With one last cold look, he walked away, leaving her behind. Agnes watched him get further and further, unable to move or do anything more than that. Her gaze remained on his back until it disappeared from sight, and her heart grew heavy, as did her lungs. It took her a moment to remember to breathe, and with a deep exhale, the tears that had gathered in her eyes began to fall.
Chapter Eighteen
It was a struggle to get her emotions under control.
Agnes realized that this was neither the time nor the place to weep, but it was so difficult to reconcile that thought with the fact that only she had fallen in love. She wished she had room for doubt, to assume that he was wrong and was merely letting his fears and the weight of the situation speak for him.
But his gaze… it had been colder than she had ever seen it. At the end of the day, he was not wrong. Their interests had brought them together and was the reason they had to marry. It did not necessarily require more than their matrimonial seal, and she was stupid to believe otherwise, very foolish to have allowed herself to fall for him and to have let herself think that the kindness he was showing to her stemmed from deeper feelings.
Sniffing, she wiped away the tears on her cheeks and tried to think of what to do. Silas had told her to stay away, and he was set on handling the situation himself. She would allow himto do just that. Perhaps there was something she could do for Scar instead, some way to make him comfortable while Silas did what he needed to help his horse. Maybe if she asked one of the veterinary surgeons who were no doubt stationed around the field –
“Lady Agnes, where is the Duke?”
Agnes whirled around and patted at her cheeks, hoping Simon could not tell that she had been crying. She glanced around and pointed in the direction that Silas had walked off in.
“He went that way –”
“Alone? Oh, no,” he stepped closer, eyes wide in urgency. “You have to find him, my lady. He is in danger!”
Agnes blinked, confused. “I don’t… I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
Simon looked around and motioned for her to follow him, leading her way from the path bustling with people walking around to a much quieter spot a few feet away, next to one of the larger tents, from which the smell of baked treats wafted.
“I overheard the Marquess speaking about him after the Duke had left. Apparently, his tent was stationed right next to ours, and he only poisoned Scar in order to lure the Duke to him. He really intends to ambush and kill him.”
Agnes’ heart dropped at his words.
She knew their rivalry was bad, but she had not realized the lengths to which Lord Hamilton would go to harm his cousin. Sabotaging her saddle was one thing, but murder?
Agnes looked around, filled with a sense of urgency. She would need to act quickly to find Silas and help him before he fell into the Marquess’ trap.
“Simon… I’m not sure where he has gone, but he did go in that direction. Do you know what might be there? A building he might have frequented or owned? Or perhaps an office that handles matters for the competition?” she asked, pointing in the direction she had earlier.
Simon followed her direction with his gaze, staring hard for a moment before looking back at her with a light of recognition in his eyes.
“The old Duke’s stable house… it has become a stable used to house horses who might have been injured during the competition. The Duke didn’t want to use it anymore, so he sold it off to the competition organizers. It’s straight down and then a left turn. You can’t miss it.”
“Good,” Agnes nodded. “I need you to bring all the footmen that came with us to the stable house. As quickly as you can. I will go on ahead and find him.”
“By yourself? But –”
“Silas went by himself. I can’t just let him face the danger alone. Besides, if we join forces, we’d be able to handle the Marquess better. Just hurry and fetch the footmen.”
Reluctantly, Simon nodded, “All right,” and then ran off.
With a deep breath, Agnes gathered her skirts and faced the path, setting off to find the man she loved.
Regret was something Silas was all too familiar with.
He had faced many moments of regret in his life, none of them quite competing with the heavy weight of it that had sat with him as he watched his grandfather bleed to death, unable to do anything. Nothing could compare to the feeling of uselessness that had crippled his resolve for weeks as he lay in bed, recovering from his own injuries.
Still, the heaviness in his heart as he walked away from Agnes could not be anything other than regret. The hurt in her eyes, how she stepped away from him as he snapped at her… it all made him wonder what his grandfather would say if he were around to witness his behavior.
He is not here now; you are. Fix this and deal with Lewis once and for all.
Steeling his nerves, Silas tried to forget about Agnes, leaving the matter with her to be resolved at a later time, cautiously approaching the stable house. Memories of his time spent with his grandfather were rooted to the spot, but for once, he didn’t feel the need to avoid it or drown in it, using his anger as motivation to enter the structure.
His cousin stood right in the middle of the hay-covered floor, tossing a vial up in the air and catching it with an amused expression.