Raven (Gentlemen of the Order 2)

“It’s too late, Cole.”

“Still, we must try.” Finlay glanced up. “Fetch linen.”

Only then did Sophia notice Mrs Friswell wasn’t in the room. She turned to Jessica. “Fetch a bed sheet from the ottoman. Run—”

But it was Maud who ran. She darted past them as if the house were ablaze. Consumed with guilt, one might have thought she’d rushed to fetch the linen, but instinct said it was her one opportunity to escape.

“Hurry upstairs, Jessica! I shall find Maud.”

Sophia caught Finlay’s concerned gaze. He shook his head. “Let Maud go. She won’t get far on foot.” He turned back to the convulsing body on the floor. “Damnation!”

There was no time to waste. Sophia picked up her skirts and darted from the room. Besides, Maud was unarmed.

Maud tried to escape via the front door, but Mrs Friswell had the key on her chatelaine.

“There is no point running,” Sophia called out as Maud whisked along the narrow passage leading to the rear of the house.

The maid could run. Like a frightened doe, she was through the herb garden and racing across the grass by the time Sophia burst through the door. At this rate, Maud would tire before reaching the road.

“Maud!” Sophia cried, struggling to close the distance. With the ground obscured by a thick mist, it was difficult to know where to place one’s feet. “Maud! Stop!”

But only a fool would choose the noose over a chance of freedom.

The distant barking of dogs pierced the night air. Had the gunshot left them spooked? Had Dr Goodwin found a way out of the woods and disturbed the volatile animals? The harsh cries grew louder. Had the beasts escaped their shelter and were hunting for blood?

A shiver ran the length of Sophia’s spine. She cast a backward glance while chasing Maud, expecting the hounds to come charging across the damp grass, teeth bared. The woman scanned left and right, too, searching for the source of the vicious sound.

Mrs Friswell appeared, swamped in a black cloak and limping behind two hounds tugging on their leash. She gripped the leads firmly in her gloved hands while wrestling to keep them under control. Spotting Maud fleeing the scene, she let go of the restraints, and the hounds bounded across the lawn.

Sophia came to a crashing halt and froze, so terrified she could scarcely speak. But Blent had trained the dogs to track their prey, not attack. Still, Maud darted across the courtyard, swer

ving this way and that to avoid the slathering beasts’ jaws.

“Maud! Stop!” Sophia cried again when she realised the woman was heading straight for the moat.

She had spoken to Blent about draining the moat, fearing Jessica would tumble into the deep water. But he had persuaded her it brought a measure of security and so taught Jessica to swim instead.

Clearly, the hounds had caught a whiff of Jessica’s scent on Maud’s clothes because they bounded past Sophia and headed straight for the woman.

“Watch out!” Sophia saw the tragedy seconds before it occurred.

With visibility reduced by the thick ground mist, Maud ran straight into the moat. She screamed as she plunged into the cold water. The hounds stopped somewhere near the water’s edge and barked and barked.

Sophia reached the moat before Mrs Friswell. She stripped off her cloak and shuffled her foot closer to the edge. “Maud!”

Frantic splashing and a gurgling cry was the only reply.

Sophia sucked in a sharp breath.

“You can’t go in there, my lady,” Mrs Friswell panted. “Wait. Wait for one of the gentle—”

But Sophia jumped into the moat.

The cold hit her hard, shocking her muscles, seeping deep into her bones. Finlay had taught her to swim years ago when they’d used any opportunity to sneak away from the house. In cold water, the key was to float, to regulate one’s breathing until the shock abated.

“Maud!” she cried through chattering teeth. “Maud, can you hear me? I shall reach out. See if you can grab my arm.”

Sophia stretched out her arm, knowing she had but minutes before she lost dexterity and could no longer tread water. She listened, moved towards the gasps and violent thrashing.