The young woman hurried away, her long skirts swishing against the damp path.
Adrian watched. He could not help but feel amused by the exchange. He had not been this entertained in a long time. However, he didn’t forget a sense of responsibility. He followed the lady at a distance until she reached the vicarage before he headed to his residence.
Inside his own house, he could see the front of the vicar’s cottage. A candle glowed through a window, but quickly faded as if the person holding it was walking away.
He caught a brief glimpse of a silhouette.
Then, there was darkness.
He exhaled and wondered when he might meet with the woman again.
I still do not know her name.
Daphne inhaled the appetizing scent of eggs, butter, and freshly baked bread in the Nicholsons’ kitchen. It was supposed to be a chilly morning, but the fire crackled merrily and provided enough warmth for Reverend Nicholson, his wife Sarah, and their new tenant, Daphne.
The young lady tried her best to be of help around the house, setting the table. Being busy made her less anxious, too.
“Thank you again, my dear,” Mrs. Nicholson said, looking at her fondly. “It must not have been a good experience to run errands at night.”
“It was no trouble at all, Mrs. Nicholson,” Daphne insisted, smiling as she ensured everything was well-arranged on the table.
The errand had not been particularly vexing. She enjoyed the freedom of being a village girl, walking around without the pressure of other people’s judgment. Until the night had closed in around her and she realized that she’d tarried too long in her task, she had been experiencing a series of peaceful moments. That tranquility had been slightly disrupted by the rain as well as the stranger.
The stranger…
She had been unable to forget him, even though she knew better than to make an acquaintance such as his while hiding. But it was difficult to reject the images which floated in front of her mind’s eye. She envisioned all over again the tall, broad-shouldered stranger with wolfish, amber eyes, who teased her mercilessly.
He had toed the line established by Society and pushed her to see how far her boundaries were. But his questions and coy smiles ultimately did not do her any harm. He had surprised her, certainly, but had not forced her into any awkward situations.
She spent a moment thinking of what might have happened if the rain had not relented, but then, just outside the front window, she noticed a flicker of movement.
Daphne inhaled sharply, crossed the room in two quick strides, and hid behind the heavy draperies.
“Are you unwell, my child?” Mrs. Nicholson questioned, looking genuinely worried. She must have noticed the way Daphne peered back and forth out the windows.
In truth, Daphne was still rattled about Briarwood. More than once since she’d come to stay with the reverend and his wife, she had imagined him stalking outside the windows.
In her imagination, he skulked from one shadow to the other, watching her every movement, waiting for her to emerge from the house so he could startle her.
She slowly eased the curtain away from the window and peeked outside.
No one’s there. Thank goodness.
As the erratic beating of her heart slowed, a sense of disappointment visited her.
Hmm… that’s peculiar.
She raised a hand, placed it on her chest, and took several labored breaths. Then, the image of the tall stranger returned to the forefront of her mind, and she wondered if perhaps he might come calling today.
It would be the gentlemanly thing to do, would it not? If he was as interested in me as he claimed to be, he ought to come and introduce himself properly.
“Uh, yes, I am well, Mrs. Nicholson,” Daphne replied, a little flustered. “I’m merely tired, but also… getting used to being in a new place. Who—Do you have any neighbors around here? That is, beyond the village?”
This time, it was the Reverend who answered, setting down his mug. “Our nearest neighbor is the Duke of Wolfcrest. He owns a large portion of the land in this village. He keeps to himself. He is fair and discreet and has given none of us any trouble.”
A Duke?
Daphne froze for a moment, thinking of the man who teased her yet kept his distance. While she had been anxious at first, he had never given her reason to feel unsafe.
