It was enough to snap the woman out of her horrified trance and she turned glazed eyes on the master before crossing herself and pushing past him. She began to scream as she ran down the corridor.
Edward barely had the time to pull Eliza out of the way before the horrified woman brushed past them and continued to run straight out of the house. Eliza glanced out of the window and watched her run across the gardens as though the hounds of hell were on her heels, crossing herself as she went.
Dominic shouted for Manvers, giving him orders to catch the woman before she got to the village and ensure she was alright.
“What is it? What did she see?” Eliza asked, as startled as everyone at the maid’s strange behaviour.
Dominic studied the room carefully. The window remained locked and bolted to the outside world. The solitary table – the one item of furniture in the room – still contained one unmoving body. There was nobody else in the room and nothing untoward that could startle the maid to run for her very life in such a way.
Surmising that she had clearly not been told there was a dead body in the house and was horrified at the sight that had met her, Dominic made a mental note to speak to Manvers once Eliza was out of the way before closing the door to the makeshift morgue.
He made eye contact with Edward who immediately tried to steer Eliza back towards the main body of the house only to find that Eliza was having none of it. She had seen the studied look pass between the men and knew in her gut that it was the same room she had seen Jemima in. Staring at Dominic defiantly, she made to move past him to see for herself only to find his hands on her shoulders, stopping her progress towards the room at the end of the corridor.
“She saw Jemima, didn’t she?” Eliza asked quietly, pulling away from him and brushing aside his hands.
“Eliza, please don’t.” Edward moved past Dominic and caught hold of her elbow but nothing was going to stop Eliza from seeing for herself. She didn’t know what drove her to see her sister. Hours later she would wonder what had possessed her to be so determined, but at that moment wild horses couldn’t have stopped her.
She paused in front of the door and slowly turned the knob, watching as the heavy wood swung inwards silently.
Everything within her froze as she studied the empty body of her sister lying on the solitary table. Even from the corridor, Eliza could tell the room was absolutely freezing. Jemima had been covered over with a blanket, preventing Eliza from seeing her face. Although she wanted to see Jemima just one last time, she simply couldn’t bring herself to walk into the room. Her feet felt as though they were frozen to the floor.
She was vaguely aware of Edward appearing at her side, breaking her line of vision briefly as he closed the door. She made no further protest as he gently guided her out of the corridor and into the main part of the house. Dutifully she accepted the glass of brandy he pressed into her hand and didn’t object when he picked her hand up in his large, warm ones and began to rub her chilled fingers.
It was several moments before she could form any words and turned towards Edward, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes.
“I should like to be alone for a while, if you don’t mind.” She gently eased her hands out of his.
“I don’t think this is the time for you to be alone darling.” Edward protested, feeling ridiculously useless to help her in her grief.
During their first few days together he had done everything possible to help her remain out of Scraggan’s clutches. He was used to wielding a sword or a gun, not sitting around patting hands and giving her a shoulder to cry on.
“I’m alright. I will just never get used to seeing her dead.” Eliza murmured, knowing the statement was silly but couldn’t find the words to fully express how she felt.
“I know. It is an ordeal you should be spared as much as possible.” Edward replied, understanding her confusion completely.
Carefully he eased his arm around her shoulders and pulled her gently to his side, relieved when she didn’t protest but silently slumped against him, willing to absorb his strength for now.
Eliza wondered how she would survive when he had gone. Yes, she wanted justice for her sister; she wanted her sister’s name cleared and Scraggan to swing from the gallows as much as Peter. She just didn’t want Edward to be the one who went after him. Not only because of the risks involved to him personally, but on a purely selfish level she wanted him by her side.
Edward thought about the turmoil he had wrestled with in the bath back in Huntingdon and knew that it definitely was possible to fall in love with someone in just a few short days. He certainly didn’t believe in love and first sight, despite sitting in that dingy tavern feeling an inexplicable pull towards the woman now sitting at his side. Despite his protestations against the institute of marriage, he simply couldn’t consider any other outcome than the one he had with Eliza. She was by far the most precious thing to have happened to him in a very long time, if ever and he would draw his last breath before letter her go.
If he did have to leave her, it would only be to bring her future security and happiness. He could only hope that she loved him enough to want to spend her days by his side, or at least care enough about him that she was willing to try. But he wanted her to make the decision on their future free of grief and fear.
“Are you alright?” He asked, several long minutes later.
Eliza nodded slowly, easing away from his warmth to sit upright.
Reluctantly he let her go. What he really wanted was to carry her upstairs and spend the rest of the day holding her, protecting her from the cruel harshness that awaited them tomorrow.
“You had better go and meet the man from the War Office.” She murmured, rising to stand and brush out her skirts absently. “I think I shall go and try to read a book or something. Would your brother mind if I borrowed one from the library?”
“Of course not, help yourself. If you want tea or something, just ring the bell. The maids will be more than happy to wait on you.” Edward guided her out of the study and escorted her to the library door, drawing her to a halt in the doorway.
In the distance he could hear Dominic’s raised voice as he shouted at their new guest and wondered what had happened now to raise his ire in such a way.
“Hurry.” Eliza murmured, pushing Edward towards the fracas.
“I’ll see you later.” Edward dropped a kiss on her startled lips before striding down the corridor.