“He knows his place,” Grace murmured. “He knows that our marriage was practically written in a legal document. He would never go against his father’s word.”
“I pray you’re correct,” Penelope said. “For I can’t imagine what kind of scandal that would be.”
“You speak as though you’d relish the opportunity to gossip about it to all of London,” Grace countered, her cheeks becoming warm with rage.
“Of course not, Grace. Although I must say, if the roles were reversed, I know for certain that you would do the very same,” Penelope pointed out.
Grace’s eyelashes fluttered. “I beg your pardon? In my eyes, you’re a woman I would uphold above my own life. If anyone crossed you…”
“Oh, darling. Let’s not pretend for a moment that you have all those morals your father thinks you have. I see directly through you, as I’ve said. Now, where do you think Lady Diana Harrington has scampered off to, without hardly touching her food? You don’t think she’s taken to the woods to find herself on some sort of suicidal mission, do you?”
Grace scoffed. “If suicide is what she’s after, then I imagine the woods are a marvellous place to start. Many a woman finds herself lost in those woods throughout the year, usually with the body being found several months later, all rotted out and hardly recognizable.”
Penelope’s smile widened. “You truly are just as evil as I always thought. The way you say this, with such relish…”
“Shhh,” Grace hushed. Her eyes flashed around the garden party, assessing that everyone still remained out of earshot. Her uncle drank heartily alongside her father and Lord Harrington, with Lord Harrington tossing his head back mid-laughter. The humour of it reeked in contrast to what Grace had done.
Yet, strangely, Grace felt entirely proud of her newfound position. Still, Ernest remained frozen at the edge of the garden, with Aunt Renata beside him. And still, Diana didn’t appear from the woods, with Rose looking as though she was in the midst of some sort of child-like panic attack. Her shoulders shook with sadness.
Why didn’t she go in after Diana, if she cared so much?
Perhaps she didn’t, Grace reasoned. Perhaps Rose only cared about the drama, just like Grace did. And yes—Grace understood that Rose hadn’t a single care in the world for Grace, herself, and thus found Diana to be her only path forward, a solution.
Yet Diana was far too weak to be utilized as a solution. Even now, Rose imagined her racing through the woods, chilly air flashing across her cheeks, her heart beating wildly in her throat. Grace hadn’t the idiocy to ever put herself through something like that.
In fact, she wouldn’t have had the idiocy of rushing back in that mansion and making such a fool of herself in near-death.
Sure, the maid would have died. But that was the sort of accident one could get over.
In the midst of Grace’s chaotic thoughts, however, Ernest bolted from his stance beside Aunt Renata, racing toward the line of trees. Grace took a dramatic step forward, her own heart leaping into her throat.
Was he possibly so stupid as to go after her? Was he so idiotic that he would run into the woods, thus putting his own life in danger?
But Penelope wrapped her hand around Grace’s elbow, tugging her back. “There’s nothing you can do now, Grace,” Penelope said, seeming to relish the words as they poured from her mouth. “You have only to wait and worry and wonder what comes next.”
Chapter 16
Ernest left Aunt Renata with a strange ache in his belly. He felt as though he’d swallowed a stone. He rushed along the path, following in the direction Rose and Diana had gone, only to find alone Rose at the edge of the forest, her hands clasped tight against her belly. From where Ernest stood, he saw she was crying. It seemed the evening lacked any sort of happiness for any party—except for Grace, of course.
Ernest stretched his legs toward his sister. When he appeared beside her, he followed her eyes into the darkness of the woods. Again, his heart jumped up to his throat. Was it possible that…?
“She went in there,” Rose murmured, her nostrils flared. “She wouldn’t tell me why. Only that she needed to get away.” She blinked up at Ernest now, looking like an abandoned animal. “You know how terrified I am of the woods, Ernest. It’s not that you haven’t trained me, given me all the tools to ensure I’d be all right. But I truly cannot step into those woods alone. She moved too quickly for me to follow her. I’m—I’m terribly sorry. I’m frozen with panic.”
“Don’t worry yourself, Rose,” Ernest told her, his throat tight.
“She’s moving toward the river,” Rose added. “Far too quickly, as I said. Imagine she runs too fast, doesn’t look at where her feet are falling…”
“I must hurry,” said Ernest.
“Ernest, please…” Tears glowed in the corners of Rose’s eyes. “You can’t possibly know how much I need you to be safe in there.”
“Have I ever put myself in danger?” Ernest asked, giving her a crooked smile.
At this, Rose surprised him with a mighty punch in the arm. “Yes! You ran into a burning mansion, you idiot. I can’t possibly trust what you’re going to do next. At once, you’re the bravest and the weakest man I know.”
She swallowed hard. The words stung Ernest’s ears, yet he knew they were entirely correct.
“Any way, please. Go. Go in after her,” Rose muttered. “If you don’t go after her, then I swear, I’ll never forgive you. She’s the sister I was never allowed to have. I was stuck only with a much older brother—one who is dallying, standing beside me and looking at me as though he isn’t sure what to do next…”
Of course, Rose had to rub him with a dose of her ever-Rose medicine. Before she could utter another word, Ernest cut toward the trees, then darted between them. Just a glance down showed that Diana’s footsteps appeared in the soft mud, allowing a perfect path. He felt suddenly like a tracker, a hunter’s strategy in place. As he was a good deal taller than Diana, and certainly stronger, he felt sure he would find her within ten minutes’ time.
The air was thick, difficult to breathe, as though he’d placed his mouth in a bit of milk and was trying to draw oxygen from it. He thrust his fists forward and back, trying to drive himself faster. The leaves beneath his feet were spongy and wet, making him slip and slide.
After running for maybe a minute, maybe an hour—for how difficult it had suddenly become to really note the date or time—Ernest cried out Diana’s name. It felt oddly beautiful, being able to say her name with such certainty.
“Diana!” The word echoed back from the thick tree trunks, becoming a kind of song that existed along with the mud and the air and the fallen leaves. “Diana!”
At a certain point, the leaves grew too thick, making it difficult for Ernest to find the footprints of Diana’s trail. He stopped for a moment, huffing hard. When he caught his breath, he listened sharply, hearing the trickle of the river. He hadn’t explored Grace’s woods much at all, yet he knew that the river that snaked behind his home also passed through Grace’s estate. He rushed toward it, finding it wild and rushing after so much spring rain.
Perched at the edge of the river, atop a glittering rock, was Diana Harrington. At first glimpse of her—alive, full—Ernest stopped short. She gazed out across the water, her feet hanging toward the chilly waves below and her wild curls flicking through the breeze. She turned her head slightly, showing her stunning profile, the slant of her nose and her supple lips.
It was then that Ernest noted her dress had been torn at the shoulder. Her skin glowed up beneath, so tender and soft. Again, he ached with a hunger he couldn’t name. He yearned to drop his lips across that shoulder, to inhale the smell of her, to taste her skin.
Again, his member throbbed in his pants. His head grew cloudy.
He took a slight step forward, feeling drawn to her like a moth to the flame. His foot landed upon a stick, which crackled beneath him. Diana spun around, her mouth in a round O and her breasts bulging up
from her gown. She remained seated on the rock, completely vulnerable to him, her face stitched into a wretched, fearful look.
Of course, her fear was understandable. And yet, Ernest also knew her to be far braver than he or anyone else he’d ever encountered in his life.
Ernest took another few steps toward the rock until he towered over her, casting a shadow across her face and breasts. The air was taut, difficult to breathe.
When he spoke, his words were raspy and charged. “What on earth were you thinking, Diana?”
Her eyelashes fluttered, yet she didn’t allow her gaze to drop. “I couldn’t be at that party any longer, Ernest.”
“But a woman should never be out in the woods alone,” he protested, knowing he was speaking full nonsense. He couldn’t possibly keep Diana in a cage.
Diana smirked at this, despite tears forming in her eyes. “Listen to that. Laying down the rules of the land. That’s our new earl—always one to ensure that no one steps out of line.”
But in the midst of her teasing him, her shoulders shook. She fell into wild, rollicking tears and drew her hands across her cheeks. It seemed that the physicality of her emotions was too great—as though a storm had overtaken her body and wouldn’t relinquish its power.
Ernest couldn’t stop himself. He dropped himself on the rock beside her and wrapped his thick arms around her quivering form. Her skin was frosty to the touch, especially as she’d torn her dress. She brought her face against his chest and inhaled sharply. Her fingers found their grip on his suit, holding tighter and tighter, so much so that he felt she might tear the clothes off him.
This very thought caused his member to surge.
“Shhh,” Ernest whispered. He drew his hand across the back of Diana’s head, smoothing out her hair. “You don’t have to cry. It’s going to be all right.”
“No, no,” Diana murmured, still keeping her grip on his suit. “You don’t understand. Yet how could you?”
“Is it—is it Grace?” Ernest asked, his heart thudding. “I know how wretched she is, Diana. I know…”
“Of course, she’s some of it. I just couldn’t have imagined what entering the woods again would do to me. My mind is endlessly chaotic. I can’t get a grip on a single idea before it passes through me. It’s as though my thoughts are as useless as this water. You can’t hold onto it. It’s already on its way somewhere else.”
Ernest gazed at her, at her impossible beauty and the passion he could never possibly control within both himself and her. Again, he stroked her hair, willing himself to say the right thing. But how could he possibly? There was so much between them. Although they were pressed up against one another, the rules of society had wedged between them like a brick wall.
“I haven’t been out in the woods alone in ages,” Diana whispered. A delicate tear traced itself toward her chin. “And it used to be such an easy thing for me. If I felt anxious or afraid or even—even outrageously happy—all I had to do was rush outside and find solace and peace in nature. I told you before, I used to climb trees like a squirrel.”
At this, she allowed herself a moment of reflection and a small laugh. Ernest’s heart nearly burst with the beauty of it.
“And so, when I heard that Grace had cast us out of your home—a beautiful home that I’ve already adopted as my own, if I’m being completely honest—I knew I needed the sort of beauty, the sort of solitude I’d had years ago. I know that I’m in the midst of losing you forever, Lord Bannerman. Ernest. And the reality of this may kill me.”
“It’s killing me, too,” Ernest murmured.
“But the truth of it is, the forest is quite a difficult place for me,” Diana continued. “You saw the way my father panicked when I wanted to climb up the tree. You see, my sister—Margery—she and I were frequent tree climbers. We both took to the forest as a team. We often said that we were the queens of the forest, if you can believe how silly that sounds.”
“It sounds like you were the most wonderful, most imaginative children…”
“Yes, well. I wasn’t with her when it happened.” Now, Diana’s face grew increasingly shadowed, as though she was aging years before his very eyes. “Margery told me that she wanted to play, that she had the itch to go into the woods. But I was busy reading. I always fall into a fantasyland when reading, and I didn’t have the strength to leave that world.”
Now, her eyes sped back toward Ernest’s, as though she was expecting to see some sort of judgment from him. Instead, he kept his face serene and soft, wanting to let her know just how open he was to this story, to anything she needed to show him.
It seemed they’d leaped forward in their non-relationship, telling one another the deepest secrets of their souls.
“She was gone for hours. Mother came to find me in the library to ask where Margery was, and I told her that she was surely still playing. But that’s when I noticed that outside, a most horrendous storm had kicked up. Immediately, I rushed from my chair and ran outside, calling out her name. There was no way to know where she’d gone. The clouds were impossibly thick and black. There was even lightning. Mother was terrified to let me search for Margery myself, but we couldn’t possibly stay indoors when we knew that she was still out there.
“Several of the stable boys and staff members helped, including the maid I saved in the fire. I remember watching my mother sob as we first entered the woods. I still hear Mother’s scream as we searched for her, calling out her name. I have dreams about it even now.”
Diana took a long pause. She blinked down at Ernest’s frame, drawing her hands across the flat of his stomach. She seemed to want to analyse every nook and cranny of his six-pack abs, even beneath the fabric. Her body quaked continually, as though tearing this story out of herself hurt far more than Ernest could possibly imagine.
“We found her in a clearing, near the river. This very river, upstream,” Diana continued. “She was all wet. It was clear she’d been in the river, although we don’t entirely know why. It wasn’t like her to take swims alone, as she wasn’t very strong. She always relied on me to ensure she made it to the other side when we swam together. She always joked that the river would kill her in the end, as she was deathly afraid of water…”
“But how could she have climbed out?” Ernest wondered. “She must have…found her way out of the water…”
“We don’t have any answers,” Diana continued. “We only know that she was in the river. Perhaps she swallowed too much water. Perhaps she struggled in the end to fight her way to the clearing, yet was overcome with fatigue. The only thing I know is, one morning I had a strong, beautiful, alive sister—and by the time late afternoon hit, I had no one. I was an only child.”
Ernest imagined a world in which he lost his sister Rose. His heart darkened at the thought. The love he had for his sister was second to none, was rooted in his very being. If fate swung its ugly axe upon Rose, he would find it very difficult to go on.
“It was wretched, Ernest,” Diana continued. “Father and Mother just fell onto the ground, still calling her name. I can still see Father shaking her, trying to revive her. Of course, she’d been gone for quite some time. Mother just looked up at me in shock. She asked me—she asked me why I hadn’t been with her. In a manner that seemed accusatory. Of course, I know she didn’t mean it. But I felt crippled with guilt in that moment. For it seemed almost certain that if I had been with her, with my beautiful sister on that wretched day, she would have made it out alive.”
“You don’t know that,” Ernest murmured. “There’s no possible way you could know that.”
“But it’s true,” Diana argued. She stood up abruptly from the rock, tearing herself from Ernest’s arms.
In the wake of her absence, Ernest felt suddenly empty and fatigued, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. Diana paced, her hands latched behind her back.
“The funeral was horrendous. Mother fainted twice and had to be put on bedrest immediately after. It was around then that my fathe
r began to experience his own aches and pains, and thus, it was like overnight, we became a family with a mark on our backs. I heard people whispering about us when I went into the city—that God himself was seeking to punish us. This, of course, floored me, as it was completely idiotic. But my mother took it to heart. She upheld religion above everything else, and had taken to praying to God every hour, sometimes more. I walked past her bedroom and found her on her knees at all times of day. Her eyes were clenched so tightly shut that I thought… I thought she might rupture her cheeks. ”
A Seductive Lady Rescued From Flames (Historical Regency Romance) Page 15