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Chapter 25
When evening came, Fitz felt that he was finally exhausted. After spending all night in Diana’s arms, feeling more love from her with each passing minute, and then the late morning and early afternoon wandering around the village, Fitz was finally feeling the effects of a long night followed by a long day.
With the wedding happening tomorrow morning, all the guests retired early for the night. Fitz had witnessed Diana giving her mother the comb she’d bought for her and the joy on Lady Casey’s face as she received it. Fitz could tell that it had been a long while since Diana’s mother had received any sort of gift, and he knew the older woman would treasure it for the rest of her life.
As Fitz readied for bed, the evening finally coming to an end, he looked at his wedding clothes in his wardrobe. He had a new jacket, vest, shirt, and trousers all designed for the wedding day. He didn’t want to wear what he had the last time he was married and thought that the new clothes would be fitting for his new marriage. A part of him was still in shock that he was marrying once again, but the more he thought about Diana, the more he was certain he was making the right decision.
Fitz eventually put his clothes away and dressed for bed before stubbing out all the candles. He went to his bed and laid on top of the covers, the spring heat making the manor feel rather warm. He lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling as he thought of Diana. He had already told her discreetly during the evening meal that he would remain in his bedchamber tonight so they could both get some sleep.
Thoughts of Diana circulated in and out of his mind as he lay there, trying to relax his body so he could sleep soundly. He found her beautiful, alluring, humorous, witty, and intelligent. He knew deep down that he was lucky to have arranged a marriage with her. Fitz wondered if it was fate or perhaps destiny, a fantasy idea from one of his novels that he so enjoyed reading.
He realized that it had been a while since he’d sat down with a book or spent hours poring over his ledger and making adjustments. And even though he had ceased doing those things, life still went on. He knew for sure that Diana had improved his life greatly, and he was anxious to start a family with her.
“I think I love her,” Fitz whispered into the night. “I don’t know if that is possible when I still love you, Marian, but I’m confident that I feel strongly for Diana.”
The sound of the wind rattling against the windows made Fitz wonder if that was Marian’s way of telling him that it was alright to love again. He still often wondered about his late wife, but the pain of losing her had seemed to ebb now that he had Diana in his life. Making love to Diana had certainly numbed the pain and perhaps healed a major part of his broken heart knowing he was making love to not just any woman, but someone who equally admired him.
Fitz knew that he needed to tell Diana how he truly felt about her and wondered if there would be time before the ceremony tomorrow. Either way, he was sure that at some point in the following day he would tell Diana that he loved her and was truly happy to be her husband.
~*~
Diana woke with excitement in her heart. She knew that the day had finally come that she was to be married to the most wonderful man she’d ever met. The day was quite early with the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Diana thought that it was far too early to ready herself for the day, so she pulled on her house robe and ventured from her room.
She was so full of excitement that she just knew she wouldn’t be able to stand still for very long. Diana didn’t want to wake any of the guests or disturb them by calling for her lady’s maid, so she ventured downstairs and slipped out of the sitting room doors so she could reach the gardens more easily. She walked slowly over the grass, feeling the morning dew through her house slippers. It was a refreshing feeling, and she saw the sunlight reflecting off the little droplets of water.
Diana made her way around the rose bushes, even taking the time to lean down and smell the fragrant roses. She’d asked the gardener to cut her a fresh bouquet that day so that she could carry it down the aisle with her. She thought they smelled absolutely divine, making her more anxious for the day to begin.
“Wedding jitters,” came the cold voice of a female, causing Diana to twirl around to face whoever had addressed her. She gasped, shocked to see Lady Natale Gunther standing before her. She had a crazed expression on her face, dressed in a hooded cloak with the hood now hanging down around her shoulders.
Diana realized that this was the woman that had been speaking to Vivian the day before, and she couldn’t understand what the manic woman was doing now. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her red hair hung around her shoulders in a wild display.
“What do you want?” Diana demanded, stepping back till her body was pressed up against the rose bushes. She quickly glanced around, wondering if anyone was nearby to come to her rescue.
“I’ve wanted Fitz for a very long time,” Natale bit out, taking a few steps closer. “I should have taken him before my sister had a chance. And when she got in the way, I simply made sure she wouldn’t be an issue anymore.” She shrugged her shoulders as if what she was saying was of no consequence.
“Are you saying you killed your sister?” Diana asked, trying to understand where Natale’s motivation stemmed from.
“Indeed. It was easy, really. She didn’t even see me coming,” Natale said before releasing a dark cackle from deep within her. It sounded as though it came forth from her very soul.
“Why tell me all of this? Surely you’ll know now that I will tell Fitz what you’ve done and make sure you’re taken away for your crimes.”
“That’s the beauty of it,” Natale said, reaching inside her cloak and pulling out a dagger. “I shall slay you like I did my sister and then drag your corpse into the woods. By the time you are discovered, I shall be long gone from this place.”
Diana began to panic as Natale started to quickly approach her. Diana tried to dash away, throwing her body between the bushes even though the thorns scraped and cut her. She had to undo her house robe and leave it behind so she could escape. But by the time she wound her way through the garden, trying to find a way back into the house, Natale had already cut her off at the opening.
Diana stopped suddenly once she was faced with the madwoman once more. An expression of pure glee filled Natale face as she held the dagger high above her head and started to run after Diana. She screamed, terrified of this woman before she turned and picked up the hem of her nightgown so she could try to make a run for it.
She moved through the garden swiftly, hoping to lose Natale. But every time Diana looked over her shoulder, there Natale was with a broad smile upon her face as though they were simply playing a game of tag.
In her panic, Diana tripped on the root of a tree and went crashing to the ground. Her head hit it hard as she tried to brace herself with her outstretched hands. For a moment, she felt dazed and disoriented, but as Natale swiftly caught up to her, Diana tried her best to push herself back up to flee once more.
Natale kicked her in the stomach before she had a chance to go anywhere, causing Diana to double over in pain. She tried to protect herself as Natale kicked her repeatedly with her pointed boots, causing Diana to cry out in pain each time.
All time seemed to stand still as Diana felt a bizarre pain filling her side. Diana covered her head as her body spasmed, trying to flee the pain. She looked to see Natale piercing her with the dagger, hunched over her body as she slowly pressed it into her middle. Diana frantically tried to kick her away, using her hands to try to stop the dagger’s progress.
“You are a weak child,” Natale hissed. “You will not be able to defeat me. And once you are long dead, I shall finally have Fitz all to myself.”
Diana started to weep as her teeth ground together to fight off the pain. She didn’t want to die and thought how devastated Fitz would become if she allowed this to happen. Natale swiftly lifted the dagger, causing Diana’s hands to be thrown to the side. Diana watched with wide eyes as she prepared to stab her once more, the dagger well above her head as she readied herself to plunge it straight at her. Diana was sure she was about to die when the sound of a pistol firing filled the air, causing Natale to stumble back in surprise.
Diana turned her head towards the sound of the pistol as a group of men came running from the house and into the gardens. Natale turned and ran quickly, hiding her dagger in her cloak and soon was out of sight. Diana gasped, the pain becoming almost unbearable as she clamped both hands down on her side, knowing that she needed to live to enjoy the rest of her life with Fitz.
“Miss Casey, what has happened?” Lord Douglas asked, being one of the first to reach her. He placed his hand over hers, trying to compress her wound.
“Lady Gunther attacked me in the garden. She confessed to killing her sister … And tried…. tried to do the same to me,” Diana mumbled, feeling herself start to fall asleep.
“Don’t sleep, Diana,” Lord Douglas said, shaking her awake. “It’s better if you can stay present.”
“The pain,” she whimpered. “It all hurts so badly.” Diana wept, listened to Lord Douglas barking orders to the other men to send for a doctor and to help move Miss Casey inside. Then, she felt a pair of strong arms reaching around her, cradling her to their body as other hands pressed against her wound to stop the bleeding.
“Don’t leave me, Diana,” Fitz whispered into her hair, seeming to be the one who was carrying her inside with the help of others. “I need you to always stay with me. We made a promise.” Diana could hear his voice cracking as though he was about to start crying as she was. But she could no longer help what was happening to her. She swiftly fainted, letting the subconscious rise up and embrace her. The pain relief was wonderful.
