Trevor clearly was about to argue again, perhaps that he should not leave his mistress alone going into a wooded area, but she dived away before he could complain again, heading into the park.
That conversation with Allan had just changed everything for Frederica. The way he had kissed her and spoken of love — not in words, but in action — had shown her what she needed to know.
What if I could have that life? What if I could turn my back on all the feelings of unworthiness and sadness and just be happy with Allan?
If she was going to do that, then she had to do one thing first. She had to meet with Lord Wetherington and tell him once and for all that he was not to contact her again, that he would never have what he wanted, and that if he laid a hand on Allan, she would crush him in turn.
She meant the threat.
Darting down paths that were overgrown on this side of the park, she struggled to find the intersection of streams which Lord Wetherington had referred to in his letter. The longer she walked, the more the clouds gathered overhead.
In the end, the sky began to shed its tears. Thick, heavy droplets of rain fell down on her head and shoulders, dampening her hair and making it stick to her skin.
Eventually, she came upon a small clearing in the wood. This part of the park was so removed from the main thoroughfare that there was no one around to see her. The circle of trees around her was so thick, that she highly doubted anyone would glimpse her through the branches.
She felt at once how vulnerable a situation this was, that maybe she should not have come at all. Deciding she would not be a victim to Lord Wetherington again, she reached for the nearest tree and broke off a branch. It took some effort, for she didn’t just select the flimsiest twig she could find but something a little sturdier that she dragged forward.
Standing in the middle of the clearing, she clutched the branch to her side like a bat.
Then that feeling returned. It was the sensation of being intently watched by someone, an intense pair of eyes on her back.
“I know you’re here,” she called into the woodland and looked down the path she had taken to this spot. “I have come. I have agreed that far to comply with your wishes. Now step out where I can see you,” she urged.
For a minute, nothing happened.
She tucked her reticule higher on her shoulder then gripped the branch harder.
“Come out,” she demanded again.
“Is that weapon really necessary, my darling?”
Her stomach curdled at his term for her. She spun around as behind her, a tall figure stepped out of the woodland. His dark clothes meant he’d melded perfectly with the trees.
His fair hair was plastered to his temple because of the rain, his dark almost-black eyes were like nothing but holes in his face as he stared at her.
“Put the branch down,” he urged, but she didn’t. Frederica stood taller, taking a single step back until she realized she was very close to the streams. She moved forward again.
“No,” she refused him. “There’s something I have to say to you, and I will say it with this weapon at my side.”
* * *
“Woah! Aye, maybe we need to take a break,” Gerard’s voice was hardly soothing as Allan broke off from their fencing match.
He backed away across the sports hall of Gerard’s house, catching his breath and leaning on his sword.
“Ye are fightin’ like a man possessed, Allan,” Gerard said with no small degree of unease. He leaned on his own sword, doing his best to catch Allan’s eye.
“Little good it’s doing me. I still can’t beat you.”
“Well, a ruffian from the streets of Edinburgh must learn how to fight. Aye, at least it’s one skill I have.” Gerard laughed. The jest offered Allan one momentary smile though it didn’t last. “Ye going to tell me what’s wrong? Or shall I just guess?”
Allan said nothing but raised his sword again.
“Very well, we’re left with guessing then.” Gerard advanced fast, his movements so quick with the blades that Allan had to give the fight his full focus. Clearly, the fight was so easy for Gerard that he could afford to be distracted. “Yer new wife. Is she the source of yer consternation?”
“Gerard, just fight.” Allan managed to avoid a swipe to his chest, leaping back.
“Is it her past life catching up with her?”
