“Hal…” she whispered. “I saw the shadow. And I thought…” She started sobbing again.
“Easy, then,” he whispered into her hair, a sound he would make gentling a horse. It spiraled down to the depths of her, soothing her soul. “Easy, there.”
Hestony hiccupped and stopped. She sniffed and looked up at him. “Sir, I…”
“Hal,” he whispered. “Please. Call me Hal?”
“Hal.” She reddened. It was only now she realized she’d used his name. She hadn’t used it for a long time.
She looked up at him. His hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up into his face. His other arm entwined around her. She felt a strange ache of longing; something she barely understood and yet was overwhelming. He bent down, and his lips touched hers.
Hestony closed her eyes as his lips stroked over hers. They were soft and gentle, and the feeling made her heart sing. She held him close and wished that she could stay like this with him forever, holding him close in this private garden.
“Hestony,” he murmured. Hearing him use her name alone, without her title, warmed something deep inside her. He closed his eyes and drew her tight against him, and she rested her hand on his shoulder, taking comfort in him.
“I’m sorry I ran,” she murmured.
“What happened?” Hal asked. “Did something scare you?” He sounded concerned, brown eyes big.
“I saw a shape…” She swallowed hard, unable to go on. “Oh, Hal! It was like…like…” She burst into tears and buried her face against his chest. “It was like in the garden, the other night. And then, before, in the woods, when I saw him the first time! I cannot take it a moment longer.”
“What?”
He spoke gently, not demandingly. He looked into her eyes and Hestony blinked, seeing only compassion there and no condemnation. Her eyes misted with tears. “Oh, Hal.”
“Hestony? What did you see? You can tell me. I promise I’ll tell no-one, if you prefer.”
Hestony swallowed. She felt sick, now. What would he think, if he knew she had allowed someone else to take such liberties with her? He might be angry! She wished that she hadn’t mentioned it. Yet, for so long, she had ached to tell him. She knew that only if he knew could she ever begin feeling safe.
“A few weeks ago,” she began, “in the woods. I was riding and I saw an outlaw. I told you of that. Then, two days ago, in the garden, he was there; the same individual. Oh, Hal! It was…” She swallowed hard.
“The garden?” Hal wanted to know. “Your garden?”
“At Amhurst Heights,” she agreed. Her voice was almost a whisper.
“You saw him?” Hal was frowning. “What did he do?”
“He…was just standing there. Near the trees. Watching. Watching me.”
“Watching you?” For the first time, Hal went stiff. He stepped back, resting a hand on her shoulder. “You say he saw you? What did he do?”
“Hal…he kissed me.” She whispered it, looking down at his feet. They were damp with the dew, making the toes of his polished leather shoes shine.
“He kissed you?” Hal sounded shocked. “Hestony… he had no right. Are you alright?”
“Yes,” she whispered. Suddenly, she could not withhold her tears and they ran, unstoppable, down her cheeks. The fact that he was not angered with her; the fact that he understood! It was almost too much to take in.
She leaned her head against his chest and cried. Her arms clung to him and he held her close and let her weep, resting his head on her fragrant hair.
Later, Hestony leaned back a little, feeling shaky. She looked up at him and swallowed hard. “Hal,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
“Thank me?” Hal frowned at her. “My dearest Hestony! Why thank me? You must think me a horrid coward that I haven’t gone directly to confront this outlaw! I put you in such danger…”
“No, Hal,” she whispered gently. “No, you didn’t. You could have hurt yourself, trying to find him. And, if he had hurt you, it would have finished me.”
“Oh, Hestony.”
They stood together, and he rested both hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Hestony…I only wish I could tell you how sorry I am, and how wrong I was. I should have spoken to your mother an age ago! If I had, mayhap you would have been here, at Westmore, and away from danger. This shouldn’t be.”
“Hal?” Hestony whispered in a small voice. “What are you going to do?”
He looked down at her tenderly, and she tensed a little as he raised his hand, but he only touched her hair.
“I am going to ask your mother again for permission to court you. This time, I am going to do it properly and I will not take no as an answer. There is something very wrong here, and I will not rest until I have found out what – and to do that, I need to know that you have my full protection while I investigate.”
Hestony felt as if her heart was a dark room, and somewhere, somebody had opened the drapes and let in the light. She reached out and hugged him fiercely, and the tears in her soul were replaced by laughter.
“Oh, Hal,” she whispered tenderly.
“Hestony,” he said. It was a simple word, and yet in the saying of it, her body shivered with a sweet longing.
She wrapped her arms tight about him and drew him, crushingly, to her chest. She felt him tense and then, tenderly, return the embrace.
They held each other, and the garden was no longer a place of silence, or of terror, but of joy.
Chapter Nineteen
Making Plans
The day was dark, the rainclouds low and gray on the slopes. Hal went slowly up the steps to his bedroom at Westmore House. His mind was a clutter of thoughts, disquiet and restless. He closed his eyes and leaned on the windowsill. Outside, the sky was black velvet, the trees dark silhouettes against it. He stared out onto the lawns, and felt his restlessness grow.
“How could I leave this brigand unchallenged?”
He felt his shoulders tense, hands making fists. He should be making plans to ride out and seek vengeance! As it was, he could barely think of it without wanting to beat the fellow senseless. He could not forget the terror on Hestony’s face, or the shame.
“I would I could make him feel terrified. And the shame is all his.”
He shook his head and sank down into the chair by the window, resting his head in his hands. He knew such thoughts were not going to help. More than anything, he wished he could speak to Luke right now. His friend was exhausted, though, after the party. Hal would not wish to go and disturb his rest.