Chapter 11 #2
As they all came around the stall door, it became clear what had caused the fire.
In the middle of a pile of hay lay a glob of black, easily discerned as tar, and certainly the source of the fire.
The edges of the sizable blob were still smoking but the hay surrounding was soaked, due to the recent firefighting activities.
“Well, at least we can confirm it was no accident,” Christopher stated plainly, having remained mute until that moment.
The young man who had made the discovery looked obliquely at the two well-dressed gentlemen.
“I already knew that, sirs. I saw two figures run from the barn and smelled the smoke shortly thereafter. I had been wheeling a cart of grain and was too far away to see them well, but it appeared to be a man and a woman. I quickly sent my little brother for help and set about putting the fire out myself.”
Graham and Christopher exchanged glances. “Could you describe the two you saw?” Graham asked.
“I was pretty far down the trail when they ran out, and once I smelled the smoke they were long gone on their horses. I would have run after them, your grace, had I known.”
“No way to have known what they were up to, um, sorry, I do not think I caught your name?” Graham responded.
“Henry, your grace. I am Tobias’s son, and my little brother is Jacob. He ran quickly for help, so really I think we have him to thank.”
“It sounds like there are many people to thank. I appreciate your efforts,” Graham smiled warmly in thanks to both men.
“That, and a bit of luck,” stated Tobias, almost half to himself.
Everyone in the group seemed to take a moment to consider what could have been the outcome had Henry not been close by to tend the fire quickly after it started.
The only salvation was that there was still work to do to see the barn safely into the night, so there could be little time to dwell.
Tobias and Henry once again joined the group of people working to clear out and replace the charred hay, mumbling their goodbyes to the duke and marquess.
Christopher and Graham then made their way out of the barn and approached their horses, stopping to thank other tenants who had dropped their day’s tasks to help put out the fire.
“It is unfortunate that we have no better description than a man and a woman on horseback,” Christopher lamented.
“Well, we at least know something. I always thought it unlikely that it was a collection of unrelated events that caused my tenants to panic, but now I can be sure there is something more nefarious afoot. And this mystery couple is to blame for all of it.”
“Let us just hope the barn burning is all they get up to today,” Christopher murmured almost to himself, as he followed his friend back to the manse.
Across the estate, nearer to the orchards, Alaina gingerly picked her way across a trail that looked almost abandoned, with overgrown vegetation and rocks littering the rut between two lines of trees.
It was obvious that at some point this had been a main thoroughfare for surveying the grounds and moving goods, but it had since fallen into disrepair through lack of use.
It was unfortunate they had not chosen whatever path had obviously replaced this one, for it was causing her to be quite slow in her progress.
The tour of the grounds had started out normally enough, but even before they were out of sight of the main house, Georgiana’s horse had slipped a shoe.
She returned to the house, vowing to return as quickly as she could with a new horse, directing Alaina and Evelina toward the path they were currently traversing.
Evelina had been itching for a full gallop across the fields she had seen through her windows the past few days, so she quickly bounded ahead of Alaina on the trail, cresting the small hill just ahead, taunting Alaina to “keep up!”
Alaina now found herself alone in the woods, which was peaceful aside from the treacherous nature of the trail ahead of her, coupled with her normal trepidations on horseback.
As she was guiding her horse around yet another large stone on the path and looking ahead to a thorny bit of overgrowth, Alaina heard a crackle of branches.
She stopped her horse and looked through the trees, straining to see what or who was there.
Alaina half-expected some woodland creature to skitter across her path, but she could not shake the nagging feeling that she was not alone.
Hoping it was her sister, she called out.
“Evelina? Is that you? You know how I dislike being frightened, especially on a horse,” Alaina attempted to sound calm.
There was no answer and no further sounds from the woods, but the eerie quiet was almost more unsettling. As Alaina looked around, hoping to see something, she felt a prickling on her neck, and her heart began to beat faster.
“Who is there?” she called, sure there was someone there. Again, there was nothing more than the breeze through the trees in response to Alaina’s question.
Just as Alaina was about to chide herself for being paranoid, a large black stallion bounded toward her and her horse from the dense copse of trees.
Alaina was able to pull her horse back just as the other passed in front of them, narrowly avoiding a collision that would have sent Alaina airborne.
Her horse regained its footing and did not appear to be spooked overly much; thank goodness for being given the most even-tempered horse in the stable, thought Alaina.
Alaina watched as the stallion ran a little way up the trail then disappeared into the trees, obviously spooked by something.
It had a full complement of tack, saddle, bridle, and reins.
Maybe someone had been thrown and was hurt?
Fighting the urge to flee, Alaina dismounted and was leading her horse toward the thicket when a woman emerged, looking disheveled.
The woman’s hat was askew, a few twigs protruding from her hair.
Her riding habit didn’t look torn, so Alaina assumed she was largely uninjured, just shaken from the fall from the black stallion that had just bounded through the trees.
The woman stood looking about before turning toward Alaina, and recognition was immediate.
“Lady Barbara?!” Alaina exclaimed.
Lady Barbara’s eyes narrowed, and she advanced on Alaina wordlessly.
Alaina felt cornered, and without a stump to once again mount her horse, she was stuck facing Lady Barbara alone and on foot.
Trying to diffuse the situation, Alaina forced her tone to be cheery.
She refused to let Barbara see her terror in meeting anyone, let alone her nemesis, in the woods.
“Are you hurt? I am guessing your horse got the best of you; I fear I am no stranger to that. Surely you want to retrieve your horse before he gets too far afield.” Alaina’s voice lost its volume as the other woman approached, stopping just short of Alaina and her horse.
Lady Barbara looked back toward the black stallion, happily grazing in a nearby clearing, and shrugged before she turned back to Alaina.
It was then that she finally broke her silence.
“Out and about alone, Alaina? It is strange that the duke would let you out of his sight and let you traipse around Ashford without an escort.”
“I am not alone, Lady Barbara, I assure you,” Alaina said weakly, as she swallowed hard against her fear.
Lady Barbara once more looked about, as if she were looking for anyone to prove Alaina’s claim, and then chuckled, “It appears you do not have anyone to save you today, Alaina. I have been frustrated at our last few encounters. Now it appears we have all the time in the world to chat.”
The emphasis on the last word made Alaina’s skin crawl, and she took a tentative step back toward her horse; maybe if she could get a foot in the stirrup, she could hoist herself up. Surely Lady Barbara could not chase her on foot.
But Lady Barbara saw her motion, and closed the distance between them, grasping Alaina’s arm before she could turn toward her horse.
Her next words were spit out in anger. “You think you can escape on your own?! You have humiliated my family at every turn, you have been saved at every interaction, and now I shall have my own form of revenge without society’s prying eyes. ”
With Lady Barbara so close, Alaina took stock of the fact they were of equal size, for up until then Lady Barbara had loomed large, Alaina’s bully and tormenter.
It was also apparent that Lady Barbara would never cease in her mission to avenge her brother for what was an insignificant slight, nor would she ever cease to hate Alaina, for any reason.
No matter how passive or even kind Alaina was to Lady Barbara, it would never stop.
It was this that finally caused Alaina to erupt, the long-held anger at her treatment this season bursting forth unchecked.
Pushing with all her strength, Alaina surprised Lady Barbara, throwing her off balance.
Lady Barbara lost her grip, and stumbled.
Her eyes burned with fire as she landed squarely on her backside.
Alaina capitalized on her moment of surprise and quickly placed a foot in the stirrup, her arms barely finding purchase on the saddle as she tried to hoist herself up.
Lady Barbara quickly righted herself and came after Alaina with intent, but the sound of approaching riders stopped her in her tracks.
There was no time for Alaina to react as Lady Barbara turned and ran for the glade where her horse still grazed, throwing one last verbal volley over her shoulder. “This isn’t over, Alaina!”