Blackstone and Broken Things

Chapter 6

 Ana had spent most of the night and a great deal of the morning reviewing all she had discussed with Larc that previous night, going over all the reasons to speak with Mr. Hoss and all the consequences for her failing to do so. She had still been mauling over the matter when she had seen Lillian run into the garden's small hedge maze. Then, felt her heart jump into her throat at the sight of Mr. Hoss sighting her and following after.

She had torn out of her room so quickly she had nearly plowed over poor Katey. Who had been mere steps from her door, Ana's breakfast tray heavy in her hands. She had ordered the girl to find Carthridge and send him to the hedge maze, and if she could not find him, then to send any footman she came across. When she had reached the hall to the terrace, Lillian was already marching in, grumbling about Larc's interference and how much she hated needlework. It was not a new phenomenon for Ana to witness; what was was the grunting and scuffling sounds coming from outside.

Looking through the window, Ana caught sight of Larc and Mr. Hoss brawling, barreling into each other, twisting and punching. A time or two, one would manage to get his hands about the other's waist and lift him high enough to slam him down into the ground. It was a brutal affair to watch, yet she could not tear her eyes away.

"Your ladyship!" She blinked, turning to find John, red-faced and out of breath, jogging toward her. Looking back to the brawling pair outside, Ana lifted her hand, pointed out the window, and then addressed John.

"I would like that to stop." She told him.

With a heaving breath, he looked out the window, looked back at her, and nodded. Walking past her out the terrace's double doors, he stopped a moment, looking about for something, before finding what he sought and hoisting up a bucket. Carefully, he got within range of the men, took aim, and tossed the bucket's contents at the pair.

The outcome would have been comical if Ana's heart had not still been lodged in her throat. However, the incident had helped her a great deal in determining her next course of action.

Thus, she stood before him now as the Countess of Clearshire, his wife.

She knew revealing herself to him was a risk, but she had to do it now or open herself up to the very real possibility of some other person doing it for her. Most likely without her present and with no way for her to explain her actions. She only hoped Larc's assessment of the man before her was as accurate as he claimed.

As Larc had told her last night, she could not afford to make him her enemy. Not with all that would be happening in the coming months. The harvest needed to go smoothly to pay off the estate's remaining debts. The staff needed her focused to address any issues with their soon-to-arrive guests. And Lillian did not need to be hidden away like some dirty secret. It was not her fault her parentage fated her to be a bastard, and Ana would be damned before she let anyone treat her sweet child as such.

So she stood before him, waiting for the inevitable explosion of temper she was sure would come. The inescapable declaration that she had been lying to him all this time, the accusations that she had made him look a fool. Even the very real possibility that he would strike her for what she had done. However, she was also quite certain that if he were to so much as raise a hand to her, Larc would decree the man's life forfeit and would not allow him to leave the maze breathing. She knew he had to be skulking about the maze somewhere; as uncertain as she was about Mr. Hoss, she knew Larc would not simply leave her.

But as she stood there, waiting for all of her worst expectations to transpire, they did not. Instead of his face going red with anger or his manner turning cold with calculated rage, his eyes dropped to the ground at her feet, a forlorn sigh escaping his lips.