Cinders and Ashes (9 page)

She
smiled when Sebastian nodded emphatically in agreement, and felt a
pang of bittersweet yearning for something indefinable. Putting her
plate upon the table, she took a drink and sat back
down.

“
I did learn something in the village that might be of use to
you.” Her gaze met and held his across the dimness of the room. “I
was chatting with Mrs Ellsworthy; a very nice elderly lady but a
veritable gossip. Nothing happens in or around Glendowie without
Mrs Ellsworthy hearing about it. Anyway, when I asked her if
anything had happened lately, she told me there had been a carriage
accident on the main road going out of the village last week. On
the night I found you.”

Sensing
Sebastian was about to interrupt, she held up a hand and continued.
“There was only one man aboard. Mrs Ellsworthy couldn’t tell me
much about the man, size or anything, just that there was
definitely only one man aboard and he had died of a broken neck.
His body is being held in the makeshift mortuary in the church
crypt for the time being. Until the road to town becomes passable
and they can summon the magistrate.”

“
Damn,” Sebastian murmured with a frown.

“
Why ‘damn’? Surely that is good news?” Amelia frowned, and
watched Sebastian pace awkwardly around the room.

A small
pang of disquiet settled about her as she watched him. She briefly
wondered if she was going to cry. He had been with her for nearly a
week now and already his movements were easier and more natural.
His colour was back, and his now purple bruises had diminished
considerably. It wouldn’t be long before he was well enough to
return home to his family.

“
It’s ‘damn’, because we need to identify whether it is
Danvers or Rat in that crypt,” Sebastian murmured. “It is great
news if it is Rat. I think Danvers may already have been dead when
the horses were running. If it is Danvers in the crypt, then Rat is
alive and well, and most probably already on his way back to report
to Ballantyne.”

“
He won’t know you have survived though. At least you have
that element of surprise on your side, when you return home,”
Amelia reasoned, eyeing his long-legged stride as he stormed from
one side of the cottage to the other, turned and stomped back
again. Clearly the inactivity of the day and the solitude had got
to him.

“
I know, but it also means Rat may be out there and close by.
If he survived the carriage crash, he may have returned to check I
was dead as soon as the weather improved. He would know roughly
where I left the carriage, and would have to come back to look for
my body.”

“
Which wasn’t there?” Amelia concluded with a
shudder.

Sebastian looked at her, clearly impressed that despite her
exhaustion, she was quick thinking enough to be able to reason
events out so rationally. She was also practical enough not to get
all squeamish about the possible threat right on her
doorstep.

“
He will also see the cottage. The only cottage for several
miles,” Sebastian added starkly. He didn’t want to scare her, but
he didn’t want another day sitting twiddling his thumbs by himself
again.

Amelia
felt herself go cold, and sternly lectured herself not to be such a
ninny. She had trampled about in the countryside all day, and had
not seen anything untoward. No strangers. No strange carriages or
people. Nothing.

“
I didn’t see anything today, Sebastian. There was nobody new
in the village. I asked Mrs Ellsworthy if there were any survivors
of the carriage accident in the Tavern. She reported that the
Tavern was completely empty of guests on account of the road being
too muddy for carriages to get through.”

“
Which points to the fact that if nobody can get into the
village-.” Sebastian was unaware he had actually said the words
aloud until Amelia finished his thought.

“
Then nobody can get out either. This means that if Rat
survived, he is most probably still in the village somewhere.”
Amelia took a deep breath and felt a wave of weariness sweep
through her. Stifling a yawn, she was trying to assemble the jumble
of her thoughts, when Sebastian appeared in her line of
vision.

“
Bed for you, my lady,” he murmured softly cupping her cheek.
“You look so tired.”

Amelia
sat enraptured as the soft pad of his thumb swept tenderly across
the dark smudges under her eyes.

“
I was so worried about you,” he whispered tenderly, eyeing
the soft curve of her rose petal lips. Longing built steadily in
his chest and, although he didn’t want to spook her, he had to have
some reward for spending his day worrying for her
safety.

Amelia
sat perfectly still and watched his head dip toward hers. She felt
the feather-light brush of his firm lips against hers with a
mixture of yearning and regret.

It was everything she had dreamt it would
be
, she mused, stunned by the silken brush
of his lips against hers.

Sebastian longed to capture her lips and deepen the kiss. To
take what he really wanted, and she so innocently offered, but knew
that if he had a prayer of getting her to sleep in the bed with him
again, he had to restrain himself.

Instinctively, he knew she was holding back from him. Still
didn’t trust him. Although the knowledge frustrated him, he
couldn’t blame her for being wary. They still had a lot to learn
about each other, and circumstances of late had been rather strange
for both of them.

After
several long moments of tender exploration, he smiled gently at her
and drew away.

“
I think you have done more than enough for today. It is time
to get some sleep, Amelia,” he ordered, trying hard to be as
non-threatening as possible, as he added more logs to the fire
before taking her hand and leading her over to the bed.

With any
other woman he would not have passed up the opportunity to bed her,
and would have seduced the dress off her back within minutes of her
appearing at the cottage door. With Amelia, he simply couldn’t. She
deserved more than a quick tumble.

Their
first time together was going to be at his home, in a nice warm
bed. A nice soft bed, with plenty of thick blankets. In a warm
bedroom, in a house where they wouldn’t have to get up and worry
about food, heating or work.

Ruefully
shaking his head, Sebastian tried to be as casual and non-sexual as
possible as he lay down, adopting the same position they had slept
in the night before. He sighed with relief when, without question,
Amelia settled down beside him. This time, he didn’t wait for her
to go to sleep before he tugged her close. As soon as she lay down,
his arm slid around her waist and he tugged her back against his
chest with one arm as he wrapped them in the layers of blankets
before settling down himself.

“
Goodnight, Amelia,” he whispered, unsurprised when his only
response was a soft snore.

Amelia
was growing more despondent by the day. Sebastian was visibly
stronger, and could now move freely without wincing in
pain.

Unable
to remain in the small cottage a moment longer than was absolutely
necessary, he had taken on the task of collecting branches from the
trees for the fire, and now spent most of his day
outside.

Although
Amelia was pleased for him, she had forgotten just how lonely
living by herself had been. Or how much she missed having someone
to talk to other than Sir Hubert, and the occasional
villager.

For
Amelia, the nights were the best. Being able to lie within
Sebastian’s warm embrace while she slept was simply divine. She
wondered how she was ever going to get to sleep in her rickety cot
by herself once he had gone.

Closing
off the melancholy thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her, she
opened the door to the main house, calling out to Sir Hubert as she
went.

Sebastian looked at the small pile of food left on the table.
With any luck it would get them through dinner, and maybe breakfast
if they ate sparingly. They had to leave tomorrow.

“
There goeth another problem,”
Sebastian muttered, as he considered the options. How do they
get to Tingdale? Over the past few days his strength had returned
and he had lengthened his daily walks. Having found Sir Hubert’s
house, he had discovered there was no conveyance there that would
get them to the village, let alone half way across the country.
That left Bestwick.

Although
he had yet to tell Amelia, Lord Bestwick was friends with his
younger brother, Edward. Several years younger than Sebastian’s
four and thirty, Arthur Bestwick had gone to university with his
young sibling. Sebastian had met the man on several occasions, and
felt comfortable with asking for his help. That left him with
another problem.

Amelia.

Although Amelia had begrudgingly accepted sharing a bed with
him, Sebastian still sensed her underlying hesitation towards him.
He didn’t think he had done anything to offend her.
Besides landing half-dead on her doorstep, in the
middle of a raging storm. Oh, and eating all of her meagre supply
of food,
he thought ruefully.

She
seemed to enjoy lying in his arms at night, and had conversed
freely with him in the hour between when she returned from work,
and they made their way to bed. She also appeared to actually enjoy
his embrace during the night, actively seeking him out if he turned
over. Despite her apparent contentment with their situation, he
wasn’t sure she trusted him enough to give up her home and
livelihood, and accompany him back to Tingdale.

Given
she was a single woman living alone; he supposed he couldn’t blame
her for being wary. Despite the discomfort to his libido, he had
remained true to his word and been a gentleman. He had remained
fully clothed while they slept and ensured that there was nothing
about his behaviour that could give her any cause for worry. But he
could sense there was something bothering her. Something she wasn’t
telling him.

Earlier
that morning, Amelia had left for her day at Sir Hubert’s, clearly
lost in her thoughts. Although she had been polite and had
conversed readily with him, there was a certain aloofness that
hadn’t been there the day before. It worried him, because not
knowing the cause left him at a distinct advantage when it came to
trying to persuade her to leave.

With a
sigh, Sebastian considered the long day before him. He knew she
wouldn’t be back until dark. That gave him plenty of time to locate
the church in Glendowie, and find out if the man in the crypt was
Rat or not. He would then visit Bestwick’s estate and begin to make
plans for his return home.

“
What the hell?” Sebastian’s fists clenched in readiness when
he entered the little cottage later that evening. It took several
moments for his eyes to adjust to the dimness within the room,
before he realised the solitary figure sitting on the chair in
front of the empty hearth was Amelia.

“
Amelia? What’s wrong?” Carefully closing and bolting the door
behind him, Sebastian took precious moments to light the candle on
the table and eradicate the gloom, before turning towards her. His
stomach dropped alarmingly when he looked at her tear-stained
face.

“
What is it, darling? What’s happened?” He dropped to his
haunches before her, picking her cold, limp hands up and chafing
them between his warm ones.

Quickly
glancing around the cottage, he scoured her from head to toe,
searching for anything that would cause her to be so
upset.

Amelia
hiccupped, unable to form the words she needed to tell him. The
bottom had just dropped out of her world again. She tried to keep
the tears at bay, but they just wouldn’t stop, and with a watery
hiccup she began to sob.

Sebastian immediately swept her into his arms, murmuring
endearments as he stalked across the cottage and gently placed her
on the bed. Toeing off his boots, he carefully lay beside her,
tugging her against his chest. There was little he could do other
than simply hold her, as she cried as though her heart would
break.

It was
several moments before she calmed, and began to relax in his
arms.

Sebastian slowly eased back and looked down into her
beautiful moss-green eyes. His heart thumped heavily in his chest
at the misery in the glistening green depths that stared back at
him. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to capture
her moist lips in a passionate kiss.

“
Tell me,” he demanded softly.

“
Sir Hubert is leaving,” Amelia murmured, fighting back the
panic that threatened to overwhelm her.

“
Leaving?” He frowned when Amelia nodded slowly, and rested
her forehead against his chest as she cried.

Surely this was good news
, Sebastian
thought silently, wondering why the news was upsetting her so.
“When?”

"His
brother has already arrived. They are leaving for Devon in the
morning.” Amelia’s voice was husky with tears. Selfishly, she was
so very glad Sebastian was there.

“
Sir Hubert apparently received word of his brother’s imminent
arrival the day before the storm hit. Now the roads have cleared,
his brother is here and they are preparing to leave.”