Chapter 16 #2
He clasped his hands behind his back. His dark coat enhanced his broad shoulders and the golden hues in his hair. “I understand I didn’t express myself properly the last time we met.”
She fought the urge to avert her gaze, but she didn’t want to appear more intimidated than she was. “I won’t lie. Your words confused me.”
“That wasn’t my intent.” He swallowed a couple of times.
“What I meant to say is that I find it difficult to focus on my work because I keep thinking about you. Something you said, something you did, or the way you smiled keeps intruding in my mind. My thoughts are stuck on you, and I’m not complaining. Quite the opposite.”
She shifted her weight, unsure about what to say or think. He was the first man who had made plain his interest in her, and she would be lying if she said she didn’t find that exciting.
“I like your happiness and your kindness. I like how expert you are in veterinary medicine. I like you when you talk about anything. I like you.” He raised a hand slowly, his eyes widening and darkening with longing.
If she didn’t want to be touched, he was giving her plenty of time to step back, but she didn’t mind his touch after what he’d said.
Her chest rose and fell quickly as he trailed a finger along her jaw.
If she was confused earlier before he touched her, she was now completely lost. He possessed an aggressive charm hard to ignore.
His confidence and his looks attracted her attention.
But a marriage required something more than a pretty pair of eyes and a strong charm. She wanted to know him better.
Still, a little shiver ran down her back and caused her toes to curl.
He sucked in a breath and stared at her with the same intensity as the other day. Whatever he did, he did it completely and without compromises. She was at the centre of his world for now, and it felt wonderful.
He traced the curve of her cheek and brushed it with his thumb. A little sigh left her. The touch was as light as that of a moth’s wings, but she felt it through her body with a strength that shook her. Desire radiated from his touch, and she was tempted to see how deep his desire was.
“Effie,” he whispered, his voice husky and low. “What I’m trying clumsily to say is that I—”
Whatever he meant to say was cut off by a thunderous blast. An orange flash flickered.
The ground quaked, causing her to totter. Smoke filled the air with its pungent smell, and a force shoved her back. He wrapped his arms around her and went down with her on the hard platform, taking the brunt of the impact.
She bumped her nape against his arm. He groaned in pain. Dust and pieces of metal rained around them. The air seemed to be scorching as if someone had opened the door of a blast furnace.
At first, a buzz was the only noise in her ears. She blinked, but smoke caused her eyes to water. Then screams and thudding footsteps overwhelmed her. Tristan’s body weighed her down, and the fear he might be dead made her gasp.
“Tristan.” She raised his heavy head, and his blond curls fell over her hands.
He blinked slowly. Dust rained from his hair, and a cut on his cheek bled. His top hat was nowhere to be seen.
“Tristan?” She patted his cheek.
He didn’t seem to have heard her.
“Please say something.” She cupped his face.
He gazed around and blinked again. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I don’t know. What happened?”
“Rowan!” He shot up with impressive speed. He staggered on his feet and made a gagging sound.
“Tristan.” Speaking scratched her throat.
He went to run in the middle of the chaos of smoke and dust but skidded to a halt and turned towards her. “I have to go. I must find him.”
She propped herself up on her elbows. “Go. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
“I must find him.” He looked confused and hurt.
She waved him away. “Go.”
He hesitated a moment before racing away into the smoke.
She lost sight of him a moment after and regretted having told him to go. She should have asked him to wait for the smoke to settle. Loud wails sounded all around her, but she couldn’t guess from whom. The station was a hazy blur of smoke and orange flashes.
She staggered to her feet and waited for her head to stop spinning before walking towards the spot where Jane had been. Pieces of metal littered the ground, and the air was thick with the smell of burnt wood and coal.
An explosion. The locomotive’s boiler must have exploded. Her brain was finally working again.
The moment the realisation dawned on her, so did fear.
Rowan. Jane. All those people.
She walked along the platform gingerly. “Jane? Rowan?” A coughing fit caused her to shake.
Her voice got lost in the midst of dozens of other yells and voices. She stopped moving, not knowing where to go. Her eyes watered as the smoke stung them, and a bitter taste filled her mouth. Between the dust and smoke, it was impossible to see anything.
She wasn’t sure for how long she wandered aimlessly through the devastated platform, but her legs grew tired.
“Effie!”
She sobbed when Jane came out of nowhere and hugged her.
“You’re safe.” Jane wrapped her arms around her shoulders, shivering. She was covered in dust. Her gown was ripped in places, and her hair was thoroughly dishevelled. Aside from that, she seemed unhurt. “We need to leave.” Her voice sounded incredibly low and shaky.
Effie shook her head, running her tongue over her parched lips. “Tristan and Rowan.”
“Please.”
Effie searched the devastated platform as the dust started to settle. People were lying on the ground in different positions, limbs at impossible angles or missing altogether. A wave of nausea caught her at the thought that one of those people could be Tristan or Rowan.
“I can’t leave them here.”
Jane closed her hand firmly around her arm. “We’ll only be a hindrance, and Effie, I can’t stay here a minute longer. Please.”
Police officers and the fire brigade rushed to the platform. Those standing were shoved and jostled. A pair of firm hands grabbed her shoulders. She screamed.
“Madam,” an officer shouted, “you must leave. Now!” He pushed her towards the exit none too gently.
Tears blurred her sight as she let Jane drag her onwards, but the smoke was not the cause of them.