“I suppose I do see some logic in your reasoning.”
She smiled a little and looked down at her book.
“Thank you for listening and considering my opinion.”
Silas nearly saidit was my pleasurebut quickly held his tongue, unprepared for what it would mean for them. Still, he hoped she would hear his feelings nonetheless, simply because she deserved to.
Then he asked, “Do you have any thoughts onWuthering Heights?”
She smirked at him, “Only about a handful.”
“Care to share?”
“Absolutely.”
Chapter Eleven
The air felt cool on Agnes’ skin as she walked to the stable.
She had begun to commit to earlier sessions with Scar in order to warm him up and get him comfortable before they began to practice some of the tricks she needed him to learn. The first was the day before, when she had ridden him for a little bit in the morning before the actual training session began, and she noticed he was doing better in the simple jumps she had set up.
With any luck, he would be feeling much more stable and confident enough to try jumping over a bale of hale tomorrow.
Seeing as it was still quite early, Simon had not yet arrived at the stable, and so it was just her and the horses. She walked around, greeting the others for a little while, and then made her way to Scar’s stall. The creature seemed happy to see her – as he had in the last few days – and she returned his cheerful reception with a cube of sugar, stroking his mane before moving away to fetch his saddle.
She placed it down close by and led Scar out of his stall, after which she began to strap the saddle onto the horse. A particular strap seemed oddly loose, but Agnes overlooked it, noting that it was nothing serious and that as long as she rode carefully, it would not break.
“Are you ready, bud?” she whispered softly to him, chuckling when he huffed in her face.
With a final pat, she grabbed at his reins and a bit of his mane to hold him steady as she mounted. Her left foot went into the stirrup, and her right hand gripped onto the saddle, and she hoisted herself up off the ground.
But when she was about to swing her right leg over the saddle to settle in the other side, she felt something snap beneath her foot, and suddenly, she was falling. Agnes landed hard on the ground, her heart thundering in her chest as she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened. Still around her foot was the stirrup, clearly broken from the saddle, and she frowned in confusion.
Slowly, she tried to stand – only to drop back down into the hay and dirt when a sharp pain shot through her left foot. Panic rose in her chest, and she began to breathe heavily, looking around the stable. From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a shadow moving on her right side, but when she turned, it was gone, and the realization that she was alone in the stable, possibly gravely injured, terrified her even more.
Agnes tried to scream for help, but she couldn’t bring herself to utter a single syllable with how hard she was breathing, rendered momentarily unable to see as tears filled her eyes. She tried to pull herself together, but the fear was overwhelming, and all she could do was sit there and brush away her tears.
Footsteps approached the stable, and Simon walked in with a greeting at the tip of his tongue.
“Good morning – oh, no,” his eyes widened as he took in the sight of her on the floor, and he rushed to her side. “My lady! W-What happened? Are you all right?’
Agnes tried to explain but could only hiccup through her tears, and Simon moved to leave.
“I’ll go and get help –”
She grabbed onto his arm and shook her head.
“N-No,” she panted. “Don’t – don’t leave. Please don’t leave me here.”
Simon looked stricken as he stared down at her.
“But you’re hurt, my lady. I need to get you help.”
Agnes clutched onto him desperately, unable to think reasonably at that moment, not when the terror still lay in her veins.
“Please don’t go,” she begged desperately.
Simon relented and sank to the ground on his knees, worry evident on his face. The stable was far enough from the mansion that even if he called out for help, it was likely he would not be heard. So, the best thing to do would be to wait it out – either for Lady Agnes’ maid to come and fetch her for breakfast or for the physician’s arrival.