Page 26 of Adeline

Lord Ailesbury had saved the day!

The men dropped the wall, the wood letting out a groan as it settled into the muck created by the rain.

Adeline had been so intent on the scene before her, she hadn’t realized her entire body trembled from the cold.

Men knelt around the injured man, but the earl remained separate from the crowd, pushing forward to congratulate the villagers who’d helped rescue Grovedale. Oddly, no one went to thank Lord Ailesbury, or so much as even looked in his direction to ask about his condition. The vast width and thickness of the wooden wall told Adeline it was heavy, indeed. If it weren’t for the earl, Grovedale might have perished in the mud beneath.

Finally, Ailesbury turned toward the villagers but made no move to join them.

A little boy shrank back and began to cry when he saw the earl watching the group as they huddled around Grovedale. The boy’s mother pulled the lad close and shushed him.

Several townsfolk cast nervous glances in the earl’s direction before turning away, as if afraid to be caught gawking.

But then, a young girl escaped a woman’s hold and rushed to Ailesbury—casting her thin arms about his legs. Adeline was too removed to note the girl’s words but her beaming smile was enough.

Ailesbury responding frown also spoke volumes as the woman hurried over to collect the child, careful to keep her eyes trained on the ground and never meeting Lord Ailesbury’s intense stare.

The realization struck Adeline then: the villagers were terrified of Lord Ailesbury.

But, why?

Adeline had no time to consider the question because the earl scanned the crowd, his glare stopping on her.

In that moment, she wondered if it wouldn’t have been wiser for her to fear Lord Ailesbury, as well—perhaps just a bit.

He cast a fearsome picture as he skirted the villagers and stomped in her direction, his narrowed glare keeping her rooted to where she stood.

Chapter 10

Jasper didn’t notice the milling crowd who shrank away as he stalked toward the woman. He didn’t pay any mind to the driving, bone-chilling rain that assaulted his face. He didn’t so much as flinch when another thunderous boom shook the ground beneath his waterlogged Hessians.

In fact, the only thing Jasper saw was red.

Anger. Fury. All-out rage!

The hue that threatened to completely take over his vision was similar in shade to the color of Miss Adeline’s riding habit…his mother’s riding habit, the garment she’d worn on the morning of the day she passed in the stable fire—along with his father, their steward, and several other servants. Yet, in that moment, the habit was soaked clean through, darkening the material to a near onyx hue. Jasper had a difficult time comprehending the sheer weight of the gown as it hung on Miss Adeline.

Nevertheless, he held no compassion for her current circumstances: wet, cold, and shivering.

The bloody woman still held her head high, not an ounce of panic as he stalked toward her. People he’d known his entire life scattered when he walked toward them, even with a smile on his face; however, Miss Adeline stood her ground…and smiled at him!

It was unfathomable she’d remained alive long enough to stumble upon Faversham Abbey. She had no notion of the danger she’d put herself in being at the plant, in this storm, surrounded by the villagers.

Or perchance it was Jasper who did not seek to subject her to the idle chatter of Faversham proper.

Either way, the closer he got to her, the more his irritation spiked, and the quicker the villagers dispersed until only a handful remained.

“What are you doing out here in the storm?” he barked over the sound of the growing tempest, now fully upon them. “You will catch your death.”

She ignored his question; instead, she stepped forward and clasped his forearms. “You were magnificent, Lord Ailesbury,” she commended, a new light filling her hazel eyes until they fairly glowed in the darkness. “The man, Emily’s husband, certainly would have been crushed without your help.”

“I asked what you are doing here.” He paused, sucking in a deep breath, only to have it exhale in a rush. “It is not safe.”

“Not safe?” A haze of confusion clouded her stare. “You worry about my safety, my lord. What of yours? You are the one who rushed into a collapsed building to single-handedly lift an entire wall off a trapped man with no regard for your own well-being.”

“I did not single-handedly—“ His words cut short when her brow rose as if challenging him to deny his own bravery, or dispute the outcome of this night had he not come immediately. “It matters naught who helped and who didn’t, this is my plant. I am responsible for everyone who dedicates their time to its success.”

“Come now.” She shook her head, rain dripping down her face, plastering her long locks to her cheeks and neck. “That was about far more than mere responsibility.”