Chapter 82 - Vanished

When Miles, Bernard, and the other men returned, it was to announce they'd found nothing. They had traveled all through the woods, over the hills, and as far as they could manage. It was decided that, whatever the thing was, it must have fled upon being spotted.

Delaney didn't believe that though. She still remembered the creepy eyes watching her. There had been no fear there. The men from the stables had combed through the woods shortly after she'd seen it and they'd come up with nothing either. She couldn't believe the thing could've fled that fast.

No, she believed that, whatever it was, it was hiding. And hiding well.

Trying to put the thing from her mind, Delaney immersed herself in spending time with her friends. Along with Miles and Bernard, the five of them stayed up playing cards and talking and laughing. They slept late in the mornings but when they awoke they'd picnic outside in the gardens or explore the manor.

When Delaney took the women to show them Frost, Cora and Constance were so enamored with the half-unicorn, that visiting him became a daily occurrence. She told her friends about Vincent taking her into the woods at night and introducing her to the unicorn. The women were in awe of her luck.

"You never saw the unicorn Miles?" Cora asked him hopefully as they lounged on blankets outside in the summer sun.

"I did not," the man smiled up at her from where his head rested in her lap, "My brother never cared to introduce me I guess."

"Maybe he thought you wouldn't be interested," Delaney smirked, "You were quite a brat as a child."

"He still is a brat," Cora giggled and watched as Miles rolled his eyes.

"You're both lucky you're beautiful because you're not funny," Miles teased them back.

Delaney was secretly pleased Vincent hadn't taken his brother to meet Mabon the unicorn. It made it all the more special that he'd taken her. Thinking of that night made her heart ache. She missed her husband. It had been more than half a week. She knew it would still be much longer before he returned.

"We should go into the village and see if there's anything good in the shops," Cora suggested then.

Miles groaned, "My mother lives in the village. If we go there without stopping to say hello to her she'll kill me."

The group cringed at the idea. The idea of visiting Violet Adair when it wasn't absolutely necessary wasn't appealing to any of them.

"Maybe she won't be home," Cora suggested, "You know she's been traveling a lot lately."

"Are you really willing to take that chance?" Miles asked with a smirk.

Cora sighed, "I think she won't be home. I'm willing to risk it."

"What about the rest of you?" he asked looking at the others.

"Ah I think I might excuse myself from that treat," Bernard yawned from where he was laying on another blanket with little Benjamin laying beside him on his belly, attempting to lift his head and look around. "I'll stay here with the baby."

"Are you sure?" Miles teased, "Mother would love to see the baby."

Bernard chuckled, "Well I think if that were true she would've made a point to do so by now."

"What about you Delaney?"

Sighing, Delaney knew she would have to agree. If Cora was staying at her home and went to visit their mother-in-law without her, she would look terrible and Violet would never let her live it down.

"Well, I suppose I have to," she gave in, "Cora you had better be right about her not being home though."

Cora giggled then turned to Constance, "You'll come too won't you?"

Constance frowned, "Why do I have to submit myself to Violet Adair's scrutiny? She's not my relative."

"Because we're your friends and you love us," Cora smiled overly sweetly, fluttering her dark lashes.

"And you won't abandon us to face it alone," Delaney added giggling.

"I'll be there," Miles interjected, sitting up now.

"Yes but you're just as scared of her as all the rest of us are Love," Cora giggled, making her future husband frown.

"Well, I'll have a carriage made ready and we'd probably all better get cleaned up in case Violet is home," Delaney sighed, "Although I'm really hoping we might miss her."

Miles and women went to their rooms, leaving Bernard to play with his son. Just before she went inside though, Delaney glanced down at the spot in the woods, making sure there was nothing there watching them. It made her anxious to leave Bernard there on his own.

At the door, when she stopped to tell their butler to have a carriage ready, she also asked him to send a few of the guards farther down the hill so they could better keep an eye on her friend and his baby.

In her bedroom, Delaney called for Ms. Bird and had the woman get one of her nicer dresses. She knew she was just going to the village so she didn't need to get too fancy. But on the off chance they did end up having to visit with Violet, she didn't want to leave anything for the woman to criticize.

Dressed in a deep blue dress that went well with her eyes and her wedding ring, Delaney had Ms. Bird do her hair into a semi-intricate design and tuck a few diamond hairpins in to give it an extra shine.

Meeting Cora in the hallway on their way to the carriage, she saw the younger woman had also gone with a fancy light blue gown and her own tiny pearl pins in her golden curls. Even Constance was wearing a nice green gown and her mother's large opal necklace.

The three women loaded into the carriage with Miles who was polite enough to comment on how lovely each of them looked. As the carriage rolled away from the manor, Delaney looked out the window, her eyes going to the treeline behind the stables.

She stiffened and for a moment, she thought she had seen a dark shape in the trees with light, shining eyes reflecting the midday sun as it watched the carriage. They hit a bump, jostling her and when she straightened and looked out again, there was nothing to be seen.

Delaney shook her head and worked to calm her racing heart. Her mind was obviously playing tricks on her. Miles and Bernard had searched the woods with a dozen soldiers and had found nothing. If there was something there to find, surely they would have found it.

They hadn't searched that part of the woods though.

"Delaney are you alright?" Cora asked then, interrupting her thoughts, "You've gone white as a sheet."

Delaney forced a smile to her lips and nodded. "I'm alright," she lied, "Just excited to go into town. I haven't left Edgewood since Vincent and I were married."

Cora frowned slightly, not quite believing her friend. But with no evidence to contradict her, she nodded and turned back to Miles. Constance too studied Delaney, knowing her well enough to know she had lied, but also had no way to argue it.

As the carriage rolled along, Delaney stared out the window, unable to shake the fear she felt even though they were now far from Edgewood. She pictured those strange eyes staring at her from the woods and wondered again what the thing was. What did it want? Was it waiting to catch someone alone to drag into the woods with it and do who knew what with?

She swallowed hard, twisting her ring on her finger until the skin beneath it stung. She wished Vincent was here. She would feel so much safer with her husband to keep his eye on things. There was no doubt in her mind that he would protect her from anything.

By the time they reached the village, Delaney was finally beginning to relax. She even wondered if she hadn't imagined seeing the thing again. Maybe it was just a shadow or a trick of the light. Either way, she was determined to put it from her mind and focus on having fun with her friends.

"Should we call on your mother first?" Delaney asked Miles, "Or should we shop first?"

Miles ran his hands over his face and up through his hair exactly as his older brother did. "We'd better go see her first in case she's home. We wouldn't want her to think she was an afterthought."

"The lengths we must go to in order to avoid insulting Violet Adair," Constance rolled her eyes.

Miles knocked on the roof of the carriage and called to the driver where to go. They were all a bit tenser now as they headed toward their destination.

"She really has been traveling a lot?" Delaney questioned her future sister-in-law.

Cora nodded quickly, "She has. We've heard she's even spent a good deal of time in the King's City."

"Really?" Delaney asked curiously, "What for?"

"We were thinking you and Vincent would know," Miles answered with a shrug.

Delaney laughed, "Your mother doesn't speak to us at this point."

"Well enjoy it while it lasts then," Miles smirked.

The carriage came to a stop and they all looked out the windows. A footman opened the door and Miles was the first to get out, holding out his hand to help out the three women.

While they were getting out, a footman ran ahead to knock on the door and announce their arrival to the waiting butler. He hurried back down to the group and Delaney waited anxiously, praying the man would say that, alas, Lady Violet Adair was out.

Instead, the man smiled and with a slight bow announced, "The Dowager will see you now."