A Wager Of The Heart

83. The Jacket

:::Charity:::

It wasn't until the following afternoon that I got to meet my smallest brother, and that was only after enduring more than an hour of Mrs. Lee's scornful and happy tears. He was a little more than two months old and soundly asleep in a white frilled bassinet, his chubby little hands curled into fists as he breathed deeply. He had a thick patch of strawberry blonde hair on the top of his head and the roundest cheeks I'd ever seen, his small chin poked out under his pink mouth and I instantly fell in love. I sank to my knees and spent the rest of my afternoon singing softly to him as he slept. When he finally woke, he watched me with such clear blue eyes, large in his face, that I felt I was staring at a pair of matching jewels.

Geri came the next day and she would have been here sooner, she proclaimed, if Brandan hadn't insisted on all of her time. I blushed profusely but Geri just brushed it off. I was happy to spend the entire day sitting next to her as she explained what happened during the months that I was gone, in more cheerful tones. We managed to pass the afternoon without tears and that was a thankful accomplishment considering our first reunion. 

By the time dinner was served I was both physically and emotionally exhausted so I excused myself without eating. I hadn't managed to get a decent night's sleep since coming here which only left me languid during my daily activities. I wanted to attribute my lack of sleep to the unfamiliar surroundings but I knew I would be lying to myself. It had everything to do with that damnable jacket. 

I am quite certain if I have to weather another night like the last two I would go mad. Perhaps I already was mad, considering what I was planning. I sat patiently at the small writing desk, carefully counting down the hours after the sun went down. It had to be tonight but I couldn't risk being found out. When it was well into the hours after midnight, I knew it was time. I lit a candle and wrote a small note explaining not where I was or what I was doing, but simply that I would be back. 

I threw the heavy blue cloak over my shoulders and crept carefully down the hall and out of the house. The scene was too reminiscent of the night I fled and it made my stomach and chest clench with nerves. I shook them away because I wasn't leaving them, I was simply retrieving something that was mine. I didn't even contemplate what I would do if the jacket was no longer in my room, it just simply had to be. 

I was better at saddling and riding a horse than I had been the previous year so it didn't take me nearly as long to be on my way. I rode cautiously and quietly along the tree lined path until I could no longer see the shadow of my father's house. Then I pushed the horse into a full gallop until I could see the looming shape of Preston Palace before me. Luckily the horse was young and fit and able to maintain the pace without too much strain. I slowed the animal to a walk as I neared the building. 

Dismounting and tying the reins around a low hanging branch just far enough away that the animal couldn't be spotted as a horse until more closely examined. I crept forward from shadow to shadow and wondered which door would be best to use for my sneaky mission. The front door and side door were out of the question. I knew both could not be opened without great effort and no small amount of noise. That left the library door of the servant's dinning room door. I shook my head in mild disbelief as I conquered the urge to travel the paths of the much loved garden while I skirted the edge of the house. The library was far riskier in that if spotted I could be immediately recognized. Whereas I could possibly pass myself off as an employee if caught in the servant's quarters. 

A light on in the library made up my mind for me as I crept carefully back along the wall. Thankfully the dinning room and hallway leading to the main part of the house was dark and empty. It amazed me with a sad part of my heart how well I knew the path and which turns to make. I'd traveled this exact route many times over, but this would have to be the last time. I opened the door to the main part of the house and winced when it creaked, stopping short as my breath caught and I couldn't move.