Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
But today, oh, it was a glorious winter day, crisp and clear as anything, without a cloud in the broad, blue sky. She bundled her cloak around her and took a path that eventually meandered to a pond bordered with hedges. She always saw deer when she took this walk, and worried for them in the cold and wind, although they didn’t seem touched by it. She wished she could befriend the creatures so the quick-eyed does would let her pet their young ones, but as a principled naturalist she understood she mustn’t interfere in nature, only observe it.
Well, except in cases of lame rabbits and dying snakes, she thought ruefully. She could not seem to abandon animals in need.
Still, she would try not to grow her wildlife menagerie, lest she set her husband against her. She wanted to please him, wanted him to love her in truth, and not tease and look away whenever she spoke of loving him. Perhaps all men behaved that way?
She hadn’t the experience to know, but her heart wanted a true-love marriage now that she’d been rescued from the bleak abyss of spinsterhood. She wanted affection and kisses, and deep, soulful connection. She wanted what her sister had, a doting husband whose gaze followed her each time she left his side…
She heard a rustling in the underbrush and watched a gray squirrel plunge out, as if caught up in an adventure. The animal noticed her and tore away, and she wished him good nut-hunting. A pair of woodlarks could be heard a bit farther off, their sweet calls drifting among the bare trees. She’d not yet seen a fox; it was likely Lord Townsend’s hunting dogs kept them some distance from the house, but she hoped to run across one of the curious creatures one day. Now and again she’d see them at home, or more often hear them as they screamed during mating season for their mates.
She was nearly to the pond when she heard an entirely different sound, something she’d not heard before. Someone was approaching on a horse. She put back her hood to hear from whence they came, her heart beating fast. Who was it? If it was a poacher or trespasser, she was out here alone with nowhere to hide amidst the bare trees and bright winter sun.
She turned in trepidation, then sighed in relief. It was only Lord Townsend atop his stallion. But…shouldn’t he have been in his study at this hour? Her relief turned right back into trepidation as he approached her. He did not look happy. His expression was not that of a doting husband.
“Hello,” she called, smiling and waving, hoping for the best.
He stopped a few yards away. “Hello, Jane.” Then he made a great show of looking about for some other person, though it was quite clear she’d come out alone, against his wishes. “Where is your escort? The person supposed to accompany you in case you become lost or hurt?”
“Well, I… I do not have one today,” she said. Out of fear of his dark frowning, she told a lie. “No one was able to come with me, so just this once I thought… I thought I would be very careful and not…stray from the path.”
“Just this once, you say?”
Oh no. She should not have lied. He knew she’d lied and now he was even angrier. “I spoke to the head groom and he tells me you’ve gone exploring the woods alone several times now. That you told him I said it was all right to do so.”
“Well, I…” She cast about for excuses, anything to help her case. “I did not want to inconvenience your servants, Edward. They are always so hard at work. And as you can see, I stick to the more established paths.” She gestured about. “So it’s not like I’m exploring the woods alone, as you forbid me to do.”
“Are you telling me that as long as you’re not off the path, then you’re not in the woods?”
“I am in the woods, but I am safe. How could one get lost following a path?”
He was getting ready to deliver a sound lecture. She definitely deserved it.
“Do you know how many paths there are in these woods, Jane?” he said, his amber eyes snapping. “Or the vast extent of Somerton’s property? You could walk for miles in circles, only to get farther and farther from the house. Why am I explaining this to you again? You already know it.”
She hung her head at his scolding. Yes, she knew it.
“You know also that these woods are thick and wild, and full of animals, some of which might be dangerous if provoked. Animals aside, you might twist your ankle on a root or be felled by a plummeting branch, and who would know if you were out here on your own? How would we find you if you were too injured to cry for help?”