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The search was on.
Sian was shivering so badly she was struggling to stop her teeth clattering together. Her fingers were numb, and she had more goose bumps than she cared to count, but she was elated. At some point during the last half hour she had managed to lose Cedrick. The last time she had seen him, he had been struggling to keep his feet beneath him on the muddy field, which seemed determined to suck him into the mire. She, being lighter in stature and therefore faster on her feet, had been able to traverse the muddy gloop a lot faster, and was therefore free of the field relatively easily. Cedrick, meantime had been left cursing bitterly while he glared menacingly after her.
Once on the more even forest floor, and on drier ground, Sian increased the distance between her and her attacker some more, and eventually managed to lose him completely. Now, her concern turned to the weather. The heavy deluge was getting worse by the minute. If she stayed outside any longer than she absolutely had to then she ran the risk of getting struck by one of the frequent streaks of lightning flashing overhead. The thought of using the folly as a refuge sprang to mind, but Sian knew that if she managed to get as far as the folly she would do better going straight to the house.
Before she reached the main house, Sian saw the estate’s church, some quarter of a mile away. Sitting nestled amongst trees, it sat at the far end of its own road, which branched off the main driveway. From where she stood, Sian could see the main house through the trees. Unfortunately, she could also see the hideously familiar carriage Wilhelmina sat in rumble past the end of the lane on its way to the main house.
“I can’t go there while she is waiting.” Sian didn’t have the energy to try to walk all the way around the property and find a side door on the other side of the property.
Consequently, the very last place she should ever seek to take refuge was the only option available to her. Sian turned to the church. Thankfully, seeing as it was in the middle of his estate, Ryan never saw fit to lock it. While the main doors were locked, the side door closest to the stable block remained open and allowed Sian into the sheltered protection of the religious building with relative ease. Sniffing and shivering, Sian rubbed her chilled hands uselessly up and down the bare flesh of her arms. Once inside the hushed confines of the church, she slid the bolt across the door and heaved a sigh of relief.
Now that she was safe, Sian was, for the first time in a long time, able to completely relax. There was no sinister threat, avaricious bride grooms, or worry about unrequited love. For now, she could just rest and wait out the storm, and wait for Wilhelmina to leave.
“It is just me and the church,” she whispered, gazing around in awe.
It was the first time she had ever been anywhere near the building, although knew it was still used by Ryan and the staff on Sunday’s. The vicar from the local parish oversaw the services before hurrying across the five miles or so to the village where he conducted his usual services for his local parishioners. It had been that way for centuries and would undoubtedly continue for many more to come.
“It is here that he will marry,” she whispered sadly.
The very thought of it was enough to make her cry. It was hideous to think of having to sit in one of the pews and watch Ryan marry someone else, and was enough to drive her to her knees, and begin to pray that God would, for once, smile kindly upon her.
“She has been this way, sir.”
“How does he do that?” Norman whispered.
The groundsman looked up at him and grinned. “How do you think we catch poachers?”
Ryan shook his head. “How can you be sure?”
The groundsman pointed to the floor. Ryan dismounted and looked at the small footprint in the mud. To prove his point, the groundsman put his booted foot alongside it.
“We haven’t got any children running around these parts, sir. It has to be your lady. Look at these rounded parts. That’s her heel. She has to be heading toward the house.”
“But she isn’t there,” Ryan ground out.
He contemplated the path she would have taken.
“The men are already searching it, sir, and will alert the house staff to keep a look out for her.”
“The only other building is the church, sir,” one of the stable hands reported. “If she is too scared to go to the house right now, might she have gone there?”
“We have men at the stable yard. If she does appear, someone will come and tell us,” the groomsman added.
“You have done a good job,” Ryan assured them all.
“Sir?” Everyone turned to the young lad who appeared at the edge of the woods. “There is a man heading this way. He is angry, sir, and not local.”
/> Norman and Ryan looked at each other. “Cedrick.”
Together, they followed the boy to the edge of the field and watched Cedrick slip and stumble through the gloop toward them. Ryan, now that he knew Sian was on the estate somewhere and her greatest threat was now before him, was able to relax a little. He leaned casually on the stone wall bordering the field and watched Cedrick’s struggle with a grin.
“How many times have I told you to stay off my land, Cedrick?” Ryan mused.
Cedrick jerked to a stop and glared at him. “Where is she?”
“Sian is none of your concern,” Ryan assured him. “She is my betrothed and will marry nobody but me.”
“We are already wed,” Cedrick bit out.
