Caught in the Storm of a Duke's - Abby Ayles Page 0,73
wondered where you disappeared to every day for a few hours. I had no inkling what was waiting beyond that door. You must understand, I feel terrible for what I did. I…” she drew in a long breath and exhaled deeply.
“I had no right. I have been so ashamed of myself. That is why I have not left my chambers. I have been too mortified with myself to face you. Oh, Stephen!” she cried, breaking into a sob. “Forgive me.”
The silence rang aloud, deafening her.
She waited, her heart beating wildly against her ribs for him to say something, anything. He remained silent.
She could not even tell what he was thinking by looking at him. His face remained impassive; his eyes darker than she had ever seen them.
His chin had become rigid and his shoulders stiff.
Her stomach quivered and the moments while she waited for him to speak were the longest she felt she had ever endured.
Finally, he broke his silence with two simple words.
“I know.”
She frowned as she heard them, not understanding.
“You know?”
He gave one curt nod.
“I know that you followed me, Judith. I knew from the moment you started to. You are not terrible skilled at it, I must say, and quite loud. I could hear your breathing and footsteps from yards away.”
Judith could hardly believe what he was saying.
He had known? How? She had been very careful, and he had acted as though he suspected nothing.
Why had he not made a detour when he knew she was following him?
Except…
Her eyes widened as realization dawned. “You pretended not to know— because you wanted me to find it.”
He smirked. “Why do you think the door was unlocked? You have always been so curious, Judith. From the moment you stepped foot in this mansion. No, from the moment you arrived at the gates. I watched you that morning. Even as you shivered from the cold, your eyes never ceased not wandering. I watched as you walked through the halls for days and met with the servants. You had questions. So many.”
“You saw me at the gate? You watched me walk through the hallways?”
How? He had only revealed himself to her at dinner and had retired to be by himself afterwards. How could he have seen her?
As though he heard the questions in her mind, he answered.
“It was I who first saw you. I was standing in the grand hall on the middle floor, looking out at the devastation caused by the storm when you arrived. I sensed you were lost and cold, so I sent Thomas to you.”
It was difficult to take in, yet it made perfect sense.
Mr. Beauregard had come from nowhere that day. She had assumed he was the one who had seen them, but it was Stephen.
He had seen her before she ever met him.
“I, too, was curious about you. I never could fathom why. So, I began to spy on you. Staying in the shadows and watching as you went about your day.”
The last piece of the puzzle fell into place.
“It was you! You were the one in the shadows! Goodness! I could never quite rid myself of the feeling of being watched. But whenever I looked over my shoulder, I saw nothing. Once, I thought I caught sight of someone, but they moved so quickly that I could not be certain. I even feared the house was haunted.”
“Haunted?” he broke into a soft chuckle, and she wondered if she could breathe easy now, if all was forgiven.
His smile vanished as suddenly as it came, and she got her answer.
“Yes, I think perhaps you could say it was.” He paused. “So, did you find what you were looking for?”
She still could not tell whether he was angry or not. She disliked not being able to.
“She was very beautiful, the late duchess.”
He nodded. “Yes. That she was.”
“I am really very sorry. Her passing could not have been easy to bear.”
He shook his head. “No, it isn’t.”
“Will you tell me what happened?” She knew she was pushing her luck, but she needed to know everything.
Since so many revelations were being made, he could tell her the entire tale, could he not?
“Stephen?” she said softly when he did not immediately respond.
He would not so much as look at her.
“No,” he answered finally, his voice firm.
She should have heeded that warning, but she did not
“I understand it is a painful memory. However, I do think speaking about it would…”