Summary of Events:
Adeline watched first Richard Jr., then Edward, and then Mr. Leonard ride the colt, before Richard rode again and ended up falling off and hurting his ankle. Edward was summoned to Mr. Leonard to be paid, and they got into a bit of a discrepancy over the price until Edward forced Mr. Leonard to do what he wanted before leaving. Adeline thought about what she'd do once she got to Dallas as they travelled. Edward, thinking over what Adeline had told him, decided to question her about her story, and found her defensive, which made him suspicious. Adeline lay awake, bothered by Edward's questioning . . .
Excerpt of the Day:
"It still unsettled her that he'd challenged her, though. That he would be suspicious of her suggested that he'd been able to see through her tale as soon as she'd told it. She had a feeling he was more than certain that she'd lied to him, but was waiting patiently, biding his time. Waiting for some sort of opportunity.
Adeline looked over at him, sound asleep, his face barely illuminated by the glowing embers of the fire. His lashes laced together, sealing his eyes for slumber, his entire face relaxed and peaceful.
Admittedly, he had a handsome face, in a rugged sort of way. There was nothing in the least refined or dainty about him. He was a man of the land whose forebears had lived and died on the land, and he was one of their breed unquestionably. He was not a man who would live on the labour of others.
He was smart, cunning, resourceful, and rather indefatigable, but there was a dark streak of suspicion throughout him. Adeline couldn't say she ever felt — other than seeing him now in slumber — that he'd looked completely relaxed, not even with the horses.
There was something hidden there, and she felt like it'd been most strong every time he'd gazed at her. She always felt like he'd been fighting with her, or defending himself against her, in some form or another.
He was trying to hide or protect something from her as much as she was trying to do the same from him. She couldn't imagine what, but she felt like he'd been the most wary of her, and that he may've only agreed to take her along because then he could keep an eye on her.
She shuddered as a sudden thought struck her: what if, if it were that he found out she'd lied to him, he would take her captive or something? What if he had plans to do some sort of horrible harm to her so as to get revenge?
The urge to get up and run seized her, but Adeline didn't know that she dared to run, he seemed like the type to notice — especially if he'd roused and caught her trying to steal his mare.
Besides, if she were to try and leave, she'd want to get away fast, and she'd probably get along a lot faster on his mare than to go on foot, and being a man of the land like he was, she had a feeling he would be able to track her, and it would be easier for him to catch up to her in the saddle.
To remain was dangerous, but to leave was no more safe. Why hadn't she left when he'd gone to the Leonards? Why had she remained with him? She could be almost, if not completely, in West Virginia by now, but instead she was here, in some sort of situation she wasn't sure she wanted to be in."
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