A Solemn Promise

XXIV

"Oh, Lizzy! do anything rather than marry without affection." Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

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XXIV.

Adam felt as though his lungs might turn inside out as he pushed himself to sprint off in the direction of the village. Grace would have left through the side entrance and all the way around the Ashwood estate to the road. He prayed that as she was walking with much shorter legs, he would catch her quickly before he collapsed from exhaustion.

He kept his eyes ahead, searching through the dense trees as he ran, checking to see if Grace had taken a wooded path, but he hoped she was too sensible to walk alone through there.

Adam was grateful that the air was wintery, and he was not running in high summer, but as he puffed, it felt as though he were inhaling a dagger over and over.

But then he finally spotted her. Grace was walking along the edge of the main road back into the village, a few miles from her home. She had not even stopped to collect a coat or anything from her bedroom and was simply wearing her lady's maid uniform. Adam then realised that he was only wearing a thin shirt and breeches, and had nothing to offer her for warmth, as not even he had thought to collect a coat before running about the house like a madman.

"Grace!" he shouted. "Grace, stop!"

Grace jumped and spun around, looking for where her name had come from. When she saw Adam running towards her, Grace's jaw dropped open in shock.

"Adam?" she called, though the distance between them made her voice faint.

Adam finally reached her a minute later, his legs like lead beneath him as they buckled. He all but fell into the ditch between the road and the wood as he sucked in raspy breaths. "You ... have ... no ... idea ... what ... a ... wild ... goose ... chase ... I ... have ... been ... on," he puffed.

Grace fell to her knees beside him, kneeling her black skirt into the dusty road as she put a hand on his shoulder. As he looked into her eyes, he could see how upset she was. Her lashes were slick with tears, and her eyelids were red and swollen, as was her nose. Her cheeks were tear stained and flushed. She was absolutely devastated to have been dismissed, and the sooner Adam could stop himself from dying on the side of the road, he wanted to end her pain, just as she had tried to help his.

"You shouldn't be out here," Grace warned in a fragile, shaky voice. "I don't know how ..." She bit on her lip nervously. "Well, perhaps I do, I might've given her an inkling ... but Lady Sarah thinks that there have been inappropriate relations between us." She hiccoughed. "Her mother called me ... a ..." but Grace could not bring herself to say the word. She covered her mouth with her hand as she tried to stifle a sob. "You need to go back there and fix it!" she urged. "Lady Sarah was so upset ..."

"Sarah was upset because I ended our understanding this morning," Adam explained, his voice sounding a sight more human. He righted his posture a little and shuffled closer to Grace, his movement kicking up a little dust from the road.

Grace's eyes flared as all manner of shock crossed her face. "You did what?" she gasped. She could not have separated herself from him quickly enough as she practically flew to the other side of the road, her skirt covered in grey gravel dust. "Adam!" she exclaimed. "What on earth were you thinking?" she accused. "I know you said your mother couldn't disown you, but I certainly think she will try now!"

Adam could not help but smile as he watched Grace panic. He had not been amused in a long while, and he knew it would be brief. But he wanted to enjoy this moment. He would remember this. "I don't think she will," he murmured.