Page 30 of The Ambiguous Enigma of the Hunted Lady
“I shall see you there tomorrow, make no mistake.” Cornelius waved over the servant that had just taken his riding coat. “But this is a matter, I fear, to which I must immediately attend.”
“You will be hard pressed to make London before the banks close for the evening.” Kenneth tried to persuade his uncle to stay the night. He had not expected him to come that day, and the visit had made him most joyful. However, he understood his uncle's urgent relationship with business. It was the family shipping company, and Cornelius had managed it since as long as Kenneth could remember. It was a complicated company, with many invested parties, and so Kenneth could not begrudge Cornelius for his urgent departure.
“It seems my driver will have two hard journeys in one day.” Cornelius said. “I shall make it, I must. I shall meet your damsel in distress another time, say farewell to your mother for me. I really must be off now.”
“Will you take one of your birds?” Kenneth called after him as he raced out the front door, barking orders to his coachman.
“Keep them!” Cornelius shouted back, clambering into the carriage. “I shall see you tomorrow!” He waved once more and slammed shut the carriage door.
The coach was off, and Kenneth was left alone in the entryway.
“Fine visit that was.” Kenneth said to himself. He took another deep breath of the changing summer air and shut the front doors behind him.
* * *
Leah was growing restless. She had been in bed for days now, watching the glorious sunlight of the summer blink by through her large windows.
Of course, they weren't her windows. This wasn't her bed, nor her house, and in the foreign strangeness of it all she was completely isolated.
She had done some reading for the first few days, but she had quickly tired of it. It was unlike her to read for an extended period of time, largely due to her short attention span, and the fact that it was rare she had a book about to read in the first place.
Then she had taken to counting birds, but there is only so far that any person can take. Bird watching without a guidebook or a spyglass quickly became a dull affair, and so Leah cycled through various distractions – all of which ran their course in a matter of hours.
Her ribs still caused her much pain, but as the days passed, she found herself able to sit up on her own accord. It took considerable effort, but Leah prided herself on the small, personal victory.
That day had been particularly interesting from her windows, however. A coach had arrived, a very elegant coach, perhaps more extravagant than the one belonging to her host. She could not see the occupant, but later she saw the Duke riding back with an older gentleman, sporting hunting coats and shotguns.He is a regular sportsman.
Within what seemed only minutes, the very fine coach was back on the road, whisking away into the early afternoon.Perhaps the hunting trip was not successful.
She entertained herself with her imagination, drafting up all sorts of silly anecdotes that may have befallen the Duke and his hunting companion.
Something forced him to leave in a hurry, just what could it be?
Of course, this game too ran its course, and she was again bored of her surroundings.
A knock at the door gave her a leap of excitement.Somebody to talk to, finally.
“Come in.” she called.
“I hope I am not disturbing you.” the Duke poked his head in the door frame.
“Not at all.” Leah smiled and waved him in. “I am glad to see a friendly face.”
“And I am glad that you see my face as friendly.” the Duke countered.
“Come in then, Your Grace.” she grinned ironically as she said his title and waved to the bedside stool.
“Of course, but please, you must learn to call me Kenneth, just as I must learn to call you as Leah, rather than Miss Benson.”
“It's just the opposite.” Leah replied. “I need to learn to say, 'Your Grace', Kenneth suits me just fine.”
“Yes, well, I suppose it would.” he said, visibly a bit flustered. Leah could see him searching for something to comment on in a practiced, nobleman's manner.
“You are sitting up well.” he offered. “You are some ways better?”
“I am, to a point.” she admitted. “Yet I crave to walk and leave this room. I need to move my legs, stretch my toes.”
“It seems you may have to wait a bit longer for that, eh?”
