Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
The air felt cool on Agnes’ skin as she walked to the stable.
She had begun to commit to earlier sessions with Scar in order to warm him up and get him comfortable before they began to practice some of the tricks she needed him to learn.
The first was the day before, when she had ridden him for a little bit in the morning before the actual training session began, and she noticed he was doing better in the simple jumps she had set up.
With any luck, he would be feeling much more stable and confident enough to try jumping over a bale of hale tomorrow.
Seeing as it was still quite early, Simon had not yet arrived at the stable, and so it was just her and the horses.
She walked around, greeting the others for a little while, and then made her way to Scar’s stall.
The creature seemed happy to see her – as he had in the last few days – and she returned his cheerful reception with a cube of sugar, stroking his mane before moving away to fetch his saddle.
She placed it down close by and led Scar out of his stall, after which she began to strap the saddle onto the horse. A particular strap seemed oddly loose, but Agnes overlooked it, noting that it was nothing serious and that as long as she rode carefully, it would not break.
“Are you ready, bud?” she whispered softly to him, chuckling when he huffed in her face.
With a final pat, she grabbed at his reins and a bit of his mane to hold him steady as she mounted. Her left foot went into the stirrup, and her right hand gripped onto the saddle, and she hoisted herself up off the ground.
But when she was about to swing her right leg over the saddle to settle in the other side, she felt something snap beneath her foot, and suddenly, she was falling.
Agnes landed hard on the ground, her heart thundering in her chest as she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened.
Still around her foot was the stirrup, clearly broken from the saddle, and she frowned in confusion.
Slowly, she tried to stand – only to drop back down into the hay and dirt when a sharp pain shot through her left foot.
Panic rose in her chest, and she began to breathe heavily, looking around the stable.
From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a shadow moving on her right side, but when she turned, it was gone, and the realization that she was alone in the stable, possibly gravely injured, terrified her even more.
Agnes tried to scream for help, but she couldn’t bring herself to utter a single syllable with how hard she was breathing, rendered momentarily unable to see as tears filled her eyes.
She tried to pull herself together, but the fear was overwhelming, and all she could do was sit there and brush away her tears.
Footsteps approached the stable, and Simon walked in with a greeting at the tip of his tongue.
“Good morning – oh, no,” his eyes widened as he took in the sight of her on the floor, and he rushed to her side. “My lady! W-What happened? Are you all right?’
Agnes tried to explain but could only hiccup through her tears, and Simon moved to leave.
“I’ll go and get help –”
She grabbed onto his arm and shook her head.
“N-No,” she panted. “Don’t – don’t leave. Please don’t leave me here.”
Simon looked stricken as he stared down at her.
“But you’re hurt, my lady. I need to get you help.”
Agnes clutched onto him desperately, unable to think reasonably at that moment, not when the terror still lay in her veins.
“Please don’t go,” she begged desperately.
Simon relented and sank to the ground on his knees, worry evident on his face.
The stable was far enough from the mansion that even if he called out for help, it was likely he would not be heard.
So, the best thing to do would be to wait it out – either for Lady Agnes’ maid to come and fetch her for breakfast or for the physician’s arrival.
“All right. I-I think the physician will be here soon. Do not worry; you will be just fine,” Simon said gently, hoping he could console her.
She nodded slowly and sniffed, muttering her thanks when he handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears. Luckily, they did not have to wait too long as Mr. Bennett arrived shortly, aghast, when he found his charge on the floor of the stable.
“My goodness, what happened?” he fussed immediately, settling down on her other side.
Agnes inhaled deeply and tried to explain.
“I-I fell… I was mounting Scar, and t-the stirrup broke, and I f-fell.”
Mr. Bennett was quick to order Simon to go back to the mansion to get help.
“We need to move her from this place so I can perform a thorough exam. Hurry, boy,” he instructed.
Simon left running, and Mr. Bennett softened his tone as he asked Agnes.
“Can you tell me where you feel pain?”
She nodded and rested her hand lightly over her left leg.
“All right,” he nodded, “With any luck, it’s not broken. Do not worry, my Lady, you’ll be right as rain soon.”
Simon returned with a few servants and Beatrice, who was horrified at the sight of her mistress on the floor, looking a mess. They quickly moved Agnes into the house, settling her in a drawing room so the examination could be conducted quickly.
Lukas went to inform Silas of what had transpired, and he quickly moved to where she had been placed, demanding to know what had happened.
“I fell,” she replied simply, feeling a lot calmer.
“You fell? When? How?”
His tone sounded almost mocking, and embarrassment burned in her cheeks, and she considered not responding. Luckily, Simon stepped in.
“Lady Agnes fell while she was mounting Scar. I found her on the floor when I arrived at the stable. She said the stirrup had broken.”
Silas frowned. “Broken? All our equipment goes through routine checks as often as possible. It is highly unlikely for one to have been in such bad condition – to the point of breaking – and no one would have noticed.” Then he added.
“You left for the stable a while ago. How come you only just came to get her help? And why didn’t you call out for help? ”
The last part was directed at Agnes, who felt irritation flare up into white-hot anger. “I couldn’t.”
The Duke only looked more frustrated. “What do you mean you couldn’t –”
“Why are you here making things worse for me? You obviously do not care about my well-being if you’re just going to stand there and question me about insignificant things.
I know it is embarrassing that I’m falling off a horse after over a decade of riding them, but I do not need you here to rub salt in my wounds.
If you are going to be rude, just leave,” she snapped angrily.
Her outburst shocked Silas, and he considered firing back, but then he noticed her flushed cheeks and red-rimmed eyes and pursed his lips, leaving the room.
The worry in his chest felt like a weighted anchor, trying to convince him to stay, but he kept walking, knowing it was best if she was treated in peace.
It was a little frustrating that only a night ago, they seemed to have reached some sort of casual truce while reading together and conversing about books.
Now, whatever fragile peace they had attained, he had destroyed in a moment.
He had not meant to come off as patronizing; he just could not understand what had happened.
The stirrup had broken? How on earth had that happened?
He had ensured that a new saddle was bought specifically for Agnes to use whenever she was training Scar.
For any part of it to break due to wear and tear when it had barely been over a week since she had started using it seemed highly unlikely.
He made up his mind to check on the saddle himself later and sat down in his study to wait for the physician to finish tending to his betrothed. Minutes later, Mr. Bennett and Simon came to speak with him, looking like they weren’t coming to deliver bad news.
“Lady Agnes is going to be just fine. She landed wrongly during the fall and bruised her left ankle a little bit, but it seems she was more shocked than hurt. The injury is not serious, and she should be fine in a day or two with proper rest.” The physician explained.
Simon raised his hand nervously, and when Silas’ attention shifted to him, he nervously began to speak.
“When I got to the stable and found her, she held onto me and told me not to leave her alone. I think falling while she was on her own scared her a lot. She could barely speak and just… cried. Please don’t be upset with her for not being able to call for help.”
The boy’s words made Silas feel even worse. He couldn’t imagine how terrified she must have felt in order to have momentarily lost her ability to speak. He hadn’t meant to mock her, but now, there was nothing he could do to change the past.
“I see,” Silas said, tapping along the top of his desk thoughtfully. “But she will be all right soon? Is she more… stable, now?”
Mr. Bennett nodded. “Quite stable, Your Grace. She has regained her composure and even had enough energy to argue with me when I told her that she was not allowed to ride for at least two days.”
That did sound like Agnes.
Silas exhaled in relief and voiced his thanks, nodding when the physician bowed and took his leave, holding a hand up to keep Simon in place until the door shut behind the physician, leaving only the both of them in the study.
“Head back to the stable and take the saddle off Scar and keep it aside for me. Along with the stirrup that detached from it. There is something I need to check.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Simon replied and quickly took his leave.
Silas stared out of the window, his fists curling on top of his desk in anger as thoughts on what happened raced through his mind.
If he was right, someone had done this – had sought to harm his wife-to-be and had practically succeeded.
And such an offense would not be forgiven.
“Are you sure there is nothing you need, my lady?” Beatrice asked for the fifth time in twice as many minutes.
“Some peace of mind, perhaps? It is not that bad, Bea. It does not even hurt unless I move it. I assure you, I am well.” Agnes sighed, feeling even more tired than when she had been examined to find out the extent of the damage.
“But –”
“Please go and do something else. You are starting to make me feel anxious with how closely you are keeping watch over me.”
Beatrice gasped, horrified at the thought of leaving her mistress all by herself.
“I most certainly cannot do that! You were on your own when you fell. I cannot leave you by yourself again. What if you come to need me?”
Agnes’ expression softened, and she tried to calm the younger girl’s apprehensive mind.
“Do not worry. This accident was caused by my negligence, and it will not happen again. But if you keep standing over me like that, I will begin to feel inclined to throw myself out of the window. So, please… just stand outside until I call for you.”
Beatrice looked as though she wanted to argue but thought better of it, curtseying before she left the room. Agnes exhaled in relief and relaxed against the pillows that had been fluffed and propped up so she could rest comfortably and thought back to the morning’s affair.
She was quite horrified over her reaction that had been brought about by a small fall.
That she had fallen and was unable to land on the ground properly had been embarrassing enough, and then she had clung to Simon pathetically afterward.
It was utterly humiliating, and she simply could not think of anything worse.
If she excluded Silas’ reaction, that is.
She did not know what she had expected him to say or do.
She did not understand why her heart had wished to believe he would express some sort of concern over her situation or at least a bit of pity.
Just because they had spent an evening in each other’s company, and it had not been completely awful did not promise a less irritating future for her in his company.
Still… his disregard for her condition had hurt, and she did not know how not to feel upset over it.
A knock on her door withdrew her from her thoughts, and she groaned, calling out in an annoyed manner.
“Seriously, Beatrice, I will not get better at all if you keep –”
The door opened, and the person who peeked inside was not her maid but, in fact, her betrothed. Her mouth snapped shut as heat filled her cheeks, and she immediately dropped her gaze down to her hands on her lap.
“May I come in?” he asked.
She nodded, stiffening as she heard him step inside and shut the door behind him. He lingered there for a moment and then stepped closer to the bed, speaking up quietly.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like a woman who has been riding horses for over ten years and fell off one today. Embarrassed, disappointed, and in pain.”
He nodded sagely as though she had given him the answer he had wished to hear.
“I… I am sorry for how I spoke to you earlier. And the things I said. I didn’t – I should not have spoken to you like that. You were hurt, and I should have been more understanding.”
She did not expect him to apologize. It was a surprise to hear him sound so… genuine, and she greatly appreciated the sentiment.
Not enough to erase every ounce of pettiness from her veins.
“Yes, you should have. Although, I cannot say I am not surprised that you weren’t.”
He pursed his lips and nodded. “That’s fair. Still… the apology stands. Do not feel too bad; it was not your fault.”
She huffed, wishing she could erase the entire day from her memories.
“I should have been more careful. I should have noticed that the stirrup had weakened.”
Silas quickly shook his head, the urgency in his movements telling her that there was more to this than she had thought.
“You could not have known. The saddle had been fine since you had begun using it. And although you have been in charge of training Scar for days now, it is not your responsibility to ensure that his equipment and accessories are in good shape.”
She gritted her teeth and sat up immediately. “Are you trying to blame Simon? It wasn’t –”
“No, I am not. A new saddle was made for you two days after you started to train Scar. It should not have broken like that. I checked it and noticed that there were signs of it being tampered with greatly. Because you did not know what to look for, everything seemed fine. If the stirrup had not broken, the saddle itself would have broken apart from Scar while you were riding him – especially if he had begun to run.”
A chill filled her bones, and she clutched at her skirts, anxious to know the answer but too scared to ask the question she needed to voice in order to receive it.
Still, her curiosity outweighed the fear, and she voiced,
“Are you saying –”
“Yes. This was no accident. It was sabotage.”