“Really? I would have thought Grace was the friendlier of the two.”
“She is, but there’s a reserve to each of them. Grace is friendly, but there are ways in which she remains wholly unapproachable. I can’t quite put my finger on it. While Faith, who has a barrier first and foremost, relents eventually. Though she hasn’t been entirely pleased with me since witnessing my argument with Hope.”
“They’re a tightly knit family,” Logan said. “But I have to disagree. That Faith woman thinks I care what she has to say and insists on informing me on topics I’m quite well-versed in.”
“Such as?”
“Well—”
A loud bang echoed in the glen as a flock of birds flew up into the sky several yards away. Before either Graham or Logan could react, a searing pain cut through Graham’s flesh. With a guttural yell, he grasped his side and fell to the ground.
“Graham!” Logan shouted, falling to his knees beside Graham. “What the devil…”
A rustling of footsteps sounded from somewhere behind Graham’s head, but he could barely focus. It was the strangest thing, almost as if he knew he had been shot, but couldn’t quite comprehend it. Agony emanated from the place he had been hit, but the shock was settling in.
“Oi!” Logan shouted. “Over here!”
“What’s this?” Michael’s voice was faint in his ears as darkness edged Graham’s vision. “Oh God, no. Did I hit him?” A second figure stood over him, but he couldn’t see who it was. “No. Oh, Graham, I’m so sorry!”
“Get the horses,” Logan ordered, before peering down at Graham as his vision blurred. “Stay awake. Can you hear me? Graham? Can you hear me?”
But as Logan’s voice faded, a cool darkness wrapped around Graham, engulfing him completely.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The day had become hot and the air was heavy. A storm was moving in.
“Stalking deer,” Grace said, shivering at her own words over breakfast that morning. “I find it a ghastly thing to do. Hunting poor, defenseless animals.”
“You’ve bacon in front of you,” Faith pointed out. “You’ve no problem eating that.”
Grace glanced at her plate and made a face. She pushed it back.
“Perhaps I should stop altogether. You know, I’ve just finished reading a fascinating book by a doctor in London to talk about the benefits of a vegetarian diet.”
“A what?” Belle asked.
“It’s the idea that one should refrain from eating meat.”
“For how long?”
“Well, forever.”
“Good gads, no,” Belle said. “What’s one to do if there’s no meat? You’ll become sick, no doubt.”
“Actually, there’s an argument that it’s better for one’s digestion.”
As Grace and her aunt bickered over the benefits and disadvantages of such a diet, Hope’s mind drifted back to the tension that still lingered between her and Graham. Was he still upset with her? When would things finally get back to normal between them?
Still feeling rather glum after breakfast, Hope searched out the gardener, Mr. Fitzpatrick, to talk with him about the lavender plants. For over an hour or so, she helped dead-headcertain flowers and had worked up quite a sweat as the clouds above them became darker.
A crack of thunder boomed above just as a fat raindrop landed on her wrist. Then another. And another.
“Drat,” she said, turning to Mr. Fitzpatrick. “It seems as though our lesson will be cut short.”
He nodded, and Hope started to turn to head back inside, but then another sound echoed through the air. Horse hooves. Wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist, she came around the garden to the front of the house and saw six or so horses galloping toward her. It seemed the men were back from the hunt, but why they were coming here made no sense. And why would they be riding with such speed, such urgency?
“What in the world…”
