Eventually the reverberations from the guns lessened, the gaps between gun blasts lengthened, and then Jess could hear whistles and the firing stopped altogether. Jess felt Sebastian’s grip on her shoulder relax, and he took a deep breath, then unfurled himself from behind the tree and stood. Holding out a hand to pull her up, too, he gave her a tight smile.
‘The drive is over. We’re safe now.’
It was only when he unzipped his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders that Jess realised she was shaking. With cold or fear, she couldn’t have said, but as Sebastian reached for Digby, gesturing that he would carry the dog, Jess almost burst into tears. As she slid her arms into the amazing warmth of Sebastian’s coat and zipped it up, other people appeared, like spectres through the trees. The beaters, apparently. The people paid to help flush out the birds for other people to shoot at. Jess stayed close to Sebastian as they went from surprise at seeing him here, through to expressions of horror at his having been caught up in the shooting.
He was brusque and sharp, almost rude, and before any of them could apologise he took hold of Jess’s hand and led her away, this time through the last part of the woodland. In the grassy field behind stood another huge group of people. Some held shotguns bent in half, ear defenders strung around their necks as they laughed and shared notes, others were busy with dogs which were collecting up carcasses, or hunting for birds lost within bushes.
‘Who the hell shot low?’ Sebastian shouted, instantly garnering attention.
Allowing Jess’s hand to drop, and handing Digby back to her, Sebastian went to war. Jess didn’t move, just listened while he tore strips off the man who had fired into the woods.
‘I told him to leave it, Your Lordship.’ Robbie was doing his best to smooth the waters, but his expression was anxious.
‘You nearly shot me,’ Sebastian said, anger giving way to an ice-cold tone. He pointed in Jess’s direction. ‘You could have shot an innocent walker caught up in things. You could have killed one of the beaters. What were you thinking?’
The man stumbled out an apology, but Sebastian wasn’t satisfied. ‘Please leave. Now. And don’t ever come back.’
‘Hang on a minute, Sebastian. Lockie is my guest.’ Olivia handed her gun to someone and strode over. ‘I get the need to give him a bollocking – it was a very poor decision – but you can’t just banish him. There’s no need to take your frustrations towards me out on him.’
‘It’s got nothing to do withyou, Olivia. All I want to know is why you didn’t stop the first drive? Candida phoned you to tell you Jess was in the woods. Why didn’t you do anything?’
‘What phone call? I never got a call?’ Olivia’s annoyance mounted as she pulled her phone from a pocket. ‘Oh, shit. Three missed calls. All from Candy. And some voicemails.’ She glanced up at Sebastian, grimacing. ‘I had my phone on silent.’
‘Fuck’s sake. Although if you did have me shot, it would leave the way clear for you, wouldn’t it?’ Sebastian had lowered his voice, but Jess could still hear what he said, the ice in his tone.
Olivia frowned. ‘Might not be such a bad idea.’ Then her expression softened, and she shook her head. ‘It’s neither the time nor the place for our squabbles, Sebastian. This was nothing more than an error of judgement. Everyone knows not to shoot low – he got carried away, that’s all. It’s not like Lockie had any clue anyone was there, was it? And what was she doing in the woods anyway? Only an idiot goes for a stroll in the vicinity of a shoot.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Jess said. ‘I didn’t mean to cause problems. I needed to find my dog, that’s all.’ She let out an involuntary shiver, hugging Digby more tightly.
‘You have nothing to apologise for,’ Sebastian said, his focus softening as he looked at her. For a moment Jess felt like there was nobody else around as she stared back at him.
‘Do you feel OK?’
She nodded, even though she was feeling increasingly wobbly.
‘Are you sure?’ he said, lines deepening between his brows. Then he shook his head. ‘You don’t look so good. I’ll get Robbie to take you back to the castle.’
‘Are you coming, too?’ she asked, her body letting out an involuntary shudder. She was wearing Sebastian’s coat, and she still wasn’t warm. Or maybe it was shock setting in.
‘I should probably stay here and make sure the rest of the shoot goes smoothly,’ he said.
Jess was surprised by the level of disappointment she felt. Wanted nothing more, in that moment, than to borrow strength from him, to have his arm around her shoulder again.
‘Could you come back with me … Please?’ she said. She bit at the edge of her lip – the words were out before she could stop them. Perhaps they were inappropriate, but in that moment, they were completely honest. Unfiltered.
His frown deepened momentarily as though he was making a decision, then he smiled. ‘Of course I will.’
The ride back to the castle was all but silent. The full force of what could have happened seemed to settle on all of them and, as Jess did her best to hold back tears, her fingers threaded their way repeatedly through the dog’s fur, more to pacify herself than Digby.
Robbie drew the truck to a stop in the yard below the castle, apologising all over again. He looked shocked, they all did. As Jess walked slowly up the path, she cuddled Digby to her chest like a baby.
Inside, the dog scrabbled to get down and Jess shrugged off Sebastian’s coat. As she hung it on the back of a chair, he insisted on making her a cup of warm, sweet tea.
‘For the shock,’ he said.
Jess shivered again – she couldn’t seem to stop – then managed a thin smile. ‘Is that actually a thing or is it an urban myth?’
He jiggled the kettle to check the water level. ‘I have no idea. It’s just what you do, isn’t it?’
