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Lord Gillet squeezed her hand, overcoming his surprise. “We’re almost there, Elizabeth. Hang in there.”
“You shouldn’t worry either, Father,” Elizabeth told him. She forced a smile onto her face despite the pain. “It truly doesn’t hurt as badly as it loo—” The carriage fell into a rut and Elizabeth gasped in pain. William shifted closer to the edge of his seat, looking as if he wanted to take her other hand. Had it not been for Lord Gillet’s presence, he just might have.
Her father brushed the hair sticking to her temple aside, his concern clouding his features. Even so, Elizabeth couldn’t miss the way he studied her as if he couldn’t recognize the person he saw. She couldn’t blame him, but right now, she was in far too much pain to explain exactly how she’d changed while she’d been gone.
At long last, they pulled into the driveway. William was the first to exit, reaching tenderly for Elizabeth as Lord Gillet guided her out. The others who helped her were just a blur of faces that assisted in carrying her into the house with as little jostling as possible. It didn’t ease the pain, however, and Elizabeth gripped William’s coat in her effort to hold back her groans.
When she was brought to her bedchamber, Elizabeth caught sight of a very worried Patience standing by the door. Elizabeth wished they could have reunited under better circumstances but her heart still warmed at the sight of her dear friend, even though Patience was already rushing off at an order by the housekeeper and Elizabeth was being brought into her room.
They laid her gently on the bed and the men began to filter out until it was only her father and William in the room. Elizabeth relaxed against the pillows that had been propped behind her and looked at the two men. William had crossed to one side of the bed, fretting over her by pacing back and forth. Her father stood on the other end, watching William warily.
“I suppose I should give a bit of an explanation,” Elizabeth began. Talking helped to distract her from the pain and so she planned on doing just that until the physician arrived. “Father, thank you for taking such quick action after receiving my letter. I was afraid you would be too late. Or worse, that you would not show.”
“How could I not after receiving word from my daughter, who was missing?” Lord Gillet sighed. For now, he was paying more attention to Elizabeth. “I was surprised by what you’d written but I thought it would be best to act quickly.”
“Thank you again,” Elizabeth breathed. She would spend the rest of her life thanking him for saving William’s life if she must. “But I’m sure you are still filled with many questions. In my letter, I did not tell you how I’d come to be residing at William’s manor, nor why I did not send word. I thought that would be better said in person.”
Her throbbing leg was demanding her attention now and Elizabeth had to pause to shove the pain to the back of her mind. William tensed, looking as if he wanted to step forward but something held him back. She was sure it was her father. Which made what she would say next all the more pertinent.
“I believe I could spend all night telling you what sort of emotions I felt the night I decided to leave, but I’m sure you can already guess. You’ve watched me these past few years, Father. You saw how I regressed more and more as I longed to see him again. I believe you’ve only grown more frustrated with me for turning away potential suitors, one after the other.”
“With good reason,” Lord Gillet stated, crossing his arms.
Elizabeth nodded. “Undoubtedly. And I knew how disappointed you would be if I took action after learning about William’s whereabouts. I decided, however, that it was a risk I had to take. If only to learn the truth about why he’d left me, I had to find him. And so I left on my own and went in search of him. As fate would have it, I happened upon him by complete chance.”
Lord Gillet shifted his gaze to William, who was now standing silently by the window. Elizabeth hoped he would keep silent. This was something she had to say.
“I refused to return home, and considering we were in an unsafe neighborhood, William grew uneasy at the thought of leaving me alone. So he brought me to his home with every intention of returning me to my own home the next morning. But I was persistent. I refused to leave.”
Lord Gillet frowned, drawing closer to her side. “But why? You were betrothed to another gentleman. Why would you risk all that was in place for someone who keeps pushing you aside?”
