“It’s been far too long,” she said after a while.
Something moved in the left corner of the room. Austin recognized the person a beat after. It was Miss Alice.
“Keep your faith, Lav,” she said softly, giving her friend a sad look. “I’m sure he will wake soon.”
“But what if he doesn’t, Alice?” Lavender asked. She wiped at her cheek. Austin realized that she was crying even though he could not see her tears. “What if I do not get the chance to tell him?”
Alice crossed over the room to her and enveloped Lavender in her arms. Lavender did not hesitate to bury her face into her friend’s shoulders.
“You will,” Alice assured her.
Austin sighed softly and prayed that either woman heard. His eyes drifted closed on their own accord a second after, so he didn’t know if they did. He realized suddenly that the same fear consumed him.
What if he didn’t get to tell her either?
***
He might have been under for far too long. That was his first thought when he opened his eyes again, hopefully for the last time. The first thing he noticed was that he had far more strength this time. The heavy weight of exhaustion did not hang heavily behind his eyelids this time. He blinked up at the ceiling and tried wriggling his finger. It worked.
The next thing he did was look around the room, only to see with a bit of disappointment that it was empty. He’d hoped to seeLavender sitting in the chair by his bed. Slowly, not wanting to push himself, Austin sat up.
Something tickled his neck. Austin reached up and realized that it was his hair. It had grown out quite a bit while he’d been sleeping. How long had that been? With one touch to his cheek, he realized that his beard was almost full grown as well. Had it been weeks since he’d last woken?
He didn’t even want to entertain the thought. He recalled the look of despair on Lavender’s face the last time he saw her and could only imagine the worry he had caused. All because of his stupid pride and his inability to handle his own emotions.
Slowly, Austin pushed the covers aside. He had no intention of sitting in bed and waiting for someone to see him awake. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and waited for the wave of dizziness. None came. He stood and waited again. Still nothing.
Only then did he realize that he was dressed in nothing but a white cotton shirt and a pair of breeches. He even felt clean. Clearly he had been taken care of while he’d been unconscious.
Austin slowly made his way to the door. With every step, he felt his strength returning and by the time he made it to the hallway, he was walking as if nothing had happened.
He didn’t know where he was going. The surroundings were unfamiliar to him and there was no one in sight. He made random turns without giving it much thought, hoping it would take him to the staircase since he was clearly not on the first floor.
At last, he found it. Austin held on to the railing as he descended though he felt fine, not wanting to risk anything. He made it to the landing without encountering a soul but at this point, he knew where he was.
Latrice Manor’s foyer.
Austin headed to where he knew the drawing room was. The place he remembered he’d last been, fighting unconsciousness until it came to claim him so quickly that he hadn’t been given a chance to issue a warning. He remembered his eyes closing and a second before he slipped under, he heard a scream that he would never be able to forget.
He heard her voice before he entered. His entrance was quiet enough that the others in the room did not notice him. He saw Vincent first, then Miss Alice, then…
Lavender sat in the furthest corner of the room, her back to the door. She seemed to paying keen attention to her embroidery, her fingers moving so rapidly that it was a wonder she didn’t hurt herself. She looked as beautiful as the last time he saw her, most of her hair draped over one shoulder and her bare feet tucked into the grooves of the armchair she was sitting in.
Miss Alice and Vincent had their heads bent together, facing Lavender, undoubtedly talking about her in hushed tones and worried expressions. They were so caught up in what they were saying that neither one of them noticed him standing there.
A few seconds went by as the uncomfortable silence in the room deepened. Austin felt a prickle of amusement as he cleared his throat.
All three heads turned to him. He heard Miss Alice gasp, saw Vincent come to a stand. But his attention remained on Lavender who dropped her embroidery, her jaw going slack at the sight of him.
“Austin?” she murmured, her voice so soft that he almost didn’t hear her.
Austin drifted to the center of the room. He tugged on his shirt. “Please tell me that this is mine. Because if it isn’t, I have a serious problem with—”
He didn’t get to finish his words when Lavender launched herself at him. He’d watched her stand up, watched as she hurried over to him, but was wholly unprepared for her to jump into his arms considering the fact that he had just been bedridden for who knows how long.
He didn’t care though. Her scent wrapped around him that he moved without thought as well, tightening his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair, quietly breathing her in, grounding himself in her presence. Austin forgot all about Vincent and Miss Alice, caring only about the small woman in his arms who clung to him as if she never wanted to let go.
“What are you doing out of bed, you madman?” Vincent asked, approaching them.
