TWO
Collin’s body and mind felt like it had shut down, and all he could do was stare in the direction his brother and cousin had taken Adeline. He tried to absorb all she’d said, but the words were jumbled in his head and made no sense at all.
It was a shock to see her, to say the least. The last time he’d laid eyes on Addie was at a country dance in Bath. She had looked so lovely that night. He’d found himself staring at her very pretty face quite often during the evening, wanting to lose himself in her amazing honey eyes.
She had danced with him a few times, chatted several other times, and somehow the enchanting woman had crawled into his heart. During their stroll outside in the night’s shadows, he couldn’t contain himself and he just had to kiss her. Although he knew she was innocent, she had responded the way he’d hoped, which made his heart melt.
But... what had happened to the sweet, innocent woman he once knew? It was obvious the last year had been unkind to her. There was so much anger in her expression, it made the sparkle entirely disappear from her pretty eyes. When she was shouting at him only a few minutes ago, his first response had been to take away her pain. However, when she’d become vengeful, that’s when he realized something wasn’t right. Half of the accusations she’d thrown at him were untrue. And yet, she’d made such a commotion, she must believe they were true. Addie wasn’t the kind of woman to have such harsh feelings just because she wanted to hurt someone. There must be some underlining reason to her seeming madness.
His heart had broken a little when she’d told him about his friend’s death, but Collin’s sympathy ended in the face of her tirade.
The more her words echoed in his head, the greater his anger became. He couldn’t let her get away without explaining a few things. Why did she blame him for ruining her life?
Without first thinking about his actions, he broke into a run, moving in the direction he’d seen his brother, Adrian, and their cousin, Trey Worthington, take Addie. As Collin rounded the bend, the coach was heading away from the manor. Collin’s brother and cousin looked at him. Trey appeared sorrowful whereas Adrian appeared downright angry by the disruption of his wedding.
“Collin,” Adrian began, touching Collin’s shoulder, “I’m truly sorry about—”
“I need to go after her,” Collin snapped as he hurried toward a nearby horse.
“Have you gone insane?” Adrian’s voice lifted as he chased after Collin. “She completely humiliated you in front of everyone. And you want to go after her?”
“You don’t understand.” Collin unhooked the reins from the post, and effortlessly, mounted. He pierced his younger brother with a glare. “You don’t know what happened between us. And I need to make things right.”
He didn’t listen for his brother’s reply, but urged the horse toward the road heading away from the estate. He prayed he could catch up. Trying to find her if he lost her now, would be quite troublesome.
Leaning forward, he kicked his legs against the horse’s belly, urging the animal faster. Hopefully, Adrian would locate the owner of the horse and apologize for Collin. But right now, he only cared about one thing.
Up ahead, he spotted the coach, so he slowed the horse. He didn’t want to alert her that he was following, neither did he want to stop her coach just to talk. Instead, he’d wait until she had stopped wherever she was staying. He doubted she lived around here, but he was certain that she was staying at an inn or even renting one of the closed estates in this area.
His thoughts shifted back to when he first met Adeline, and he scrambled to remember the moment he could have been to blame for ruining her life. She’d married a wealthy marquess. Most women Collin knew would have loved to have that life.
But most women weren’t Adeline.
He’d discovered that the very day they had met. Although he’d been judgmental at first, looking down on her because of her impoverished family, she’d been nothing but kind... in her stubborn way. Soon, he’d realized his mistake in thinking so poorly of her because she was the first woman to touch his heart.
Another hour passed quickly, and he continued to follow the coach at a distance. His thoughts were still jumbled, and Collin didn’t know what to say to her when he finally got her alone. At least he wouldn’t be as tongue-tied as he’d been at Adrian’s wedding.
The weather had turned cooler, and thick gray clouds filled the sky. The light wind had grown stronger. He prayed the coach would reach its destination before the storm hit.
Finally, the fancy coach turned toward an estate – one he recognized. This had been Lloyd’s first estate before he’d inherited the title of marquess. Lloyd hadn’t liked being so far from civilization, and so he’d bought a larger estate closer to Birmingham. At first, Lloyd had considered the estate in Leicestershire to be his country estate, but when Lloyd’s gaming and womanizing had become the center of his life, he stayed closer to Birmingham.
Frowning, Collin shook his head. He still couldn’t believe his friend was dead. And to think, if Collin had stayed home instead of traveling the world, he would have known about Lloyd’s accident... and about the widow’s deep hatred toward him.
As he entered the estate grounds, he slowed his horse. He didn’t want her to see him just yet. The element of surprise would be the best way to see her, just as when she’d surprised him earlier today.
The coach stopped in front of the manor, and the footman hurried out of the house and down the wide steps toward the vehicle. Collin guided the horse into a group of trees and brought the animal to a stop. Watching closely, he waited for Adeline to exit the coach. Finally, the blue and silver of her gown captured his attention. Her silky wheat-golden hair was in ringlets, and the length rested on her shoulders. She was as stunning now as she’d been when he’d first seen her at the ball he and Lloyd had attended in Bath.
The rustling of bushes from behind him pulled his focus away from Adeline. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see a thick tree limb swinging toward him. The object connected with his head in a loud thump. Pain lanced through him, blocking his ears and making his vision unclear. He lost his grip on the reins and fell off the horse. His body hit the ground, but the pain in his head overrode anything else.
Cursing under his breath, Collin tried to rise to his feet, but he was having difficulty even kneeling. Through his dizzy vision, he saw the man who’d hit him – a man wearing dark blue suitcoat and matching breeches, and a thinning bald spot on the back of his head. The man was a servant!
Releasing a shout of anger, Collin tried his best to jump on the imbecile, but the man was quicker. Collin’s body succumbed to weakness. A warm, sticky substance slid down the side of his face where the limb had whacked him on the head. He didn’t need to touch the substance to know what was happening.
Panic welled inside him. A blow to the head could kill a man! He needed to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, his weak body wouldn’t cooperate with his mind as he tried to loosen his cravat in hopes of wrapping that around his head.
In a state of helplessness, he dropped back to the ground, his face turned to one side. Slowly, his vision faded while he watched his attacker run away. Closing his eyes, Collin prayed this was not the end of his life. There was so much that needed to be resolved, and he said a silent prayer that God would keep him alive.
Darkness filled his head, but in the distance, he heard a sweet voice, dearer than any other. Although Addie’s voice screeched in panic, at least she was nearby.
