Page 17 of The Gift of Patience
Patience could not wait to fall into her bed. They’d finished searching the estate and found nothing. She still wished she knew what they were searching for and what kind of man it was they’d caught and what kind of man would motion to her that he would slit her throat.
It was something she must become accustomed to, as Major Stuart had indicated it happened in his line of work.
So how did she get the vision of the man’s evil black eyes out of her thoughts? His face was so vivid in her mind that she could have drawn his portrait.
Shuddering from repulsion, she went to scoop up Xander, who had been waiting for her when she came in the door. There was something deeply comforting about having an animal for companionship. She did not know if she’d be able to relinquish Xander to Joy when Freddy finally accepted him. It was wonderful having him to herself, and she was able to fall asleep with him curled up at her feet.
The next day, Patience awoke early as she often did, and took the puppy out to see to his needs. It felt good to think about something other than herself. Three times during the night she had startled with nightmares of black, menacing eyes. ThenXander had licked her hand reassuringly, and she had been able to go back to sleep.
She stood on the terrace overlooking the lawns as Xander stopped to sniff and mark his territory. It was much chillier that morning, as though autumn had been ushered in fully after the rains.
Xander discovered a stick, brought it to her, and laid it at her feet. Had Mr. Cunningham already trained him to play fetch?
“You wish to play?” She picked up the stick and threw it and chuckled as his fuzzy little body wiggled and bounced towards the object.
As she played with Xander, she could not help but contemplate the situation. It was a relief to know the man had been caught, and that nothing was found, but she could not help but feel as though something had been missed.
A good spy would continue searching, but she knew very well that it wasn’t safe for her to go looking alone.
As they walked back to the house, she checked to see if anyone had come down yet who might be willing to go with her, but it seemed as though the guests were still in bed. Normally, Faith was an early riser, but the pregnancy was exhausting her.
Maybe one of the grooms would not mind accompanying her.
Quickly she found Peter, the same boy who had been eager to give Xander a bath the day before. Not that a stable hand would refuse a member of the household, but it was a relief to know they did not mind being taken from their normal duties.
Peter played tug and fetch with Xander while they walked back to the clearing. Patience could not say why, but she felt drawn back to the place.
It looked no different today, but she was not one to ignore her instincts. What were they trying to tell her? She stood there and closed her eyes towards the sky and took a deep breath. Shecould hear Peter playing with the dog on the path, but she tried to block them out and listen.
Not that she expected the trees to begin speaking to her, but there had to be some reason she felt called to be there.
Opening her eyes, she tried to look at everything from a different angle. The old chestnut trees still encircled the small clearing, which was covered with grass, a few fallen logs, and leaves. After walking back and forth across it, she still was no further along than they had been the two previous times.
“What am I missing?” she asked aloud, looking upward when her eyes caught on a ladder. She walked towards it. Well, not a ladder, precisely, but wooden boards had been nailed into what she and her sisters would have deemed a perfect climbing tree. They looked rather old and she wasn’t certain they were steady enough to bear her weight. Had this been the boys climbing tree when they’d been youths? Surely they knew about it. Had they already climbed and dismissed the notion, or were the boards too old to hold an adult, so they’d dismissed the ladder out of hand?
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Patience put her weight on the bottom one to test it, which was rather difficult as the lowest rung was almost waist high.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” she muttered to herself as she heaved herself to the next step.
It held, so she slowly climbed the eight boards until she reached the top, which ended at a saddle-like groove from which the branches originated. It was a glorious lookout, where she could envision many a childhood imagination coming to life.
Being sorely out of climbing practise, she leaned against one of the curved branches to rest, and looked around appreciatively. It must be a high point on the estate, she reflected, as the view was incredible.
To the northwest, she could make out the ball atop the royal observatory, and straight on, she could see the Thames and the docks across the river, with different types of boats moored there, from barges to yachts.
It was lovely and relaxing, and Patience thought she could stay there forever, but knew she should be getting back.
After she climbed down, she walked back to Peter and Xander, and they returned to the house.
A few of the soldiers had come down for breakfast, so she joined them. She was familiar with them from before, some more than others. They stood when she entered. “Good morning, gentlemen.” She went to the sideboard to fill her plate.
“Miss Whitford. Your cheeks are rosy. Have you been out for a walk this morning?” Major Stuart asked.
“Indeed. I took Xander out, but do not worry, I took a groom with me.”
There were mutual frowns upon all of their faces. Patience bit back a smile.
