The Devil of Blackhill Hall - Part 3 (The Blackhill Hall Saga) by Eliza Carlton

Author:Eliza Carlton [Carlton, Eliza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

She did not wake Lucian to tell him that she was going to look for help. It was better that he rested, and did not tire himself with worry. Every time the rain had let up, she had thought of making it to the road and seeing if she could find a village or house, but she battled with herself, weighing up the risks of going on without food and medical attention, for how many more days or weeks she did not know, against the risk that Lucian might worsen while she was away, or the very real risk that for any number of reasons she might hurt herself further, or not manage to return to him at all.

She had tried the day before to forage in the woods for anything edible, and though she found several varieties of mushrooms and some berries, none of them looked familiar to her, and she knew that any of them could be deadly, though she was sorely tempted all the same. England was a new land but, she scolded herself, she was gently bred and ignorant; even in Virginia, she would still not know where to find food. So, many hours later, she had returned home empty-handed, wet, and cold, her ankle worse and more swollen from her efforts.

The forest was damp, dripping, and heavy was the air as she made her way down the sloping, tree-covered hillside toward where she thought the road would likely be found. It was not so far, as Lucian had said, though getting down a muddy hill with one leg and a cane was about as quick and enjoyable as she had imagined it to be.

She had not truly prepared herself for the extent of the damage. The road had once curved along the path of the river, nestled in the wooded hills, but now it was destroyed. Large chunks of road had torn away, leaving an impassable hole in its path, and with a sense of dread, Caroline turned and saw that most of the road in the other direction had also been devoured. Up ahead, there was a tangled mess of a massive fallen tree which had collapsed across the road, one of many, she was sure, and everywhere she looked was torn and littered with rocks and trees and fallen branches, as well as huge flats of mud and soil that had been lifted by the flood. She saw where the carriage had gone off, and down below, the carriage itself lay on its side near the river, broken and tattered. It looked as if it had been there many years, fading in the sun and the rain, and she turned away from it, hating the sight.

They were fenced in, no carriage or rider would be coming along this section of road anytime soon. The breathy rush of the river hurried and crashed below, dangerously high, sweeping along furiously; brown with dirt, and frothing with thirst.

Far in the distance, something rumbled, and above the clouds were brewing a deep grey.

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