Awakenings

 

Ella lifted her lashes, yawned, then frowned. A third day had come and gone, and Ashton hadn’t returned. Did he think of her at all…of the kiss they’d shared in the library? His velvety soft tongue, and the way he’d thrust inside her mouth… Would he thrust that way inside her? She recalled the bulge that had pressed against her hip and an aching heat pooled between her thighs. She shivered. Might he consider absolving their contract and making their marriage a true marriage? Did he want children?

She envisioned a dark-haired boy with his father’s intense eyes racing into the house to beg biscuits after having played all morning outside. Her heart constricted. Ashton had needed a wife to fulfill his grandmother’s demands. What about an heir? 

Ella rose from bed and changed her nightgown for a chemise, then slipped into a fine, green-sprigged muslin dress with a wide satin ribbon adorning the waist. She ran a hairbrush through her hair, then braided her hair. She eyed her reflection, smoothed back errant hairs at the base of her neck, then grabbed her warmest pelisse and headed out the door to find Angel for their morning walk. As a rule, the Countess slept until noon, which gave Ella and Angel time to explore the castle grounds and the woods surrounding the estate.

Mrs. Thornton met her at the bottom of the stairs with Angel. The little dog wagged his body in greeting.

“Be careful, my lady,” Mrs. Thornton warned as she held open the front door. “It looks like rain.”

“I’ll watch the sky,” Ella promised as she stepped outside.

Dark clouds churned above as she left the manicured grounds, Angel trotting ahead with his standard, self-important air. She snorted at the dog, then cast a glance north. Darker clouds gathered there.

Was the storm gathering as far north as Ashton’s estate? Was he safe?

She hurried to the swaying trees and turned down her favorite woodland path that emerged near the accursed barn. Perhaps today, she would venture inside and take a quick peek. Ella breathed deep of the air. Rain was definitely in the offing. The trees swayed. She’d fallen in love with the wild beauty of Kinnettles, a kind of wildness that spoke to her soul.

Angel hopped like a rabbit over the dry clumps of fern, then paused on the path ahead and looked back at her.

“I’m coming, lad.” Ella quickened her pace and the dog fell in alongside when she reached him.

Wind whipped her hair. The path split up ahead. Right led to a small loch. Left, to the Barn of the Damned. She had avoided the barn out of a sense of loyalty to Ashton, but her curiosity grew with each day. Should she take that path? They reached the split and Angel continued left. Fate, she told herself, and followed him.

Minutes later, the barn came into view beyond the trees, alone in an open field. A low stone fence ran along the south side of the field. Few leave remained on the trees. The building had long since fallen into disrepair, but appeared oddly peaceful, sitting at the edge of the trees.

Angel took off at a run toward the building. Ella yanked up her skirts and followed him. He reached the barn first and plopped down in the shade. She halted beside him, breathing hard.

Once she’d caught her breath, Ella slowly circled the building. The doors and windows had been nailed shut, but the stones at the back had collapsed, leaving gaps large enough to crawl through. She paused. Dared she enter? Curiosity beckoned like a siren. What ghosts inhabited the place? A branch snapped within the trees. Ella spun. Angel barked. Ella glimpsed a figure deep in the trees.

“Angel,” she shouted.

The dog raced around the corner of the building as a dark cloud cast the woods in shadow. Ella squinted into the trees. Something shifted deep within the murk. Her heart sped up.

“Who’s there?” she called, and cursed the tremor in her voice.

No one answered.

Angel reached her and barked furiously in the direction she’d seen the figure.

“Hush, Angel,” Ella ordered.

The dog looked up at her, ears pricked. She strained her ears for sounds of the intruder. A raindrop struck her nose. She pulled her pelisse to her chin to block the sudden chill. More drops struck her face and hands.

Ella glanced heavenward at the massing clouds. “Come, Angel.” She yanked up her skirts and broke into a run across the field.

They reached the path, and Kinnettles’ tallest turret came into view. The heavens seemed to open, and rain poured down. Angel sped down the path at a pace she hadn’t thought him capable of, and disappeared from view. She snorted, ducked her head, and quickened pace.

“Traitor,” she said with a laugh.

Another dozen steps and the rain came down in blowing sheets. Ella ran faster. She veered from the path and raced for the stables, trying her best to avoid the stinging nettles. Nettles pricked her left ankle, then pricked the same ankle, then her right leg above the ankle. Lord, the sheer number of spiteful plants must have given the castle its name.

Through the sheets of rain, she glimpsed the stable’s open back door. If she stuck to the side of the yard near the low stone wall, she could avoid the mud. She pumped her legs faster, her dress clinging to her like a second skin. Seconds later, she ducked behind the thin waterfall cascading off the slate tile roof and burst inside the stables. The scent of hay filled her nostrils as she halted, breath coming in heaving gasps. For the most part, she’d avoided the mud, but she was soaked. She peeled off her pelisse and began to wring water from her skirts.

“Perhaps, you’d care for a pair of dry breeches?” a deep velvety voice queried.

Ella whirled as a strong arm caught her about the waist.

The next instant, she stared disbelieving into Ashton’s green eyes.