Chapter 12

12

The air was thick and humid on Chastity’s skin three days later, when the company gathered for the hunt. The sun shone brightly, but there was something in the air—a lingering tension building, the anticipation of relief. Perhaps the dark clouds on the horizon would later bring some rain.

Chastity smiled at Lord Wardbury, who had just said something about the latest advancements in medical science. She didn’t listen closely, though, despite her interest in the field, her mind preoccupied with Lucien.

He was standing with Dorian and Patience, talking, as the refreshments were served. From time to time, he threw glances at her.

She didn’t know what they meant.

Mr. Audley and Captain Harrington, together with Lord Wardbury, surrounded her. And even though it was quite pleasant to keep listening to them, she had a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. That she didn’t really want to be here.

That she should be standing over there. With Lucien, and Dorian, and Patience. And the rest of Dorian’s dukes.

But no, there was a bet to be won, a mission to be completed, so here she was.

Her new hunting gown, which Mrs. Winston had delivered yesterday, was quite a gorgeous dark burgundy; the gentlemen all wore crimson hunting coats. The gown was finely cut, and more practical than a ball gown, but quite warm. And she felt strangely anxious.

She glanced at the gathering of ladies and now found herself longing to stand there with them. Miss Anne Rose looked quite pretty in one of the gowns that Patience had ordered and sent to her before the house party.

Lord Wardbury kept discoursing extensively about iodine, which ought to have captured her interest. But instead, she watched a new gentleman appear and approach the ladies. Miss Rose looked quite astonished to see him, pale even. And there was some interesting intensity in the way he talked to her, some fury directed at Lady Virtoux.

After a short exchange, Miss Rose left the group, and he followed her. What was that about? She wanted to follow Miss Rose and make sure she was all right, as she knew all too well how humiliating Lady Virtoux’s comments could be, but she suddenly became aware of the silence that hung over her little group and looked at the gentlemen who were watching her expectantly.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said and gently wiped her damp hair off her cheek. “What did you say, Lord Wardbury?”

Miss Rixon was, of course, all over him the moment Chastity’s attention was elsewhere. “Lord Wardbury made an excellent point about hospitals. In the poor areas they should focus on preventative measures rather than treating illnesses after they occur.”

Chastity frowned as she looked at him. “Do you really believe that?”

“Well, no, that is not quite what I said, Miss Rixon.”

Mr. Audley narrowed his eyes. “Lord Wardbury did make an excellent point about building hospitals where the poor could be educated better about how to keep up their health.”

Chastity opened her mouth to contradict them. Whitechapel residents’ primarily concern was how to put food on the table. Preventing diseases was simply not something one could do if one had no nourishment.

“My point is, merely,” said Lord Wardbury, “that prevention is much overlooked in our health system. Not just the poor, of course, but for everyone. A healthy diet and exercise are what one needs to stay fit and well.”

“If one has a diet at all,” said Chastity.

She didn’t want to disagree with him, or any of them. That would be probably go against her goal.

Lord Wardbury looked at her and frowned. “What do you mean, Lady Chastity?”

She bit her lip. She couldn’t tell them about her weekly trips to Whitechapel to help an unlicensed doctor treat people. That would be scandalous.

She had to lie.

At the same time an odd thought came to her mind… Was that the first question Lord Wardbury had ever asked her? Surely not.

“I mean, Lord Wardbury, poor people’s main concern is to have any food at all. To provide their families with nourishment. Sometimes they cannot concern themselves if a loaf of bread has a little mold on it or might have been munched on by mice. I think you’re completely right that prevention should be advocated, but it is easy for us to say as we are not concerned with moldy bread. We can allow ourselves to choose what food we eat—a meal that might improve our health or one that is tasty. And as for exercise… I’m sure our concern is to get more exercise, whereas poor people sometimes do so much physical labor, they cannot afford the food to sustain themselves. So I would argue that, for some, less exercise would be more beneficial.”

Lord Wardbury and everyone around her stared at Chastity in surprise.

“I’d have to agree with Lady Chastity,” said Captain Harrington. “I saw that on the ships many times. One’s diet in the middle of the sea is quite limited, while there’s never a shortage of work that needs to be done. Health concerns such as scurvy, dysentery, and weakness of the body have always been a concern of the navy and seafarers.”

Chastity smiled at him and nodded. It felt good to be heard, and she felt that connection with the captain again.

“How do you know so much about the diets of the poor?” asked Lord Wardbury.

“Indeed,” said Mr. Audley. “Yet another mystery of Lady Chastity to be revealed.”

She licked her lips nervously. “I engage in charitable endeavors.”

“Ah,” said Lord Wardbury with a new appreciation in his eyes. “Indeed, a further aspect of Lady Chastity I could only highly praise.”

She chuckled and looked down at her feet.

“I do charity work, too,” said Miss Rixon, clearly nervous. “Whenever my chaperone allows.”

“Oh, of course,” said Lord Wardbury, but his eyes never left Chastity. “What kind and charitable ladies we have in our company.”

“I do admire your work in the hospital as well,” said Chastity. “You must tell me more about your research.”

At that moment, the horn sounded, indicating the start of the hunt. Grooms and footmen invited those ladies who rode and the gentlemen to take to their horses.

While Chastity mounted her horse, she noticed the company of other ladies and onlookers were going to walk. The Duke of Pryde introduced the gentleman who had just joined them as Justin, the Earl of Chans. He was in a hunting coat like the rest of the gentlemen. Tall, athletic, and quite handsome, with high cheekbones, a strong jaw, and hazel eyes, he gave a pleasant impression—though several times, his gaze darted to Miss Anne Rose, who stood by the ladies with her cheeks quite flushed.

“Allow me to stay by your side,” said Lord Wardbury when they were all mounted.

Chastity could barely hear the man as she watched Lucien, whose muscular thighs gripped the sides of his horse, the crimson hunting coat making him look especially dashing, a true pleasure for the eyes. His golden hair was under a black top hat and his violet eyes drilled into her.

Slowly, he rode closer to her and to Lord Wardbury.

“Thank you,” said Chastity distractedly. “I would like that very much.” She could talk to him about her research, and perhaps see if he might change his mind about allowing her to work at St. Thomas’s and even publish her findings.

“Very well.”

The hunting horn sounded, the pack of hounds having been released, and they were off. Despite the sidesaddle, Chastity enjoyed the ride. It was quite a thrill, to feel the powerful movements of the horse under her thighs, and to feel a breeze against her hot skin.

Her brother, who rode Erebus, his powerful stallion, was ahead of everyone. She couldn’t see Lucien, but when she looked over her shoulder, he was a few horsemen away.

The hunting party advanced across the sun-dappled meadow, the grass swaying gently in the wind that had picked up. Ahead, the tree line of the forest loomed. As she and Lord Wardbury spoke about the hospital and his research, they drew closer, and Chastity could make out the gnarled trunks of oak and elm. She kept asking questions, which were all genuine, and time passed quickly as she learned about the practices and treatments in the hospital. Despite her earlier intention, she stopped herself several times when she wanted to tell him about her own research and ambitions. She knew talking about herself was against Lucien’s guidance, and she didn’t want to undo her progress with the man.

The air grew cooler as they passed beneath the canopy of leaves. The scent of damp earth and vegetation filled her nostrils. Twigs and fallen leaves crunched beneath the horses’ hooves. By the time the first rumble of thunder reached their ears, they were already deep in the forest.

A powerful blast of wind blew against Chastity’s face. The branches of the trees swayed and moved. It was quite sudden. One moment, the hot, humid weather was on them, the next, the sky darkened to the point of being pitch black, and Chastity could hear the distant rolls of thunder.

A few thick raindrops landed on her cheeks.

Then the thunder crashed closer. Lightning flashed somewhere in the distance.

By that time, most riders were dispersed throughout the woods, and she could barely see Lord Wardbury between the trees. Her heart sped like a fox darting through the undergrowth. Her horse began to behave strangely, stepping from side to side, bobbing its head. Neighing nervously.

“I don’t like this wind and noise, either,” she said to it as she turned her horse around. Somehow they needed to find the way back to the house. Raindrops began falling in earnest then. Another crash of thunder came almost on top of them, and the lightning followed right away. “Let’s return home,” she whispered.

She turned around. Among the trees and bushes, among the tall grasses and the intensely swaying vegtation, and the drops of rain hitting her right in the eyes, she could barely see anything. She spurred the horse on as much as she could, but the poor beast was terrified. The mare neighed shrilly and twisted her head back and forth.

Thunder crashed over them, and Chastity shuddered. Lightning hit nearby in a brilliant flash. The charge of the air became dry and tasted like something chemical.

The next crash was so loud, Chastity’s ears hurt. It was followed by the impact of a nearby tree hitting the forest floor with a force that vibrated in her bones. The scent of smoke reached her nose and she saw fire through the trees.

The poor horse neighed again, more shrilly than ever. And charged.

Chastity cursed. Oh, no, the poor thing was panicked, and somehow Chastity and the horse were alone. Where had the other riders gone?

She pulled on the reins to no avail. Branches hit her face, scratched her hands and cheeks. She couldn’t stop the horse. The rain was now so thick she couldn’t see two feet in front of her. She was drenched, clothes clinging to her as though she had fallen into a pond. Thunder kept rolling and lightning strikes illuminated the woods, dark silhouettes of trees against flashes of pure light. The outlines of bushes and fallen tree trunks were blurry through the curtain of rain. And she felt as if she had stepped into a scene from a gothic novel.

“Whoa! Steady, beast!” she cried as she continued pulling on the reins, desperately clinging to the horse for dear life.

In a flash of brilliant white, she saw a fallen tree right before them. Chastity screamed and closed her eyes. She was airborne for a moment as the horse jumped of its own accord, and then the impact of her chest against the back of the horse knocked the breath out of her.

The horse kept galloping, turning left and right each time a tree or a bush stood in its path.

“Stop! Stop, you’re going to kill us!” she cried.

“Hold on, Chastity!” came a powerful male voice from behind.

Chastity stayed low, twisting to look over her shoulder. Lucien’s voice, that must be Lucien! She could barely see his silhouette through the curtain of rain.

He reached her, his hand grasping for the reins of her horse. But even under Lucien’s strong hold, she wouldn’t stop. Her eyes were bulging with fear as thunder and lightning kept exploding high above their heads and all around them.

“Hold on!” Lucien cried. “I have an idea!”

He let go of her reins and galloped his steed farther down the path, then he reined to a halt. Chastity squealed, terrified her horse would simply crash into them, but, to her astonishment, the mare stopped.

A moment later, however, it reared back on its hind legs. Chastity swallowed her scream as she desperately tried to hold on—grasping at the reins, at anything—her fingers slipping on the wet hair of her horse’s mane. Had she been properly astride, she would have been able to squeeze her legs around the horse’s girth. Butshe was sitting like a lady and was about to slide down the horse’s back. She could fall straight under the beast’s hooves, and she would crush her.

Lucien’s face was a mask of determination as he maneuvered his own mount closer. In one fluid motion, he reached out and grasped the reins of Chastity’s horse, his strong arms straining as he fought to control the panicked animal.

“Easy,” he murmured, making his voice soothing despite the storm raging around them. “Easy now.”

Slowly, agonizingly, the horse’s front hooves lowered to the ground. Chastity gasped in relief, her body trembling. The horse still pranced nervously, stepping sideways and back, but Lucien’s steady hand on the reins kept the mare from bolting again.

Rain lashed at them, driven by the howling wind. Lucien’s hair was plastered to his forehead, rivulets of water running down his face. His hunting coat was dark with moisture and clung to his broad shoulders like a second skin.

“Are you hurt?” he called over the din of the storm.

Chastity shook her head. Her heart still raced from her near fall. She became acutely aware of how her own wet clothing must be clinging to her form, and a blush rose to her cheeks despite the chill of the rain.

Lucien’s gaze swept over her, checking for injuries, before returning to meet her eyes. The worry in his expression softened slightly, replaced by something warmer that made Chastity’s breath catch in her throat.

“Come,” he yelled through the roaring thunder. “I know a place we can hide and wait this out.”