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She tried to nod. “Yes, My Lord. I’m just a bit… frightened, that’s all.”
“There is nothing to fear, Miss Parker. I will not let any harm befall you.” He brought his arms right around her until his hands were holding the reins directly in front of her stomach.
He clicked his tongue, and the horse began to walk in the direction of the cliff path, while Lord Bentley followed behind on his own mount. As the horse moved along, Rose felt every bounce and stride, highlighted by the forward and backward motion of Lord Langston’s hips that would keep his seat steady.
I feel as if I’ve caught a fever…Her cheeks were unbearably warm, and that warmth spread through her, beginning at the point where her rear met with the pinnacle of his thighs and edging up her spine and up the back of her neck. No, it was not quite a fever. It was almost as if a madness had taken hold of her, which made her want to turn around in his arms and push her lips against his. She wanted to feel his arms around her as a man held a woman, not as a rider held his passenger.
“You are trembling, Miss Parker,” he said thickly.
“It’s only the sea breeze,” she lied, feeling the way his stomach muscles tightened and released against her back as he moved with the rhythm of the horse.
I won’t survive this… I can’t bear it.And yet, it was the most delicious sort of discomfort. A restlessness that she wanted to wallow in until she had no choice but to scratch the proverbial itch that he had ignited within her.
“This is where we must stop.” Lord Langston suddenly brought the horse to a halt on a flatter expanse of land. She realized that she had been so engrossed in his embrace that she had missed the journey up the cliff path.
She peered up and saw that they were still a short way off from the cliff’s peak. “But we aren’t yet there, My Lord.”
“The horses will struggle further up. We must walk the rest of the way.” He swung his leg over the horse and jumped down before readying his hands to help her. As before, she braced her palms against his shoulders and held her breath as he lifted her down in one swift movement. As he rested her on the ground, he held onto her waist more deliberately, his curious eyes fixed upon hers, his breath shallow. Then, just like that, he took his hands away, and she was left bereft of his touch.
“Follow me,” he instructed, turning away from her.
Picking her way across loose stones and around protruding boulders, she trailed Lord Langston the rest of the way to the top of the cliff. Lord Bentley must have been somewhere behind her, but she did not think to look for him. Her attention was already consumed by the glistening sea that stretched away to her right and the imposing figure of Lord Langston ahead of her.
Finally, they reached the top, where a flattened ledge of stone jutted out from the cliffside. Immediately, fear replaced the memory of the ride up the path. It was much too high, and there was nothing to stop her from falling over the edge, where she would surely meet her demise below. Her feet shuffled backward, not wanting to get too close to that perilous lip of stone.
“You must come closer,” Lord Langston urged. “You will be perfectly safe, I assure you.” He held out his hand to her, and she reached for it. His fingers closed around hers, and he gently pulled her nearer to the very tip of the ledge.
There, she battled with common sense and forced herself to keep her eyes open. She was glad that she did, for it was the most exhilarating thing she had ever done. Here she was, on the edge of the world, with the sea wind whipping at her face and the turbulent water churning below her. She had never felt so powerful and so vulnerable at the same time, and as she opened out her arms, she was certain she could have taken flight if she wanted to.
Tiptoeing right to the very border of insanity, until the front of her shoes were almost off the ledge completely, she let the thrill and the fear and the utter joy wash over her. Seagulls wheeled in the near distance, and she felt as though she were one of them, free to go wherever and do whatever she pleased. Here, she could shuffle off the restraints that had held her for so many years, for if she held power to take a single step and end her life, then she could also take a single step that would revitalize it.
I already took that step when I escaped from London. I just need to keep taking them until my life is what I desire it to be.She drank in deep breaths and spread her arms wider, her heart pounding in her chest. All the while, she felt Lord Langston’s eyes upon her, watching her reaction.
She was about to turn to him with a grin upon her lips when a deafening sound split the air. A harrowingbangthat was as terrifying as it was unmistakable: a pistol shot. Rose jumped in fright and lost her footing on the ledge, and for a very real moment, she thought she was going to fall. Her feet flapped wildly as she tried to gain purchase, but there was nothing but vacant air beneath.
“Rose!” Lord Langston lurched forward and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her backward. Together, they tumbled to the ground, his fast actions saving her life for the fourth time since they had met.
“Hudson!” Lord Langston yelled as he jumped to his feet and helped Rose to hers. “Who shot at us? Who is it? Who did this?”
Lord Bentley came running back up to the top of the cliff. “I have just scoured the terrain, Captain. There is no-one but the driver, and he is asleep beside the carriage.”
“I know a pistol shot when I hear it, Hudson. Someone fired at us!” Lord Langston still had his hand around Rose’s, his face a vision of rage.
Lord Bentley shook his head. “I know, Captain. I heard it, too, but I have looked, and there is no-one there. You may search for yourself, but the terrain is too open. We would be able to see the culprit for miles, but there is no-one here but us. I cannot explain it.”
“I will look as we descend. They will be found,” Lord Langston insisted, his eyes narrowing with anger. “The culprit is here. I know they are. They are merely hiding, so they do not feel my wrath.”
I think I know who did it…Rose shook violently as Lord Langston led her back to the waiting horses, who seemed spooked by what they had just heard. As much as she wished it were not so, there was only one person she could think of, who would have cause to do something like that—her father.
He was not hiding any longer. He had made his first attack, and she had an awful feeling that it would not be the last.
