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William seemed to have read her mind. He released a long breath, then a hint of a smile appeared on his lips, much to Elizabeth’s confusion. She didn’t understand what about this situation was funny.
“I suppose you are wondering what has made me this way,” he said to her. “I’d hoped that you would be asleep by the time I returned, though it is not that late. A foolish wish, I suppose, considering it would only be delaying the inevitable. However, it has been quite a taxing night for me, so forgive me if I would rather not delve into such a story while standing in the foyer. I shall retire to be—”
"I will walk with you. You may explain once we’ve arrived.”
Elizabeth turned on leaden feet, putting her back to William’s slack face of surprise. Without saying another word, she began to make her way back towards the staircase, listening for his footsteps. After a while, she heard them.
He didn’t say anything. Elizabeth was far too grateful for that. Standing in the foyer was not where she wanted to be when she heard what had made him wince when shrugging off his coat and had swathed his face in blue and purple colors. She needed to prepare herself for it, so that she could stand strong when the news was broken to her. But as she made her way up the staircase and down the hallways towards his bedchamber, Elizabeth didn’t think she’d found that strength.
Her legs had grown wobbly by the time she arrived at the bedchamber. She didn’t stop to think about it. She entered his room, sweeping the spacious area for a place to sit, which happened to be the bed. Without hesitation, she made her way over and sank onto the soft mattress, letting out a low breath.
Elizabeth took a few moments to bring herself together before she lifted her eyes, noticing that William was still standing by the door.
“I do not think you’ve noticed what you’ve done, Elizabeth,” he said, frowning a little. “Nor where you are.”
Elizabeth licked her dry lips. She folded her hands in her lap to try and hide the fact that they were shaking. “I know exactly what I’ve done and where we are. Now, explain.”
His frown deepened. Slowly, William closed the door without taking his eyes off her. As if he expected her to do something, he inched closer to the bed. “Beth...”
“Explain.” Her voice was curt, almost sharp. Elizabeth didn’t know where that came from and she didn’t care to understand.
“Very well, then.” The colors danced on his face as he spoke, clearly a painful move of his jaw twisting Elizabeth’s heart. “Nelson and I were attacked at the tavern we like to frequent. Thankfully, I managed to scrape my way out of it with a few bumps and bruises. It is nothing to cause alarm and certainly nothing that you need to be frightened over.”
“Why were you two attacked?”
William seemed a little taken aback by how calmly she asked the question. Elizabeth didn’t seem to blame him.
“The men...they did not like us. They appeared to have a grudge.”
“What did you do to them to have made them begrudge you? Was it Nelson they were truly after?”
“No,” William said with a shake of his head. “I was the one they did not like, though they did not hesitate to attack Nelson as well. He happened to save my life.”
Elizabeth held his gaze. In that moment, she could hear nothing but the pounding of her heart and the roaring in her ears. She could feel nothing but the slimy fear coursing through her body and taking hold of her senses.
Once the moment had passed, she asked, “What are you hiding?”
“I’m not hiding anything,” William said, a little too quickly.
Elizabeth didn’t respond. She could have told him that she knew him like she knew herself, that she knew that he felt guilty every time he blinked a little more than usual. She could have commended him for being much more adept at hiding it than he used to be but maintained that he could not get it pass her.
Though it would have been much easier to explain that, Elizabeth’s throat tightened to a knot. Holding herself still was fast growing difficult.
Within the silence, she almost thought he would not budge. But, before long, William cracked under the weight of her stare.
“It was the same man who’d almost assaulted you that night,” he said slowly. He watched her carefully as he said the words, as if he expected her to break down into tears.
But crying was the very last thing that came to her mind. As realization hit her squarely in the chest, taking her breath with it, Elizabeth acted without thinking.
She got to her feet and bridged the gap between them. William didn’t take his eyes off her, a deep, worried frown on his face. “Beth...”
