Page 30 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
But he was determined to see her safe, to make sure she made it to and from without incident.And then the young man in the post…telling her the halls of the manor were haunted by the lady who died here.
Well…the boy wasn’t wrong.But Gabriel was not ready for that bit of knowledge to come to light.
The sky split without warning.One moment, a frail sun blinked behind gauzy clouds.The next, darkness crashed down as though the heavens had swallowed the light.
Gabriel’s first thought was of Victoria.She said she planned to be in the garden.He’d mentioned she wear a hat.But he hadn’t seen her after that.He checked her room.Empty.He hurried back down the stairs to the study.Not there.
Perhaps she’d been caught out in the rain on her way back to the manor.Any minute now, she’d come through the door soaked to the bone.
He paced the foyer, the grandfather clock ticking louder with every pass.Thunder cracked.The storm raged.Heart pounding, he stopped, staring at the front door.Willing her to return.
When she still hadn’t returned long minutes later, he had to act.He hurried through the kitchen to the back door that exited into the back half of the garden.Rain pelted him as he barreled down the steps.The wind gusted through the garden, stripping petals from their stems like confetti, hurling them into the air in a frenzied dance of ruin.
Panic lanced through him when Victoria was nowhere to be found.By now, his clothes were soaked and his shoes were muddy.But he kept going until he made it to the hedge garden.
He halted there, rain running down his face in rivulets.Then he saw it.The fallen branch through the greenhouse roof.
And his heart lurched.
Certainly, she wasn’t in there?
He sprinted toward it calling her name.She didn’t answer.The door was wedged shut.He pressed his face against one of the windows, peering through the deluge.
A flash of pale blue against shattered glass.Oh, saints.
“Victoria!”
She didn’t move.She couldn’t hear him.
Adrenaline pumping through him, he went back to the door and grabbed the aging handle.The wind must have slammed it shut.He jerked with all his strength once, twice, three times until finally the door gave and opened.Opening it wide, he secured it with a heavy rock to keep it from blowing closed again.
Inside, his feet crunched on broken glass.How she escaped being slashed to ribbons by the glass, he didn’t know.Blood dampened the side of her head.
He scooped her up, cradling her against his chest as he hurried out of the greenhouse and back down the footpath.The rain continued to fall as he made it back to the house.With the heel of his shoe, he kicked the door, slamming it shut.
Rather than carry her upstairs, he headed to the sitting room, the oldest part of the manor, behind the study.There, he gently lowered her down to the settee and pulled off her shoes.Her damp gown clung to her.Her chestnut hair, normally styled to perfection, was plastered against her head, the long lengths dripping down the pillow onto the velvet cushion.
Then he turned to the hearth and quickly got the fire going.It only took a few minutes before the flickering flames warmed the small room.
Gabriel dropped down on his knees, his face inches from hers.Her eyes were closed.Her long lashes curled upward.Reaching for her, he nudged away a damp piece of hair to get a good look at the cut on the side of her head.It didn’t look bad, but it would need to be cleaned.
He rose, standing there at her side with his heart racing and his hands clenched.His damp clothes left small circles around him.His soaked shoes left muddy halos on the polished wood.
But she was safe.
He didn’t have time to waste.He could already sense her in the shadows, watching.He rushed from the room to find medical supplies.He’d have to hurry before Lenore decided to make an appearance.Once he’d gathered all he needed, plus a plush blanket, he returned to the study, closing the door behind him.
As he dabbed the blood away from her wound, the storm raged on.Though he knew Lenore had nothing to do with the sudden thunderstorm, it was hard not to blame her after the threat.
When he finished, he placed the blanket over Victoria, tucking it around her to keep her warm.
Then he sat on the floor, resting his back against the settee to watch the flames, and wait for her to wake.
Victoria came awake suddenly.Her head throbbed.Her vision swam.She blinked into flickering shadows, uncertain if she’d crossed into some half-lit realm between the living and the lost.She tried to sit up, but her limbs were tangled in a blanket.She flailed, crying out, her thoughts spinning as she grasped for memory.
“Shh.”
Gabriel.
