She knew nothing about this, but at least it was an original idea that had nothing to do with marriage.
She and the mare, Cinnamon, began to canter through the fields then they slowed again as they neared the woods. She guided the horse down a path into the woods, her thoughts wandering. Asshe rode, she got lost in the feeling, lost in the freedom of it and in the gentle breathing of her mount.
As the afternoon grew later, a thick mist began to descend upon the woods. Vanessa didn’t notice it at first since she was still so lost in her own world, but soon, it was so thick that it had enveloped her entirely.
“Woah there, girl,” she said, pulling the horse to a stop and looking around. “Where are we?”
She didn’t recognize where she was. The path had diverged several times, and she hadn’t been paying attention to which forks she had taken. She was used to riding in the city where such problems did not occur.
Slowly, panic began to build inside of her. Her heart was starting to race. Her hands were growing moist. And her stomach had begun to churn.
“Okay girl, just a little farther,” she said, nudging the horse again. Cinnamon trotted forward another twenty feet, and then suddenly, through the trees came an abrupt sound. A roar like thunder filled her ears, and a gust of cold wind slammed into her. Vanessa peered through the mist then pulled Cinnamon to an abrupt stop, her heart hammering.
She had come out of the woods right at a cliff, the edge of which she could barely see through the mist. She did, however, know what that thunderous sound was: it was the sea, slamming into the cliff face below.
Not only was she lost, but she had somehow stumbled upon the one place she had promised her husband she would not go.
Chapter Fourteen
“What do you mean, you do not know where she is?” Winston roared, making the chandelier above him and all the candelabras on the end tables rattle. His hands were balled into fists, and although he knew he shouldn’t be yelling at his staff, his anger felt too strong to contain.
His butler looked at him nervously, licking his lips. “I am s-sorry, Your Grace. Have you spoken with her lady’s maid? I have not seen Her Grace since dinner last night.”
Dinner.This was enough to make Winston flush with shame. The dinner she had expected him to be at. But he had been so busy, and the thought of spending all that time alone with her had filled him with a trepidation he couldn’t fully name. On the one hand, he did want to see her. Very badly. On the other, being in her presence brought painful, confusing feelings.
But now she was gone, and he had no idea where she was. And that, also, felt like his fault.
They were in the drawing room, where he had come looking for Vanessa after spending the morning working from the nursery in the attic. It was where he had learned his lessons as a boy, and he had thought Vanessa would not track him down there. In that regard, he had been right.
“How can you have lost her?” Winston demanded. “She is the Duchess! Shouldn’t someone be attending her at all times?”
“Her lady’s maid is usually with her,” the butler said, “but she told me she had not seen Her Grace all afternoon.”
“Get the lady’s maid,” he snarled, and the butler scurried away. While he waited, Winston began to pace. It had been hours since anyone seemed to have seen Vanessa.Where could she have gone?
Minutes later, the door opened again, and the lady’s maid came in. She looked very pale.
“You wanted to see me, Your Grace?” she asked, curtsying and keeping her eyes on the ground.
“Yes,” he said. “I understand that you have not seen Her Grace for hours. It turns out, no one else in the house has, and I was wondering when exactly was the last time you saw her.”
“It was many hours ago, Your Grace,” the girl said, her lip quivering. “I have been very worried. She went downstairs to speak to you in your study, and after that, she disappeared.”
Winston swallowed. His throat was very dry. Panic was beginning to seize him. “What does she like to do?” he asked. “Could she be out wandering the estate?”
“Perhaps, but she had a long tour yesterday, and I do not think she found it interesting.”
“What about riding?” he demanded. “Does she often ride?”
“Not often,” the girl said. “But she does enjoy it immensely.”
“Then we will go to the stables,” he decided, and he motioned for the lady’s maid to follow him. Heart in his throat, he strode along the hall to the entrance, pushed open the doors, and then walked briskly across the grass to the stables, the lady’s maid following swiftly behind him.
As he arrived at the stables, a groomsman came out to meet him.
“Your Grace,” he said, bowing, his eyebrows knitting together. “Are you here to go out after the Duchess?”
“What do you mean?” he asked swiftly, his heart seeming to stand still.
