Something was wrong. Even at our worst, Hugh had always been where he said he would be, when he said he would be there. I was fully fretting now. The rains had become more severe, a steady unrelenting onslaught from the sky.
Then I heard them, the rattle of carriage wheels on the gravel drive. Racing toward the front door, I nearly collided with Tom, shaking off the wet from his greatcoat. Behind him, I could see Michael’s carriage. My heart skipped with relief.
“You had us worried sick!”
“Why should you be worried, I was perfectly safe at Michael’s?”
“Well how were we to know that?” My reply was distracted, as the carriage pulled away, toward the stables. Had Hugh already gone upstairs to change? How had I missed him?
“Hugh did not tell you?”
Blood turned to ice inside me. My body understood before my head. “He’s not with you?”
“He’s not here?”
“No! He was with you!”
“He went with the workers to the dower house. I stayed at Michael’s for a drink. I was there longer than I intended, waiting for the rain to die down, but I decided to take the carriage when it seemed to be a permanent fixture. Hugh was supposed to come straight here.”
“So, he is at the dower house?” Relief once again tugged at my thoughts, it may be an unpleasant night, but he should be safe there. Then I caught the expression on Tom’s face, eyes wide and mouth grim.
“The workers returned hours ago. They said he set off for home at the same time they had. He should have been back before supper.” The dower house, that was within walking distance, on horseback it should have been a matter of a few uncomfortably cold minutes. Without a word, I grabbed my cloak, tying it tight around me.
“Kate, wait. Let me,” Tom protested.
“He is missing. I have to find him.”
“Kate, you will be soaked through in seconds. Do you even know the way to the dower house?”
“But—”
“I will go. He would never forgive me if I allowed you out in this. Especially in that gown.” I glanced down distractedly, only to realize the thin satin of my gown and slippers would offer no protection from the elements. “I am sure he is just at the dower house waiting out the storm. Do not worry too much.”
He sounded so confident, in that moment I truly believed him, all would be well. That evaporated almost the very second he set back out into the storm in the direction of the stables.
For nearly two hours, I was left to do nothing more than wear a hole in the floor of the entry. Oh, I directed the servants to keep the water hot, to have blankets at the ready, to keep the kettle boiling. It was entirely unneeded, but it was kind of them to allow me to feel useful.
It was after one if the clock in the hall could be believed when I heard hoofbeats. Rushing to the window, I peered out desperately but the rain was too thick and the night too dark to see. I managed to wrestle a door open just as a singular rider returned, with two horses.
Tom, with Perseus. And no Hugh. My lungs seized in terror, refusing to cooperate with even the simplest of commands. Tom grabbed me by the shoulders with sodden freezing gloves, “breathe,” he commanded. His order seemed to do the trick and air came back to me, all at once and too much. I choked against it for a moment, coughing harshly.Is this what dying feels like?
“Tom?” My voice was small and foreign to my ears, but my lips made the motion, it must have been mine.
“My best guess is that he is in the dower house. The bridge was out. I thought I could make a bit of light out from there, but it was difficult to see through the rain.”
“But… Perseus?” He swallowed harshly, and I knew he was every bit as worried as I was.
The horse should not be on this side of the bridge without his rider. An image fixed itself in my mind, Hugh broken and bleeding in the mud as rain soaked him to the bone.
“I don’t know, Kate. He was near the bridge under a tree.” After their momentary freeze, my lungs had made it their mission to take in as much air as rapidly as possible. My chest was rising and falling, far too fast, but I still could not breathe.
What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know what to do. My vision narrowed, blackening at the edges. All I could see was my husband, cold and alone and hurt and I was just here, completely incapable of managing even the task of breathing properly.
Someone was making great rasping cries somewhere nearby, and I needed them to stop. My panic was rising with every wheeze. I couldn’t form the words to tell them to stop and after several attempts I realized the cries were mine.
My entire frame shook and that seemed to break me free, just a little.
“Kate!”
