Ryan stared at her blankly.

Strangely, even in the darkness, he could see her clearly.

She looked a mess, as if she had fought the deserter. Her hair was wild like a madwoman’s, and the clothes that had been spotless the last time he saw her were now stained and covered in dirt.

She was panting heavily, clutching the stone she had just used to strike the deserter.

There was nothing ladylike about her appearance, not in the slightest. Yet, absurdly, Ryan couldn’t take his eyes off this version of Eloise.

“Ryan! Are you alright? Oh my god, heavens! Your face! Your face!”

Eloise threw aside the stone and hurried over to him.

“You’re hurt!”

Saying so, Eloise touched his cheek.

Her fingers barely brushed against him, but it felt so hot, as if he’d been burned, that Ryan instinctively flinched.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“No, it’s not that… Wait. Please, step back for a moment.”

Ryan quickly pulled away. He had a feeling that if he didn’t, he might find himself in trouble.

After stepping back, he finally wiped his stinging cheek with the back of his hand.

Blood smeared across his hand in a long streak. It seemed the dagger had grazed his face when he first dodged the deserter’s attack.

“Oh, the dagger!”

He immediately got up and looked around.

Spotting the dagger near the fallen deserter, he picked it up and threw it far away.

He checked on the unconscious deserter.

When Ryan placed his hand on the man’s neck, Eloise asked nervously,

“Is he… dead?”

Hearing the tension in her voice, Ryan shook his head.

“No, he’s just unconscious. Of course, when he wakes up, he’ll feel dizzy and hurt enough to wish he were dead, but that’s not our concern.”

With that, he took off his coat and tore it. Even though it was an outdoor coat, it was a thin summer garment and easily ripped in his hands.

Ryan twisted the long strips into cords and tied the deserter’s hands behind his back.

He tied his legs with another strip and even gagged him with a cord.

He seemed very practiced at restraining someone like this; his hands moved quickly.

“This should be enough. Even if he comes to, he won’t be able to escape.”

He gave the limp deserter an annoyed kick.

Then he turned to Eloise.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m a bit sore from rolling around.”

“Any other problems?”

“Other problems?”

At that, Ryan coughed and pressed his foot against the deserter’s back.

“Did he do anything indecent…?”

“No. You arrived just before he could.”

At Eloise’s words, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s a relief.”

Even so, he pressed harder on the deserter’s back.

Though unconscious, the deserter groaned and squirmed in pain.

“At least we didn’t have to kill and drag him away.”

His voice was so cold that Eloise involuntarily swallowed.

“Anyway, thank you. I really thought it was all over…”

Just as Eloise tried to thank him, Ryan cut her off, shouting so loudly that his voice echoed through the forest.

“What were you thinking! This happened because you left alone at this late hour!”

His shout startled birds from their sleep, and flapping wings could be heard throughout the forest.

Eloise shrank at his outburst but then stared at him blankly. It was only for a moment.

“I left alone because they said the deserter had been caught! If not, I wouldn’t have gone by myself!”

Her voice rang through the forest as well. Now, the animals, awakened from their sleep, glared from the darkness as if protesting.

But neither of them paid any attention.

“Besides, you were exhausted from all the work during the day! I’m grateful you walk me home every day, but do you know how sorry I would’ve felt asking you to do it even today?!”

“You were grateful?”

“Of course! And before I get more annoyed, let me just say it—thank you for saving me!”

“So are you grateful, or angry?”

“Both! I’m grateful, but I’m also annoyed! I’m scared half to death from what happened, and now you’re scolding me first!”

The two glared at each other, breathing heavily.

They didn’t need a mirror to see how they looked. Seeing each other was enough to guess their own appearance.

After a long moment of huffing and staring, Ryan was the first to laugh.

“Why are you laughing? Do you think this is funny? Aren’t you hurt? Oh, by the way, are you really alright?”

Eloise’s tone was a mix of anger and concern, and Ryan couldn’t hold back, bursting out in even louder laughter.

He remembered Eloise standing there with the stone just moments ago.

Eloise could have run away alone. Until he arrived, she had faced her fear alone, and surely she wanted to escape that terror as soon as possible.

But she didn’t run. She found a bigger stone and came back, and with her own hands, she struck down the fear that threatened her.

What kind of lady would hit someone with a rock the size of her head?

Ryan was certain that, in all of Feltham, Camborne, and Blissbury, the only woman who would do such a thing was Eloise.

She really was a strange woman.

And Ryan didn’t dislike that about her.

* * *

The two decided to return to Blissbury.

Fortunately, Eclipse, the horse Eloise had ridden, hadn’t gone far and was circling nearby.

Ryan loaded the deserter onto Eclipse and mounted the horse he’d come on, together with Eloise.

The horse, realizing the man on its back was the one who had attacked him, deliberately shook to throw the deserter off.

Then it kicked him hard with its hind leg.

Crack!

The sound was enough to make anyone shudder. At the same time, the unconscious deserter woke up screaming.

Ryan looked at the man’s leg, now bent at an odd angle, and shook his head. The deserter would never be able to run away now.

The two rode back together on Ryan’s horse.

Knowing the deserter wouldn’t die, they put him back on Eclipse, and even though he cried and pleaded, they bickered all the way home.

When they returned to the manor, Blissbury was in an uproar.

The laborers dragged the deserter off and tied him to a tree in the garden, while Mr. Palmer hurried to tend to Eloise and Ryan’s wounds.

Mrs. Parker was so shocked she wept as she brought them fresh clothes.

After such a terrible ordeal, Eloise’s heart was still racing and her eyes felt sharper than ever. She thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep until morning.

But after washing up and changing, and confirming that Ryan wasn’t seriously injured, she was overtaken by irresistible sleep.

When Eloise opened her eyes again, Mrs. Surberton and Emily had arrived at Blissbury, looking as if they’d nearly fainted from worry.

“Eloise! My darling!”

Eloise thought it was an odd way to address a twenty-six-year-old woman, but she kept quiet.

Mrs. Surberton hugged Eloise tightly, crying and murmuring prayers of thanks to God.

Behind her, Emily was crossing herself over and over, vowing that she’d go to church this weekend, stay awake during prayers, and even donate.

After crying for a long time, Mrs. Surberton finally calmed herself, stroked Eloise’s hair, and asked,

“So, you’re not hurt?”

“Yes, I’m alright. Ryan arrived just before things got dangerous and saved me.”

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Looking up, Eloise saw Ryan standing at the slightly open door, as if asking permission to enter.

“Ryan? What’s the matter?”

“It’s about the deserter.”

Eloise said she’d be back in a moment and stepped out into the hallway.

“The constables arrived a little while ago. They were surprised to see the man we’d tied up—apparently, there’s already a deserter in their jail.”

“So…”

“There were two deserters.”

“Oh my goodness. No wonder it was so strange. There were reports of sightings all over, and at first, it was just things like boiled potatoes disappearing from houses, but then suddenly people started getting attacked…”

She’d thought the deserter had become more violent out of desperation, but it turned out there were two of them, acting differently and being spotted in different places.

“He’s been taken away for transport. He’ll get medical treatment, but before his broken bones heal, he’ll be tried and sent to prison.”

Ryan glanced at Mrs. Surberton and Emily waiting for Eloise inside and smiled.

“They only need one person for the constables’ report, so I’ll handle it. Mrs. Surberton must be very shaken, so you should go reassure your mother.”

Eloise smiled at his consideration.

“Thank you, Ryan. I’ll try to come down as soon as I can.”

Ryan said that was fine and went downstairs, while Eloise returned to her room.

Then Mrs. Surberton looked at her curiously.

“You seem to have gotten very close to Sergeant Thornton, haven’t you?”

“What?”

Eloise stared at Mrs. Surberton, not understanding.

“Oh, it’s just that you called each other by name so naturally a moment ago.”

It was only then that Eloise realized.

Somehow, they had started calling each other by their first names.