Chapter 16

Lucian escorted Eliza into the dining room still puzzled by her behavior this afternoon. She had not behaved at all like herself. A woman who he thought feared nothing had been scared enough that her hands shook and he wanted to know why. Children were frightened by storms, not grown women.

However, he waited until the footman had placed the meal before them and retreated, leaving them privacy before he asked.

“Why do storms frighten you?”

Eliza glanced up, the spoon partially to her lips. “They make me uncomfortable,” she answered and then looked away and finished eating.

“You jumped,” he reminded her.

“I was startled by the sharp and sudden clap of thunder when I had been used to the mild rumblings.”

“Your hands shook,” Lucian pointed out.

Eliza blew out a sigh and set her spoon aside. “You will think me silly.”

She truly was frightened of something, Lucian thought with amazement. In truth, she had been alarmed after she learned that the person sending the letters had been in her home and shaken the first time she received a missive from him in the post, but her reaction to the storm was worse, or so it seemed.

“I promise that I will not,” he assured her.

“I could have been killed by a tempest,” she answered. “Others in the village claim that it was a tornado. I did not see it myself.”

Lucian narrowed his eyes. While both a tempest and a tornado could occur in England, it was very rare and he suspected Eliza was being overly dramatic, which led to her creativity in writing.

“When and how?” he finally asked.

“I was thirteen and attending the Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies,” she began. “I had been reading with Rosemary and Sophia in Sophia’s chamber.” She smiled. “It was a spooky story about a vampire and the windows were open, the curtains blowing. We could feel that a storm was coming, which made the story all the more fun.”

Lucian could nearly picture the three as girls reading by candlelight. Rosemary would have been Rosemary Fairview, now married to Maxwell Trent, brother-in-law to Lucian’s sister. Sophia was Sophia Trent, sister-in-law to Lucian’s sister.

“Our teacher caught us and sent us to our individual chambers, but I snuck down to Sophia’s.”

Had Eliza ever done what she was told?

“The storm grew fierce and caused an old, large oak tree to come down, right on the corner of the school, crushing two sleeping chambers, mine, and the one below, which belonged to a teacher. Had I been in my bed as I was supposed to be, I would have died.”

Perhaps it truly had been a tempest or a tornado if it was fierce enough to uproot a large tree.

“For the longest time, we assumed that Miss Crawford had perished but Mrs. Wiggons wouldn’t let anyone try and get her out. It turns out, she had been out walking when the storm came through.”

“It could not have been a tempest if she survived being outside,” Lucian offered. It must have just been a strong storm and the tree old and weak.

“She was saved by Viscount Atwood, who was in the cemetery putting flowers on his wife’s grave. He rescued her from a falling limb and helped her into a vault where they stayed until the storm passed. A good portion of the town received damage. The school was the worst, but partial roofs were lifted, fences blown over, and lots of trees came down and there were limbs everywhere. Viscount Atwood sent us out to clean up his estate after he gave us shelter because the school was uninhabitable.”

Lucian blinked at her. If the town had received as much damage as Eliza claimed, then it truly must have been a tempest or tornado.

“There was another incident when I was out walking at my parents’ estate when a storm began to build. I assumed I had time to make it back to the house, but I did hurry because after the incident at school, I no longer danced in the rain or enjoyed the energy of a storm. I wasn’t necessarily afraid but had developed caution where it had not once existed,” she explained. “Before I reached safety, lightning struck not far away and I could feel it in my body. The hair on my arms and at the back of my neck stood up and there was tingling through my entire body. Then lightning struck a tree near me and it split in half. That sent me running for the house.”

“I would have done the same,” Lucian answered.

“The same storm sent a limb through a window of the house, shattering glass in the room where I was sitting and a maid was cut on her face, neck, and arms.” Eliza winced. “There was so much blood.” She looked away. “She did not live.”

Lucian reached over and put his hand over hers. “I am sorry. It must have been horrifying to witness.”

Eliza gave two quick nods then took a drink of her wine. “I tried to save her, but I did not know how...her neck…the doctor told us that there was nothing that could have been done.”

“I am sorry, Eliza.”

Two storms that had brought destruction and one had brought death. It was no wonder that she feared them. He was just thankful that the storm that they experienced earlier had died down to only rain.

The footman entered to remove the bowls of soup while another footman placed the second and last course before them, then retreated.

Eliza picked up her fork and stared at the chicken, before she set the utensil aside. “I am afraid that I am no longer hungry.” She placed her napkin on the table beside her plate. “If you will excuse me.”

Lucian could hardly blame her for losing her appetite after reliving those memories. He just hoped that the thunder that he heard rumbling in the distance didn’t develop into anything else and would quickly pass or Eliza would have a very difficult night.

Eliza was exhausted by the time she arrived at her chamber. It had been a long day. Not that she had accomplished much, other than learning what she could do with voodoo dolls, but the strain of the storm, of being frightened, had left her tired and as soon as she changed into her nightshift, she had crawled into bed.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and she could only hope that if there was a storm that it would be mild, and that she would be able to sleep through it, blissfully unaware.

Her eyes blinked open as she searched the darkness for what had awakened her.

Her first thoughts were that the man who had been sending her letters had somehow found his way into the manor. Then thunder clapped, and she nearly jumped from the bed. A moment later, lightening flashed so brightly that she could see that she was very much alone in her chamber.

A limb scratched at the window and Eliza drew the counterpane up to her neck as if it could protect her.

But it couldn’t. She knew that.

Oh, how she hated having weaknesses and fears and she hated more that Lucian now knew.

Would he think even less of her now?

Only children were frightened of storms and Eliza had always prided herself on not being scared of anything.

At another clap of thunder, she jumped from her bed and grabbed her dressing gown from the end of the bed and shrugged it on. She was half tempted to fully dress so that she would have something to wear in case she had to escape from her chamber. After the tempest had struck the school, she’d only had the shift and robe she’d been wearing. Everything else had been destroyed.

She shook the irrational thought from her head. Nothing was going to happen to her and she was sufficiently covered. Except, she also knew that she would not be able to return to sleep.

With a deep breath, she exited the chamber and made her way to the sitting room she’d been in earlier. She did not need to light a candle because the flashes of light from outside proved sufficient enough.

Or so she thought until she nearly stumbled over a stool.

With shaky hands, she made her way to the fireplace and searched for flint and then lit a lamp which bathed only a small portion of the room in light. She then made her way around the sitting room lighting candles with the thought that if there was more light, she might not be so frightened. Except, what if a window broke and a candle was knocked over, then there would be fire. With that thought, she blew the candles out and left only two lamps, which were sufficient to see just enough to move about without injuring herself, and far enough from windows so that they would not be knocked over.

Blast! Her hands still shook when she lifted the decanter of brandy. It was a wonder that she had been able to light even a single candle.

She also may have poured more than was proper, but Eliza did not care. She then crossed the room, and again, stumbled on a stool and then struck her knee against a table before she curled up in the corner of the settee and watched the storm rage outside.

“I had hoped that the sounds I heard were you.”

Eliza turned to find Lucian standing at the entry to his chamber and sucked in a breath. He wore only a dark red dressing gown that came only just below the knees, revealing his calves and bare feet. It was open enough that she glimpsed part of his chest as well. Goodness! Was he wearing anything beneath his robe?

Did she want to know?

Yes, she did.

Eliza blinked and shook the thoughts from her mind. “I am sorry if I awakened you.”

“The storm woke me, but when I heard noises in here, I came to investigate.” He entered the room further. “I assume the storm woke you.”

Eliza nodded.

“It is fierce tonight,” he offered and crossed to the sideboard and poured a glass of brandy. “You are safe here, Eliza.”

Did he mean from the storm or the man sending her letters, or both?

Maybe she should go somewhere that did not have storms and where she could not be found.

Was there any place on this planet that did not have storms?

Likely not.

As Lucian drew toward the settee, Eliza turned and placed her feet on the floor, which was proper and made certain that she was sufficiently covered. He settled next to her instead of taking one of the chairs.

“I assume you will not be able to sleep until the storm has passed.”

“You do not have to stay awake just because I am,” Eliza insisted, though she also wasn’t certain she wanted him to leave.