“Freddie?” he called, following her. “Where are you going?”
“I have to go and do something. I’ll be back later. I’ll be back before dinner.”
“I hope so; it’s still the morning!” he reminded her.
“Is it? Oh.” She looked up at the sky, clearly marking where the sun was, so high in the sky, then walked on. “Then yes, I’ll be back long before dinner.”
“Where are you going?” he asked as they reached the front of the house, heading toward the stable.
“I… I cannot tell you.”
“What do you mean you can’t tell me?”
As they entered the stable together, Allan felt himself increasingly losing control. Frederica was not only running from him again but running from their home!
“I’ll be back,” she said, reaching out and laying a hand on his arm. “I promise, I will come back. It’s just something I have to do.”
“And you’re not going to tell me what?” he said in a deep undertone, aware of the two groomsmen who had stopped attending to the horses to listen in.
Slowly, she shook her head.
“I can’t,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”
The pain radiated through his gut again. Knowing he would never hold her prisoner somewhere she didn’t want to be, he shifted his attention to the groomsmen.
“Prepare a carriage for Lady Padleigh, please,” he asked.
The groomsmen nodded and hurried to their task.
“Trust me?” Frederica pleaded.
Allan turned to face her once more, putting his back to the groomsmen and lifting her hand to his lips. He kissed the back, holding her gaze.
“Just please, come home again.”
“I will.” Then her hand slipped out of his.
As Frederica was placed in the carriage and Allan was forced to watch from the front step as his wife rode away without him, he couldn’t help feeling this was a bad omen.
“Something’s wrong,” he muttered to himself. “What if she doesn’t come home again?”
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
“Here will do, thank you,” Frederica called out of the carriage.
The driver pulled the coach to a stop, and the footman opened the door for her.
“Thank you, Trevor,” Frederica whispered to the footman.
“This is where you wanted to come, My Lady?” Trevor looked uneasily at the back pathway to Hyde Park they had drawn alongside. “We could have taken you to the main entrance?”
“This will be fine, thank you.”
They both looked up in unison at the sky. On their journey, the blue sky had clouded over. Every minute that passed, the sky was darkening further still to an inky black.
“Maybe it’s not the best day for a walk in the park,” Trevor said, pointing at the clouds.
“I will not be long. I’ll return soon,” she promised him and forced a smile. “Please, wait here.”
