Page 11

She hesitated. Whatever had happened to his visage was hardly something he would have chosen for himself. A twinge of pity tugged at her heart. “No, it’s definitely on account of your frightful personality. Good night…Gareth.”

Evaine blew out the candle and hastened downstairs, closing the door firmly after herself.

Crisp autumn air bit her cheeks during the walk back to the cottage. Though it was only evening, the moon had risen, and the sun was long gone. She picked her way down the drive and past the front gate guarded by two carved black granite wolves, into the wilder, untamed woods that bordered one side of the property. The duke’s ancestral hunting grounds. Once upon a time there would have been a legion of servants to keep the forest at bay, but in the decade of neglect that had followed the fire, the trees had crept closer to the mansion. Now, their spindly branches reached like skeletal fingers toward the stone wall. She swallowed hard and quickened her pace.

Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted.

She wished she’d brought her cloak. In her haste to follow the duke, she had neglected to grab it from its hook. The sun’s rays had warmed the air earlier this afternoon; now, she missed its warmth.

A twig snapped.

Evaine’s head swiveled. Her heart crashed into her ribs, a steady drumbeat of run. But she forced herself to stay still, suddenly grateful that she hadn’t brought her eye-catching red cloak after all. Cautiously, on tiptoe, she edged closer to a thick tree.

Was someone following her?

She stayed there for a minute, possibly two. An eon. A gust of wind rattled the trees. Nothing and no one appeared, so she continued onward, keeping her steps light and quick. Silent on the soft earth.

The forest floor had swallowed the hoofbeats of a galloping horse earlier. Now they swallowed hers, too.

You could die out here and no one would ever find your bones.

The thought sent a spike of fear through her.

“Gran,” she muttered through gritted teeth, and broke into a run.

At the cottage, she found Hazel sitting upright in the bed, racked with coughs that shook her frail shoulders.

“Where did you go?” she wailed tremulously.

“I am so sorry, Gran, I thought I’d be back much sooner.” Evaine quickly gave her a spoonful of her medicine.

“Did you find that strange man with the scars?” she asked breathlessly, collapsing against the headboard with an agonized wheeze.

“Yes. He was passed out on the kitchen floor, just as I was afraid would happen.”

“You were right about him having a concussion then,” she said.

“Difficult to miss the way his pupils were two different sizes and he staggered like a drunk man. I’m sorry for leaving you for so long. If I could figure out how to be in two places at once, our problems would be over.” She could have one version of herself stay to care for Gran while the other version of herself finished studying at Girton. Or worked to support them. Perhaps she needed herself in triplicate to accomplish everything that needed to be done. “I’m sorry I was gone for so long. He slept for a long time. I was the one who felled him from his horse. I do feel badly about that.”

“Not on purpose.”

“It’s still my fault.”

“You have done your duty.” Gran patted her hand. “You are such a good child, Evie. Your parents would have been so proud. I can’t help but feel that I have failed you.”

“You haven’t failed anyone, Gran. Least of all me.” Evaine bustled around the room, putting away the dishes she had washed earlier, sorting the pile of mending that she would get to eventually, and generally tidying up.

“If I hadn’t gotten so sick, you wouldn’t have had to leave school.”

“If my parents hadn’t died, you wouldn’t have had to raise me all by yourself. We are all playing the hand we were dealt.”

“A bad hand,” Gran observed sadly. There was no denying the fact.

“As the saying goes, if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” Evaine tried to make a joke of it, but her attempt at humor fell flat. “You’ll be interested to know that the duke has offered me employment.”

“Oh?” She lifted one brow.

“Not that kind of employment. I won’t be on my back for the man.”