She could see the servants’ stairwell but a few yards away. In desperate haste, she made for it, and stepped down the first few steps without making a sound. Then they creaked beneath her footfalls at a place where there were neither windows nor light to guide her. Placing her hands against the plastered walls, she slowly made her way down, taking care not to trip. The plaster, chipped away in places, scratched her palms as she felt her way through the dark, down to the kitchen—a flagstone-floored room with a huge stone fireplace where the coals had long turned to gray ash.
An empty copper kettle hung from an iron hook, and the table was swept clean of dishes and crockery. Something scurried across it and caught her eye. She gasped, her throat tightened, and she drew back. On its hind legs, a small brown mouse stared at her with black eyes. It nibbled a crumb between its hairless pink paws, blinked, and then hopped to the other end of the table, leapt to the floor and scampered under a cupboard. It poked its whiskery head out from beneath it and wiggled its nose. Darcy crept past the little creature and dipped a ladle into a barrel beside the door. She drank, and the water soothed her parched tongue.
She looked out the window at the vast fields. Her cloak lay near the front door, and she thought if she could retrieve it without Langbourne seeing her, she’d slip out. But there she was, so close to another door where she could go at once. She moved toward it. Considering how cold it would be to cross the moors without a covering, she hesitated.
Then a presence fell behind her and she froze. A chill raced up her back and prickled over her skin. Setting the ladle back down in the water, she turned to see Langbourne.
“A keen wind blows.” He jerked open the rear door, moved just outside it. “Come, breathe it in. Look out at the moors in the distance. If you wander across them you’ll meet with danger—even death. You are a stranger here and do not know the ways of the moors.”
Darcy lifted her head. “I am a Morgan. I have my father’s blood in my veins. I am no stranger to such a place.”
“So you were planning to leave and take the risk? That would have been foolish, Darcy. You have no idea how many souls have gotten lost on these moors and frozen to death in the night. Some have gone missing and were never found.”
“You have no trouble.”
“I grew up here and know it better than most.”
She did not answer. Instead she moved to the door. Langbourne stepped closer and she backed up against the table. “Why must you be so troublesome, Darcy? I demanded you remain upstairs for your own good.”
“Your henchman is more troublesome than I, sir. He could not stay awake long enough to notice I slipped out. He forgot to lock the door.”
“Yes, and I have sent the incompetent fool on his way without his pay.” He paused and leaned back against the table. “You have a sharp tongue, Darcy.”
“My tongue was parched, sir. For you left me without water. That is one reason I left my room.”
He grunted. “I dare not ask what the others were. Is there a reason we cannot be friendly to each other?”
“Friendly? You expect my friendship after what you did to my father?”
“We see things differently, but I should hope you will think on my actions. I only meant to protect you.”
“I do not need your protection, for I was in no danger. He is my father no matter what he has done. I am to honor him.”
“Once you are at Meadlow, and have time, you will come to realize I am right and you are wrong.” Langbourne ran his fingernail over the edge of the table. “You should not have left your room. I had planned to come to you and sort out our differences.”
It grew in his eyes again—that wanton look of desire. She despised it, for his gaze should have been for Charlotte. She wanted to run. He snatched her arm, tightened his grip, and drew her close. Fear trembled through her body. His eyes, sharp as daggers, grew enflamed.
“I saw Mr. Brennan from the window,” she said, twisting free, stepping back and meeting him stare for stare. “Why did you turn him away? Why did you pull your pistol on him?”