He kept his eyes on her, watching as she walked across the room. She hesitated in the doorway for a second, waving good night to him, before she disappeared and let the door close behind her.
The moment she was gone, Francis ran both of his hands through his hair, in a mixture of frustration in the situation and the thrill of finally having kissed Phoebe. He walked around in a small circle, letting his gaze dance across the different things in the room, the paintings, the books, even the leather-bound atlas that was placed on a table nearby.
He walked toward the atlas and opened it up at a page he had marked long ago. He had added a piece of paper as a bookmark, his cursive handwriting plotting out the trip he was to make when he next travelled. He was to go through Constantinople, then on toward Cairo in Egypt. He had planned it for so long, it had just been a question of delaying it now that he had a responsibility to hide Phoebe.
Josiah’s words came back to him from the day before.You must simply find a wife that will like travel too.Even when Francis had first met Phoebe, she had been thrilled when he talked of Egypt. Since then, they had discussed travel more than once. She loved hearing of where he had been and when he had even mentioned once her possibly travelling herself after she had her separation from the Viscount confirmed, she had been very excited by the idea.
Was it possible that maybe Phoebe could be that woman? The one to accompany Francis on all his trips abroad, and love it as much as he did? It would mean going back on his vow to never marry. Yet Phoebe made him want to break that vow.
“She is not free to marry,” he muttered to himself. He closed the atlas and turned around in the room, when something beyond the window caught his eye. It was sudden, a flash of something that was then gone.
He hurried toward the glass, peering outside, waiting when he saw it again. Something was moving across the lawn, around the house, and it certainly wasn’t an animal.
There is an intruder on the estate.
Chapter 21
Francis ran even before his mind had caught up to what his eyes had seen. He hurried out of the sitting room, into the main hallway, before unlocking the front door and flinging it open, scrambling across the pebbled driveway to try and see who it was that was in his garden. The moon was out, but it kept slipping between the clouds, making it increasingly difficult to see in the shadows just who it was.
At first, Francis stayed still, looking back and forth, thinking his eyes might have deceived him. With all that was happening, he wouldn’t have blamed himself for an overactive imagination.
Then something moved far to the left of him, and he flicked his head toward it. There was a figure, jumping out from a hiding place beside a pillar on the driveway. It ran off, heading toward the lawn.
“You! Stop!” Francis cried before urging his body to sprint forward. It struggled across the pebbled driveway at first, until he followed the figure through the cobbled stable yard, where the firmer ground beneath his feet made it easier to move, then they stretched out together across the lawn.
Francis looked back just once to the house, realizing that when he had seen the figure from the sitting room window, there was no door on that side of the house. It was possible the figure was just there to keep watch instead.
Phoebe and I were seen together.
The thought made him run harder, chasing the figure.
They hit the cambering bank at the end of the grass, getting closer and closer toward the trees. Once in the wood, Francis knew it would be difficult to catch someone in that darkness. It made him pause and scramble at the earth, looking for a weapon. He found a few branches that had fallen from the trees and rolled down the bank. Snatching them up, he threw them into the air, trying to stall the intruder.
One stick missed entirely, but the second managed to hit the back of his leg, tripping him up a little. The figure fell forward, onto his knees before he looked back toward Francis. With the moon hidden behind the clouds, Francis couldn’t see the figure’s face, but his eyes traced what he thought was ponytail at the back of the intruder’s head.
Francis grew nearer, but he was not close enough to stop the stranger from jumping to his feet and setting off into the wood.
“Stop where you are!” Francis roared the words as he ran between the trees.
He didn’t know how long he ran in the end, chasing after the intruder, but it had to be sometime, for his legs were burning and he was struggling to keep breathing at a level pace. The figure ahead leapt over fallen logs, forcing Francis to do the same, then dodged certain trees, creating a confusing path in his effort to lose Francis. Fortunately, Francis appeared to be the most athletic of the two and he was gaining ground, gradually.
The moon came out at last from between clouds, shining white light through the branches, yet still Francis could not see the figure clearly. He was in the shadows between the trees, making it nigh on impossible to see who it was.
Is it Lord Ridlington? Is it someone who works for him? Or is it some passing thief trying his luck?Fearing that his first thought could be right, Francis felt his speed increase.
He got so close to the intruder that he reached out, a hair’s breadth away from catching the man’s jacket when he dodged to the side, evading Francis’ capture. He was forced to circle a large oak tree another way.
“I said stop!” Francis bellowed to the man. Yet it did little use.
He gained ground again. This time when he reached out, he made sure he wasn’t going to miss. He tackled the man to the earth.
They both fell amongst the tree roots and soil, the damp earth splattering around them with the recent rain creating puddles. The intruder cried out in pain, but Francis did not let up. He adjusted his hold, pinning the man down to the earth, ready to turn him over to see who he was.
Nearby there was a squawk, of an animal, maybe a barn owl. It was so abrupt and sharp that Francis lifted his head in surprise, turning to see what it could be. It was a brief distraction, but it was enough for the man beneath him to get the advantage.
Francis was not aware the intruder had grabbed a stone from the earth below them, not until he could see the flint-like rock, silver in the moonlight coming toward him. He tried to doge it but was too slow. It struck across his forehead, dazing him instantly.
He wobbled on his knees before feeling another blow to his chest, knocking him to the ground on his back as the world turned dizzy. Francis blinked a few times, trying to focus, yet the dizziness just grew worse. After a second, a silhouette appeared in his view. Whoever the intruder was, his face was still in the shadows, meaning Francis couldn’t make out his face.
