Spotted by grooms, they were soon surrounded by a cadre of concerned servants, Liam Carter among them. Quickly averting her eyes lest either he or Freddie witness the flare of joy she knew she could not conceal, Thea kept her face lowered as a groom assisted her down from her mare. “Yes, yes,” she replied in answer to their questions, “we are both all right.”
“My horse lies dead a few miles down the road,” Freddie said. “Please go fetch his tack. Take shovels and dig him a grave. He is too good to leave to the ravens. Thank you.”
Though she did not turn to see for herself, Thea knew Liam hovered close by as she and Freddie made their painful, limping way toward the house. Stifling her need to look at him, knowing full well it would catch Freddie’s attention, Thea pondered ways she might get him alone to talk to him. She smiled inwardly when she hit upon the perfect plan.
* * *
After a hot bath that both cleaned her and soaked some of the soreness from her limbs, Thea joined Freddie for supper. He refused to talk about “the incident” that day, and Thea felt more than happy to not talk about it either. Instead, she fretted that Liam would not take her bait that evening and that he feared for his position in the household too much after Freddie’s threat.
Freddie, too, had bathed, his scrapes cleaned and the stark bruise on his forehead darker than ever. He downed no few small glasses of whiskey, his manner turning more mellow and agreeable with each sip. “I know I am feeling better,” he said, twirling his glass in his hand. “How about you?”
Though having only sipped at a small glass of whiskey, Thea returned to her wine. While it relaxed some of the soreness from her muscles, she planned to take a small nip of laudanum before going to bed later that evening. “I will be fine, in time,” she replied, her mind elsewhere.
Though Liam often worked the dining room during their meals, she found his absence that night both suspicious and worrisome. She did not dare raise Freddie’s ire, despite his mellow mood, by demanding he leave Liam alone.Just leave well enough alone, for now.She thought that advice sound until she could discover for herself what feelings, if any, Liam had for her. And it would give her time to know if she had any feelings for him.
Thea stood. “I am going to retire for the evening, Freddie. Good night.”
Freddie nodded wisely. “Good night.”
Yet, she did not climb the stairs to her chambers. Rather, she walked down the west wing of the house toward the side door, keeping an eye out for observant servants. Those she passed gave her bows and curtseys, then continued on with their errands. Certain no one followed her, Thea left the house and headed toward the lake.
The post that had given way under her had not yet been repaired, she noticed. Standing on the dock, Thea gazed out over the black lake, listening to the soft swish of the waves lapping at the shore. A trout splashed somewhere out on the water even as the odor of rotted plant matter tickled her nose.
The moon rose high overhead, its yellow rays reflected off the water as she breathed in the scents of heather and grass on the light breeze. Thea cocked her head slightly at the sound of a light foot fall, the soft click of a stone striking another.
“I knew you would come,” she said without turning.
She heard his quick, indrawn breath, and a low voiced mutter. Footsteps trod the path to the dock, then clunked hollowly on the wood as he approached. The sounds ceased a few yards from where she stood. Thea finally turned to find Liam bowing low.
“Miss Miller.”
Thea offered him a quick gesture, an invitation to join her. She returned her gaze to the reflection of the moon on the gently moving lake, now feeling slightly out of countenance. It was one thing to expect him, quite another to know what to say when he showed up.
When Liam stood beside her, Thea glanced up into his face. It lay in shadow, and she could not read his expression. After a long moment in which neither of them spoke, Thea drew in a deep breath. “My brother told me what he said to you, Liam.”
“He was right to say it, Miss Miller,” he replied, his voice with the oddly lilting Scottish accent sending a delighted tingle down her back.
“No, he was not, and I do not like that he did.”
“I am but a footman, Miss Miller,” he said, “and he is a lord and my master. I must obey him.”
“If I ask you a question,” she said, tentative, almost fearing to ask it, “will you answer me honestly?”
“Indeed, Miss Miller.”
“What were you doing out here that night when I fell into the lake?”
Liam lifted his face enough that a tendril of moonlight fell upon it, enough that Thea saw the muscle in his lower jaw flex, recognized the indecision in his expression. “I – followed you, Miss Miller.”
“Might I ask why?”
He shunted his face away from her, hiding it. “I still have some fondness for you,” he answered, his tone low. “Left over from when we were children together. I – like being near you.”
Not certain if she should be delighted at his admission or devastated, Thea merely said, “I see.”
Liam clasped his hands behind his back, and for the first time, Thea noticed he did not wear his footman’s powdered wig, although he did still wear his scarlet and silver livery. “I have no wish to be dismissed from the lord’s service,” he went on, “thus I will refrain from following you ever again.”
Thea stifled a giggle. “But you followed me tonight.”
