AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Slowly, she stepped toward him and placed her hand in his. The warmth of his fingers immediately curled protectively around her hand, and didn’t let go. Instead, he tugged her gently with him as he sauntered toward the woods.
“I am pleased to say that everyone who has been trespassing in these woods has now met with the magistrate.”
“I hear that their trials have taken place already,” she replied.
“I think the sentences they received were fair. It is good to be able to put the matter at rest now,” he said. “As are my Uncle Gerald, and Aunt Beatrice.”
Myles smiled at her as if to reassure her that they could be discussed without causing undue distress. “They both have been interred in the family crypt. While they are mourned, and will be missed, they both had their good points and bad points as we all have. It is safe to say that they will not be forgotten. However, life must go on, don’t you think?”
“Of course,” Estelle replied. “How is Isaac?”
Myles smiled ruefully at her. “Glad he wasn’t one of the victims. My father told him that he needed to purchase a commission, or else find some way of supporting himself from now on. Isaac, has refused to join the clergy.”
Estelle stared at him. “He is purchasing a commission?” she asked in amazement, and couldn’t bite back her grin at the thought of Isaac being told what to do.
Myles smiled at her. “I have a friend in the Navy. He has managed to arrange for Isaac to join him aboard his ship on his next mission, to Brazil I believe.”
Estelle smiled. “Does Isaac like the ocean?”
Myles grinned at her. “I should think not, but a long voyage should stop his spending for a while and make him appreciate the comforts of home. Barnabas is adamant that some honest hard work, and a day or two without gambling, should sort him out.”
“The Navy is a bit severe, though, isn’t it?”
Myles chuckled. “Well, the alternative is joining the clergy.” He looked at her with his brows lifted. “I don’t see Isaac in robes preaching to a congregation, do you?”
Estelle laughed outright at that and shook her head. It was only then that she realised she was deeper in the woods than she would have liked, and looked at Myles warily.
“It’s alright, keep going,” he urged from behind her.
She looked down at the narrow path. All sorts of emotions and worries flew through her mind as she trod the uneven journey. This time, she felt none of the fear which usually accompanied it. Instead, strangely, she began to relax.
“I don’t see what is different,” she whispered when she lifted a branch out of her way so she could duck beneath it. She became even more confused when Myles smiled mysteriously at her.
“Take a look,” he suggested. He leaned over her shoulder and lifted another branch out of her way, then nodded at something over her shoulder.
Estelle, trying desperately to ignore the wild flurry of desperate yearning that flowed through her at his close proximity, turned around to take a look at whatever was behind her. Her eyes widened. She gasped, and stared breathlessly at the most enchanting sight she had been blessed to witness.
The small clearing where she had witnessed the hooded figures conducting their satanic worship had been cleared even more and widened out. The small glade that now lay nestled amongst the trees flowed right up to the base of the now tidied ruins like an emerald carpet. The ruins were still encased in voracious ivy, but the clawing brambles and dead foliage had been cleared leaving the stonework standing majestically amongst nature’s abundance.
“It doesn’t look so sinister anymore,” she whispered.
In fact, it was wonderful. As if to echo her thoughts she watched a small fawn stumble out of the trees and snuffle around in the grass. Its smooth pelt of russet fur gleamed in the golden shafts of sunlight bathing the glade in a surreal glow amongst which hopped a hare.
“It’s like stepping into a fairy tale,” she breathed.
Myles stepped toward her. Estelle looked at him over her shoulder and smiled at him. She had no objection when he placed his hands on her waist and drew her against his chest.
He nodded toward the ruins. “Do you want to take a look?”
She looked at the ground where she had seen the pentagram.
“The magistrate’s men removed all trace of it. The Head Gardener then gathered a team of men together. They have been working to stop this place being so overgrown and I have to say that their efforts have created magnificence. Because of what happened to you, Barnabas has insisted that they create several new paths through the woods, wide enough for anybody to see them and find their way out of if they get lost. They also stop anybody hiding in the woods because nobody is able to go far without reaching a path and finding a way out.”
She nodded. “It is no longer a secluded place to be.”
Myles smiled at her. “There is something else I want to show you.”
Estelle didn’t move, though, and merely watched the fawn amble slowly around the meadow, its white bobbed tail swishing happily as it munched on the lush green grass.
