Caught in the Storm of a Duke's - Abby Ayles Page 0,14

you. You shall live, you will, please! You will see your family again. You shall speak to them yourself. Mr. Giraud!”

Her pleas did nothing. They were futile. Her regret wasn’t enough to save his life.

She knew when he breathed his last: His chest stopped heaving. She could no longer feel his breath against her skin, and he suddenly seemed to weigh heavier in her arms.

Her heart broke into a million pieces. Raw pain seared through her.

She did not know how long she sat there, bent over his body, as her sobs racked her. It could have been hours, days even, for all she knew.

When Amy finally managed to pull her away, the rain had stopped falling, but the skies were still dark, signaling that night was nigh.

“My lady, we must leave this place,” Amy said through chattering teeth. “We shall have to walk—the last horse has freed itself and gone.”

“We should check our valises,” she continued, “… see if we can’t find some dry clothing. It will be impossible to make a fire after such a torrent, not that I’d know how. Not to mention, it is dangerous to stay out here any longer. If the cold doesn’t kill us, then we might be attacked by bandits or, even worse, wild animals.”

Judith stared at Amy, her eyes hollow. Her head hurt from all her crying. So did her chest and eyes. She felt in so much pain.

She wondered if it would not simply be fitting to suffer in the way Mr. Giraud had. She judged it a reasonable price to pay.

She could not stop thinking about his family.

The pain they would feel when they received news of his death. She did not know them and had never felt what it was like to lose someone dear.

However, she could tell it would be difficult for them. Very much so.

“My lady!”

She started out of her grim thoughts.

“Did you hear a word of what I just said?”

Judith nodded her head slowly. “Yes.”

“Then we must move from here. I’m afraid we shall have to leave some of our belongings behind. If we try to carry it all, we won’t be able to get very far.”

She was already pulling Judith onto her feet. Judith followed listlessly.

As Amy was about to start walking back to the carriage, Judith stopped her.

“We cannot leave him this way. The least we can do is cover his body.”

Amy nodded. “You are right. Let’s do that.”

Together, they drew Mr. Giraud further into the woods and found a spare coat in their belongings, which they laid over his body, until he was completely covered.

Then, they sent a prayer up above for his soul.

As they prepared to leave the cursed spot, Judith whispered a promise, “I shall be back for you, Mr. Giraud. I am very sorry.”

They found some relatively dry clothes in their valises. Quickly, they changed out of their soaked ones and into the dry clothing.

Amy had only packed one valise. Deciding it would be wise to carry one, too, Judith picked up the first one she touched. She also carried the parcel her brother had given her on his wife’s behalf.

Affirming that her pouch of money was safe, the pair began their journey east.

Chapter 6

They traveled through the night, cold, hungry, and exhausted. As the skies grew darker, they lost all sense of time.

Thanks to the compass Amy had thought to bring along, the only thing they were certain of was that they were heading in the right direction.

They had no clue as to long they might have to walk before they came upon the village. All they had was hope and faith that they wouldn’t suffer Mr. Giraud’s fate.

Several times, Judith had fallen to the ground, unable to go on any longer. It was during these times that she rethought her decision to leave home.

She was overcome with regret at the realization she should have remained within the safe confines of Charleveaux. If she hadn’t so badly wanted to leave in the first place, none of this would have happened.

An the very least, she now had a better understanding that her parents had simply been desperate to protect her by keeping her within the walls of the estate.

Thus far, the outside world was proving a lot more threatening than she had believed it to be.

Only two days away from home, and she had watched someone die, been caught in a storm, gotten lost, and was helpless to do much else but venture into woods and fields that held the