Nancy felt rather glum as she walked out of the large examination room with William, though the reason for her glumness was not the exam but rather that she had not heard from Andrew in almost two months now. William and the others constantly reassured her that he was busy dealing with his estate—and his mother, of course—but Nancy was not satisfied.
"My mother will continue getting the wrong idea about us," Nancy said to William as they walked home. Since Andrew had left, William had never been far from Nancy, always watching over her. He claimed he did this out of concern for her safety, but Nancy had a strong feeling Andrew had been the one who had given William instructions to keep her safe.
"She knows you're married now," William pointed out. Nancy sighed. Her mother had been thrilled when she had found out that her daughter had married the Duke of Grafton, but that did not stop her from questioning Nancy about spending so much time in the company of William Cooper. She was under the impression that Nancy was involved with William in some way or another, and strangely, she did not discourage her daughter.
"Nancy," William began as they neared her house, "why don't you go visit Andrew in London?"
Nancy looked up, surprised. "Visit him? Why?"
"Because I am tired of seeing that glum look on your face." William smiled. "I want the old Nancy back. Not that she was any more cheerful than you are now, but..."
Nancy rolled her eyes. "I'll have to think about it. Mama might need help with the shop."
"You can leave that to me. I will get someone else to help her." William frowned. "I still don't understand why you don't let Andrew hire more workers for the shop."
"I am not going to be indebted to anyone." Andrew had offered countless times to hire delivery boys and stitching women, but Nancy had refused.
"Your husband is not anyone, Nancy." Nancy opened her mouth to retort, but William hurried on. "But as you wish. Give the idea some consideration. No doubt Andrew would be delighted to see you."
Nancy nodded and bid good-bye to him as she entered her house. It was true that having not seen Andrew in months was making her restless. She missed him terribly, and just the thought of visiting him lifted her spirits. Perhaps she should do as William had suggested.
= = =
Nancy stepped out the front door and into the cool night air. Unable to sleep, she had been pacing around her bedroom for what had felt like hours until the walls of the room had seemed to be closing in on her and she decided to step outside. She wrapped her shawl tighter around herself, sighing. She had been thinking about what William had said and had almost made up her mind to visit Andrew soon. She missed him terribly and was tired of feeling so restless. She also wanted to know why Andrew had his friends keeping such a close eye on her, since they refused to give her too many details. She knew Andrew's mother disapproved of their marriage, but what was the worst she could do to Nancy from all the way in London?
Nancy shivered involuntarily in the cold night air. She heard a horse's whicker from a nearby stable. Poor thing, she thought. It's freezing out. She stared up at the sky, lost in thought. Her mind wandered when she had sat with Andrew under the night sky in London, watching the stars, after they'd said their wedding vows. That was the last time she had felt truly content.
There's that horse again, she thought before she heard the sound of hooves on the cobblestones. A bit nervous, she slowly started to back away into the shadow of the house. Then the rider suddenly appeared out of a small side street and halted in front of it. Another one followed soon after him. Nancy was hidden from their view by one of the pillars. She stood still in the shadows, trying not to make a sound.
"This is the one." The first rider's voice sounded more like a growl. "Make sure you are out of sight of the windows."
"Aye," the second rider replied. "But who is the girl?"
"None of your business," the first one barked. "You do as you're told and you will be rewarded."
The other man gave his consent. Nancy saw a sudden movement from the corner of her eye, on the opposite side of the road from where the two riders were. A tall man appeared from the shadow of a small alleyway. There was a dagger hanging from his belt. As Nancy watched, he closed his hand around the hilt of the dagger. Nancy's heart beat faster when the man suddenly stopped, his eyes on her. He frowned, but then his eyes slid over her as though he had not seen her at all. He walked toward the two men.
"Get out of here." His voice was low but menacing, and it sounded more dangerous than the growls of the riders.
The two riders jumped in surprise and turned around to face him, grabbing their weapons. One of them carried a dagger while the other had a pocketknife.
"Who are you?" snarled the first rider.
"That is not your concern." The man sounded calm and composed, as though he were simply discussing the weather. "What should be your concern is that if I see you or yours anywhere near this place again, you shall pay for your actions dearly."
The rider let out a mocking laugh. "You think you can threaten us with words and a dagger? Do you know who sent us here?"
"Yes. Give my regards to the duchess and tell her she will not be duchess for long if she keeps this up." The man's voice had dropped to the lowest pitch possible, making it sound even more dangerous. The riders seemed to falter at his words.
"Who sent you here?" The first rider lowered his dagger.
"That is not your concern," the man repeated. "You would do well to stay away from this place and from...whoever's trail you are on."
"There are others who will do this if we don't." The rider turned his horse around to leave. "You would do well not to threaten me. Threatening me is like threatening the duchess."
The man did not reply. He only watched as the two riders retreated. Once they had disappeared, he turned his head slightly and his eyes locked with hers. "You should not be outside at this time, my lady." His voice was still low but polite, the menace completely gone.
"Who are you?" Nancy demanded, moving away from the shadow that had protected her.
The man watched her steadily for a while before answering. "Let's just say that the person who sent me here is more powerful than Duchess Grafton."
Only one person came to Nancy's mind. Even all the way from London, he made sure she was safe. But why was there a need to do that in the first place?
"Go inside, my lady." The man half turned to go. "Today they were just following you. Tomorrow they could be doing something else."
= = =
Nancy bought train tickets the next day, unable to spend another day wondering why everyone except her seemed to know what was going on. She knew Andrew would not keep her in the dark on purpose. William, Roger, and Benjamin did not tell her anything because it was their way of keeping her from being worried.
When she told the three boys that she was going to London, their reactions were all similar. William was relieved but told her that he would go with her. The other two also volunteered to come along, claiming that there was no way they would let her travel from Oxford to London all alone, especially since she had told them what had happened the previous night.
So the next morning saw the four in a train compartment on their way to London. Roger and Benjamin had insisted on changing her ticket to first class, so now they sat in a large and spacious compartment they had all to themselves. Roger and Benjamin played a card game while William read a book, and Nancy stared out the window at the passing scenery, wondering how Andrew would react when he saw her. Her heart fluttered at the thought of seeing him again, but there was a part of her that was nervous too. She had not seen him in so long, despite the fact that they were married now.
Eventually, Roger and Benjamin left to go to one of the compartments in which smoking was allowed, leaving William and Nancy alone. Nancy continued to stare out the window, her eyes glazed.
"What are you thinking?" William's voice brought Nancy back to the present, her eyes focusing again.
"I'm wondering how Andrew will react to seeing me again." Nancy was surprised by her honesty, but William had that effect on her. She could always be completely truthful in front of him. "At times, I feel as though we rushed into marriage because of the circumstances at that time. I wonder if his feelings toward me have changed."
William listened carefully and was quiet for a few moments before responding. "And have your feelings toward him changed, if I may ask?"
Nancy shook her head. "Never." William did not respond. He turned his eyes toward the fleeting greenery outside. They were passing through Windsor now. "I want to thank you, William."
"What for?" William looked back at her, confused.
"For everything you have done for me. For accompanying me to London. For looking after me all the time." Nancy turned toward the window. It was beginning to get dark. "For listening to me. I don't know if I will ever be able to repay you."
William watched her without speaking until she looked back at him. "If Andrew's feelings toward you have changed, he is a bigger fool than I thought he was."
= = =
When they arrived in London, Roger took them tothe fanciest motel Nancy had ever seen. It was owned by Roger's family. It wasafter dark now, and they decided to visit Andrew the next day. Nancy knew thatshe would be restless all night, so she gave up on trying to get any sleep andsat up in her bedroom, reading a book she had borrowed from William. Eventually,she dozed off and then woke up to a stiff neck because of the odd position shehad fallen asleep in. Glancing out the window, she saw that the day was justbreaking. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and massaged her neck beforegetting up. This was the day she had been waiting for. She was finally going tosee Andrew, and then she would know one way or the other what their futurewould be.
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