Page 17 of Forever & Again
Oliver watched the raindrops trail slowly down the windowpane. For days now, the weather had held them captive indoors, and he was beginning to believe that if the sun didn’t return soon, they might all lose their minds.
He and Grace had been getting along rather well since their conversation in the library, but with no invitations to accept and no guests to entertain, Sarah had taken it upon herself to resurrect every parlor game known to respectable Society—along with a few that would’ve been thoroughly frowned upon in more polite company.
Now, as the clouds began to thin and the rain softened to a lazy mist, she had moved on to her next campaign: convincing them all to ride down to the pond. Oliver could think of few things less appealing than donning a waistcoat and jacket only to be jostled around on horseback, through a muggy drizzle, during one of the hottest summers he’d ever experienced in Berkshire.
But Matthew, the ever-obliging husband, was already nudging him with what appeared to be genuine enthusiasm. “What do you say, Oliver? Up for some fresh air?”
Matthew and Sarah’s definition offreshwas apparently the same one their cook used while preparing last night’s venison stew; dense, heavy, and vaguely offensive. Not that the sitting room was much better, stifling as it was, but at least it was dry.
Sarah didn’t wait for his answer before turning to try to convince Grace. “You’ve been here nearly two weeks, and we’ve yet to go riding,” she said, leaning in on the settee. Grace’s eyes remained fixed on her book.
“Matthew won’t let me race anymore because of the baby,” Sarah added with a dramatic sigh, “But if I ask nicely, perhaps he’ll indulge us in a brisk trot.” Sarah giggled, but Oliver noticed the way Grace’s shoulders tensed slightly.
“I am not in the mood to go riding today,” Grace said quietly. She angled her body away subtly, and Sarah either missed the cue or chose to ignore it.
“Oh, come now,” Sarah pressed, rising from the couch and stepping directly in front of her. “We can’t spend the whole summer locked away indoors. The rain is letting up, so it is the perfect time to go—”
“I do not want to ride!” Grace’s voice cracked through the drawing room. Her eyes squeezed shut, and her breath seemed to come in uneven waves. Oliver flicked a glance towardMatthew, who was already looking at him, no doubt wondering if they could both slip out unnoticed.
Sarah still stood in front of Grace, her hand still stretched out awkwardly between them. “Grace…”
Matthew cleared his throat, stepping closer to his wife. “Lizzy,” he said gently. “Perhaps it is not the best afternoon for a ride.” Sarah pulled away from him as she knelt in front of the settee, trying to force Grace to meet her gaze. But if Grace had opened her eyes, Oliver couldn’t tell because they still remained locked on her lap. “Grace…” Sarah whispered again. “Have you ridden since Benjamin’s accident?”
The tension in the room pulled tightly around them, and Oliver could feel it in his own chest. Grace’s fingers tightened around her book, her knuckles whitening. “I am not afraid,” she said a little too forcefully. “I just do not have the desire.”
The silence that followed was even thicker than the air outside. Sarah reached forward, resting her hands lightly on her friend’s lap as though she was going to shatter at the touch. “Why did you not tell me?”
Grace’s head snapped up; the pain in her eyes was unmistakable. “Why didyounot tellme,” she hissed. “That you had taken in Benjamin’s horse.”
Oliver felt something cold settle into the pit of his stomach as Matthew turned sharply to Sarah, “You did not tell her?”
“I was going to,” Sarah shook her head, visibly flustered. “I was waiting for the right moment.”
“The right moment,” Grace repeated, the bitterness in her tone was heartbreak wearing a mask. “Would have been before I walked into the stables and saw him standing there like a ghost.” Oliver’s throat tightened as he looked down at the floor, his jaw going tight.
“I promise you, Grace, we did not—” Sarah started, but Oliver cut in before she could finish. “It is not Sarah andMatthew’s fault.” All three of them turned toward him, looking as though they had forgotten he was even there. He cleared his throat, forcing himself to look Grace in the eyes. “Champion is my horse.”
She didn’t blink. She didn’t speak. Oliver wasn’t even sure if she was breathing. “I did not know that you were going to be here when I brought him.” The excuse sounded hollow, even to his own ears, but he pressed on. “When Matthew told me that Mr. Weston was planning on selling him, I just thought that he still deserved to have a good home. I never meant to…” Oliver’s words trailed off because he could see that the damage had already been done.
Whatever familiarity had started to grow between them had shattered, and Grace stared at him now as though she were looking at a stranger. She turned and walked out of the room without a word, leaving only the echo of her footsteps behind her.
Oliver stood motionless. The room which was stifling just moments ago, suddenly felt cold, as if she had taken all of the air with her. He could feel Matthew and Sarah’s eyes on him, but he didn’t look up. His gaze was rooted to the place where Grace had been standing.
Chapter Nine
Grace stood in the middle of Lord and Lady Hale’s wildly extravagant drawing room. She had lost count of all the different variations of wallpapers, fabrics, and tapestries they had managed to fit into one tiny room. Lady Hale had been educating her on the many exotic animals that had lent their motifs to the design of the lavish country estate.
Grace had never thought herself adverse to animal prints, but after today, she would most likely reconsider her stance on the subject—though it was unlikely the topic would ever come up again, as long as she managed to avoid Lady Hale.
She scanned the room for any sign of Matthew or Sarah; even Oliver would have been a welcome sight at the moment. She hadn’t spoken to him since the afternoon he announced that he had been the one to bring Benjamin’s horse to Somerton.
It wasn’t Champion’s presence that bothered her so much as the fact that they had all kept it from her. As though she were something fragile, or explosive, that needed to be protected—though she had stormed out and locked herself in her room for over a day, so maybe they were not completely mistaken on that point.
Grace had approached Matthew and Sarah earlier that day to apologize. They of course had accepted her with open arms and a few tears. Sarah once again begged her to give Oliver a chance, saying he had no knowledge of her summer residence at Somerton until he arrived. If he had, he never would have brought Champion.
“He told Matthew he plans to leave tomorrow.” Sarah had told her. “He said he can not stand the thought of causing you any more distress.”
Secretly, Grace had thought that was a splendid idea, but she promised her friends she would find Oliver at the Hale’s Parlor Party that evening and make amends.
