“All right. I-I think the physician will be here soon. Do not worry; you will be just fine,” Simon said gently, hoping he could console her.
She nodded slowly and sniffed, muttering her thanks when he handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears. Luckily, they did not have to wait too long as Mr. Bennett arrived shortly, aghast, when he found his charge on the floor of the stable.
“My goodness, what happened?” he fussed immediately, settling down on her other side.
Agnes inhaled deeply and tried to explain.
“I-I fell… I was mounting Scar, and t-the stirrup broke, and I f-fell.”
Mr. Bennett was quick to order Simon to go back to the mansion to get help.
“We need to move her from this place so I can perform a thorough exam. Hurry, boy,” he instructed.
Simon left running, and Mr. Bennett softened his tone as he asked Agnes.
“Can you tell me where you feel pain?”
She nodded and rested her hand lightly over her left leg.
“All right,” he nodded, “With any luck, it’s not broken. Do not worry, my Lady, you’ll be right as rain soon.”
Simon returned with a few servants and Beatrice, who was horrified at the sight of her mistress on the floor, looking a mess. They quickly moved Agnes into the house, settling her in a drawing room so the examination could be conducted quickly.
Lukas went to inform Silas of what had transpired, and he quickly moved to where she had been placed, demanding to know what had happened.
“I fell,” she replied simply, feeling a lot calmer.
“You fell? When?How?”
His tone sounded almost mocking, and embarrassment burned in her cheeks, and she considered not responding. Luckily, Simon stepped in.
“Lady Agnes fell while she was mounting Scar. I found her on the floor when I arrived at the stable. She said the stirrup had broken.”
Silas frowned. “Broken? All our equipment goes through routine checks as often as possible. It is highly unlikely for one to have been in such bad condition – to the point of breaking – and no one would have noticed.” Then he added. “You left for the stable a while ago. How come you only just came to get her help? And why didn’t you call out for help?”
The last part was directed at Agnes, who felt irritation flare up into white-hot anger. “I couldn’t.”
The Duke only looked more frustrated. “What do you mean you couldn’t –”
“Why are you here making things worse for me? You obviously do not care about my well-being if you’re just going to stand there and question me about insignificant things. I know it is embarrassing that I’m falling off a horse after over a decade of riding them, but I do not need you here to rub salt in my wounds. If you are going to be rude, just leave,” she snapped angrily.
Her outburst shocked Silas, and he considered firing back, but then he noticed her flushed cheeks and red-rimmed eyes and pursed his lips, leaving the room. The worry in his chest felt like a weighted anchor, trying to convince him to stay, but he kept walking, knowing it was best if she was treated in peace.
It was a little frustrating that only a night ago, they seemed to have reached some sort of casual truce while reading together and conversing about books. Now, whatever fragile peace they had attained, he had destroyed in a moment. He had not meant to come off as patronizing; he just could not understand what had happened.
The stirrup had broken? How on earth had that happened?He had ensured that a new saddle was bought specifically for Agnes to use whenever she was training Scar. For any part of it to break due to wear and tear when it had barely been over a week since she had started using it seemed highly unlikely.
He made up his mind to check on the saddle himself later and sat down in his study to wait for the physician to finish tending to his betrothed. Minutes later, Mr. Bennett and Simon came to speak with him, looking like they weren’t coming to deliver bad news.
“Lady Agnes is going to be just fine. She landed wrongly during the fall and bruised her left ankle a little bit, but it seems she was more shocked than hurt. The injury is not serious, and she should be fine in a day or two with proper rest.” The physician explained.
Simon raised his hand nervously, and when Silas’ attention shifted to him, he nervously began to speak.
“When I got to the stable and found her, she held onto me and told me not to leave her alone. I think falling while she was onher own scared her a lot. She could barely speak and just… cried. Please don’t be upset with her for not being able to call for help.”
The boy’s words made Silas feel even worse. He couldn’t imagine how terrified she must have felt in order to have momentarily lost her ability to speak. He hadn’t meant to mock her, but now, there was nothing he could do to change the past.
“I see,” Silas said, tapping along the top of his desk thoughtfully. “But she will be all right soon? Is she more… stable, now?”