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He closed his eyes and let himself think of that moment the previous evening. Heavens, it had been nearly a full day and he couldn’t bring himself to stop thinking of it. He had wished he could have kept her there beside him, wrapped in his arms forever. He wanted to hold her hand, touch her cheek, kiss her again. He wanted to hear her laugh more than he cared to hear his own heartbeat. He couldn’t live without her—not like this, not ever. After finding her cold and alone out in the storm, he had nearly forgotten about the conversation he had overheard between her and Mr. Gregory earlier that day. But then he had remembered, and it had been too painful.
Perhaps it was a misunderstanding, he reasoned to himself. Perhaps Fanny hadn’t been discussing what he thought—that she planned to run away in secret with Mr. Gregory, taking Percy’s valuable harp with them. There were too many questions unanswered, too many pieces that didn’t fit together quite right. He was about to excuse the issue, blaming himself for imagining things, when he heard the high, too-friendly voice of the groundskeeper from outside the window. Fanny’s voice followed, wrapped around a smile. Percy’s heart dropped.
Instead of staying and listening, he stood and moved his chair far away from that window. He didn’t want to hear it. He leaned his hand against the side of a bookcase and breathed, letting the ache and sting seep through his composure. How had he been so daft? How had he allowed himself to fall in love with her? She was vexing and dramatic and utterly ridiculous. Yet he loved her for it. He pushed his hair back from his forehead and huffed a breath of frustration.
Percy didn’t know how long he stayed there, leaning against that bookcase, trying to sort out his emotions, but he came to a conclusion. If Fanny truly cared for Mr. Gregory, then Percy would let her go. How could she not be happier with someone else? Someone who could guide her to places they could both see rather than be dragged about by the arm. Percy would annul the marriage somehow if that was what she wished for. But then there was the kiss…she had asked him for it. How was it possible that she didn’t feel the same things he had felt in that moment?
He didn’t dare step closer to the window, afraid of what it would do to his heart. He tried to think of other things, but as he stood there, all he could imagine was the adoring look Fanny must have been wearing as she gazed upon Mr. Gregory outside. He cursed himself for caring.
A sound caught his attention, quieting his mind. It was coming from the other side of the main floor. He scowled, struggling to decipher it. A slow, dragging noise followed by shuffled footsteps filled his ears. Had Fanny returned to the house? Pressing his hand to the wall, he stepped out of the room to investigate. He needed to set things straight. He needed to know what she and Mr. Gregory were plotting. And the best way to find out would be to ask her himself.
* * *
“I really must be going,” Fanny said for the third time at least.
Mr. Gregory was lounging under the shade of a nearby tree, propped up on his elbow, twirling a blade of grass between two fingers. His blond hair was flopping to one side. “Stay here with me. Just a few moments more.” He smiled, his dark eyes flashing.
Fanny sighed, growing more anxious by the second. “Very well.” She walked over to the tree and sat several feet away from him, adjusting her dress to cover her ankles. “What is so important that you must speak with me about?”
Fanny glanced at him, uncomfortable with the entire situation. Mr. Gregory had been a very kind friend to speak with when she was confused about Percy, but now she found that she didn’t appreciate his company nearly as much as before. Her gaze wandered across the lawn where Percy’s window sat propped open. She wished she could be in there with him, talking and hearing that delightful laugh of his again. What had made him so cold and distant?
“I am far too lonely when you are away. That is all,” Mr. Gregory said, pulling her from her thoughts.
She looked at him from the corner of her eye. There was something ingenuine, something strange about the way he was looking at her and the sound of his voice.
“You are lonely without me? You have plenty of flowers to keep you company. I will be away for just a few minutes. I must see that my husband is well.”
Turning to stand, she was shocked to see Mr. Gregory lunge forward and grip her arm. With a gasp, she jerked it away, standing in one motion.
“You can’t leave,” he said, standing beside her. His head tipped down, and his eyes glinted with frustration. “Just a few moments more.”
Her heart started beating faster. She had never seen this side of him, and it was disconcerting. She didn’t let him see her fear though. “Mr. Gregory. I am leaving. You cannot keep me here. Especially not with such improper conduct.”
She turned, faster this time, but Mr. Gregory grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back. Panic pounded through her. Twisting hard, she stomped on his foot with all of her strength, digging her fingernails into his arm. He cried out in pain and dropped his hands. Without a glance back, Fanny ran for the house, buzzing with fear as her feet slapped the ground.
When she reached the back door, she glanced over her shoulder, half expecting Mr. Gregory to be only a few paces away. But what she saw surprised her. Brushing the loose hair from her eyes, she squinted. Mr. Gregory was running closer to the side of the house instead, gesturing at something with his hands.
It was all so confusing that all she could do was stare. But as Mr. Gregory came closer, she hurried through the door of the house, engulfed suddenly in the silence of her surroundings. She could hear her pulse beating in her ears. Who had Mr. Gregory been addressing? Her skin chilled with alertness—she needed to find Percy. Her legs shook beneath her at the shock of the groundskeeper touching her, grabbing her waist so forcefully.
With quiet steps, she continued into the house. A noise turned her attention to the far end of the hall and she followed it tentatively. Another noise…the sound of heavy breathing and something dragging in spurts across the floor.
Her steps quickened. She almost called out Percy’s name, but something warned her against it. The crimson drapes of the windows were closed, even though Fanny was certain she had opened them before she had ventured outside. She bit her lower lip, walking with her head turned toward the strange grating noises around the corner. But all at once, the sounds stopped.
Had Mr. Gregory entered the house? He had seemed reluctant, waiting several feet away from the door. He had been gesturing something for someone tosee…so it couldn’t have been Percy.
Rounding the corner, she stopped, her gaze falling over the scene. Percy was standing very close to her, turned away. “Fanny, is that you?” he asked.
She almost answered, but he wasn’t facing her. He was focused on something in the opposite direction, head tilted forward in concentration. She slid her gaze to the doorway where a familiar-looking man stood, face red with exertion, with his hands wrapped tightly around Percy’s harp. He was short and thick, with large, wide-set eyes and a nose sharply pointed on the end. He was paralyzed, staring at Percy, looking as if the slightest breath would betray him. The man’s eyes suddenly shifted to Fanny, wide and clear, and her head rushed with recognition. In that split second, she gasped.
“What are you doing here?” she asked loudly. Her voice echoed in the hall and the man cringed, panic flashing in his expression. Percy’s head twitched to her, and she rushed over to him, taking his arm to steady herself. “Percy, it’s—it’s your cousin. I don’t remember his name.” Her heart thudded fast.
The tenseness in Percy’s shoulders did nothing to relax. “What?”
“Your cousin! Did you tell me he was at sea?” She scoured her mind. “Harry! Harry Wellington.”
Fanny was still staring at the man. He had been present at their wedding. What was he doing here now with Percy’s harp? Her heart fell as she suspected the worst.
“What are you doing with the harp? Unhand the instrument at once,” she choked. After her encounter with Mr. Gregory, she expected Harry to confront her, but instead of rising in anger, his face fell.
