Augusta looked around her, but there was no one watching the young girl. Panic swelled in her, her feet carrying her in their direction.
“I need to go after her,” she said to Nancy who offered a smile filled with relief.
What have I done? I need to protect her.
She mentally facepalmed as she hurried after them as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself. How could she have allowed such stupid thoughts take hold of her mind just because she was broken-hearted. She needed to stop this girl from meeting the same fate as her or possibly worse.
What did it matter if she couldn’t stop him permanently? Every girl she had successfully kept away from him was a life she had saved from certain ruin. She hadn’t failed anyone and she wouldn’t start now. She would save as many as she could, no matter what it took for her to do it.
She wove through a group of women laughing and gossiping, slowing her steps a little, so they thought nothing of her hurried pace. The last thing she wanted was to seal the girl’s fate in marriage to a beast like Lord Colin.
A slight tremor ran through her, her hairs standing on end at the thought as she imagined the pitiful rest of the poor girl’s life if anyone was to happen upon her with him and they were forced to marry.
She shivered as she carried on. It was better to be a disgraced spinster, forever on the shelf if he rejected her, than to be married to such a man.
Her steps faltered as she caught sight of an image from her peripheral view. She looked to the side and stopped, nearly running into a lady as she ground to a halt. Her chest tightened as she watched him. It was the first time since she ended their courtship that she was seeing him. He was every bit as handsome as he always was.
She couldn’t make out his face from the distance. As though pulled by a force, she made to go to him but stopped when the couple standing in front of him moved out of the way to reveal a woman.
Jealousy wrapped around her heart like a suffocating vine, coupled with a sense of betrayal that swallowed her whole.
Why is he speaking with her?
Her eyes darted between the pair as she tried to figure out what was going on between them. He’d told her that he was done with Juliet and she’d so easily believed him. Did she mean so little to him that he’d run back to the arms of the woman he claimed left him? Had she weaselled her way back into his life?
She laughed humourlessly, the sound low and sharp as glass shards cutting through her throat as it forced its way out of her. She blinked the hurt that was threatening to take hold of her away and turned her attention from them. She wouldn’t cry or hurt over a man who cared not for her. She was not some delicate porcelain that would shatter if he handled her incorrectly.
She shook her head to dislodge the image she’d just seen. There were more important things for her to take note of than to wonder whether a man who’d been clear about his feelings ever cared for her or if he was every bit as terrible as Lord Colin was.
Turning away from them, she made to follow after Lord Colin, freezing in her steps when she couldn’t find them. Her panic returned. She was doing a terrible job of protecting anyone today. How could she have so carelessly let them out of her sight.
She took in all the exits they might have gone through and settled on the one that was close to the direction they’d been headed when last she saw them. With one last glance at the pair speaking a little ways off, oblivious to her presence, she hurried out of the room, her heart filling with dread.
CHAPTER26
Augusta paused as she allowed her eyes adjust to the dimly lit garden area with the moonlight as its major source of light. She whirled around in the garden, a sense of urgency filling her.
She needed to get the young lady away from Lord Colin’s clutches. On her way to the garden, she’d seen a few people strolling around, and it was only a matter of time before they were discovered and the lady’s future ruined forever.
How could I have lost them? I could never forgive myself if anything happened to her.
She probably shouldn’t have felt so responsible for a strange girl she’d never uttered a word to but yet she was beating herself up for the distraction that had caused them to disappear without her notice. She searched behind a large shrub, her eyes scanning the area but her hopes were quickly dashed, disappointment taking root.
Are they still talking in there? What if he goes back to her and marries her?
Her mouth turned sour at the thought. She wished she could boldly say that she would be okay with it but it seemed highly unlikely. She couldn’t force him to love her but that didn’t mean that she had to be happy that he was with someone else.
She shook her head, trying to focus on what mattered. Her love life was a concern for the future. The immediate concern however, was the girl Lord Colin had whisked away.
She walked deeper into the garden, her footsteps the only sound she could hear. The trees and flowers created shadows all round her that made it even more difficult to find what she was looking for.
She reached the end of the garden and frowned, glancing around. The high shrubs made it impossible for her to see every part of the garden. She turned around to leave when a hand latched onto hers, grabbing tightly.
A shriek tore through her at the suddenness of it and the hand clamped down hard on her lips, muffling the sound that escaped her. Her eyes widened in shock as she tried to look behind her, writhing as she fought against her assailant.
“Stop squirming. I have no intention of hurting you,” the voice ground out, irritated.
She stopped moving. She recognized the voice. She gasped suddenly as she realized why it was so familiar.
