Page 60 of Winterset

Anna stayed for a few more minutes, discussing their respective days; then she went upstairs to dress for dinner. The evening meal was their usual quiet affair, with Kit and Anna talking companionably about this and that through the courses. It occurred to her that this would be the pattern of the rest of her life: visits with the neighbors, quiet meals with her brother, evenings spent in front of the fire with a book.

She glanced at Kit. They had agreed three years ago that they could not marry, that it would be unfair to bring their strain of madness into an unsuspecting family. They would not have children who might someday succumb to the illness. It was not a bad life; there were others, Anna knew, who had made much greater sacrifices than they had. But there were times, like tonight, when the ache of it brought her close to tears.

After the meal, Kit rode into the village for his weekly card game at the doctor’s house. Anna spent the evening catching up on her correspondence. However, she had difficulty keeping her mind from turning to Reed. She wondered what he was doing this evening, if he found his mind going to her no matter what he tried to concentrate on.

He had been stunned by her news, that was clear—and angry because she had not told him the truth when she rejected his proposal. He had every reason to be angry, she told herself. It would doubtless have been easier for him to accept her rejection if he had known the real reason. Though he might have been sad, he would have realized that they could not marry. Finally, with a sigh, she put aside her paper and pen, and went upstairs to her bedroom.

She felt bored and lonely and too restless to sleep. So she picked up the book she had been reading lately, but a few minutes of reading the same page convinced her to put it down. Finally she went to her secretary and lowered the front, then sat down to write.

On the left side of the page, she listed all the things she knew about the old murders. On the right side, she listed all that she knew about the recent ones. It was not, she thought, a very impressive list. She drew lines connecting the items in each column that matched up. She looked at it for a few minutes. Still, no idea sparked in her head.

She rose and crossed to the window, then stood for a few minutes looking out. The moon was only a sliver, and the landscape below lay largely in darkness. She looked up at the bright stars in the dark sky, and her mind drifted.

Suddenly, sharp as a knife, fear lanced through her. Anna gasped and swung around, almost expecting to see something horrific behind her. There was nothing there, but the fear in her did not abate. Her chest was tight, as if steel bands had wrapped around it, and her breath was loud and harsh in her ears.

Her vision began to blur, and she dropped down into a chair, her knees suddenly weak. She could feel the night air against her cheek; she was aware of a faint feeling of goodwill and a certain fuzzy-headedness. She saw a dark road stretching out in front of her, the moon and stars blocked out by the overarching trees. She saw the tangled branches of the trees moving gently in the evening breeze. Then, blindingly, pain burst in the back of her head and radiated through her skull, pitching her forward onto her knees on the floor.

Kit!

Anna pushed herself up onto her feet and ran to the door. “Kit!”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Anna tore down the hall to her brother’s room, even though she knew he was not there. She threw open the door, not bothering to knock. The bedchamber was empty. She turned and pelted down the stairs, calling his name, and went to his study. It, too, was empty.

Anna pressed her hands against her head. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hardly think. Oh, Reed! She wished desperately that Reed were here, that she could turn to him for help.

“Miss? Is something the matter?” One of the footmen hurried toward her, drawn by her screaming of her brother’s name.

Anna shoved aside her momentary weakness. “Have you seen Kit? Has he come home yet?”

“Why, no, miss, he hasn’t. Is something wrong?”

“Yes. I—I’m not sure.” Anna could not explain why she was so convinced that something had happened to her brother—or was about to happen. But she was certain of it, and she could not stand by and do nothing. “Go out to the stables and tell them to saddle my horse.”

The man goggled. “At this time of night, miss?”

“Yes! Don’t just stand there! I have to go to Kit!”

“Yes, miss.” He nodded quickly and scurried off.

Anna ran back to her room. She didn’t have time to change into her riding habit, but she could not ride in these evening slippers. She kicked them off and pulled on her boots as fast as she could, then grabbed her riding crop and dashed back downstairs.

She raced across the yard to the stables, her heart pounding. There she found not only her mare, saddled, but a groom saddling another horse.

The head groom was holding her mare’s reins, and he turned as Anna approached. “I’m going with you, miss,” he told her, his chin thrust forward stubbornly, as if he expected a fight.

“Good,” Anna replied, taking the reins and letting him toss her up into the saddle. If Kit was hurt, she would need help, and Cooper was a good rider; he would not slow her down.

“Shall I bring others?” Cooper asked.

Anna hesitated. If she was wrong, they would doubtless think she was mad, but she could not worry about that now. “Tell them to bring round the carriage and follow. We’re riding into town. Kit may be…in trouble.”

Cooper turned to the other groom, barking out a few quick orders, then mounted his horse. Anna was already turning her mare and heading down the driveway, going as fast as the dim light of the waning moon allowed.

At the end of the driveway, she turned right onto the lane. Her mind had been working as she ran, and she thought she knew what stretch of road she had seen in her vision. Not long before the lane ended at the larger road into town, there was a stretch where the trees formed a long canopy. She was sure that that was what she had seen right before the blinding pain had exploded in her head. She didn’t understand how she had known that Kit was the object of her vision; she had not seen him. But she was certain that it was about him; she felt it in every fiber. She hoped it had not happened already. She hoped she was not too late.

Cooper did not waste any time trying to question her. He simply kept up with her, his eyes searching the road in front of them intently. Finally, up ahead of them, Anna saw the beginning of the rows of trees. It looked almost like a tunnel, the road disappearing into its black maw.