Page 46 of The Burning Passion of a Fiery Lady
But they couldn’t prove anything. Not yet, anyway.
And only Blitzen, the black horse, knew what had happened to her husband, on that night, so many months ago. There were no other witnesses, as to how Gilbert Drake had come to his untimely end.
Deep anger overcame him. This shouldn’t be happening to her. She had endured so much already and was only now beginning to emerge from her shock and grief. Their love was still so very young, and the promise of their lives together so fragile.
He wrapped up the handkerchief, pushing it deep into his pocket. All he could do was be vigilant and make sure that she was protected. Leonard Green wasn’t going to get into that house again, not if he could help it. If he had his way, Leonard Green would be chased out of Shropshire entirely, for even daring to threaten his beloved.
***
The sun was just beginning to set behind the hills as Jasper made his way out of the house again, walking briskly in the direction of the stables. If he was quick, he could check on the horses and make sure that the stables were secure and still be back just in time for dinner, in the grand dining room.
He took a deep breath, trying to wake himself up fully. He had slept for another few hours, that afternoon, after his troubling discovery of the handkerchief underneath the willow tree. He still hadn’t seen Susannah. She had evaded him like some kind of fairy sprite, although he had spoken to Amy, the housekeeper, who had assured him that the mistress of The Willows was well rested, and very eager to see him at dinner that evening.
“She asked me to tell you that it is formal dress,” she whispered, almost conspiratorially. “She realises that neither you nor Mr Bragg will have formal attire, so she is sending down some clothes that belonged to her late husband. She hopes that they will fit.”
Jasper had grinned at that. “Wear a dead man’s clothes? How could I possibly do that?”
Amy had rolled her eyes. “I am sure that you shall find a way, Mr Stone.” She gazed at him steadily. “They should fit you better than they will fit Mr Bragg. The late Mr Drake was a similar size to you, at least.”
“I am sure they will be fine,” he had assured her. “Tell Mrs Drake that I will do my very best to dress up for the occasion.”
“Please do,” said the housekeeper, looking earnest. “She is going to a lot of effort, and I hope that you appreciate that. Cook has been slaving away on the food she requested for dinner for most of the day, and it is alotfancier than the poor woman is used to. It is usually plain, serviceable fare at The Willows …”
Amy turned away, but Jasper stopped her with a hand on her arm. She gazed back, a questioning look on her face.
“I will not hurt her,” he said in a low voice. “I promise you that. I shall never let her down. You have no reason to doubt how much I honour and esteem her, Amy.”
Amy looked surprised. “I know that you will not,” she said eventually. “I am the one who has convinced her that you are genuine because I believe it. But she has been through an awful lot, Mr Stone. I was a witness to her marriage, and it was not good. You will forgive me for being protective of her.”
“Of course,” he said. “I would expect nothing less from such a good friend.”
She smiled. “Six sharp, then, Mr Stone, in the dining room. I promise you that you will not be disappointed.”
He adjusted the sleeve on the unfamiliar jacket, now, as he walked to the stables. Susannah had been as good as her word, sending the clothes to his room two hours ago. And Amy had been right; he and Gilbert Drake were a similar size. The clothes fitted him well. It had been a different story for poor David, who was swamped by them, having to roll up the sleeves of both the jacket and britches she had provided.
He chose not to think about the fact that the last time these clothes had been worn, her husband had been in them. If it didn’t worry her, then why should it concern him? They were only clothes, after all, and surely it was another sign that she was moving on and letting go.
His eyes glanced at the discarded pile of ashes in the field beyond. Her mourning clothes were gone, now, as if they had never existed. He knew that her marriage could not be discarded quite so easily, but it was a promising start. It indicated that she was positive and looking to the future.
He felt a shiver of excitement at the thought of walking into that dining room and seeing her there. At sitting down beside her, with the others, eating fine food and drinking good wine, from her extensive cellar. He wanted to court her; he wanted to make conversation with her and admire her beauty in the candlelight.
He simply could not wait.
He was almost to the stables, now. He approached the gate cautiously, looking around, left and right. There was no one in the vicinity. He saw that the broken lock had already been replaced, although the gate was still untethered. He pushed it open, walking quickly into the stables.
He needed to do this, to set his mind at ease, that the horses were still here, and that all was well. That there wasn’t anyone lurking around, trying to sabotage again. He had no idea what Leonard Green looked like, but he was familiar with most of the workers at The Willows by now and thought he would know if a face was alien among them.
He went to each stable, greeting the horses by name, carefully assessing how they looked. Most were standing calm and nickered slightly in greeting. He smiled. In the short space of time that he had been here, they had already got to know him.
Thor, the black colt, was pacing his stable, shaking back his mane, in a restless manner. He approached it, talking to it gently, and eventually, the horse decided to approach him, although its eyes were still wary. He managed to stroke the colt’s head, for a minute, before moving on to the next stall.
At last, he reached Blitzen’s stall. The horse that he was most worried about. Had its mad dash into the hills last night possibly worsened its skittishness?
But to his surprise, Blitzen did not need any encouragement to come to him. As soon as the horse saw him, it walked over, placing its head over the stall gate, almost resting it on his arm, gazing up at him with large, trusting eyes.
Jasper felt a surge of pride. The horse was doing so well, and in such a short amount of time, seemed to have bonded with him. He didn’t know if it was because he had stood his ground last night when Blitzen had reared up, and the old stallion respected him now. It was so very difficult to know with animals.
But it appeared something had changed for Blitzen. The nervous tremors were gone, too. The horse just stood there, docile, while Jasper talked to it, stroking it gently. He even nickered, nudging his arm, for more caresses.
