AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The horses traveled at a walk, with Alex taking the lead and Matthew and Louisa following closely behind. It was unseasonably warm, and the heat of the sun filtered through the trees that grew on either side of the lane and down onto Louisa’s shoulders. The farther north they went, the quieter Matthew became. He responded politely to Alex’s questions along the way, but his answers became shorter and shorter.
After what seemed like forever but was probably no more than fifteen minutes, they rounded a corner that took them to the right. The foliage had blocked their view, but now, in the distance, Louisa could see a cottage. It wasn’t a large place, but it was of finer construction than the typical tenant’s cottage, and its appearance made Louisa’s heart race and her hands tremble. They were close to getting the answers they’d come to Farleigh Manor to get; she could feel it.
Alex gave his horse a nudge forward, and Matthew shot a somber look at Louisa, confirming her suspicions. She urged her own horse forward until she was riding next to Alex. They were nearly to the cottage, and Louisa desperately wished to go right on past and continue down the lane and away from the inevitable truth of the mystery woman. It would take them to, to . . . who knew where . . . But Louisa didn’t care. She wanted to leave. Now that the truth was before her, she didn’t want to know—
The door opened, and a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties stepped outside onto the threshold.
An attractive woman.
Louisa gasped—and everything went black.
“Louisa!” she heard someone call from far away.
Then there were arms around her, arms that lifted her from the horse, that carried her out of the heat and into coolness. Blessed darkness . . .
She opened her eyes and blinked several times to bring the world back into focus. She was reclining on a sofa, and Alex was kneeling in front of her. Matthew stood behind him, his eyebrows drawn together in concern.
“What happened?” she asked. She felt a bit queasy, which was odd. She didn’t remember feeling queasy before.
“You fainted,” Alex said gently.
“I never faint,” she replied indignantly.
“You did this time,” Alex said.
As her vision cleared further, she saw another person—the woman—standing off a ways, watching. Watching Louisa’s disgrace.
Louisa squeezed her eyes shut, blocking the woman out. “Who is she?” Louisa asked Alex in a whisper, mortified that whoever she was, she was witnessing all of this.
“There’s time enough for that later,” Alex murmured. “Ah, thank you.” He took a glass of water from a young boy who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and then handed it to Louisa, keeping his hands on the glass until he was sure she wasn’t going to spill it all over herself. “Steady now. Just a few sips to start.”
She sipped the water. It was cool and tasted good. Her mouth was dry, so she took another sip and then another. She handed the glass back to Alex and attempted to sit up, but dizziness forced her to lie back. Her head felt as if it were stuffed with cotton. This wasn’t like her at all.
“I don’t faint; I never faint,” she grumbled. “Have you ever seen me faint?”
Alex chuckled. “Clearly, you’re beginning to feel more like your usual self, Weezy.” He handed her the glass, and she drank more water. “You have been under more strain than usual the past week or two, you know. It was bound to catch up with you sooner or later.”
“Well, it couldn’t have picked a worse time.”
“You gave us a bit of a scare there, Lady Louisa,” Matthew said. “Luckily, your brother has quick reflexes and caught you before you hit the ground. It was quite remarkable, really,” the man continued with a thoughtful look on his face. “Him leaping from his horse like that and catching you as you fell forward off your sidesaddle.”
She covered her eyes with her hand and groaned in embarrassment. The woman was still there, watching, the young boy standing at her side—and when had a little girl joined them?
“I may as well be introduced,” Louisa muttered. She lowered her hand from her eyes and sat up, slowly moving her feet from the sofa to the floor, and then straightened her skirts. The only way to get through a difficult situation was straightforward—at least, it was in this case. She couldn’t exactly sneak out of the room and return to the manor house at this point.
Matthew cleared his throat, looking resigned. “Lord Halford, Lady Louisa, may I present . . .” He paused as if searching for the right words, which was odd. “Allow me to present Miss Jane Purnell and her children, Peter and Daisy.”
The woman curtsied, as did the little girl. The boy bowed stiffly. “How do you, your lordship, your ladyship,” the woman said.
She was Miss Purnell. She had two children, but she was a miss. Louisa shut her eyes again, in defeat this time. She must be William’s mistress after all, but Louisa never in her wildest thoughts expected there would be children—
“Er,” Matthew said. “There is more that needs to be explained.”
“Then please do so, man. Don’t leave us in suspense,” Alex drawled. He folded his arms over his chest.
Louisa hunted with unsteady hands through the pocket of her dress for a handkerchief.
Matthew looked at the floor as if for inspiration before turning to look at the woman—Miss Purnell.
