Page 20 of Adoringly, Edward
Again, she laughed, grateful for her mother’s support. “What would I do without you?”
“Just don’t cause a scandal,” her mother warned. “It’s hard enough to cover up this mess as it is.”
“I promise I won’t.” Or at least she planned to not get caught where she wasn’t supposed to be. Tomorrow, she would succeed at reeling Edward in.
But as tomorrow came and went, her distress only continued to grow as she paced her room, paced the drawing room, and paced the hallways in search of any sign of Edward. After inquiring of his absence, one of the servants confirmed he had been terribly sick and was sequestered in his room.
Not only sick…
But after laying her charms on the flustered servant, she learned Edward had not yet woken from the day before. And when two days became three, her distress transitioned from fear for herself and her condition to fear forhim. The servant once more said he still had not woken. But three days?
Was he truly asleep? Or still avoiding her?
Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she lit a lantern and snuck through the darkened house when everyone was asleep, wearing a green cloak on top of her nightgown and thin slippers over her stockinged feet.
She placed one foot on the stone staircase leading to Edward’s tower, and hearing nothing coming from either direction, she began her silent climb up the stairs.
The chilly stone seeped through her slippers. A frosty breath escaped her mouth. But she shoved away the mild discomfort and replaced it with raw determination to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.
She slowed her steps at the top of the dark stairwell, her eyes widening to find his door closed. Alarm slammed into her chest when she spotted a lock keeping his door shut from theoutside.
With hurried steps, she raced up the remaining stairs, grabbed the lock, and pulled. It didn’t give in the slightest, locking Edward inside.
Glancing down the stairs to find herself alone, she rapped softly on his door, but no sound came from within. Could he truly be inside? Would someone be so cruel as to keep someone so important in society as a prisoner in his own home?
“I must be mistaken,” she whispered to placate herself. “This isn’t the correct door. It must be a broom closet.”
But then something dropped to the floor on the opposite side of the door. Panic clawed at her heart as she rapped louder on the worn wood, wincing when the soft bangs echoed down the stairwell.
No answer.
Vivienne picked up her skirts and dashed down the stairs. Despite her thin clothing and even thinner slippers, she gave no thought for herself as she threw open the front doors of the estate and escaped outside. A chill wind from a late-autumn night seeped into her bones. Snowflakes fell on her hair and eyelashes. But despite the bite of the air, she glanced around her to make sure she was alone before rushing along the estate at a brisk pace. Only when she reached the base of the tower did she halt in her steps, breathing heavily.
The tower window was dark, not a single flicker of candlelight or a silhouette to draw her attention. Her panicconsumed her, worry for her friend driving her into sifting through the light powder of snow at her feet with her hands.
Her numb fingers closed around a rock. And taking aim, she lobbed it toward the window.
Plink!
Edward sluggishly pulled himself out of sleep, blinking in confusion as he stared up at the darkness of his ceiling. When had he fallen asleep? He remembered going on a carriage ride through the countryside. Vivienne’s warm laughter. Her knee resting against his.
He vaguely recalled Clara acting kindly toward him, but then…
Scratching his chin, he struggled to recall anything after his sister had visited his chambers. He must have fallen asleep.
Plink!
The sound startled him upright, and his gaze darted back and forth across his room. Reaching for the tinderbox on his bedside table, he struck it with the flint and lit his lantern, frowning when he found himself in looser and more comfortable clothing than what he’d worn earlier.
Plink!
Finally, he located the sound coming from something small hitting the glass of his window. Setting his lantern down on his desk, he opened his windows and flinched when a cold draft entered the room.
“Edward!” someone hissed.
He squinted against his sleepy confusion and located a white and green speck down below. He blinked several times until the image came together to form the silhouette of a woman wearinga nightgown, her feet in threadbare slippers and a green cloak over her shoulders.
Alertness flooded through him when he recognized Vivienne. He quickly smoothed down his hair and clothing before peering farther over the side of the stone ledge.
