“I am to understand there was fishing, but I don’t believe anyone has done so in a long time.”
Eliza nodded. “Boating?” she asked.
“I do not believe so, nor have I ever noticed a boat.”
She already knew that, but she didn’t want the footman to know that she had previous knowledge of the estate and assumed that he had not been told of her earlier visit and he was not old enough to have been working here ten years ago.
“Is there anything else of interest at Wyndhill Park?” she asked.
“It is an estate like any other, I suppose.”
Eliza simply nodded and continued looking around. But, instead of walking through the gardens, she returned inside and settled behind the small desk and retrieved the map that Micah had drawn for her. She drew an “X” over the first two caves as she now knew that they were empty, then wondered how she could reach the others, as well as the cemetery from the house.
The cemetery was to the right of the formal gardens and a tree line separated the two distinct areas of the estate. Past the gardens and lawn were more trees, which hid the lake and folly. The path that she had used in the past had not changed. On the other side of the lake were the caves. She could either walk around the lake by either side or cross a bridge that had been built not far from the folly.
Eliza frowned. She had never gotten a chance to use the walking bridge. Lucian had always caught her before she ever neared any of the places that she had wished to search. In fact, no matter how many times she had ventured out during the first visit, she’d not actually searched anything, which was why she must today.
Though, she also knew that Lucian would catch up to her before she ever reached the caves or the cemetery. However, perhaps she could convince him to explore with her.
He needed an adventure, but was it safe to first leave without him?
What if that man was out there and watching?
Except even if she asked or begged, Lucian would not take her to the caves so she must force him to and hoped that she wasn’t putting herself in danger.
Eliza opened the drawer of the desk and withdrew the small pistol. She readied it in case it was needed, then pulled the specially made leather garter up and over her boot, fastened it and then slipped the pistol inside. If she carried her reticule, it would easily fit in there, but a miss doesn’t carry a reticule when simply strolling and Eliza didn’t want to draw further attention to herself.
Next, she lifted the map, folded it, and hid it with her hand.
She glanced up and out the doors to the terrace to note that not only was there one footman, but a second. Had the first one summoned help because he was afraid that she’d run off?
Then the two walked away.
Was it possible that her guards were going to abandon their post?
Eliza slowly smiled, exited to the terrace and began to stroll toward the back of the garden. She did not rush but only because she did not want to draw attention if anyone was watching her progress.
A few times she stopped to smell blooms, an action she used to glance back to the house to see if a footman had once again emerged.
She also used the opportunity to look around the estate and note where hiding places could be. Not for herself, but in case someone was watching.
Oh, she was so torn with wanting to stay near the manor and in sight of those who offered the most protection, and going to the lake before exploring another cave.
Though, in truth, Eliza knew well enough that she wasn’t quite brave enough to go into a cave on her own with that man still out there. But the lake and folly were not so far and no doubt if she screamed, she would be heard.
Eliza straightened her spine, glanced around again, then continued her stroll, pausing to smell more flowers.
She had never hidden from danger before, or let fear rule her life and decisions, and she was done doing so now!
Unfortunately, the footman returned, as she had anticipated that he would. While she would have liked to have disappeared completely, a part of her wanted someone to know what direction she had gone because she wasn’t so foolish as to leave herself completely vulnerable to whoever was sending her notes.
Oh, she wanted the freedom that she had always enjoyed, but protection as well. Why couldn’t she have that from a distance?
At least the footman remained on the terrace—watching but not following her, which left much distance between them.
She continued to walk and gauged the distance between the house and footman and the lawn leading to the trees.
As she reached the edge of the garden, Eliza glanced back. The footman had taken a step forward, his bearing of someone who was alert and ready to take action. Instead of making a run for the trees, she admired more blooms then settled on a bench, smiled, and glanced around, as if she were at peace and the footman had no worries.
