Page 111 of Winterset
He led me to the front door and down the stairs to the drive, where Mrs. Owensby, Bexley, and Charlie were waiting. Mrs. Owensby opened her arms, and fighting back tears, I fell into them. Bexley stood behind us, embracing us both from behind. They were so much more than servants to me. They were family. They hugged me tightly as we said our bittersweet goodbyes, and then they let me go.
Charlie opened the carriage door and climbed inside first.
He would not ride in the carriage with me the whole time, only until we were outside of town. Then he would serve as an outrider to ensure my safety.
Oliver held out his hand to help me inside.
“Please, don’t forget me,” he whispered. “I don’t think I could bear it.”
“I won’t,” I whispered. “I promise.”
He pressed a long kiss to my hand and then reluctantly closed the carriage door.
I held my hand to the window, and he did the same on the other side. Then he stepped back and alerted the driver to go.
Oliver stood there in front of Winterset as we pulled away. I wanted to watch him as I left but knew it was too dangerous. Someone might see me. I took one last look at Winterset, my servants, and finally, Oliver.
And then I closed the curtain and cried.
Oliver
The wind whipped across theportico, chilling me as I watched the carriage disappear down the lane. Everything I cared about was inside that carriage, and I hated having to remain behind. I’d grown to love Winterset in the weeks I’d been here, but I resented having to remain here to care for it without Kate.
“Come inside, Mr. Jennings, else you will catch your death,” Mrs. Owensby said, and when I didn’t move, she clutched my arm andpulledme inside.
Bexley shut the door behind me. “They’ll be all right, sir. Charlie will protect her during the journey.”
I was certain he would, given the gun I’d tucked into his breast coat pocket. And Damon would look after her while she was at Summerhaven. But who would look after her in her new life?
I stalked to my study and slammed the door.
Only five minutes ago, we’d stood in this room together. And now she was gone.
Frustrated by my inadequacy, I swiped my arm across my desk, clearing it.
At the cacophonous sound, Bexley stepped inside. “Are you all right, sir?”
“Two years, Bexley! Kate hid successfully here fortwoyears. And then I arrived, and—” I cursed under my breath. “I told her I would protect her, but I only put her in danger.”
“Youareprotecting her now, sir, by sending her to Summerhaven.”
“No. I am only hiding her in a new location.”
“You are giving her a chance to live a fuller and freer life,” Bexley said.
But he was wrong. Kate wasn’t free. She was farther from danger but also farther from those who knew and loved her. I braced my elbows on my desk and cradled my head in my hands. She deserved so much more.
“You’ve done right by her,” Bexley said.
“Have I?” I said, my voice tight. “I feel like I have made a grave mistake.”
“In my experience, heartache always feels like a grave mistake.”
“I miss her already,” I said.
“As do I,” he said.
“And I,” Mrs. Owensby said, entering my study with a tea tray. “But we trust her decision to leave, and you must trust it too.”
