Page 84 of An Affair at Stonecliffe

None of that mattered at the moment. The reality now was that Noelle had unwittingly delivered her son to the very man who wanted to harm him. She could not understand why Diggs had not already killed them, since he had them alone and vulnerable.

Her first thought was to barricade the door with the bed and wait for help. However, she doubted that the bed would prove much of an impediment to her captor, and besides—who would be coming to her aid? On Diggs’s instructions, she had not told the others what she was doing. Carlisle hadn’t told him to take them here; that had to have been a lie. So Carlisle would have as little idea where she was as everyone else.

She was entirely on her own, just as she had been all those years. She had kept Gil safe then, and she would do so again. Noelle glanced around the room. It was utterly dark since Diggs had taken their only light with him. However, she remembered seeing a window in the back wall. If it was large enough, they could climb through it and escape. The darkness was a hindrance, but fortunately, the room was so small that she could easily find her way to the window by simply following the wall.

Putting her fingertips on the wall, she walked slowly forward, turning at the corner, and in another few steps, the wall suddenly vanished. She extended her hand farther and it came up against wood. The window didn’t have glass; it was simply open to the shutters. No wonder the sounds of Diggs unharnessing the pony had been so clear. Carefully, she felt her way around the perimeter of the window. It wasn’t large, and it was a little high, but it was big enough she and Gil would be able to climb through it.

She pushed against the shutters. They didn’t move so she pushed harder, and the shutters opened with a screech similar to the front door’s. She stopped, heart pounding. When there was no sound of footsteps rushing toward their room, she opened the shutters wider. She could make out the darker outline of the pony standing beneath a tree. Going on her toes, she peered at the ground beneath the window and was glad to see that Diggs had left the cart there, which would make it easier for them to climb down, especially Gil.

Noelle turned and looked at Gil, who was once again soundly asleep. How were they to run with him in this condition? She could carry him, but that would slow her down; Diggs would be bound to catch up before she could get far. There was the pony cart, but it would make a great deal of noise, alerting Diggs to their escape. Not to mention that she had no idea how to harness the pony to the cart. The pony was her best option. She could put Gil up on its back, and they would be able to at least move along at a brisk walk.

First, she needed to reconnoiter a bit and find out exactly what she was dealing with. With the faint light the open shutter provided, she walked quietly across the floor and eased open the door a crack. She could see only a slice of the room, but it was enough to see Diggs’s feet propped up casually on a stool.

What was he waiting for? For his employer to arrive? Further instructions? In any case, Diggs wasn’t watchful. For a moment she toyed with the idea of finding something in the room that she could use to hit him over the head. But that was a risky proposition. She might not have the chance to hit him before he saw her or she wouldn’t be able to hit him hard enough to knock him out. It would be better to leave quietly and get as far away as they could. If she was lucky, Diggs might not miss them for hours, thinking them securely asleep in the bedroom.

She eased the door closed again and returned to the bed. Then she set out to awaken Gil. It wasn’t easy, but after a time, he opened his eyes, scowling and whining, “Maman...”

“Sh.” Noelle hastily covered his mouth with her hand and leaned down to speak in his ear. “Gil, love, you mustn’t say anything. Diggs is right outside and he might hear you. We have to get away. Quickly and quietly. Do you understand?”

He blinked owlishly at her. She couldn’t see his expression well enough in the dark to judge how fully conscious he was, so she continued to whisper. “Diggs is a bad man. You remember he gave you the nasty drink?” Gil nodded. “He’s the man who’s been chasing us. We just didn’t know. He lied to me and I believed him, trusted him. So now we must run.”

“But Uncle Carlisle...” Gil whispered back.

“Carlisle isn’t here. He doesn’t know where we are. So we have to find our way back to the house. To Carlisle.”

Gil nodded his understanding. Noelle let out a breath of relief. Gil was awake enough that he would be able to follow instructions. She led Gil to the window and lifted him up and out the window into the cart. It was a more difficult task to pull herself up and out the window, given its size, but she managed to scramble out, holding on to the shutters for support.

The pony, watching their movements, gave a little whicker and walked over to them, bumping Noelle’s arm. Noelle saw that Diggs had not bothered to tether him; the placid pony had simply remained, munching on the grass. He seemed amiable enough that she wouldn’t even need a lead for him, but she unbuckled a strap of leather from the harness and fastened it around the pony’s neck to give Gil something to hold on to.

The cottage lay in the middle of a clearing, which they would have to cross in full view of the house in order to reach the path back to the Hall. For a moment she thought of heading into the woods behind them, where Diggs couldn’t see them leave, but she had no idea where she was, and it wouldn’t help if she and Gil became hopelessly lost in the woods. No, the best course was to return home as quickly as she could.

Noelle drew a breath, and, heart pounding, started across the clearing. The docile pony ambled along at its own pace, setting her nerves jangling. Gil was nodding off on his back. Noelle grasped the back of his nightshirt to keep him upright and hooked her other hand around the makeshift collar, tugging to move the pony forward more quickly.

They were almost to the path leading into the trees when she heard a shout in the house behind them. She began to run, pulling the pony. “Wake up, Gil! Hold on!”

Gil obeyed her, groggily opening his eyes and curling both hands around the pony’s collar. He bounced along on the pony, which was shaking his head, clearly disliking Noelle’s insistence on running. Behind them, Noelle heard the door of the cottage slamming open and Diggs running after them. He carried a lantern, and the light swung crazily over the clearing as he ran.

Frightened even more, the pony jumped and twisted, pulling his head from Noelle’s grasp. Gil clung to the leather strap, but began to slide to the side. “Mama!”

Noelle grabbed Gil as he came off the horse, staggering under the weight of him. The pony thundered off down the path. Noelle swerved and ran into the trees. If she could just lose Diggs in the woods...

It was a vain hope. Diggs was on her in seconds. He grabbed her arm and jerked her to a stop. She twisted away. Knowing she couldn’t escape, she let Gil slide to the ground and bent to grab up a fallen branch.

“Run!” she screamed to Gil as she came up swinging at Diggs.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CARLISLE STRODE INTO the house, the doctor following on his heels. They had not yet reached the door of the drawing room when Annabeth came running toward them.

“Carlisle! Dr. Havers! Thank God.”

“Nathan?” Carlisle asked, his stomach clenching. Whatever had happened, however damning it looked for Nathan, Carlisle could not bear for his lifelong friend to die.

“He’s still alive. Doctor, this way.”

Carlisle followed the others into the drawing room. The doctor went down on one knee beside Nathan and began to examine his wound.

“Where is Noelle?” Carlisle asked, glancing around the room. It had been emptied of the crowd that had been in here before, leaving only Annabeth and two footmen.