Chapter Seven
Theodosia once again snuck into Braggdon Hall, worried that Ellis was gone when she awoke, but mayhap he needed to start work early that morn.
It was just as well, since she couldn’t dilly-dally too long at the inn.
It was the second consecutive night that she had slept away from home.
Lucy was wonderful, but she didn’t want the maid to put herself at risk by having to continuously hide Theodosia’s absences.
It was early enough that her parents would just be sitting down to break their fast. She hurried to her room, thanked Lucy, then quickly freshened up and changed into a clean gown.
In the dining room, her father was sipping tea and reading the newspaper. He ignored her when she walked in and took her seat at the table. A serving maid rushed to her side, poured tea, and said she would return with her meal.
Her mother greeted her as she whacked her spoon against the boiled egg in front of her. “Did you sleep well, dear?”
Theodosia nodded. “I did, very well, actually,” she answered truthfully. Any night she spent with Ellis was a night well spent.
Her father cleared his throat, folded his paper and set it on the table.
“Your mother and I have something to discuss with you.”
Her father’s gaze was intense, but it was the tone of his voice that made Theodosia’s stomach sink.
Whatever he was going to say, she knew she wasn’t going to find it agreeable.
Had he found out she had spent the past two nights with Ellis?
She wrung her hands in her lap as she thought of her father’s reaction.
Wait, she was the one that had to say things to both her father and mother. They were the ones who made up a story and ran Ellis off.
Thomas Bragg cleared his throat. “Your mother and I think you are well past the age that you should marry. Since you have been unable to secure a husband on your own, we have found one for you.”
Married? Husband? They couldn’t be serious. She focused her gaze on her mother, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
She looked back at her father, took a couple of slow, calming breaths as she considered her response.
“Actually, if you will recall, I did secure a husband. Have you forgotten?” She lifted a brow, daring her father to challenge her.
Theodosia wasn’t sure where this strength had come from.
She only knew that she had spent years trying to forget Ellis and his abandonment, only to find out that wasn’t it at all.
She had no intention of letting him go again, now that they had been reunited.
“Theodosia,” her mother scolded, as if she were an impetuous child.
“You are aware that,” she paused, acting as if she was trying to remember Ellis’s name, when she damn well knew who Theodosia was referring to, “Ellis, that’s right.
You are aware that Ellis moved on. Last I heard he married someone in the Edinburgh area.
Mayhap. I am unsure. It has been so long since I have heard his name. ”
Theodosia pushed back her chair and stood, hands on her hips. “You are lying,” she accused.
Her mother had the audacity to look affronted, her hands grasping at her chest.
“Sit down!” her father commanded, his eyes ablaze.
“I found the letters.” Theodosia nodded. “Yes. All of them. The ones I wrote that were meant to be sent. The ones that Ellis wrote to me that you kept hidden from me,” she accused.
“Sit down!” her father repeated.
Theodosia shook her head. “I will not. Do you know how much hurt you caused me? Ellis? Our hearts were broken—at your hands.”
Her father stood, throwing his napkin onto his plate as he approached her.
“What has been done cannot be undone. It is time you move on. I have found a local baron that has agreed to your union.”
Theodosia shook her head. “Absolutely not. I will not marry anyone other than Ellis Gordon. We have reconnected. I am surprised you have not heard he is back in Withbey. I know what you did.”
The strike came out of nowhere. Unexpected. Her father had never struck her before. In shock, she brought her hand up to her face, her skin hot under her palm.
Tears stung her eyes as she fled from the room. From Braggdon Hall. At the stables, she quickly saddled her horse, and then kicked it into a trot, fleeing from her home and to the moors, where she knew Ellis would be.
Above, the sky darkened as angry, almost-black clouds rolled in, blocking out the sun. Fat drops of rain fell steadily, soaking her gown and plastering her hair to her face. She didn’t care. She squinted through the rain, steering her horse in the direction of the moors, urging him to move faster.
She made it to the path that would lead to Ellis’s camp, but she didn’t slow her pace.
But as she drew closer, she had no choice but to ease. Ahead, what was that? Her eyes must surely be deceiving her. The phantom coach was blocking the path. The sight was terrifying. Black as the darkest of nights. Her horse reared at the sight, nearly throwing her off as she clung for dear life.
“Theodosia!” Ellis called out to her from her right side.
He was running towards her and arrived just in time to catch her as her horse reared again, and this time managed to unseat her, then took off in the direction they had arrived.
“Come!” Ellis set her on her feet, grabbed her hand, and pulled her deeper into the moors, as the storm thrashed above them.
“In here.” Ellis pushed her into a small opening of a cavern and followed her inside. The space was cramped, damp, and smelled musty, but it would protect them from the storm—and from whatever that was.
“What was that?” she asked, unable to stop the chattering of her teeth. Her breath was coming in short gasps and she couldn’t calm it.
A scream sounded outside, and she grabbed Ellis’s arm. “What is happening?”
They couldn’t see anything outside the opening of the cavern, it was too dark. Flashes of light lit the entry. The clash of swords echoed through the moors. A woman screamed, “Nooooo!”
It was as if an unseen battle was happening around them. “It’s the legend, isn’t it? It’s truly real,” she whispered, her body shaking.
Ellis clung to her tightly. Squeezing her as he murmured words of encouragement into her ear. “We will be fine. Theodosia, I promise ye. I willna let aught happen to ye.”
She captured his lips in a searing kiss, hugging him close.
“I choose you, I swear it Ellis. No matter the cost, I choose you.”