Chapter 8 #3
Reed had long been avoiding that prospect.
It bothered him more than answering uncomfortable questions about his younger days.
Rising to his feet, he decided it was a concern that would have to be addressed at a later time, as he wasn’t prepared to discuss something he still didn’t fully understand himself.
“Thank you for the drink, my lord. As to the rest, I suppose we will just have to let time make those decisions.”
Sariah had been pacing the front parlor with a relentless pursuit. How could she possibly rest when she knew that Richard and Mr. Carrington were discussing her? She was dying to know the outcome of their conversation.
She heard footsteps heading closer, so she quickly intercepted the individual. She had rather hoped it might have been Reed, but at least it was her other quarry. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she had the opportunity to do so, her brother offered her a winning smile.
“I daresay I am shocked it took you this long. I thought we might have been intercepted the moment we opened the door.”
Sariah smacked him playfully on the arm. “Stop teasing me and tell me what happened.”
“Nothing so dramatic as whatever you might have imagined in your little head.” He lifted his arm and tapped a forefinger on her forehead.
She swatted his hand away. “You know I despise it when you treat me like an innocent child.”
He sighed. “You are right, of course. As I say, I forget that you are a woman grown now.”
She shrugged. “Well, three years on the continent ignoring your family has a way of allowing the world to pass by without acknowledging the changes time might have wrought.”
His mouth kicked up in the corner. “Spoken like a true poet with just the right amount of guilt sprinkled in for good measure,” he drawled. “But regarding your Mr. Carrington, I believe him to have a sense of honor, despite his restless past.”
She narrowed her gaze, unsure of his sincerity. He was not an easy man to convince. Of anything. “Truly?”
“Indeed.” He gestured over his shoulder. “If you do not believe me, then approach the gentleman himself. I believe he decided to take a walk in the gardens.”
Sariah did not hesitate to leave him standing in the hallway while she lifted her skirts and headed in the direction Richard had indicated.
She hoped that Reed had chosen to take a walk to enjoy the warm, sunny day, as opposed to cooling his anger because of an unwanted confrontation.
She thought they might have gotten along from the initial meeting, but she knew better than anyone how direct Richard could be.
Making her way through the rows of colorful blooms in the garden, she refrained from stopping to smell their fragrant scents.
She spied her main objective sliding around the entrance to the hedge maze.
She had always despised the horrid designs, as well as society’s desire to have one at every estate.
Her parents had been no different. Although she had traversed the one at Foxworth Manor many times over the years, her sense of direction was not the strongest. She still had the ability to get lost within the many twists and turns.
When she started out along the path, she could not see Mr. Carrington. “Reed?” she called out, knowing that he hadn’t just disappeared into thin air.
No answer.
She expelled a frustrated breath. “I hope you cannot truly hear me and this is some sort of jest, because I do not find it very funny.”
Silence.
At this point, Sariah wasn’t sure what to do. She continued to find her way free of the labyrinth, but she either came up next to a dead end or she found herself moving in circles, feeling as though she was not making any sort of progress at all.
A sense of sudden desperation struck her, the familiar panic clawing its way up her throat, threatening to squeeze her heart and shatter it into a thousand broken shards. “Reed? Please, I do not like this—” She ended on a whisper, unable to continue.
That’s when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind.
Giving a slight squeak of alarm, she spun around to find Reed’s handsome face directly in her line of sight.
At the same time she was grateful to see him, fury the likes of nothing she’d known before rose up within her.
“You incorrigible bastard!” she berated angrily.
“I do not find your sense of humor at all amusing. I—” She stopped abruptly.
Her breath was coming out in short pants and she feared she might fall to the ground in a dead faint.
Reed’s expression immediately took on a look of concern. He pressed her close against his chest, offering her the security and the comfort that had been absent just moments earlier when panic and uncertainty had been her only guide.
“Easy now. All is well. There is nothing to fear.”
Sariah wondered at the soft tone of his voice. And then she understood the cause for it.
She was crying.
She hadn’t realized that the hot tears were tracking down her cheeks until he gathered her to him.
She told herself that she was being ridiculous, that there was nothing to be afraid of, and yet, the sobs continued unchecked.
He said nothing more, just let her cry while he set a light hand on the crown of her head and began to stroke the side of her temple with the most exquisite gentleness.