothers when she was a child. This wasn’t all that different, really. Surely, she’d learned something back then that could prove useful in this situation.

  If you ever get lost in the woods…

  The memory was hazy, but she was certain Lachlan had taught her how to save herself in just such a predicament as this. Now, what had he said…something about navigating a way out by following the North Star.

  Well, that wouldn’t do. The sky wasn’t yet dark, and the thick layer of clouds would swallow any stars once it was.

  But there’d been another way, hadn’t there? It had to do with the moss growing thicker on the north side of the trees, where there was less light…

  Yes, of course! The greatest danger of being lost in the woods was she’d travel in circles until she became hopelessly confused, but if she kept moving steadily in one direction, eventually she’d find her way out.

  But it will take hours…

  Isla tried to keep her heart from sinking as she took stock of her situation. It was so dark she could hardly make out the trees, much less the moss, but there was no help for it. She’d simply have to go slowly and feel her way through.

  “Right then, Sophie, off we go.” She tugged off one of her gloves, shoved it into the pocket of her riding skirt, and then urged the horse forward. “To the north, sweet girl, and you’ll let me know if you think we’ve strayed off course, won’t you?”

  Isla tried to keep track of the passing time as they made their way from tree to tree, but as the hours passed, she became exhausted from the strain of holding off the cold. Her brain grew dull. Her thoughts became hazy and began to blur, one into the next until she could no longer tell how long she and Sophie had been wandering through the woods. The ice rained down from the sky, and the wind howled. It shook the trees around her and crept down her neck and under the skirts of her riding habit.

  Her hands were the first to go numb, and the rest of her body quickly followed. At first it felt like needles stabbing into her, but then a strange sort of lethargy fell over her, and she didn’t notice the cold anymore after that. At some point she became aware she was no longer stroking Sophie’s neck. The horse, who’d been trembling with fear and cold, had gone quiet beneath her, and Isla wondered dazedly if Sophie had fallen asleep. Her own eyes were falling closed, and sleep seemed a good idea. By the time they awoke, surely someone would have found them…

  Crack!

  Isla jolted awake, fear gripping her throat. Where was she? Where—

  The woods. She and Sophie were lost in the woods, and, dear God, had that sound been a gunshot? Isla shook off her stupor, hope flooding her chest. Lachlan, Ciaran, and Finn had come for her, and they’d fired a pistol into the air to let her know they were close! It had to be them—it was the only explanation. She tried to call out, but when she opened her mouth to yell, only a hoarse croak emerged. Panic threatened again, but Isla shoved it back and kicked Sophie into a trot. She didn’t need her voice. She’d follow the sound of the gunshots, and before long she’d—

  Crack!

  Isla’s head snapped around, every one of her senses straining toward the sound. It bounced off the trees, and she looked up, certain it had come from above her. It was very near, just over her head, but if her brothers were as close as that she’d be able to see and hear them by now.

  Unless it wasn’t a gunshot.

  Another sharp crack exploded above her. For one confusing moment she thought it was thunder, but then she heard a rattle of branches and looked up just in time to s
ee a thick limb break free from an enormous tree and come hurtling down from above. Isla froze in horror as it crashed down, shaking the ground not ten paces away from where she and Sophie stood. Her heart stopped, but it surged painfully against her ribs again as understanding dawned on her.

  A heavy coating of ice had gathered on the trees, and between the weight and the wind whipping everything into a frenzy, the limbs were tearing loose. Enormous limbs, some of them thicker than a man’s thigh, were tumbling to the ground, as if they were no more than bits of kindling.

  Crack!

  Every hair on Isla’s neck rose at the sound, and a shiver of pure terror shot down her spine. Branches, limbs, even whole trees could come down in this wind, and it was only a matter of time before one of them fell on top of her and Sophie. If they couldn’t find their way out of these woods, they’d be crushed.

  Isla snatched up the reins, set Sophie’s head straight forward, and dug her heels into the horse’s flanks. Despair threatened to overwhelm her as she stared hopelessly into the darkness. She couldn’t tell when the next limb might crash down, or where it might fall, but if they kept moving, there was at least a chance they’d make their way clear of the forest.

  Sophie strained against the reins, her animal instincts urging her to flee the danger, but Isla kept the horse under tight control. If Sophie bolted again, they could hit a tree—

  Crack! Crack! Crack!

  The sound of limbs breaking loose came at them from all sides. A loud crash echoed in her head as a branch fell to the ground behind her, but she didn’t look back. She kept moving forward, her arms burning as she wrestled Sophie for control. She leaned over the horse’s head, searching the darkness in front of her for any sign of a break in the trees, or the palest ray of light to indicate they were nearing the edge of the woods.

  But they went on and on, Isla’s heart sinking with every step, her body sagging with exhaustion from the effort it took to control Sophie. The horse was going to win this battle, and tears gathered in Isla’s eyes as she realized she was going to have to let Sophie off the reins. Braving the woods alone could be the horse’s doom, and very likely Isla’s, too, but she had no choice. She couldn’t hold her any longer—

  Crash!

  This time, there was no warning.

  One moment the way was clear, and in the next a tree fell in front of them with a deafening boom, its sharp branches shaking from the impact of the fall. Sophie let out a terrified scream and reared back, her hooves clawing at the air for a heartbeat before she regained her feet.

  By then, it was too late for Isla. She dropped the reins and tried to throw her arms around Sophie’s neck to save herself, but her muscles were shaking with fatigue. She flew off Sophie’s back and landed on the forest floor with a hard thump that snatched the breath from her lungs. She heard Sophie’s hooves scrambling frantically against the ground, and by the time she managed to open her eyes, her horse was gone.

  She was well and truly alone.

  Isla didn’t try to get up but lay still on her back, blinking at the trees swaying wildly in the wind above her, wondering with an odd sort of detachment if she’d die here.

  If she did…

  What would become of her brothers, and Hyacinth and Iris, her new sisters? And what of Sydney? Why hadn’t he come? Was he safe, or had something happened to him on the journey? He wasn’t only her betrothed, but also her dearest friend. She couldn’t bear to think he’d been hurt or lost in the storm.

  If she died here, he’d be left alone.

  More tears threatened, but she was too exhausted to cry for long.

  Just before she gave in to the darkness pressing down on her, she had the oddest dream. She imagined she saw Hugh Courtney’s face above hers, his dark eyes bleak as he stared down at her. His lips were moving. He was saying something. Her name?

  Isla didn’t try to answer. She knew it was a dream. He’d never been anything but a dream…

  Darkness pressed down on her eyes. She let them fall closed with a little sigh and waited patiently for whatever was next to come.

  Chapter Two

  “Pierce! Lord Pierce, wait!”

  The voices echoed across the open field, driven forward by the force of the wind, but Hugh didn’t hear them. He heard only the pounding of his horse’s hooves as they flew over the field, and the frantic beating of his heart.

  He’d told himself he wouldn’t wait for her. Not today.

  Today was going to be the day I didn’t look…

  But he’d found himself in the same place he did every afternoon—in front of his study window, straining for a glimpse of her, the dark blue ribbons of her riding hat streaming out behind her as she flew across the open fields between Lord Huntington’s property and his own.

  Her blue riding habit matched her eyes. He knew this because he’d taken her riding once during the season, in Hyde Park. Had that only been weeks ago? Those few weeks had dragged into a lifetime, yet he still remembered that day as clearly as if it had just happened. He’d thought her eyes were the most startlingly beautiful shade of blue he’d ever seen.

  “Damn you, Pierce, hold up!”

  Icy shards rained down on Hugh in a stinging assault, like thousands of tiny swords. The wind ripped and tore at his thick coat, tunneling its way through every thread until it found bare skin. It had been unseasonably cold when he’d woken this morning, and the temperature had continued to drop with every hour that passed. By this afternoon the howling wind had turned deafening. The gusts hurled slivers of ice against his window, the sharp, staccato crack of them like handfuls of tiny pebbles hitting the glass.

  The storm had looked bad enough from behind his window. It was far worse now that he was riding across the open field, with no shelter from the wind and ice.

  “For God’s sake, Pierce, will you stop?”

  A large, gloved hand snatched at his reins and forced Hugh’s horse to a halt. Hugh whirled around, his riding crop raised to strike, but when he saw it was Finn Knight, he managed to pull back just in time. “Jesus, Huntington, I nearly sliced open your wrist!”

  Lord Huntington didn’t seem to hear him. He was wild-eyed and gasping for breath. “Our sister, Isla. She rode out an hour ago—”

  “She hasn’t come back.” Lachlan and Ciaran Ramsey rode up and wheeled their horses to a halt beside Hugh’s. All three men were soaked to the skin and panting with exertion.

  Hugh had been so certain she wouldn’t ride today. Only a fool tempted fate by venturing out in such a storm, and Isla Ramsey was no fool. Yet for reasons he couldn’t explain he’d gone to his study window anyway, and then been furious when she’d appeared in the open field below him, her blue ribbons whipping in the wind.

  What the devil was she thinking, riding out in this storm?

  He’d been tempted to go after her at once, to take her to task for her recklessness, but he’d gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay where he was. Isla Ramsey wasn’t his problem anymore—she’d made sure of that. If Huntington was fool enough to let his sister ride out alone in a storm, then that was his concern.

  “Hyacinth said she thinks Isla came this way.” Ciaran Ramsey yanked his hat from his head and dragged an arm across his face. “Did you see her?”

  “Yes, I saw her. She went into the woods.” Hugh waved his arm toward the tree line, wincing at the horror on their faces as they followed the gesture.

  Isla knew these woods. She’d ridden through them every afternoon since she came to Huntington Lodge three weeks ago, but on a day like today, she might as well be riding through an unfamiliar forest at midnight. The tree growth was so thick hardly any light pierced the dimness, even on the sunniest days. The most surefooted of horses was liable to lose its footing in that gloom, and God knew there were plenty of tree roots to stumble over and steep ravines to tumble into.

  Isla knew th
e dangers, and yet she’d gone ahead anyway. Hugh had watched her approach the tree line, his jaw going tighter the closer she got. He’d been about to give in to a furious urge to pound on the window and shout at her, but then she’d brought her horse to a halt at the edge of the forest and paused there. He’d squinted at her through the streaked glass. It was too far a distance for him to tell exactly what she was doing, but it looked as if…

  As if she were fussing with her coat.

  In the middle of a dangerous ice storm.

  “Damn it, go home, Isla,” he’d cursed at her through the window. “Turn around and go home!”

  But Isla didn’t turn toward home. If he hadn’t known it to be impossible, he would have thought she could hear him, because she did precisely what Isla Ramsey always did when someone presumed to order her about.

  That is, she did the opposite of what she’d been told to do.

  She’d raised her face to the sky and gazed at the threatening clouds above, as if she were daring the storm to stop her.

  Then she’d snatched up the reins and disappeared into the woods.

  Hugh’s heart had shot into his throat. In this wind, even massive trees could snap like twigs. They’d come crashing to the ground, and she could be buried beneath them, crushed—

  “Christ. The woods are the last place she should be in a storm like this.” Lachlan Ramsey glanced at Lord Huntington, his face grim.

  Huntington’s own face had gone white. “How long ago did you see her, Pierce?”

  “It hasn’t been long. No more than a quarter of an hour. I saw her from my study window and rode out at once. She can’t have gotten far.”

  “Good man, Pierce. Did you bring a pistol?” Huntington had caught his breath, and he wasn’t wasting any time.

  Hugh shook his head. “No. I didn’t even think of it.” As soon as he had seen Isla ride into the woods, he had ceased to think of anything at all, aside from mounting a horse and going after her. It was a wonder he was even wearing boots.