The Heir - Catherine Coulter [132]
She looked down at the smooth grass below, took a deep breath, and kicked free of the tree. She fell lightly on her feet, then set off at a run toward the stables, clutching her bothersome skirts high above her ankles. She heard from a distance, from the other side of the hall, the loud laughter of the servants who had accompanied their masters and mistresses. Suddenly she heard the steady pounding of horse’s hooves.
She quickly lowered herself to her knees behind a yew bush and waited. But a moment later, horse and rider passed her, and she saw Gervaise’s pale face in the moonlight.
She forced herself not to move, counting down long seconds, until he was out of her sight. She jumped to her feet and ran to the stables. When she drew up, winded, at the lighted stable door, she found herself facing a bewildered groom, who seemed unable to do anything but stare openmouthed at her.
“Ah, er, milady?”
Arabella drew two more panting breaths, took in the patent uncertainty on the groom’s face, and said with all the arrogant haughtiness of her sire, “What is your name?”
“Allen, milady.”
“Quickly, Allen, I want you to saddle Miss Talgarth’s mare, Bluebell, this very instant.” The groom faltered. Arabella said, still more haughty, “Do as I tell you or Lord Talgarth will see to you.”
That did it. Allen moved probably more quickly than he had in many a long day.
She grinned at his back. She wanted to ask him if the earl had already come and gone, but she guessed the groom wouldn’t tell her the truth. She had to admit that Justin could terrify a servant more effectively than she probably could.
Arabella eyed the gentle Bluebell, and wished she had Lucifer. Well, there was no hope for it. She ignored the groom, after he’d given her a foot up, and dug her heels into Bluebell’s fat sides.
Her elegant hairstyle became tangles of flying hair even before Bluebell gained the main road. She pressed the mare to a steady gallop, promising her a large pail of oats when they reached Evesham Abbey. Yes, she thought, without a doubt Gervaise was riding to Evesham Abbey. It was about the only thing she was certain of at the moment.
She knew that what she was doing was perfectly outrageous. She also knew that Justin would be furious. So be it. She was very much a part of all this and it was only fair that she see it to the end. She really had no clear idea at the moment of what she was going to do after she found out what he was up to. She wanted to kill him. Yes, that was what she would do. That would save Elsbeth from ever learning the truth. She lowered her head and kept her eyes steady on the road in front of her. The wind was cold against her face.
As she turned Bluebell onto the graveled drive in front of Evesham Abbey, Arabella was not at all surprised to see Gervaise’s horse tethered to a bush just to the side of the front steps. He must have taken his horse to Talgarth Hall earlier in the day and hidden it. She reined in the panting Bluebell and slid from the saddle. Everything was eerily quiet. Only a few candles were shining from the first-floor windows. There was but one light glowing from the second floor—it was from the earl’s bedchamber.
She raced up the front steps and pushed the great doors open. The entrance hall was empty. She frowned. Where were the servants?
She thought of her small pistol, safely placed in the night table beside her bed.