Chapter 28
No one bothered Anna as she made her way across the landing and down the stairs to the front doors.
In truth, the manor was eerily silent, no sound of the festivities that she had snuck away from hours ago, no sound of anyone at all.
The sunset had given way to a dusky sky, with stars twinkling beyond the windowpanes, and the entrance hall was dimly illuminated by lanterns and candles.
Perhaps the household had gone to sleep, deciding they would discover the duke’s fate in the morning.
If that were true, then Anna envied them, for she knew she would not sleep at all until she knew if the man she loved was going to live or if she was to be a widow again.
A true widow this time, with naught but crushing grief and the gaping void of a broken heart to look forward to.
She quietly opened the front door and edged out onto the porch, pulling her robe tighter around herself to fight against the night chill.
Where is he? She squinted into the gloom, toward the gates. The physician should have been there by now. True, she wasn’t completely sure how much time had passed since the moment Jeremy fell and the moment the footman rode off to fetch the doctor, but it felt too long.
“I was wrong about ye.” The voice startled Anna, as she whipped around to find Beatrice in the doorway, dressed as if she had been woken from her bed.
“Pardon?” Anna replied, her throat tight.
“I thought ye cared about him,” Beatrice replied, as Anna noticed other figures moving around in the entrance hall. People who hadn’t been there before, like they had been waiting for Anna to make an appearance before they showed themselves.
She saw a few of the house party guests who still hadn’t gone home, and several members of the former McIver household, though the only member of her staff was Paul. The butler seemed anxious, as if he didn’t want to be there.
“Ye never cared about him,” Beatrice continued. “Ye cared about this manor and yer position in it. Ye cared about the independence that was taken from ye. If ye hadnae tangled me husband’s braither into it, I might have admired ye for what ye’ve done.”
Anna drew in a deep breath. “I have not done anything.”
“Ye expect me to believe it’s a coincidence?” Beatrice asked with a cold sneer. “Ye expect any of us to believe that ye have such bad luck that both yer husbands have suffered on yer weddin’ night?”
Trying very hard not to cry, Anna stared back at Beatrice. “I understand how it appears, Beatrice, but I have not done anything. It is a horrible coincidence, and if you do not mind, I am waiting for the physician.”
“I do mind,” Beatrice retorted. “I mind very much, havin’ a killer in me house. I ken ye think it’s yers, but it should have been mine and, right now, I willnae have a wretch like ye within these walls.”
“I am the Duchess of Stonebridge,” Anna said firmly. “I am not going anywhere, certainly not while my husband is upstairs in such a dire situation. I notice that you have not been to tend to him, yet you claim to care so much!”
Evidently, Beatrice knew what had happened to some degree, so why had she been absent?
Beatrice leaned in. “Ye think I can bear to be in that room and watch him die after everythin’ that has already been taken from me?”
“No, but… he is not going to die,” Anna rasped. “He cannot.”
“If he does, lass,” Beatrice’s voice was a harsh whisper that sent shivers down the back of Anna’s neck, “I’ll hang ye from that tree out there meself.”
“I am innocent,” Anna shot back, her heart pounding.
“Jeremy and I were… engaged in… um… certain things that go on between a husband and a wife. The next thing I knew, he was on the ground, unable to breathe. If that means I am to blame, then fine, hold me responsible. But I did not do anything to him. I did not harm him. I would never!”
“How fortunate for ye that Jeremy isnae awake to verify that,” Beatrice replied, her voice dripping contempt.
“I want ye gone, Anna. I daenae want ye anywhere near him or me daughter. So, ye can either leave of yer own accord, or I’ll knock ye out and send ye on yer way to whichever infernal place will have ye. ”
“I have not done anything!” Anna shouted louder, frustration fizzing through her veins. “I need to be here when he wakes up.”
“So ye can pretend ye’re innocent and make up a story? Aye, that’s nae happenin’,” Beatrice retorted. “Someone get her out of me sight before I do somethin’ I willnae be able to undo!”
A rumble of sleepy conversation passed between a few of the gentlemen present, but none moved forward to try to remove Anna.
The same couldn’t be said for Jeremy’s people, however, who remained loyal to their own.
Of course, they would obey Beatrice rather than Anna; the older woman had been their lady.
Beatrice’s former housekeeper began to approach with two men, their faces cold and grim. Wherever they might take her, Anna was certain it would end in a faraway ditch.
How can I make them believe me? Panic seized her in a vise grip that sent a cold sweat beading down the nape of her neck. Even she couldn’t fathom how it was happening twice, so how could she ever persuade them that she wasn’t responsible? She looked guilty; she wasn’t oblivious to that.
Just then, her butler rushed forward, breezing past the trio who seemed to want to beat Anna black and blue.
“The townhouse,” he blurted out, coming to stand between Anna and Beatrice, his arms out in a defensive stance. “I’ll take Her Grace to the townhouse while we wait to see how things unfold with His Grace. There’s no reason for any violence.”
Beatrice seemed to stare through him. “Just get her out of me sight and do it quickly. If she’s still here by the time that clock over there chimes, I willnae be held responsible for the punishment she gets.”
From the entrance hall, someone asked, “Would it not be better to hold her here, so that constables can be sent for if necessary?”
Anna’s stomach plummeted. If anything happened to Jeremy, she would never be able to explain to the constables, or any magistrate for that matter, that this was all just a terrible, terrible coincidence.
“The townhouse will suffice,” the butler said sternly. “If constables need to be sent for, then everyone shall know where she is. Yet, she will also be out of the way of… your ‘punishment,’ should you feel like enacting upon it before anyone knows anything.”
He shot a hard look at Beatrice, but the woman barely seemed to notice.
“I suppose there are more constables in London,” someone else remarked with a nod. “More courthouses, too, should it come to that.”
“I am innocent,” Anna mumbled, her body shaking violently, though it had nothing to do with the cold night air.
Beatrice’s lip curled. “Ye’re nay more innocent than the fire that claimed me husband.
I should have seen it sooner. I should have kenned what ye intended when I saw ye divide the manor into two.
” She jabbed a finger toward the distant gates.
“Go on, get out, while I still have a thread of patience! But if ye try to run, if ye leave the townhouse, just ken that I’ll hunt ye down and make ye pay. ”
The butler turned around and grabbed Anna by the arm, hurrying her away from the mob, who clearly didn’t wish her well.
She didn’t attempt to resist, though the very last thing she wanted to do was abandon her husband.
If he woke up and she wasn’t there, and these fools tried to convince him that she was responsible for his breathless collapse…
her heart would never recover from the catastrophic break it would inflict.
“You just stay in the stables while I have the carriage prepared,” the butler said as he pulled her along. “We can send for your belongings later.”
Anna gaped at him. “My belongings? But… why would I need them? I will not be away for long. I will only be away until Jeremy gets better, and he can tell them that he does not believe them.”
“We don’t know that,” he replied with a sigh. “We don’t know what His Grace will do. We don’t know that he’ll ever wake up.”
“Do not say that!” she begged, as a sob wracked her chest. “Please, do not say that.”
Mr. Miller glanced down at her. “I just don’t want you to raise your hopes, Your Grace.” He turned his attention back to the shadowed path to the stables. “We’ll go to London, as planned, and all will be well. No matter what, I won’t let them punish you for this.”
She pulled away from him and stopped dead on the edge of the lawn. “Do you believe me?”
“We don’t have time for this,” the butler replied, as he tried to reach for her again.
She stepped out of his grasp. “Do you think I did this? Tell me, and tell me honestly, or I shall not go anywhere with you.”
He was one of her most trusted friends, one of her most loyal servants, second only to his sister. If he thought that she had done this awful thing, then she had no hope whatsoever.
Katherine believes you… It was a small comfort, though it would not help. A magistrate wouldn’t listen to the testimony of a lady’s maid and take it seriously. Beatrice’s version of events, however…
He puffed out a breath. “Of course, I believe you, Your Grace.” He offered a sympathetic smile. “I know without doubt that you didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m not doing this because I think you are guilty. I’m doing this to protect you.”
Anna hesitated, listening for any hint of doubt in his voice, searching for any on his face. But he gazed at her in earnest and held out his hand.
“I believe you,” he insisted.
In truth, she was just so glad to hear that someone else knew she wasn’t capable of such wickedness that she didn’t hesitate anymore.
She took his hand and let him lead her on to the stables, even though her heart was still upstairs in her bedchamber, lying on the floor with pillows under his head.
Still unconscious. Still waiting for the physician’s help.
“Will you stay in correspondence with Katherine?” Anna asked as he ushered her into the sheltered gloom of the stables. “Will you tell me if Jeremy survives?”
Mr. Miller walked toward the stable entrance, on his way to fetch a driver and to have the stablemaster prepare the coach.
He turned to look at her, his brow furrowed.
“You shouldn’t concern yourself with that, right now.
Let’s just get you out of here and think about what’s next once you’re safe and away from this place. ”
He vanished into the darkness, leaving her alone amid the animal scents and anxious nickering of the horses, with no idea if she would ever be able to return to her beloved home. And no idea if her equally cherished husband would make it through the night.
I cannot lose him, she prayed, her hands clasped. Please, I cannot lose him.
There was too much she needed to tell him, too many things she wanted to experience with him, and too much life she wanted to live by his side.
As she stood there, tears falling down her cheek, she cursed herself for not telling him sooner, for not saying that, even if he could not love her, she could not help but love him.
Completely.