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Rose peered eagerly out of the carriage window as it pulled away from the house and headed down the long driveway. It had just gone half-past five in the morning, and the summer dawn was well on its way to rising. Bolts of rich pink, deep violets, and burnished oranges cut across the hazy blue of the sky, the colors making her excitement build.
“It’s going to be a beautiful day, My Lords,” she said, watching the world go by. She had seen so little of this journey when she had come from London, so she was taking her time to enjoy it now with a much better view.
“I should hope so,” Lord Bentley replied. “The seaside is a terribly drab place when it rains.”
Rose shook her head. “Oh no, it is wonderful in all weather!”
“You have been there before?” Lord Langston’s voice surprised her.
She glanced at him shyly. “My mother and father used to take me to Brighton every summer, until… she passed. I loved it so very much. I’ve thought of it often over the years, and though it isn’t Brighton, I am just delighted that I’ll get to see the sea again.”
His mismatched eyes carried a flicker of warmth, and a slight smile turned up one corner of his lips, but he did not respond to her tale. Instead, he simply dipped his head and looked away, fidgeting with his fingers in his lap.
Undeterred by his lack of response, Rose turned her gaze back out of the carriage window. She looked to the woodland in the distance and noticed a pure white stag lifting its head between two tree trunks. It astonished her so much that she could not speak to gain the attention of the lords. Indeed, it almost stopped her from seeing the hooded figure that stood a few tree trunks away from the stag, staring right at her.
A yelp escaped her throat as she noticed the man. At least, she thought it was a man, though he was too far away to tell.
“What? What is it?” Lord Langston urged, leaning forward in his seat so that his arm brushed against Rose’s.
“It is n-nothing, My Lord,” she replied, her voice shaking slightly. After all, now that she looked again, she could not see the hooded man at all. Nor could she see the stag. “I… um… I saw a white stag over there in the trees. I have never seen one before. They are supposed to bring good fortune, aren’t they?”
I can’t tell him the truth.The stag had, indeed, drawn her attention, but it was the stance and built of the hooded man that lingered in her mind. But she refused to trouble Lord Langston with that, after all he had already done for her. No, it was something she would deal with herself if her father dared to try and take her.
Lord Langston strained to try and see the stag, his arm pressing closer to hers. “I do not see it.”
“It was there in the trees, My Lord, but I think we may have passed it,” Rose explained. In reality, she feared that he might spot the hooded figure for himself if she did not get him to sit back against the squabs.
He has done too much for me already. I won’t ask him to contend with my father twice. I’m here, and I intend to stay. He will not take me back, no matter how hard he tries.She could not say these things to Lord Langston, but she hoped her thoughts might diminish his former concern.
Eventually, Lord Langston sat back. “I saw the same stag on the night you arrived at my home.”
“You did?” Rose felt the absence of his arm against hers, like the weight of something precious being unwillingly removed. As she returned to her position on the squabs, she found herself glancing at his broad shoulders and the shape of his muscular biceps beneath the fabric of his jacket. His arm had felt so firm, and she wondered what it would be like to be held by him in a way she could fully remember.
On the other side of the carriage, Lord Bentley had fallen asleep, though there was a slight smirk upon his lips that suggested he may not have been sleeping at all. She tried to resume her enjoyment as the carriage trundled away from the grand manor and out onto the country roads that would lead them to the sea. But her mind would not be quiet.
He will ruin it if he can, just as he has ruined everything else.For now, she could not even sit and watch the beautiful dawn landscape roll by without wondering if he was hiding somewhere in the shadows, waiting for his moment to strike.
