Had Lillian been placed in a prison like this? No, this was too good for her. She needed to be in somewhere sterile, without this rich history.
I shook my head. I didn’t want to be thinking about Lillian or the other werewolf while we were in London.
After our tour of the Tower we rode back to the hotel. No one said much; we were all utterly spent, ready for sleep and food. It was food that we would take care of first, meeting with the rest of our party in the restaurant. Lockley joined us as well; if I’d heard Jasper right, he was a member of Parliament and was more than happy to tell us more stories about London.
We relaxed in the lounge after dinner with tea and dessert, chatting and sharing tales of where we had visited that day. Daisy and Bridget had gone to the zoo, and recommended that we might want to pay a visit tomorrow. Adam looked a little queasy at the suggestion, but after a little bit of begging he agreed that we could go after lunch tomorrow.
“The history museum might be nice as well, if you don’t want to go to the zoo,” Lockley said.
I glanced at Adam. “I don’t see why we couldn’t do both,” I said, and he gave a tight nod.
Christine and Jasper excused themselves, leaving Lowell with Christoph and his wife, Ingrid. She let us hold him for a little bit, his bright eyes staring into mine. Someday I’d have one of my own. After the wedding.
I passed Lowell to Annabelle and found myself yawning.
“You ready to retire for the night?” Adam asked.
“I suppose I am,” I said.
“Let me walk you.” He held out his hand and together we walked up the stairs. It was funny, the little exchange we’d had. No one cared if he stayed the night in my room, but we were still trying to keep up appearances.
We cuddled up together on the massive hotel bed, but neither of us had the energy to do much more than that. Our late night and early morning had caught up to us, and now we were paying for it with fatigue.
The next morning we felt much more refreshed, even if we found ourselves running behind a bit. We weren’t the only ones; we met up with Adam’s roommate, Conor, and Bridget exiting their room in a hurry.
“Late night last night?” I asked. They looked about as exhausted as we had the previous day.
“Oh, you’re one to talk,” Bridget said with a smirk. We all chuckled.
Everyone else was waiting for us in the dining room as we entered. From across the room Daisy caught sight of her roommate and her eyes went wide as she rushed to us.
“Bridget, where were you last night?” Daisy exclaimed loudly. “I was so worried!”
All four of us blushed a deep red. Everyone in our party was staring. Bridget glanced at them, then whispered something in Daisy’s ear. Daisy’s eyes went wide.
“Oh, sorry,” she said faintly.
Embarrassed, we took a seat at the end of the table.
Bridget cleared her throat. “So, what’s on your agenda today?”
I glanced at Adam. “The history museum and then the zoo, I think.”
“Oh, the history museum seems fun. Conor, shall we tag along?”
“I’ve seen it before,” he said, mouth full of crumpet.
“Yes, but I haven’t.”
He looked at her a moment and she looked back, eyebrows raised, daring him to tell her no. “I think that would be fun,” he finally said, and she smiled.
“The zoo, though?” Adam asked her.
“The animals are fun,” she said. “But we went yesterday. Today I think we might see the Tower of London.”
“Oh, we did that yesterday. The building is beautiful,” I said.
“Really? I always thought it would be drab.”
“Well, it was originally a royal residence, and now they have it set up like a museum,” I told her.
We finished up our meals and together, not facing the rest of the party, we left out the hotel doors. It wasn’t raining as hard as it had been yesterday, but a mist still hung in the air. I hoped it would clear up by midday for our visit to the zoo.
The history museum was just as fascinating as I hoped it would be. The museum was a stunning Romanesque building almost as magnificent as the displays inside. We spent hours looking at fossils and exhibits until our stomachs rumbled and it was time for lunch.
We found a little cafe near the museum for lunch and sat with Conor, Bridget, and Daisy.
“What a fun trip,” Bridget said, glancing out the window at the fog.
“We’ve only just started,” I pointed out. “It could still go haywire.”
“Such a pessimist,” she sighed.
I glanced at Adam. “I am glad that we’re out of Weylyn. I doubt Seth’s minion followed him here.”
We parted ways after lunch, Adam and I heading to the London Zoo. I was excited as we stepped out of the carriage, but Adam looked a little green.
“Are you all right?” I asked him.
“Fine,” he said, waving his hand dismissively at me.
We spent some time walking around as the sun teased us from behind thick clouds. There were so many animals to see, ones that I’d never seen in person—hippopotamuses, monkeys, bears. As we walked around, Adam began to look worse and worse, and finally, just outside the elephant enclosure, I pulled him aside.
“Darling, what’s wrong?”
“Hazel, I told you, I’m fine.”
I put a hand on his arm. “You’re not. I know you’re not.”
“Really, I—”
“Adam,” I said with a sigh, “I’ve known you for a long time. Since forever, practically, and I know when you’re upset. Can you please tell me what’s wrong?”
He pinched his lips together. “I’m just not comfortable here.”
“Why not?”
He gestured to the elephant lounging a few feet away from us. “They don’t belong here.”
“In the zoo?”
“No.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground. “Look, when I’ve transformed, all I want to do is run free through the woods. But these animals, they can’t do that. They’re just here for our amusement.”
My heart broke as I looked at him, his eyes glancing between me, the ground, and the elephant.
“I had no idea you felt this way,” I told him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“You seemed so excited about coming here. I didn’t want to take that away from you.”
“Adam Edward Wellington,” I said, hands on my hips. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t want to be here if you’re uncomfortable.”
“I was hoping I wouldn’t be uncomfortable.”
“You had every reason to be uncomfortable. I’d just never thought of it that way before. Next time, just tell me, all right?”
He nodded, then his eyes widened. “Hazel!” he shouted, yanking me to the side. I stumbled to the ground right as the elephant crashed through the fence, his feet landing right where I had been standing. He began stomping off down the walkway with a horde of zookeepers chasing after it.
“Are you all right?” Adam asked, climbing to his feet and reaching his hand out to help me up.
“Yes,” I said, placing a hand to my head. “What the bloody hell happened?”
“I’m not sure—” he started before he was interrupted by a screaming from the crowd.
“There’s a wolf! A wolf in the elephant pen!”
Adam glanced back and his face lost all color. He tugged me toward the main gates. “We need to leave. Now.”
Chapter Twenty–Two
Hand in hand, we raced through the zoo, animals screeching and visitors screaming. I had no idea where we were going, but Adam must have, because after running for several minutes we found ourselves at the front gate. Adam summoned a carriage, not easy in the mob of people that had evacuated the zoo. When we finally managed to hail one, he pulled me inside, never looking back.
“What the bloody hell was that?” I asked, my breathing heavy and my ankle throbbing.
A
dam didn’t answer me at first, instead, he peered out the window, checking behind us as the carriage pulled along. He must have been satisfied by what he saw, because after a moment, he sat down.
“It was too dangerous,” he said.
“Well, of course, an elephant escaped. That didn’t mean we had to bolt toward the doors.”
“Hazel, that elephant didn’t break through the fence because it was bored. It broke through because it was startled by a wolf.”
I vaguely recalled someone saying something about a wolf, but in the chaos, it hadn’t clicked.
“Not one of our group?” I asked.
He was quiet. “You said the wolf that attacked you had brown and black fur, right?”
My heart dropped into my stomach. “Yes.”
“So did this one. I wasn’t close enough to see its eyes to confirm if they were yellow.”
“It followed us here? All the way to London?”
“That’s how it appears. He’s more determined than we originally thought.”
I sighed, leaning back against the seat. “I’m guessing that means our sightseeing is over.”
“We have to find Jasper,” Adam said with an apologetic glance. “He and his family could be in real danger since that wolf is here.”
“I understand.”
“I’ll bring you back sometime. I promise.”
I glanced over at him. “For our honeymoon?”
“Maybe. If my schedule allows it.”
I sighed.
We pulled up to the hotel and before the wheels had even stopped Adam had his feet on the ground. With my long skirts, it took a little bit longer for me to follow behind. He waited for me, a smile on his face meant to look kind but only relaying the impatience underneath. I scrambled out of the carriage and followed him through the gilded hotel doors. We rushed into the lobby and caught sight of some of our party having a late lunch in the restaurant. They waved us over, and though we’d already eaten, we sat down anyway.
“What have you too been up to?” Jasper asked. He and Christine looked to be in high spirits, and I hated that we were going to crush him.
“Just some sightseeing,” Adam said, flashing his charming smile. “Oh, Jasper, can we speak for a moment?”
He motioned off to the side, and the two passed a meaningful look that was unobserved by the rest of our party.
“Of course,” Jasper said, though concern creased at his eyes. “Christine, give me a moment, will you?”
“Sure, darling,” she said. While Adam pulled Jasper aside, I sat down near Christine.
“What did you do today?” I asked, trying to keep her engaged so she wouldn’t notice the sudden tension.
“We met the queen!” she said, excitement sparkling in her eyes.
“Seriously? That’s wonderful!” I said. I probably would have been jealous had I not been distracted watching the men talk.
“Oh, she was lovely,” Christine said, continuing to chatter on as I watched Adam’s hand gestures and Jasper’s face fall just before his jaw tensed. After a moment he strolled back to us, a wide but faux smile on his face.
“Christine, how is the baby doing?” he asked, sitting beside her.
“I think he’s getting hungry,” she answered.
“Why don’t you go up to your room with Hazel and Annabelle to feed him? I’d like to meet with the other councilmen to discuss some of our business in Sweden.”
Christine glanced at me and I nodded, trying to help Jasper in any way I could. All together we went upstairs, never once breaking ranks. Christine and Bridget crossed into the bedroom, but Annabelle pulled me aside.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
My eyes flickered to the doorway, not wanting Christine to overhear. Annabelle saw this and pulled me farther away. “I saw Adam talking to Jasper, and I saw Jasper’s face. So what do you know that I don’t?”
I took a deep breath. “We were at the zoo—”
“You took Adam to the zoo?”
“Yes, I realize it was a mistake, and I was apologizing to him by the elephant enclosure when the elephant broke free.”
She looked startled. “Oh my God.”
“I thought it was just a fluke at first, but someone shouted that they saw a wolf, and Adam looked back..”
Annabelle rubbed at her head. “Oh my God,” she said again, but this time her voice wasn’t full of surprise but worry.”
“He thinks it’s the same wolf that attacked me at Wolf’s Peak.”
“It followed us here?”
“That’s what it seems like.”
“No wonder Jasper was stressed.”
She glanced at the doorway again. “Look, I don’t advocate keeping things from Christine, but she’s already so stressed about this trial and I don’t want to add to it. Keep it quiet for now until we know more.”
“Of course,” I said with a nod, “I wasn’t going to say anything anyway.”
Annabelle pinched her lips together. “Good.”
We followed the other girls into Christine’s room and stayed there until dinner.
For the third night in a row, Adam joined me in my bed. But for the second night in a row, we were too tired to do anything but sleep. Last night we had been worn out from a day of sightseeing, but I believe it was the stress that was beginning to fatigue us now. Still, I slept better with Adam beside me, his arms around me, even if he did make me so warm I had to kick the covers off halfway through the night.
We had to be up early the next morning; Jasper knocked on our door just past six. Just enough sun was peeking over the horizon to make the fog glow on the streets below. Bleary-eyed, I buttoned my dress and brushed my hair.
We still had quite a journey until we made it to Sweden. Today we’d take a train to the coast before boarding a ferry to France. Then we’d take the train from Calais to Sweden, about two days’ journey.
Once again, Jasper had reserved an entire car for us. In light of recent events, it was a smart move; had he not, it might have been easier for that killer wolf to get on board. And of course, since no one had seen him in human form or had any idea who he was, we would be none the wiser. With the whole car to ourselves, we were able to stretch out and nap for most of the trip. Adam and the other men, of course, needed less sleep than the ladies, so they crowded into their own compartments while the rest of us napped after breakfast.
I woke up with still an hour to go on our journey and sat in the corner of the seat, book in hand as we sped along. I was a few chapters in when Bridget came in.
“Having fun?” she asked me.
“I just woke up. What about you? What have you been up to?”
“Just chatting,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I overheard some things.”
“Oh?”
“You nearly got trampled by an elephant.”
I set my book down. “Yes, that almost happened.”
“Exciting.”
“Less so when you hear that it was because of that mysterious wolf.”
“I heard that as well. He’s determined.”
“I only hope he isn’t following us to Sweden.”
“Where the elders live? That would be foolish.”
“He doesn’t seem to care.”
She thought for a minute. “I suppose that’s true,” she said.
It was a topic I brought up again as we ferried across the English Channel. For once the sun was out, and it shone down brightly on us as Adam and I sat out on the deck. He’d been speaking with Jasper and Stephen, and when he came to join me I set my book back down.
“Do you think he’ll follow us?” I asked Adam. I didn’t have to specify who “he” was.
“I don’t think so. Although I didn’t think he’d follow us to London either. We’re certainly on the lookout.”
“What I can’t figure out are his intentions. Why would he attack us? We’re not instrumental to this court case. They could reach a verdict without us. Why not go after the du
ke and duchess?”
“Well, they were at Buckingham yesterday. He would have had a hard time getting past security.”
“Perhaps. But still, what’s the point in attacking us?”
Adam shrugged. “To cause chaos, I suppose. That seems to be what Seth enjoys most.”
“Do you think that he’ll follow us to Sweden to try to help Seth escape?”
“It’s certainly crossed our minds,” he said. “Jasper is going to make sure the elders are on the lookout. They’re already aware of the situation, minus the most recent development.”
I glanced over at Christine, who was lounging in the sun beside Annabelle. “I just don’t want her to get hurt,” I said.
Adam chuckled, and I frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s just that, through all of this, you’ve been hurt by this wolf several times, and Christine hasn’t been touched. Yet you’re worried about her.”
“She’s the duchess. I’m not. I’m nobody.”
“Hey,” he said, putting a hand under my chin so I would look at him. “You’re everything to me.”
I smiled. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, Hazel.”
Once our boat docked, we were on solid ground for scarcely any time at all before we boarded the train. This time the car Jasper had reserved was a sleeping car. Accommodations were the same as in the hotel, so I got my own bunk. Unfortunately the bed wasn’t nearly as big as the one in the hotel, but we were only here for two nights, so I would survive.
Adam helped me with my things, and once everything was stashed away we all met up in the dining car for lunch. After we’d eaten, the councilmen stayed in the dining car for a meeting and I went to catch up on sleep.
I was awake and reading my book when Adam knocked on my door several hours later. “Ready to eat?” he asked.
The Wolf's Betrothed (The Wolf's Peak Saga Book 5) Page 17