Page 53 of A Lady's Wicked Revenge
Victoria barked with derisive laughter. “There’s been a murder, for God’s sake! Her own guardian was hauled away in chains before her very—”
“I’m sorry, Missus Arnold, but you know that will make no difference to the ton,” Priscilla interrupted. “And especially until we know if Sir James is to go free or not, I concur. For now, I think it best to keep Diana and Colin as far apart as possible.”
The words hung in the air like a deathly chill, stifling any further thought. The silence in the room was complete but for the weak crackling of the fire dying in the hearth.
“I suppose one of us must go and tell them, then,” Jerome said with a sigh.
Victoria put up her hands, shaking her head sternly. “I will have no part of tearing apart two young lovers. If you truly desire to force them into isolation now, at the worst moment of their lives, you may do so yourself.”
Jerome nodded; he had expected no different from his wife. He glanced at Priscilla and saw how papery her skin appeared, how she was clearly pained by a headache or some other malady in addition to the hell she had just gone through with her own husband.
“Very well. If you’ll excuse me, Missus Leeson. Victoria, if you would please see to any effects that Miss Hann will need in the next day or two?” Jerome rose to his feet, trying to ignore the ache in his knees as he did so, and trudged off in search of Diana and Colin.
It did not take him long to find the pair. After being pointed in the right direction by a sad-eyed matron of the Leeson staff, Jerome found them in the same small library where he had conspired with them but a few hours earlier.
While Jerome would have assumed they might have found somewhere secluded to comfort one another, it seemed one or both of them had remained aware of the social requirements of the ton; they were equally unlikely to be seen here or to cause further scandal if they were discovered. The door was ajar, and Jerome could not help peeking in at the couple before being forced to bring an end, however temporary, to their love affair.
The expression that Diana wore was a peculiar one.Small wonder, considering what she’s gone through in the last twenty-four hours,thought Jerome. But the change that came over her when Colin Mullens put a comforting hand on her forearm was unmistakable. Jerome had seen the same look on the face of his own dear wife many a time over their long marriage. For a moment, he wondered if their decision might not be too cruel to poor Diana—she had already suffered so much and pulling her away from this man she improbably seemed to love would hurt her still further.
But reason, as it ever did, won out in Jerome’s rapid ethical arithmetic. Sighing softly, he pushed open the door fully, drawing the eyes of Diana and Colin away from one another and towards him. He suddenly felt a thousand years old.
Chapter 23
Some Silly Storybook Romance
The night was dark and blissfully quiet. Diana breathed in the still, reverent air at the top of the hill, watching the glittering army of stars twinkle and shine their holy light down upon the cemetery.
Diana had been here before, she seemed to remember, though everything looked different. She rested her hand on the thick trunk of a gnarled old tree, wondering in confusion if it hadn’t been cracked or broken somehow. Even the stars above looked more like shattered glass than the fire of distant suns. She listened, expecting to hear a scream, a crash, the sound of horses … but there was nothing but the distant, melodic hooting of an owl.
And there was something else, Diana thought, turning towards the presence she felt at her side.
Standing on the raw, freshly-dug earth beside the open grave there on the hilltop, she saw a familiar middle-aged man and woman standing side by side. His arm was on her shoulder in a loving gesture, and there was such recognition in their eyes as they looked at her fondly.
“Goodbye, Diana.”
Diana heard the words clearly in her mind, though neither of the spirits moved their lips. A feeling of warmth and familiarity emanated from them like a shining beacon, and Diana could not help smiling.
“Mother …” Diana felt herself choke on a trickle of tears, though she felt wrapped in a blanket of bliss and tranquillity. “Father …”
The two ghostly forms shook gently, their edges blurring as if they were mere reflections in a pool of still water. They raised their hands in farewell. Their eyes were so kind, so familiar to her …
Then the apparitions faded away into nothing but a wistful blue memory, leaving her standing by herself on the grassy hilltop. Diana looked up at the sky, reflecting on the thousands of stars that gazed back down upon her. She wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing herself as she twisted back and forth.
“It’s done,” she said aloud, her words floating out over all the hills and valleys of Britain. “I’m a prisoner no longer. Justice has been done.”
The words were as true and real as breathing out and in. But why, she could not help wondering, did she feel so horribly, tragically lonely?
The moment Diana’s eyes fluttered open, she was assailed by the same crushing feeling of isolation that she had felt in her dream. She blinked, rubbed her eyes, sat up in the bed to find with a start that it was not her own bed. She looked around, alarmed, not recognising any of the strange corners or surfaces that surrounded her … then relief washed over her, and her breath steadied.
Mister Arnold’s house,Diana thought, putting a hand to her chest as if to will her heart to calmness.My new home. I’m safe, just as Mister Arnold promised me.
Diana gave a mighty stretch and walked to pull open the curtain. Outside she was greeted not by the trees and emptiness of the enormous Leeson house but by the bustling activity of the London streets. She passed nearly half an hour sitting at her seat by the window, gazing out at the throng that paraded past the Arnold house on their way to thousands of interesting things. Not for a single moment did she forget how bitterly sad she yet felt.
It’s been more than two weeks since I was freed from that cage. Diana sighed, closing the curtain and turning away from the window to dress herself.I have a new guardian, a home where I am truly safe. With Mister and Missus Arnold to take care of me and my full inheritance available to me, my future is mine to do with as I please.
She caught sight of herself in the mirror as she looked up to wash her face—the sight was enough to steal the breath from her lungs. Where a year ago the girl who peered out at her from the glass was happy and carefree, and four months ago she saw an embattled young woman filled to the brim with guilt and rage … now all Diana could see was a much older woman. Her strawberry blonde curls were limp and lifeless, her eyes ringed by dark circles, her skin pale and peaked.
For God’s sake, everything has worked out perfectly. Why then do I feel so bloody sad?
