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I didn’t deny it, but I wasn’t about to agree either. Instead, I kept pushing Janice’s chair through the crowd, muttering apologies to those people who had to move for us. It wasn’t until we had broken free of the crowd that I realized I had no means of lighting the way home. Shadows gathered on the path, and the forest loomed as we passed from lakeshore to woods. Still, I wasn’t going to turn around and face Malcolm again, so I kept going, praying I was going the right way.
“That went splendidly, I think,” Derrick said, stepping out of the shadows at my right.
Stifling a yelp, I nearly tipped Janice over, but Derrick laughed and grabbed the chair, keeping it upright while I steadied myself again.
Coaching my heart into a regular beat, I swatted his arm. “Don’t do that!”
“Sorry,” he said, still chuckling. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I doubt that very much.”
He was still chuckling as he drew out a torchstone from his pocket, holding it aloft so that its golden light could illuminate the path. I could see now that I had nearly taken Janice off the path, and Derrick was forced to correct the chair. I smoothed my skirt and suppressed a shiver. It wasn’t heavy enough for a night outing and I wished I’d brought a jacket or shawl or something.
“What went splendidly?” I asked.
His teeth flashed in a boyish grin. “You called him sinister.”
Heat bloomed in my cheeks again and I frowned. “Of course, you were listening. Did you leave me alone on purpose so that he would approach?”
“Yes and no,” Derrick admitted. “I really was speaking with Delilah, but I had a suspicion he would threaten you while I was gone.”
“I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than you feeding me to the wolves.” I smirked at him. “Deliberately and quite literally.”
“It’s better, I promise,” he said as the manor came into view.
Electrical lights ran the circumference of the house, all glowing in their brass and copper fixtures, illuminating pale stone and shadowed windows. The building commanded the landscape, forbidding and tall, full of secrets and history. Some of the windows were illuminated from the inside and there was the bustle of servants passing from room to room. High up on the third floor stood a small ironwork balcony, its door open so that light spilled across its grated balcony.
I blinked up at it, quite sure I had not seen it yesterday. But then, I had not seen a lot of things when we first arrived, and we were approaching the manor from a new direction.
A man stood on the balcony; his body silhouetted by the light behind him. He was hunched, but he bore no cane, and I thought he might have been broad shouldered once. I stopped to stare up at him, but shadows hid his features from view.
Derrick stopped beside me, tracking my gaze. “Ah, so that’s where Montgomery has been.”
At first, I didn’t think it could be Montgomery Leslie, he seemed somehow shaped different from that first night at the dinner table. Then again, shadows were swallowing half the man from sight.
“Why isn’t he with the others?”
“This isn’t his sort of thing,” Derrick said as we began moving again.
Remembering our time in Bright and the conversation with Cade, I frowned. Derrick clearly thought there was something else going on with Montgomery, but without a secure room to speak in, there could be no further discussion on the matter.
Wolves and their blasted hearing.
“Meredith has readied a room for Janice across from yours,” Derrick said, lowering his voice a little. We had reached the front doors and Meredith was on her way toward us. “I would be indebted if you could…”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” I promised, glancing down at the unresponsive woman.
He exhaled and I saw his shoulders relax a fraction. Meredith took charge of Janice’s chair and began wheeling her inside. Giving him a faint smile, I went to follow but he grabbed my elbow and drew me up short. Startled, I was unprepared for his voice at my ear; “Thank you, Nora.”
His breath stirred the hair at my neck, and I swallowed. Then his lips were warm and gentle on my cheek, lingering, and an altogether different kind of shiver went through me. When he drew back, his eyes were serious, glistening unearthly blue at me. He gathered my hand, pressing the torchstone into my palm. Its light went out, the stone turning its natural shade of grey, and I couldn’t help another pang of defeat as it hit me.
I didn’t even have the magic to fuel a torchstone.
“We’ll leave tomorrow. In the meantime, if you need me, throw this at the wall. I’ll be there before you can say my name.”
Kissing my knuckles one last time, he turned away and started for the forest. Speechless, I watched him go, pressing the torchstone to my chest. He wasn’t heading back for the bonfire, that much was obvious by his direction, and I could only imagine he meant to speak with Cade about our escape. He shoved his hands into his pockets and ducked his head, but somehow, he still looked formidable.
I swallowed, torn between the desire to chase after him and all the safety he provided, and the knowledge that Janice would need looking after. Why didn’t he take us away now? Was the safe room not safe enough? But then, I couldn’t imagine trying to wheel Janice through the forest in the middle of the night, much less get her through the Middling.
