Devoted to You

Petal watched them go and shook her head in disgust. They had gone no further than a few hundred yards before the need to race had taken over them both.

“They will get their necks broken,” she murmured.

“They know what they are doing, Petal,” the groom muttered with a smile before he hurried back to his duties.

Petal turned around and eyed the huge manor house. It was odd to think this was now her home. It felt as though she was doing something wrong to walk in through the front door.

Over the past few days, she had spent practically every waking moment with Aidan; most of that time had been spent in bed or walking the gardens. Now that she had some time to herself, what was she supposed to do?

Absently, she wandering back inside, closed the door, and listened to the silence of the hallway. She was positive that if she had dropped a pin, she would have heard it rattle as it hit the floor. It was so unnervingly quiet; almost as though the house was waiting for something to happen.

Don’t be ridiculous, what could happen? she mused as she wandered aimlessly around Aidan’s study.

The dowager clearly had no intention of giving her blessing to the union because she hadn’t bothered to make a visit to either congratulate them or condemn them. There was no Edwards to cause strife below stairs now. Aidan was recovering nicely and starting to look the healthiest he had ever looked since Petal had known him. The staff had all settled back into their routines nicely.

Everyone seemed content with their lives; except for Petal. While she was sublimely happy, and felt incredibly blessed, without Aidan around. There was absolutely nothing for her to do.

“I could read a book,” she murmured and hurried into the library, intent on doing just that.

Once inside, she took one look at the vast array of books on offer and decided to leave it for the time being. The library was huge, and she had the rest of her life to read them. It could take that amount time to read just a few. Besides, she was still reading the book in Aidan’s – their – bedchamber.

She contemplated going to take tea with Mrs Kempton, but knew that the housekeeper would be preparing dinner right about now and wouldn’t welcome the interruption to her busy day. Aggy was busy with her upstairs chores. Maisie was busy sweeping out the drawing room hearth, and she had no idea where Rollo was.

“I could go to see Father,” she mused, but then realised he would be out feeding the cattle.

Face it, Petal, there is nothing for you to do. You don’t fit in below stairs anymore. You don’t have anything to do as a lady of the house because you haven’t been trained to do it. Besides, everyone has been primed to run the place because of the master being ill. You are not needed. She sighed deeply and wished she could close out the logical train of thought; no matter how accurate it was.

With nothing else holding her interest downstairs, she decided to go back to the bedchamber Aidan insisted they share.

At the top of the stairs, she turned toward the corridor leading to the master suite of rooms to the right of the house when the rattle of something hitting the floor behind her caught her attention. Frowning, she turned around to see what it was.

“What on earth?” she murmured softly.

There was a small thimble sitting in the middle of the rug.

Moving toward it, she gasped when she suddenly felt the violent force of hands against her arm. Rather than nudge her, those cruel hands propelled her sideways, toward the steep drop of the sweeping staircase.

Petal cried out and tried to regain her footing, but the downward momentum of her body was too great. She flailed her arms wildly and tried to catch hold of the bannister as she fell, but to no avail. There was nothing she could do to stop her painful descent of the stairs. As she fell, she caught a glimpse of something move back into the hallway out of sight, but not before she realised exactly who it was who had pushed her.

Seconds later, after hitting her head painfully on one of the steps, the world went black.

Aidan yawned widely and felt an eagerness he had never felt before to get home and see his wife again. It warmed his heart to think of his wife waiting for him indoors. He had to wonder what it would be like to think of his wife and child waiting for him to return home, and felt a determination unlike no other to ensure that became a reality.

“Do you think you will be alright now?” Jerry asked.

Aidan wasn’t sure whether he was asking about his mobility after the ride, or his marriage, and looked at askance his brother.

“All is well that ends well. For now, everything is better than I expected. I don’t ache as much as I thought I would. Petal is a perfect wife. The dowager hasn’t caused as much trouble as I anticipated, and everything seems to be settling down nicely. I cannot expect anything else right now.”

“Well, then, let's give thanks for that and see what happens,” Jerry enthused.

The groom didn’t appear to have noticed they were heading back and wasn’t there with the mounting step to help Aidan down. Hovering close by, Jerry held his horse steady while Aidan swung his leg over the saddle. He dropped to the ground, landing on both feet. Both men held their breaths while his legs wobbled but, after the initial sharp stab of pain, the dull ache in his lower limbs receded enough for him to be able to walk back toward the house with only the slightest limp.

“That is one hurdle out of the way.” He declared with an air of satisfaction.

When Jerry fell into step beside him, he nodded toward the house.

“I don’t know about you, but I need a stiff brandy.”