Page 15 of Haunted
What would his kiss feel like? It would be sweet, so sweet, so…necessary.
His hand fell away. He took a step backward, turned, and strode out of the room.
Chapter Five
By the timeshe climbed into bed, Francesca realized it was not lack of desire that kept him from her but respect for her situation. George would never take advantage. He was that rare breed, a true gentleman. And in the peace of her own bedchamber, reflecting on the disrespect she had received from the villagers since Percival’s death, she was grateful. His care made her feel precious.
And yet her body clamored for love. Even while the rest of her rejoiced at the emotion within her, and within him. She smiled and closed her eyes, meaning to think of him a lot more before sleep claimed her.
However, she fell asleep almost at once, and dreamed not of George but of Percival.
He stood at the foot of her bed, managing to look both sad and excited as he did when he was leaving her for a few days or weeks. She smiled back because she understood he would be happy for her. He would want her to move forward with her life, find renewed happiness. He would have done the same had she been the one to die.
She was content with that, though sad because she had loved him so much, and he was never coming back.
And then everything changed. The curtains of the bed burst into flames, and Percival was no longer smiling but shouting at her.
“Francesca! Fran! Francesca!”
She could not move. She was paralyzed by sleep.
“Francesca! Can’t you see the fire? Getup!”
She woke with a gasp, her heart hammering. Of course the bed was not on fire, but she could still imagine she smelled smoke, heard the crackling of flames. A quick glance showed her the guard still before the smoldering embers in the fireplace. But the sense of urgency, of panic, remained.
She leapt out of bed, pulled back the curtains, and opened the shutters to peer out of the window. An ominous glow came from the end of the house.
“Dear God,” she whispered.
She bolted across the floor, pausing only to shove her bare feet into slippers and seize a shawl from the end of the bed before dashing through the connecting door to Mark’s room.
She touched his shoulder, forcing herself to shake him gently. A panicked child would be less easy to control. “Marco, wake up, sweetheart. We have to leave the house for a little. Come, out of bed.”
With shaking hands she forced slippers onto his feet and seized him by the hand before snatching the night lamp. “Take your coat,” she said as they passed it hung on the back of a chair. She had no hands free to carry it for him.
George.She had to wake George.
*
George had notmeant to fall asleep. He had lain down on his bed fully clothed, smiling because he had read the beginnings of love in Francesca’s eyes, and she was a happiness he had never thought possible.
Afterward, he never knew if it was dream or reality, but a man he knew was Percival Hazel was shaking him. “Fire,” he shouted. “It is up to you to save them!”
With a jolt, reality swamped him. The smell of burning, the bright orange glow through the window he had not shuttered, the sound, surely of cracking flames. And not in his hearth. That fire had gone out. He leapt up, seizing the still-burning lamp from his bedside table, and burst out into the passage. He ran toward the main stairs to bang hard on Francesca’s door.
From here, he could see the smoke billowing downstairs. And on this floor, further toward the servants’ stairs. He was just about to burst into Francesca’s room when she emerged from the next door along, grasping Mark in one hand and a small lamp in the other.
“George!” she cried in relief. “We must get out! I don’t know how bad it is…”
“Stay with me,” he said grimly, and led the way down the stairs. Increasingly, smoke made him cough, but at least there seemed to be a clear path to the front door.
“Oh, God, Ada and Martin!” she exclaimed.
“Where are they? Where do they sleep?”
“Downstairs, the room to the left of the kitchen—”
“Hopefully they’re outside already, but I’ll make sure. You take Mark straight out and well away from the house.”
