Page 62 of The Rise of a Forsaken Lady
Martha reached out her hand and Penelope grimaced at the damp, clammy feel of her palms, “Edward ordered him to keep his distance from me. Just when I…he saved my life, Martha! He saved my life out there. I don’t know if it was fate or a godsend or happenstance but…what—whatever it was…it’s now gone.”
It’s now gone.The moment those words left her lips she wanted to snatch them back. They rung in the air like a death knell and settled into her stomach like a block of ice. She felt cold. Had she really been kissed? It still felt like a dream.
She sagged in her seat feeling robbed. Robbed of a chance to be close to person who understood her and cared for her. The budding stem had just been cut before it could have ever bloomed. Her head fell into her hands.It is gone…and probably will never come back.
Martha was hugging her, and she took the comfort as it was given. But it was not the pair of arms she wanted to be in. She could feel the despair coursing through her veins. She needed to be near Heath, but how? Could she defy Edward and go behind his back? Was she brave enough?
Chapter 23
Five days without being near Penelope was like being subjected to torture. Five days since the Earl had strictly ordered him to be strictly polite to Penelope had strained his resolve to the point the last thread was about to snap.
He had to be strictly polite to her when everything inside him wanted to be anything but. He wanted to hold her, dance with her, brush those stubborn locks from her face and kiss her tenderly. But he could not.
Every time he had passed her in the hallway or saw her in a room, his body shifted to go to her a second before her brother’s order stopped him in her tracks or stapled his feet to the floor. He hated seeing her dull eyes and hearing her lackluster greetings, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The day for the hunt had arrived, and he was in Lord Allerton’s gun closet making sure the five extra muskets and five shotguns that were ready for the guests, if they needed them. The gun barrels were clean, extra bullets, loaded with powder was ready too.
“All set, Mr. Moore?”
Heath stiffened when the Earl’s voice came from behind him. “Yes, My Lord. This is an extensive collection.”
Rows of hooks on the wall carried guns of all makes and models. From long shotguns to double-barreled flintlock to pistols and even coach guns. Three dainty six-inch ladies’ pistols with smoother patterned handles and even tinier bullets were there too and six infamous air-guns rested on silver hooks above the other, like monarchs living high and lofty over their subjects.
“My grandfather started it with local guns from English manufacturers, but my father extended with Prussia.” The Earl said while tugging on his gloves. Clad in his hunting jack, tan breeches and onyx boots the Earl looked every part of the dignified peer he was.
Reaching out for a shotgun, the Earl cocked the barrel and smiled. “Perfectly clean.”
“Thank you, My Lord,” Heath said while moving to put the cleaning materials back in place. He deliberately kept his back to him, hoping that would dissuade the man from dredging up the sensitive topic of Penelope. “The dogs are ready and so are the beaters.”
“Excellent.”
Breathing out slowly, Heath wanted nothing more than to turn and leave the room but was pressed to ask the Earl if there was anything else he needed from him—as a true servant would.
“No,” the Earl said absentmindedly while filling his pouch with extra shot. “Just carry these out to the waiting footmen and that will be all.”
“Yes, My Lord.” Gathering the shotguns in his hands, Heath prayed to leave without any mention of Penelope when his hopes were blasted apart.
“Oh, Mr. Moore, in case you are not aware, this is prime time for my sister to sneak away and ride without supervision. Keep an eye on her, please…” Was that all?Please let that be all. “while making sure to honor the boundary lines we spoke about earlier.”
He had to forcefully unlock his jaw to speak, “I understand, My Lord.”
Taking the guns, he carried them to the front where the Lords, having had refreshment, were ready and mingling in the front yard. He handed off the guns to the hired footman for the day and took his place under the doorway eaves.
Eleven lords of England were gathered, mostly barons, two other earls, a viscount, and if Heath remembered correctly, a Knight of the Realm who, while gaining knighthood, was the son of Oliver Stilton, the Duke of Quinton. He was impatient for this to begin and wanted to be back in the house, find Penelope and hold her. The desire was crawling under his skin like a tick crawls on a deer.
“I’m surprised they have not gone yet,” Penelope said beside him, and Heath stifled the urge to turn to her and take her hand.
“They are waiting for His Lordship,” Heath said quietly.
Her hair was combed, but stubborn tendrils wandered from the coif and flittered around her head. Her slender neck canted to the side and her lips downturned a little.
Heath followed her line of sight and lit upon Lord Hillbrook and—curse it all—Lord Swanville. Did the Earl not learn from the last time the man was there?
Hillbrook turned to them and raised his hand, Penelope lifted hers and waved rather reluctantly if Heath was any judge. To further his ire, resting around her neck was the ivory elephant Hillbrook had given her. He forced his eyes back to the group and Penelope disappeared.
Lord Allerton passed by and descended to the group, while immediately being enveloped into a welcome reception by his peers. The conversation was muffled while the handlers carried the horses around and loaded the carts with the leashed dogs. Heath watched the party move off to the woods with the carts for the game, the hired footmen, and fowl beaters in tow.
He sighed and went back inside the house, flickering his eyes up to the staircase where Lady Penelope must have retreated to. His duties with Mrs. Burcham called him, and he went to the kitchen only to enter into a flurry of cooks and scullery girls making the luncheon for the men who would be back in about five hours.
