The Vanishing at Loxby Manor by Abigail Wilson (grave mercy .TXT) 📕

white hair was slicked back away from his forehead. His thick eyebrows curved at an angle above closed eyes. A jaggedscar cut from one side of his cheek, across the orbit of his eyes, then plunged its red fingers into his wet hairline. I beganto wonder if he might not be alive until his head lolled to the side.

Mrs. Cavanagh adjusted his bedsheets closer to his chin. “Miss Halliwell has come to see you, my dear, but she hasn’t longbefore supper.”

At the mention of my name, his eyes flicked open and a smile curved his lips. His movements were decidedly unsteady, jerky even, as he rotated his head, but his voice was strong. “Thank you for coming. It’s been some time, has it not?”

His eyelids were thin now, his cloudy gray eyes so like an owl’s in the muted firelight. He moved to say more but a coughstole his voice. Mrs. Cavanagh passed me a cup of water, and I couldn’t stop the telltale shake of my hand as I lifted itacross the bed. “Yes, it has. I have some water if you require it.”

“Please.” He rubbed his chin. “If the two of you would but help me up onto the pillows.”

Mrs. Cavanagh’s hands were like birds in the firelight, flying this way then that. She bustled to the far side of the bed,and I finally understood what she wanted me to do. Together we resituated him so he could manage the water.

He took a long drink before turning to Mrs. Cavanagh. “Leave us. I want to talk with Miss Halliwell alone.”

Terror crossed Mrs. Cavanagh’s face. I sought her wild gaze with my own, but she merely threw her hands up as if the requestwas a matter of course. She was forced to clear her throat, however, and add, “I’ll be just down the hall dressing for supperif you need me, Miss Halliwell.”

I gave her a reassuring smile. “Thank you.”

Mr. Cavanagh waited for the sound of the door before extending his hand in my direction. “It is good to hear your voice. Iremember how you and your brother used to run through these halls with my own children.”

Carefully I took his wiry fingers into mine, all too conscious of the feel of his bones moving beneath his skin. Was he eveneating anything?

“Yes. It was a happy time in my life.”

“How is Arthur these days? Is he settled in America?”

I’d forgotten how close my brother and Mr. Cavanagh had become the summer before we left for Ceylon. They were always talkingpolitics and chemistry. Arthur and he were very much alike back then. “I’m still waiting for a return letter from him, butthe one I received in Ceylon before I left indicated he was doing very well indeed. My parents are quite proud of him.”

“I’m glad to hear it. He was always a man to make something of himself. Far more so than some of my children, I’m afraid,which unfortunately brings me to why I asked you in here in the first place. I need to talk with you about Seline.”

My muscles twitched, and for a moment I thought I saw spots before my eyes. “Oh?”

He patted my hand. “Do not take my questions amiss, although I do want the truth. I know the two of you were always close,and I desperately need insight from someone outside of this house. Mrs. Cavanagh and my boys tend to keep me at arm’s length.”He rubbed his forehead, his eyes fixed to the underside of the poster bed. “Did Seline talk to you before she left?”

I cleared my throat. “A little.”

“Well, I paid Miles to leave that very morning, and I was confident we’d not see him in this county again, but now I’m tounderstand Seline left a note—that they’ve run off to Scotland. Lying here as I am, I cannot help but feel a fool. And I cannotbelieve there’s not more to this business than what we already know.” His voice softened. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable,but what I must ask is, do you have any suspicions about whether Miles hurt her in any way, whether anything was forced onher?”

My heart nearly stopped.

And for a blessed second, I imagined my own father taking me aside, asking me so tenderly about my incident in Ceylon, but the moment faded to darkness and to the bitter reality I knew to be true. My father would never ask in such a way. Not to mention our situations could hardly be compared. Seline had initiated what happened between herself and Miles Lacy, and mine was more than a simple kiss.

“I . . .” I paused a second to think. Seline would want her father to believe the situation was Miles’s fault, but he hadasked for the truth. “She knew she never should have made a habit of seeing him alone, not when there was obviously a mutualattraction, but I don’t think she meant for anything to happen.”

My voice took a strange dip as I went on. “She should have left the minute he came near her.” My eyes slipped closed, theunspeakable details of my own night in the tea fields emerging from deep inside me, twisting and turning Seline’s story intosomething more.

“I can only imagine that it happened quite fast. Her reflexes might not have behaved the way you’d think they would. She’dbeen so desperately alone for so long. Perhaps she wanted to believe someone cared for her . . . Then everything changed.”

Mr. Cavanagh’s hand curled tight around mine, his voice breaking the pensive silence of my thoughts like velvet ice. “I’vealready spoken with some of the grooms. There have been accusations about Miles in town. Seline said it was only a kiss, correct?You’ve no need to hide anything from her father, now. I only want the best for her.”

His hand was so warm, his comfort so utterly real. I nearly mouthed the word no, but then I gave my head a little shake. We were speaking of Seline, not me. “Luckily, they were found straightaway before—”

“My dear Miss Halliwell. You’re shaking. I never meant to cause you any distress. I know how