I waited, but he didn’t appear, so I continued down the hallway. I was feeling very tired, battling to keep my eyes open, in fact. When I reached the stairway, I called for him again. I waited, looked back down the hallway, and, still not seeing him, started to descend.

It wasn’t until I had stepped down from the balcony onto the next set of stairs that I saw him below talking softly to Lucas. They both turned to watch me continue my shaky descent. Not very gallant of either of them, I thought. They should be rushing to my side, seeing how unsteady I was.

“Feeling better?” Garland asked when I reached the bottom steps.

“No,” I said petulantly.

I longed to see my father and his look of concern and love even when I was merely in a dark mood. How could Garland have just left me up there fending for myself?

Lucas stepped forward to take my arm when I stepped down and swayed.

“As I told you, I think all you really need is a good night’s rest,” Garland said. “You can probably get up whenever you want at your old aunt’s house. Of course, you could do that here as well, and in quite an elegant bedroom. Changed your mind about it, perhaps?”

“No. Please, I want to go back now.”

“Oh, absolutely. Lucas will take you. I have some paperwork to review, so I can come by about noon and bring you back to Foxworth Hall to see it in the bright sunlight. How’s that sound?”

“Nothing sounds good right now except sleep, and plenty of it.”

He laughed. “Lucas, get her home as quickly as possible but as comfortably as possible. Avoid every bump you can along the way.”

“Yes, I will,” Lucas said.

Garland stepped forward and kissed me on the cheek.

“Good night, m’lovely,” he said, then turned and headed for the library, strutting like some conquering hero.

“This way, miss,” Lucas said. He took my left arm gently and led me through the long entryway and out to the carriage. After he had helped me get inside, he closed the door. I lay back on the seat, and when we started away with a rough jerk of the carriage, I lowered myself and closed my eyes. The rocking of the carriage and the sound of the horses galloping put me in a daze. I know I fell asleep, because when I looked out again, we were in Charlottesville. Sleep had been a blessing for sure.

The streets were very quiet and much darker because it was so late. After we reached my great-aunt’s home, Lucas hurried to open the door and lower the step. He didn’t let go of me when I stepped down, and he escorted me to the front door.

“Are you all right now, miss?” Lucas asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Thank you.”