The Season of Lady Chastity by Christina McKnight

Author:Christina McKnight
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: 0
Published: 2018-12-04T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Bastian preceded Lady Chastity through the terrace doors and down the steps to the garden as he removed his evening jacket, placing it around her shoulders to protect her from the winter chill in the air. Upon finding his mother in the throes of another attack, Bastian had prepared himself for an entire night at her bedside, making certain she rested as peacefully as possible and ensuring he’d be present if she were to awaken and need him—despite her argument that he should do the opposite and enjoy his time at Montrose’s manor.

Chastity’s confession regarding her cloak and her continued insistence that they journey through the gardens to the moat beyond had given Bastian a bit of a distraction. He had every intention of returning to his mother’s bedside before the night progressed much further, but a few brief moments outside the confines of the hall might do him well. The toll of his mother’s affliction weighed heavily on him. He was as helpless as she was when the attacks overtook her.

It seemed Chastity had needed a diversion, as well, and he was all too happy to assist.

Especially if it meant they needn’t speak of his mother’s continued waning grasp on reality.

If Bastian were to guess, Chastity longed to escape Lady Prudence, though she’d yet to take him into her confidence on the matter of her sister’s dour moods and blatant disapproval of…everything. As an only child, he wasn’t accustomed to the relationship between siblings; however, there appeared a fair amount of distance between Lady Chastity and Lady Prudence, especially for two women so close in age and similar in appearance.

As they reached the path that wound through the garden and led to the moat beyond, Bastian feared their silence would not be broken. What to say when he sought not to speak of his mother and what Chastity had witnessed in her chambers?

The crisp evening breeze easily found its way through his light linen shirt, goose pimples rising to his skin, but he made no move to ward off the cold, lest Lady Chastity notice and insist on returning his jacket. In all honesty, Bastian suspected a walk around the Oxburgh Hall grounds would do them both some good—even if not a word were spoken before their return.

Underfoot, the hardened ground was slick with the telltale signs of a coming freeze.

Soon enough, the moat would be as frozen as the ground until spring came and brought with it an increasing warmth that would melt the water and cause new life to blossom.

A branch reached across the path, snagging in Chastity’s long tresses, and Bastian halted to free her.

Her grateful smile, so wide creases appeared at the corners of her brown eyes, had Bastian content to walk alongside her for as long as she wished, cold weather and darkness be damned.

“I not often feel as content as I do in this moment.” Bastian hadn’t meant to share his thoughts, knowing it would only result in questions he was unwilling to answer.

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