Shadowheart flushed for a moment, seeming to stumble for words. Gale, however, had never in his life had such an affliction befall him, so he stepped out from the shade of the tree toward the man. Gale didn’t recognize him, but that didn’t surprise him anymore - he’d lost track of many of the nobles his mother had met with. But judging by the man’s immaculate outfit, he must have held a spot somewhere in the nobility. Gale swept himself into a light bow. “Ahh, good sir, we were accompanying Her Highness on a walk, but we seem to have gotten turned around. Are we very far from town?”
The man pivoted to stare at Gale as though seeing him for the first time. His eyes focused for a moment, then a large smile spread across his face. “Lord Ledger! Great to see you again!” The man stepped toward Gale, extending his hand, and Gale heartily shook it. “My mother will be so pleased to see you again - she can get terribly lonely for family outside of us children at times. But no, you are not terribly far from town, although Her Highness must have had quite a walk indeed.” The man looked toward the trees. “I am unsure if we could get a carriage through the wood to fetch you. I would offer to ride back for horses, but I am not sure how Her Highness would fair with all of her attendings seeing her in such attire.” His eyes flitted back to Shadowheart for a moment before focusing firmly on Gale. Gale’s eyes ran over her as well, and he immediately realized what the man was saying. Shadowheart was still in her night outfit from camp, which left very little to the imagination. While not a problem for their group, it would definitely be a problem for the nobility. For whoever this man thought that they were. “Ahh, yes,” Gale said quietly, “mayhaps Her Highness could borrow your traveling cloak? If you could point us in the right direction, we wouldn’t mind walking back ourselves.”
“Nonsense,” the man said, putting off his cloak and handing it to Shadowheart with another bow. “Her Highness will take my horse, and I will lead the rest of you back.”
“That sounds like a fine plan, Lord….” Gale questioned.
The man raised an eyebrow at Gale in obvious curiosity. “Have you hit your head, Lord Ledger? Getting lost in a wood you do not frequent is something I understand, but forgetting Lady Bridgerton is your sister is a vastly different matter.”
“Ah, yes, of course,” Gale said, putting on his best smile in the hopes that the man would not be offended. “The sun must be getting to my head.”
“In that case, we must return to the indoors immediately. My estate is the closest. Your Highness,” he said, turning back to Shadowheart, “would it be acceptable for you to return to my estate? We can arrange a carriage to Buckingham Estate from there.”
Shadowheart nodded. “Very well. We wouldn’t want um, Lord Ledger,” she said, eyeing Gale, who shrugged slightly, “to faint from the heat. But my apologies, my Lord, but have we met previously?”
“We did, Your Highness, although I was much younger then, and you mostly spoke with my father and mother.” He offered Shadowheart his hand and when she took it, he immediately led her to his horse. She paused, but the man gestured for her to ride it, so she mounted it. Despite her obvious mismatch in style with the Lord standing next to her, she was glad that she had worn pants to sleep. She remembered riding sidesaddle as a child (again, she thought, how could she suddenly remember that? She’d have to explore it later), but it’d been years, and she didn’t relish the thought of practicing again now in front of this man who thought her royalty. “My name is Anthony. Or, should I say, I am the Viscount Anthony Bridgerton. Now,” he said, eyeing her posture on the horse and apparently deciding that she was confident enough on the beast, “let us get you all to the estate, so we can get you some shade and a lemonade to calm the nerves.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Anthony took the reigns of the horse and started to lead them into the woods. Shadowheart turned back to see the rest of the group start to follow, save for Wyll, who stopped for a moment and pulled open the cord holding the cloak he’d still been wearing, throwing it quickly to Astarion before he followed as well. Astarion hid under the cloak as well as possible and took a couple of hesitant steps out from the shade. She didn’t see any smoke rising from his skin, and Astarion was apparently appeased enough that he started to follow them as well. They would have to come up with some sort of better solution for him, she thought, but for now, it could work as an emergency measure. Right now, emergency measures are all they had to work with.
***
The Bridgerton estate was larger than Gale had been picturing, although he supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised - he was a viscount, after all. He had met quite a few nobles through his mother - while she wasn’t a noble herself exactly, her wealth had managed to allow her to befriend those from the social class. However, most of those she dealt with were not of named rank.
The estate was sprawling, with a house large enough to house half of the tieflings from the Druid Grove. Unlike everywhere he’d ever lived, though, the grounds were quiet, and it wasn’t until Shadowheart had dismounted from the horse and Anthony started leading them toward the doors that he saw the bustles of who he assumed were servants. One such person opened the grand door for Anthony as he led them up the stairs, stepping to the side just before the doors and bowing for them to enter.
“Anthony?” an older woman’s voice said from inside. It tore Gale’s attention from the man bowing before them to the guard, but the man remained silent. Then, he saw a flutter of movement on the top floor of the house, and after a heartbeat, a woman stepped onto the stairs. She must have been the matriarch of the house, Gale thought as he watched her hurry down the stairs. She looked as though she were somewhere in her mid-forties, and although she was still quite beautiful, the worry lines around her eyes evidenced the hardships she had seen. Like Anthony, she was perfectly dressed in a beautifully sewn dress, although Gale couldn’t help but notice that it was a bit outdated, but her hair was no longer fully enclosed in what looked to be a neat bun and her already porcelain face looked a tad pale. Worried, perhaps, Gale thought. “Are you well? I saw you mount your horse in haste.” The woman’s steps faltered as she ripped her eyes off Anthony and finally saw the group before her. After a moment to process, she dipped into a low curtsey. “Your Highness! What a surprise to find you at our estate on such short notice!”
“Mother,” Anthony said, slipping in through the door behind Shadowheart, “I am well. I heard a scream in the woods as I was tending to my horse and went to investigate. It seems Her Highness and her companions got turned around in the woods. Lord Ledger,” he nodded toward Gale, “was a bit overwhelmed by the sun, so Her Highness agreed to return to our estate.”
Shadowheart curtsied slightly toward the woman, assumedly Lady Bridgerton, as a group of younger people started to flood in behind her. Several looked close to Anthony’s age, but there were a couple who were in their early teens. Lady Bridgerton curtsied back and ushered the group into her house. “You Highness,” she said to Shadowheart, “you are of course welcome to stay here as long as you need to.”
Shadowheart waved her hand toward the woman. “It is no need. Anthony was just telling us that he would grab a carriage to bring me to my estate. Perhaps the rest of us can stay as well.
“As you wish, Your Highness. However, if it should please you, I would prefer to keep my brother on the estate. I would like to catch up with him.”
Shadowheart’s eyes locked with Gale’s. He didn’t much want to stay here alone with these strangers, but it wasn’t as though they had any plan for getting back to Rivington. For now, it might just be best to play along. With a hard swallow, Gale nodded at her. “Very well, although I shall need to see him at my estate first thing tomorrow. We have a lot to discuss as well.”
“That can be arranged, Your Highness. Anthony, will you please have one of the servants fetch the carriage? Until that time, please, shall we retreat to the drawing room for some lemonade? Plus,” she said with a smile, “judging from the sound of my children behind me, they’re all looking forward to meeting you.”