Chasing Eliza (Cavendish Mysteries 3)

Eliza couldn’t find the words to reply and instead lay gazing up at him as he leant over her, his face tense with concern.

“Eliza? Talk to me.” His voice was harsh and commanding as he swept his worried gaze over her, looking for blood or any obvious injuries.

“I hurt.” She whispered as a wave of pain swept through her when she tried to move her arm. “My arm.” She gasped, blinking rapidly against the swirling mass of blackness that threatened to overwhelm her.

“Do you think it’s broken?” Edward murmured, glancing at the arm furthest away from him as he leant over her. Even from where he knelt, he could see the uneven lump that was forming on her bruised flesh and cursed fluidly. He glanced at the steep bank behind them before flicking a look at her unmoving horse, trying to gauge how far she had fallen and what the likely injuries to the rest of her could be.

“Can you stand?” He glanced down into her pale face, sensing the pain she was trying not to show.

“I think so.” She shot him a trembling smile as she tried to sit upright, puffing out her cheeks at the dull throbbing in her side as her ribs protested to the movement.

Edward helped her onto her wobbly legs, and waited patiently until she could stand without swaying. He studied the trees at the top of the bank, searching for any signs of their pursuers before turning back towards her.

“If you feel up to it, let’s get out of here.” He gave her his arm and helped her pick her way down the stream towards the less steep slope to his waiting horse.

By the time she was sitting on his horse, wrapped in the safety of his arms, Eliza was pale and trembling. The pain was unbearable but she couldn’t voice it. If they had any chance of survival, she knew they had to get out of the area and that meant ignoring any discomfort. Their survival depended on her bravery.

“How far are we from Huntingdon?” She murmured, trying anything to take her mind off the increasing pain in her arm. With each thud of the horse’s hooves her arm jolted, heightening the stabbing sensations across her forearm. She gritted her teeth and studied the rolling landscape around them blankly.

“It is about three or four hours away. We won’t get there today, so we will have to find somewhere to stay overnight.” Edward took a moment to study the area behind them, not convinced that there wasn’t someone following them. The small country lane they were travelling on had low slung hedges on either side of them, and very little else. Although they weren’t protected, nobody could creep up on them without being seen either. He was fairly certain they were safe for now

“Why can’t we get there today?” Eliza queried with a frown. She was thoroughly sick and tired of spending days on a horse and wondered how Edward bore it.

“It’s too far to ride with your injuries. You need to see a doctor.” He hadn’t missed the fine sheen of perspiration on her forehead. Not a sign of heat, but a sign of her intense pain. The fine lines bracketing her mouth were gradually getting deeper as they made their way to the meeting point. Edward mentally cursed his own abilities. He should have been keeping an eye on her and had failed miserably. He had been some distance away before he had realised she wasn’t behind him. The sheer panic that had engulfed him had been horrifying. The return journey, although unchallenged, had been fraught with tension and worry.

Tension and worry that hadn’t abated now he knew she was safe and well. He frowned down at her and studied her arm now it was considerably closer. Although the lump hadn’t gotten any bigger, it hadn’t reduced in size either and that was worrying.

“We need to get out of this blasted rain.” He grumbled glancing upwards and cursing the Gods for the latest cruel trick. Clearly she was in discomfort and there was deuced all he could do about it. Now she was soaking wet and risked catching a chill. It was imperative he find somewhere warm and dry, and quickly.

“I vote we carry on and get to the meeting place Edward.” Eliza couldn’t bear the silence between them any longer. She felt him tense to argue and continued. “I cannot stomach the thought of another night sitting in a ramshackle old shed. We are already wet, so cannot get any wetter. There is nothing to lose.”

“You need to rest and get a doctor to look at that arm.” Edward argued, acknowledging the wisdom of her suggestion but reluctant to put her through any more pain than necessary.

“I will, as soon as we get to the meeting place.” Eliza turned forwards and blinked back the wave of sickness that threatened.

She hadn’t eaten anything so had nothing in her stomach to lose. She mused, trying to relax into the rhythm of the horse beneath them.

“If you are sure, then we will carry on.” Edward relented finally. “But if you do feel that you need to rest I want you to promise me that you will tell me.”

Eliza nodded reluctantly, knowing he meant well and was most probably right. If she did become ill then she wouldn’t be able to make the journey to Padstow. It was a possibility she couldn’t countenance.

&n

bsp; “I’ll be fine.” She reassured him.

The journey seemed endless to both of them. Edward heaved a silent prayer of thanks heavenwards as they moved through the milling throng on the bustling main thoroughfare, in Huntingdon towards the Hare and Hound. He had been there numerous times, and knew the innkeeper well to be confident of the man’s silence – and support if Scraggan appeared.

Eliza had been quiet for some time and he wondered if she had gone to sleep. Clearly she was exhausted and shocked from her near-death experience. It had all caught up with her and her overwhelmed senses had shut down.

Gently he twitched his shoulder.

Nothing.

“Eliza?” He murmured softly, kissing the top of her head gently.

“Eliza, wake up darling.”

“Eliza?” He frowned when she moved against his shoulder but made no move to reply.