Chapter 1 #2
There was something in Phillipa’s expression, but it disappeared so quickly that Augusta could not be certain she had seen it at all.
She took one step toward her, but Lady Hewes appeared at Phillipa’s shoulder and placed a hand lightly against her daughter’s back, guiding her toward another group of waiting guests.
The opportunity vanished, and Augusta continued through the doors.
The entrance hall was cooler, though still crowded with footmen, late arrivals, and servants carrying trays.
A footman opened one of the tall glass doors when she approached, and a rush of cold air swept around her bare shoulders.
“My lady,” he said with concern, “shall I have your wrap brought?”
“No, thank you. I shall remain close to the house.”
He looked doubtful but stood aside.
Augusta drew in a deep breath and walked slowly along the terrace, folding her arms against the chill.
Suddenly, all she had were her thoughts, which were now spiraling into a territory that she didn’t want them to go to.
Her second Season was nearly over, and she had received proposals, though none she could accept. One man had been agreeable but dull, another charming but deeply in debt. She had declined them all with Charity’s support.
Phillipa’s engagement had unsettled her because Phillipa had always been as selective as Augusta. If even she had accepted a marriage arranged with such speed, perhaps there came a point when every woman was forced to choose between the life she wanted and the life available to her.
In a few years, Matilda would be old enough to make her debut. Charity and Duncan’s family would grow. She shuddered to think where she would be.
A gust of wind moved across the terrace, lifting the loose curls near her temples. Augusta shivered and looked back toward the doors.
“I should get back,” she sighed to herself. It was no use spiraling like this.
She descended the three steps leading from the terrace to the upper garden. The ballroom was in the opposite direction.
“Maybe in a while,” she concluded and decided that she could follow it for a few minutes, calm herself, and re-enter through the side doors.
The gravel crunched softly beneath her slippers.
Without the light from the terrace, the night seemed darker than she had expected, and the first drop of rain struck her cheek.
She stopped and looked up. Another landed near her eye, followed by several more against her hair and shoulders.
“Oh, excellent.”
Within moments, the rain fell in a sudden cold sheet, darkening the gravel and sending Augusta hurrying along the path. She lifted the front of her gown with one hand and shielded her face with the other, though neither effort offered much protection.
The side entrance should have been ahead. She rounded the hedge and found herself facing two branching paths, neither of which she recognised.
Augusta stared at them in disbelief.
She had visited Hewes Park before, but only during daylight and never beyond the main terrace. The garden’s orderly design now seemed deliberately confusing. One path descended toward the trees while the other curved behind a stone wall.
She turned back, but the hedge concealed the terrace. All the while, the rain intensified, pattering loudly against the leaves.
She turned again and took one of the paths which widened near what appeared to be a small service courtyard. Augusta slowed, trying to determine whether the building connected to the main house.
Someone stood beneath the trees ahead. The figure was tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in a long dark coat with the hood drawn up against the rain, with one hand resting upon a cane.
He must be a gentleman. The coat was too well cut for a servant, and even at a distance the cane appeared ornamental rather than crude. If he knew the grounds, he could direct her toward the house.
Augusta nearly called out, but then decided against it.
To approach an unknown man alone in a dark garden would be reckless. If anyone saw them, it would be a scandal. Better to turn around and find the terrace herself.
Augusta took a careful step backward, and the man shifted. The faint light from the outbuilding caught the upper end of his cane, and her attention dropped toward the ground. The cane had what appeared to be a raven-like figure on top of it.
At first, she thought the dark mass near his feet was a discarded cloak. But as her vision adjusted, she realized it was an arm. It lay unnaturally against the wet gravel, the hand pale and open beneath the rain.
A loud gasp escaped her lips, which was enough to alert that figure to her presence. He started to turn towards her, and her survival instincts rushed in.
The next moment, she was running away.
The path divided again, and she took the steeper turn. Her lungs burned almost immediately as rain blurred her sight.
The ballroom lights appeared suddenly between the trees, and Augusta forced herself onward. She crossed a strip of lawn, climbed the terrace steps, and reached the glass doors. The footman who had let her out stared at her in shock before pulling one open.
“My lady!”
Augusta rushed past him.
“My lady, are you hurt?” the footman asked.
She could not answer, and instead rushed inside the ballroom to find Duncan and Charity. It took her a few moments, and a lot more curious glances were thrown in her direction.
“Are you alright?” Charity noticed her first, and both of them stopped whatever engagement they were a part of once they saw that the color had been drained from Augusta’s face. “You are soaked.”
“I saw…” Augusta tried to draw breath. “Outside… there was someone outside.”
“Who?” Duncan’s expression hardened.
“A man…and he stood… he was standing near a body. Someone has died. There was somebody dead on the ground.”
“What do you mean, dead?” Charity’s fingers tightened around hers.
“Where did you see this?” Duncan stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“In the garden. Beyond the hedge. There is a path leading toward a smaller building, and I became lost when it began to rain.”
“You went into the lower garden?” Charity asked, alarm overtaking everything else.
“I was just… trying to clear my head.. I…”
“Did the man speak to you?” Duncan asked.
“No, but he saw me.”
Duncan’s jaw tightened.
“Stay here with Charity.”
But Augusta followed before her sister could catch hold of her.
“Augusta,” Charity called sharply. “Come back.”
Duncan was already striding across the terrace, and Augusta hurried after him, gathering her wet skirts in both hands.
Charity had little choice but to follow.
The rain had begun to soften, though the paths were slick beneath their feet.
Duncan made Augusta walk behind him as she directed him through the garden.
“Here,” she said when they reached the narrow path. “It was just beyond this turn.”
They rounded the hedge, but the ground was empty. Duncan moved toward the trees, searching the wet gravel and the shadowed edge of the path. There was no body, no hooded man, and no sign that anyone had been there at all.
“Are you certain this is the place?” he asked.
“Yes…. I saw the body; this is exactly the place where I saw it.”
“It was dark, Augusta.” Charity came beside her and slipped an arm around her shoulders. From her tone, she didn’t appear too convinced, but at the same time, she was trying to be gentle about showing it. “You must have misunderstood. That is a possibility, surely.”
Augusta stared at the empty ground, and the certainty that had driven her from the garden began to falter. Of all things, she had never been the delusional sort. Surely, her eyes hadn’t deceived her.
“I’m sure of it, I saw…” she started but was cut off mid-sentence.
“I think it’s better for you to get into warmer clothes,” Duncan stepped in. “There is little use lingering here, especially when there is not much to see. It’s best if we go home.”
Augusta opened her mouth to speak, but then thought it would be better to stay silent. What argument could she possibly make at this time? It was going to be difficult.
Instead, she allowed Charity to lead her back toward the house, though she glanced over her shoulder once more. The path remained empty, and now Charity and Duncan were worried for her beyond belief.
Had she imagined the whole thing? How was that even possible?