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“I’ll see who it is,” Antony did not reveal his suspicions to the butler. He placed the candle down nearby and hurried outside.
The evening air was cold and bristled against his skin, urging him to turn the collar of his tailcoat up against it. He approached the figure on the cliff edge slowly at first, not wishing to disturb her. The closer he got to her, the more he could make out her features. He could see the blonde hair, almost silver in the moonlight, fastened in curls that cascaded down the back of her head. The dress was familiar too, with the pale blue material gathered at the waist. The side of her face was just visible to him, revealing her expression.
She was sad indeed. Her lips were pursed together, and her eyes were darting across the ocean below. Whatever was on her mind, there was such great sadness in those features that it had to be about more than just what he had said.There is something else to this. Something I do not know.
Seeing that sadness after all the smirks and smiles he had caused in her made his chest ache. It felt wrong to see Lady Hermione so sad. That’s when she took a step forward, closer to the cliff edge. With horror, his mind jumped to the possibility of what she could be doing.
“No!” he called out, running the last distance toward her.
She whipped her head around, facing him. “What is wrong?” she asked.
“Please tell me you were not doing what I think you were doing!” He did not take any chances with it. He grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the cliff edge, so that she was tumbling toward him, then he looped his other arm around her waist and lifted her clean off her feet. Once her body was pressed to his, he walked her away from the cliff edge, further from the drop, watching as her eyes stared back in wonder at him, now level with his height.
“What on earth has gotten into you?” she cried. “Put me down, Your Grace!” she ordered, wriggling in his grasp, but he was not going to let go yet. He continued walking her away, still holding onto her.
“Tell me you were not seriously going to jump off that cliff,” he begged with her, amazed by the sheer pain that was in his chest at such a thought.
“Of course, I wasn’t,” she said, pushing against his chest in her effort to be free of him. He had both arms wrapped around her waist, holding her to him.
“You weren’t?” he asked, stopping his walk. She gave up trying to wriggle and just held her hands flat against his chest. Any other time, he would be thrilled at the close proximity they were in, but this was a different matter.
“No,” she said with feeling. “I was merely looking at the sea.”
“At this time of night?” he asked in disbelief.
“I had no wish to be inside the house anymore,” she hurried to explain. “I just… needed some air.” He could tell in her features that she was being honest with him. “You panicked?”
“Truly, I did,” he said, settling her back down on her feet though he didn’t release his hold. “For a minute, I thought you were…”
“No, Your Grace,” she said softly. “I may be sad, but I assure you, I would never do such a thing as that.”
He analyzed her face, watching as her eyes settled somewhere on his chest as if trying her best to avoid his gaze. In the moonlight, he caught a good look at them. They were green and shimmering in the silvery light. In those eyes were unshed tears.
“You are crying,” he observed, keeping his voice gentle. “Good Lord,” his voice turned husky, “I did not mean to offend you so. I cannot believe I made you cry.”
“No, Your Grace, you misunderstand,” she said, blinking a few times as though trying to stop those tears from falling. “Your words have upset me; I would not be so great a fool as to deny that…” he winced at her words “…however, they are not the reason I am crying.”
“Then… what is?” he asked. She turned her gaze down even more, clearly avoiding looking at him at all. She bit her lip, just as one of those tears escaped her eyes and tracked down her cheek.
He couldn’t stop himself. It was as though his body had a mind of its own as he lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, brushing away the tear with the pad of his thumb. “What has upset you so?”
“It does not matter.” She was attempting to smile as she stopped any more tears from falling. One of her hands lifted from his chest and went to clutch a locket around her throat. His eyes drifted down to it. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was aware that he hadn’t seen her without that locket yet.
“This…” He released her cheek and pointed down at the locket in her grasp. “It means something to you, doesn’t it?” he asked. “Is it the reason you are crying?”
“I beg you, Your Grace,” she said, lifting her eyes to his at last. “You and I barely know each other. Allow me to keep my secrets.”
He found himself nodding, unable to deny her that. “Of course, but I can see it means something to you, even if you wish to deny it,” he said softly. “Let me apologize to you now.”
“Apologize?” she asked.
“For what you heard me say. I can hardly say I meant what I said.”
“I think you did, Your Grace,” she said, shrugging with the movement. “Why should you think of me? We barely know each other.”
“Debatable, but let me apologize for hurting you, nevertheless. Forgive me?” he asked, waiting with bated breath for her answer. She said nothing for a minute, but as the wind bristled up the valley making her shiver in his arms, he saw her smile slightly.
“Well, I suppose I will have to forgive you. Few others would run so to a cliff edge even if they really thought I was jumping from it.”
