Page 62 of The Enigmatic Governess of Buford Manor
“Why did you tell me about Philip if not to be cautious?” Rose demanded. “Why do you silence me now?”
“Rose, child, you misconstrue what we told you earlier and it is my deepest regret that our timing was so abysmal. Had we foreseen…”
Bridget inhaled sharply.
“Philip’s death was unusual, yes,” she continued after composing herself. “But no one suggested that Captain Balfour had any part in it. He is a high-ranking man, Rose, beyond reproach.”
No one is beyond reproach if it means he is responsible for my husband’s death,Rose thought bitterly but she said not what she was thinking.
“Yet it was Lieutenant Walters who told you about Philip and how he died, not Captain Balfour who was apparently with him!” Rose protested. “It is all very suspect.”
“Rose, you are far too upset to make any rational conclusions,” John told her gently. “We should not have told you that the captain called upon you last month, after you had left.”
“You told him I was here! He was with Philip when he died under suspicious circumstances and he kept that information hidden. If not for Lieutenant Walters being at the wake, we might have never learned the truth!”
“Perhaps Captain Balfour was trying to protect a grieving widow from the sad truth, Rose. You must not be so hasty.”
“Am I being hasty now?” she challenged, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “The men are missing, into their cups and braving horrendous weather!”
“Miss Rose!” Trudy called suddenly, rushing into the salon, wringing her hands. “Someone is returning!”
Nicholas!Rose thought, relief weakening her as they hurried toward the door.My prayers have been answered.
She felt foolish, suspecting Captain Balfour of behaving in an uncouth manner when clearly it had been nothing more than a hunting excursion foiled by the weather. She was grateful no one was about to witness her loss of wits but the Boyles.
“Who is it?” Rose demanded of Trudy who met with Theodore at the entranceway, blankets in his hand. The household gazed out into the blizzard, their eyes adjusting to the figures approaching. Rose rushed into the snow, realizing that three men trudged through the storm.
“Lord Buford?” she cried. “Is that you?”
Yet as they neared, Rose froze in her tracks. It was not Nicholas nor his father.
“Captain Balfour!” John cried, and a flurry of motion swept by Rose as the servants rushed to wrap the missing hunting party in blankets, ushering them into the manor.
Rose could not move, however as she stared at Peter Alderson and Lord Preston shuffled past her, their eyes lowered as they moved.
“Where is Duke Buford?” she demanded. “He was among your party!”
Her voice carried into the wind and if the men were not avoiding her gaze, she would have believed they did not hear her question.
“The other men have gone searching for you!” Rose called but by then, they had been swept into the estate house, leaving her to shiver alone in the cold.
Guided by an unseen hand, she turned back to face the dumping snow and slowly, more horses emerged from the woods, each carrying a rider upon their backs.
Rose was scared, and she watched, a mixture of hope and fear intermingling. She recognized the men filing back, their heads soaked, their lips blue and Rose struggled to find answers as she cried out to them, one after the other.
Why do they ignore me? Am I in a dream?
There a surreal quality about the world around her as she waited anxiously for Nicholas to appear.
“Please! Mr. Cromely!” she pleaded as the barrister dismounted his exhausted horse. The servants had flocked to the yard, an excited din reaching her ears as the news of their return spread throughout the manor.
“Have you word on the duke or Lord Buford?”
The solicitor eyed her, a deep regret glinting in his eyes.
“Have Captain Balfour and the others not returned?” he demanded, and Rose nodded.
“Yes, but not with the Duke!”
