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.He would see that their carriage had not returned.When they made the turn into the Masons’ drive, she surreptitiously dropped her glove over the side of the carriage.Later that afternoon, the two families were gathered in the library.Faith had chosen a straight-backed chair to sit in, the rest were casually arranged on sofas around the fireplace.The men were enjoying snifters of brandy while the women sipped sherry.Faith had declined the offer of a drink.Her perch gave her a view of the drive, and her heart began to pound when she saw Ian coming up it on the chestnut.He dismounted in front of the house, and they soon heard his steady knock on the door.The butler hastened to answer it and soon presented Ian.“Yes, Duncan, what is it?” the elder Mason asked, and then quickly explained who Ian was to his guests.“I found this out on the drive.” Ian stepped into the room with the glove in his hand.“I thought perhaps it might belong to one of your guests.”Faith put her hand to her mouth in pretend surprise.“I believe that could be mine!” she exclaimed and rose from her chair.“Let me check my cloak to see if one is missing.” She was out in the hall before anyone could protest, and the butler led her to where her cloak was hanging.She examined her pockets and held one glove up to the man.He stepped aside to let Ian hand her the other.Ian gave him a look, and the man raised his eyebrows and went back to his post.“Leave your window open,” he said with a wink and went out the front door.“We believe he’s found a girl in town.He spends every Sunday afternoon there,” Mrs.Mason was saying to Miriam when Faith came back into the library.“He’s good with horses, that’s for sure,” Mr.Mason added.Randolph snorted his contribution.“His horses don’t have any stamina.That mare of his failed the first time I rode her.He’s going to weaken our stock, I tell you.”Mrs.Mason apologized for her son.“He thinks every horse should be like his Armageddon,” she explained.Faith mentally compared the big, bulky horse with the delicate Katrina, or even the tall chestnut, and found the black lacking in every category except size.She looked up to find Randolph gazing at her.He tilted his glass to her in a silent toast, and Faith shivered.“Are you cold, my dear?” Mrs.Mason asked, concern written on her face.“A little,” Faith answered.“I really haven’t felt well since last Sunday.I guess I just need to rest.” She looked pointedly at her father.“It looks like it might snow again.” The clouds were indeed starting to gather outside.Shrugging, her father got up to leave.It was obvious Faith was not going to cooperate today, so they might as well go home.Faith was sound asleep when Ian crept into her room later that night.She had left her window wide open and was buried under the covers.It had indeed snowed again, and wet flakes dripped off his hair and into her face when he moved the covers down to find her.She came up out of the bed and threw her arms around him.“Silly thing, I just meant for you to leave it cracked, not wide open to let all the weather in.”“Oh, Ian, when can we leave?” she cried into his neck.He pushed her back so he could see her face.He smoothed her hair back and smiled tenderly at her.“Next Sunday eve, at bedtime,” he said.“The moon will be starting its cycle again, so we’ll be able to travel at night.” He kissed her forehead.“Make your bed up so if they check Monday morning they’ll think you’re still sleeping.” He hugged her again.“I just hope I can make it through another week without wringing Mason’s neck.”Faith put a pillow over her mouth to stifle her laugh.“Me too,” she squeaked.Clouds were gathering in the summer sky.Tall thunderheads began stacking one upon the other on the Ohio side of the river.In the upstairs comer bedroom of the Taylor house, Faith’s sleep became troubled, her face lined with stress as she dreamed about a winter’s day in mid-December.They were leaving that night.Ian had ridden past her after church and included a wink with the standard grin.After the usual quiet Sunday dinner, Faith had escaped to her room to pack.Her warmest clothes were waiting in the bottom of her wardrobe.In a small carpetbag she placed a few essentials, along with her mother’s Bible and the quilt.There was nothing left to do now but wait.She had nothing to hold her there.The only relation she had in this world was a father who had barely noticed her in the twenty years of her life.She realized she wouldn’t miss him a bit.She restlessly puttered about the room, straightening odds and ends, and then decided to try to rest.She knew that they would be riding all night, so it was best to sleep now, but slumber eluded her.The anticipation of being with Ian filled her mind.Eventually she did doze off and was awakened some time later by a feeling of disquiet.She lay there a minute, trying to decipher the mood of the house, but all was still.Maybe her father and Miriam had gone out, she thought.She decided to visit the kitchen to see what kind of stores she could collect for their escape.She crept down the back stairs and had started into the kitchen when a flash of color caught her eye.She peered around a corner and saw Miriam standing in the main hall, her ear pressed to the closed door of the drawing room.Something was going on.Faith went around into the dining room and crept up on the closed double doors that separated the two rooms.There was a crack between the doors, and she peered through.She saw her father deep in conference with Randolph Mason.She put her ear to the crack to hear.“I tell you the bastard is planning to steal her away.” Randolph’s words hung viciously in the air.“How can you say that?” Her father’s voice was desperate.“He has a bad habit of talking to his horses.I overheard him myself today.”“But she doesn’t even know the man,” her father exclaimed.“How many women named Faith are there that look like a silver angel?” Mason sneered.“What are we to do?” Her father dropped wearily into a chair.“You keep your daughter in line, and I will take care of him.”“What do you mean?”“He’s threatened to kill me over that worthless mare.It would be a simple thing for me to gun him down and claim self-defense.” Mason seemed to relish the idea [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]