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Simon shook his head as Charlie led Gloriana to Edwina. “All ready, mum.”
“It’s ‘Your Grace,’” Simon scolded.
“It is all right,” Edwina said gently. She smiled at the boy. “Thank you. Can you help me mount the horse?”
“I’ll hold the head for ya,” Charlie said. He stuck his chin out at Simon. “He can push you up, I think.”
Edwina looked to Simon for reassurance, but he only nodded. She moved to the side of the horse and put her hands on the pommel, breathing deeply to calm her nerves.
Inhaling deeply, she stepped up into the stirrup and swung her leg over. Her skirt rode up her calves, but there was nothing to be done about it. Charlie handed her the reins.
“He should not be too far ahead of you,” Simon advised. “Go out onto the trail in the woods, and you should come to the road shortly. If you cannot find him out on the road, turn back immediately. Your safety is paramount.”
“I will send word if I find him,” she promised and urged her horse forward. Gloriana set out in a steady plod. Even though she seemed sturdy and reliable, Edwina could not help but feel her heart leap into her throat as she rode into the dark woods beyond the stable.
After a few minutes in the complete darkness, Edwina’s eyes adjusted. The moonlight cast long shadows from the forest across the trail. She saw no one on the road in both directions. Sitting there for a moment, she wondered if she should turn back, immediately defeated. Just as she started to turn Gloriana back around, she noticed hoofprints in the dirt.
Gloriana waited patiently underneath her as Edwina considered what she ought to do. Riding alone in the dark was risky and dangerous. Allowing Fergus to get captured, arrested, or even killed seemed more alarming. She urged Gloriana forward, her heart hammering in her throat.
“Come on, girl,” Edwina whispered. “I trust you.”
As if the horse understood her need, Gloriana moved forward more quickly, trotting down the road back toward Kensington. Edwina held onto her reins with tight knuckles, bouncing up and down in the saddle.
Before long, buildings pressed closer and closer to the road, large estates giving way to gardens and manors, townhomes. Fergus could have taken any side road, but she pressed on, hoping to catch sight of him. Drawing closer to the city made her more keenly aware of her own exposure. If the monster was out, prowling for unsuspecting women, she could be very much a target.
The sound of voices caught her attention. A man spoke gently, and she heard the response of at least two women, their voices tight. Edwina looked around, trying to gauge where the sound came from. Best she could tell, it came from her left, off on the Old King’s road where it dove into Hyde Park. Breathing deep with fear, she rode into the darkness of the park, the voices becoming louder.
“Are you sure you do not need help?” the man asked. “The axle is surely broken. I could –”
“No, really, thank you,” one lady protested. “We already have a carriage on the way.”
“I can stay and at least make sure you remain unharmed.”
“Really, I do not think that is necessary,” the lady continued.
As she came closer, she could see a man holding the reins of a black horse, much like Fergus’. The voice sounded like Fergus as well. Her heart hammered in her throat. If the man was Fergus, did he truly mean to help these ladies? They sounded terrified, and they clung to each other tightly. In the glow of the carriage light, she could see their wide eyes. She recognized them from the Somerby’s ball.
The carriage listed unnaturally to the front, the wheel laying haphazardly off to the side. Edwina could not see a driver or a footman. The two women were alone in the darkness, terrified.
“Please, could you just leave us alone?” the second woman begged. “We do not want any trouble.”
“I do not mean any harm,” the man said. He turned just enough for Edwina to recognize the blue silk mask on his face. Confident that the man was Fergus, she urged her horse forward.
A cry went out in the darkness. “There he is!”
Edwina gasped. She had not noticed the glow of torches down the road, obscured by the carriage light. A half dozen men ran down the road, muskets, lanterns, and torches in their hands.
“Fergus!” Edwina called out. He snapped his head up and started for her, but the angry mob hurried to block him. He turned back to his horse and tried to step up into the stirrup, but a man grabbed Fergus’ arm. The two women shrieked in fear.
“Trying to get away, now?” the man who grabbed Fergus asked. Fergus thrashed in his grasp.
“Leave him alone!” Edwina cried out, spurring her horse forward. “Let him go!”
“We caught the monster!” another man cried, sending up a chorus of cheers in the mob.
“He is not the monster!” Edwina shouted, riding up into their midst.
“You had better be getting home, miss!” one of the men called up to her. “It is not safe for you to be out like this.”
